Fall weddings are filled with warmth and romance. That being said, perhaps you’re having a hard time making your special day more festive as per the season it takes place in. Never fear, as our design and décor gurus at the St. Elias Centre are here to help!
As it turns out, there are many fall-themed decorating ideas you can use at your banquet centre or other location of choice. Let’s walk you through some of our favourites to create a wedding filled with natural touches and warmth!
Incorporate Nature
Fall is the perfect time of year to add unique, highly textured details such as branches, tree stumps, and pinecones. It is also the time of year for harvesting and there are many stunning colours available. Many are derived from popular veggies ranging from pumpkins and gourds to flint corn that can be placed tumbling out of baskets, along the aisles, and at the front where your ceremony will take place. You can also utilize elements like lantern branches, wheat, corn stalks, and even hay bales. The latter can be used to create steps covered in planters filled with brightly coloured mums.
Use Dark, Warm Colours
Fall is the time of year to introduce deep, rich colours full of warmth and elegance such as purples and plums, orange, rust and deeper pinks. These work beautifully alongside the natural tones of branches, hay, wheat, and corn stalks. In addition, your flowers can be inspired by the blooms of fall such as large mums, delicate asters, and even bare branches with berries or grapes.
Hot Chocolate Bar
Add a touch of whimsy with a hot chocolate bar and let people stack up their drinks with marshmallows and different flavours served in cute mugs. You can also have your bartender come up with a unique warming drink such as an Irish Coffee with a banquet centre unique twist. Alternatively, consider some sort of mulled wine or hot apple cider to greet guests as they arrive.
Twinkling Lights
Fairy lights add charm to any banquet centre. You can get creative by using fall-themed details such as bare branches wrapped in fairy lights to create a stunning archway, birch trees in urns with lights, or jack-o’-lantern inspired candle holders with charming carvings such as wheat, flowers, or lace and lattice patterns. Jack-o-lanterns will also cast light in the room and add to the atmosphere.
Harvest Themed Cake
Consider having a harvest-themed cake with tumbling grapes, freshly picked apples, or other fruit with a kiss of fall frost in the form of sugary iced toppings. Take inspiration using fall leaves or be creative using elegant wheat-inspired patterns.
Go Rustic
A theme that can easily be applied to most event centres is one of a refined yet humble rustic wedding. Examples of how to achieve this include upcycled wood tables for displaying baked goodies, gift bags, the registry, or otherwise. Alternatively, consider using chairs and other furniture that incorporate natural materials like jute, twine, or straw (though perhaps not too much or the wedding will develop an overpowering country theme).
Warm-Glow Lanterns
In conjunction with those twinkling fairy lights we mentioned, why not set up soft-glow rustic lamps? You know the kind: the ones that look as if they could be oil-lit, casting a beautiful warm glow over the immediate area. If you use lantern housings with LED lights that can be set to any colour temperature, this is ideal for not only ensuring the right amount of warmth but also changing to more vibrant colours to synchronize with dancefloor music when it’s time to get up and boogie.
The ”Classic Country Manor” Approach
An alternative approach to décor for a fall theme, consider going the more traditional and elegant route. This involves more sophisticated yet homemade elements like intricate, frilly papercrafts. These can be used for everything from place settings to thank-you cards for guests. Combine with elegant vases for floral displays, soft lighting, and a relaxed atmosphere with soothing music to evoke the sensation of celebrating within an old-fashioned country manor house. This is an ideal way to ensure your fall wedding doesn’t come across as too cliché, not over-relying on staples like pumpkins and leaf arrangements, and it will still maintain a premium edge aesthetically.
These tips will help create a truly warm and romantic ambiance at your wedding banquet centre, and your planning fun doesn’t have to stop there! Get in touch with us at the St. Elias Centre today for our full suite of wedding planning services or to book our beautiful, spacious event hall for your big day.