Fresh Ideas to Add Seasonal Touches to Your Spring Wedding
Image by Павел Емельянов courtesy of Pixabay.
Spring is the season of new beginnings. The world comes alive with flowers and birdsong after months of cold and gray; it only seems natural to celebrate the start of a beautiful new chapter in your life. Maybe this is why late spring is the official start of wedding season. Whether you’re planning a swanky soiree or a private elopement, there are plenty of ways to incorporate the blooming beauty of the season into your wedding.
Spring Color Palettes
Image by Leszek Hus courtesy of Pixabay.
Choosing colors for your wedding is one of the first steps in the aesthetic side of wedding planning. A set color palette can keep your event looking elegant and unified, and nature is a wonderful source of inspiration. These hues can be incorporated into everything from your flowers to your invitations to your clothing.
Spring and color go hand in hand: the fresh green of new leaves, a pastel rainbow of flowers, brightly colored dyed eggs. Pastels are a classic choice for the season, drawing from the delicate colors of early blooms. Of course, not everyone enjoys soft, muted shades and springtime hues aren’t limited to subtle pinks and blues. One current trend is to incorporate dark, bold shades like charcoal to bring contrast and a grounding, earthy tone. Bright, tropical colors and florals are another popular option that incorporates plenty of color.
If you’re looking for color inspiration, websites like colorpalettes.net and colorhunt.co offer premade color palettes designed to complement each other and evoke a particular season. colorpalettes.net pulls their colors from beautiful photos - something you can do yourself. Just open your favorite picture in photo editing or digital art software like Photoshop, Pixelmator, or Procreate and pull colors directly from an image that is meaningful or inspiring to you.
Spring Flowers
Image by Jill Wellington courtesy of Pixabay.
Flowers are such an essential symbol of spring that it can be difficult to find seasonal wedding decor that doesn’t include some kind of floral motif. The season brings an incredible, colorful variety of fresh blooms to choose from, whether you're creating your own bouquet for an elopement or a dramatic floral chandelier.
Popular in-season flowers include:
Anemone
Cala Lily
Cherry Blossom
Corn Flower
Cymbidium Orchid
Daffodil
Delphinium
Forsythia
Gardenia
Hyacinth
Hydrangea
Iris (the state flower of Tennessee)
Lilac
Lily of the Valley (a traditional choice for royal weddings in the UK)
Lisianthus
Muscari
Peony
Poppy
Ranunculus
Rose
Snapdragon
Sweet Pea
Tulip
Tweedia
Viburnum
Wisteria
Scent is a unique way to incorporate seasonal florals into your wedding without requiring large flower arrangements. Lilac, rose, gardenia, iris, and lily of the valley are popular choices for perfumes and colognes. Incorporating some of the more fragrant flowers into even minimal flower arrangements can add the scent of spring to your event.
Spring Wedding Themes
Image by Jill Wellington courtesy of Pixabay.
While not everyone wants a themed wedding, picking an aesthetic or theme can help guide your design choices to make your event feel unified and stylish. The possibilities are endless, but these are a few of our favorite, trendy themes:
Garden Party - Nothing says “spring” like flowers and with the weather warming up, it’s the perfect time to celebrate outdoors. This whimsical aesthetic embraces florals, greenery, and an elegant but semi-formal atmosphere.
Bold Tropical Colors - Tropical greenery, bold flowers, and bright colors are a great way to celebrate spring without going the conventional pastels-and-peonies route. Wicker, macrame, and tropical flavors can add to the vibrant vibes.
Brunch - Maybe it’s all the egg dishes, but spring seems to be the official start of brunch season. A daytime or morning wedding is the perfect way to celebrate spring’s sunny, warm days.
Celebrate with a Seasonal Menu
Image by Engin Akyurt courtesy of Pixabay.
Incorporating seasonal ingredients into your menu is a great way to keep the spring vibes going and make sure your meals are as fresh (and affordable) as possible. Young greens make excellent salads especially paired with spring peas and radishes. Both spring chicken and lamb are in season and make great protein choices. Fresh cheeses like goat cheese or feta and eggs are often associated with spring and can make excellent additions to appetizers, salads, or even creative desserts.
To add to the floral theme, there are a number of edible flowers that can be incorporated into salads, as garnishes on entrees, or cake decorations. Their flavors range from, well, floral to lemony to licorice-y. Nasturtiums, violets, and pansies are just a few edible flowers that are in season in spring. Remember that not all flowers are edible and not all parts of edible plants are safe to eat; make sure you’ve done your research and source your flowers responsibly if you’re cooking or decorating yourself.
Take Advantage of the Season’s Beauty
Image by Jill Wellington courtesy of Pixabay.
Spring is one of the most beautiful seasons in Middle Tennessee. It’s warm but not too hot and everything is in bloom. While you may need to work around the weather (more on that below), this is a great time of year to take advantage of nature’s beauty - or a gardener’s hard work.
A small elopement is easy to hold outdoors for little to no venue cost. For larger events, Davidson County residents can reserve the sunken gardens in Centennial Park for $250. Cheekwood Estate & Gardens also rent their space for weddings but at a higher price.
Don’t Forget About Those April Showers
Image by cassiazuquetto courtesy of Pixabay.
The whole “April showers bring May flowers” adage is no joke in Tennessee. According to the East Tennessee State University Tennessee Climate Office, early spring is one of the rainiest times of year in Nashville. It’s also the time of year most likely to produce flooding and even tornadoes. This isn’t to say that you’re guaranteed to have rain on your wedding day, but it is important to have a plan for less-than-perfect weather.
Let’s get the least fun bit out of the way first: if you’re getting married during severe weather season, make sure you have a severe weather plan. Ask your venue where their severe weather or tornado shelter is located. While it is highly unlikely you’ll need to use this information, things do go wrong on occasion; we have a friend with a great story about getting married in the midst of the 2010 Tennessee floods that did over $1.5 billion in damage in Nashville alone.
Gentle showers are far more likely to make an uninvited appearance at your event than flooding or tornadoes and have much less dramatic solutions. If you’re planning an outdoor ceremony, consider having an alternative, indoor location that you can retreat to in the event of heavy rain. Providing umbrellas to your guests can offer protection from both light rain and bright sun while creating a playful canopy for your event. You might even decide to incorporate colorful rain boots into your decor!
Spring Wedding Favors
Image by flockine courtesy of Pixabay.
Wedding favors are an opportunity to thank your guests and send them on their way with a small token to remember your wedding day. These small gifts are one of the easy aspects of a wedding to DIY if you’re feeling crafty or on a budget. Favors that are functional or consumable are generally the best received by guests, but anything that’s meaningful to you and your partner will make a wonderful gift.
Spring flowers are an excellent source of inspiration for favors. Packets of wildflower seeds are easy to personalize with a home printer and tape and can cost as little as $0.30 per packet. Candies with flowers in them or pastries decorated with either edible flowers or icing flowers are another great option. If you’re planning your wedding for late spring, hand fans with custom tags can keep your guests cool on sunny days. Personalized mason jars are another popular option and can be filled with treats, jam, or even used as glasses for cocktails.
Book Your Spring Wedding Today!
Whether your spring wedding is a private elopement or an extravagant event, we hope your love blooms this season. Whatever colors, flowers, or location you choose; remember that the love you share with your partner is the only thing you truly need to make your wedding truly incredible.
Not sure where to start planning your wedding? Booking an officiant is a great first step. Reach out to Zelda, one of Nashville’s most in-demand wedding officiants, for a chat about what you have in mind for your wedding, more info on packages, or to book your elopement or wedding of any size.