Winter Wedding Ireland

Anyone thinking of planning a winter wedding will be enthralled with the idea of soft snow falling on white lace – but much work has to go into creating that dream if you want it to come true. To help our clients achieve the most bespoke winter weddings in Ireland, we put together this guide. So let’s get started and find out exactly what goes into making an enchanting winter wedding.

So, You Want a Winter Wedding?

So you have been thinking about a winter wedding – and why not? There is a high chance of snow, the frost makes everything sparkle, and the prospect of warm drinks at the reception is almost too good to pass up on, but what about the details? Surely it’s not all that different from a wedding at any other time of year?

Well, you would be forgiven for thinking that but the truth is that there are more than just the usual wedding checklist to take into consideration. Don’t panic, though! We have you covered, and here’s what to think about when planning your Irish winter wedding.

Tips for the Best Winter Wedding – Ever!

The Timing

Timing is a significant issue for any winter wedding in Ireland – even more than it is for other times of the year. Why? Daylight savings time. Also, it starts to get dark around 3 pm in deep winter in Ireland, so you need to think about timing threefold:

One: time of day

Two: which month of winter?

Three: what’s the weather likely to be then?

It sounds silly to consider the weather in timing your winter wedding, but Irish weather is notoriously unreliable. That being said, you will be able to look back through weather reports to find the best time of year for snow, for bright winter days or for avoiding the rain. Check with Discover Ireland for a more general summary and look at local news station reports from the last few years from your chosen area to get more accurate data.

Or, hire a garden marquee and hope you’re not buried in snow.

The Weather

Which brings us to our second point that weather, as much as you can try to predict it, you might never get it right, so you have to find a way around it. Some of the most beautiful winter weddings feature garden marquee-style tents fitted with heaters or comfortable stoves for a warm, homely feel.

Other suggestions on beating the weather include hosting an indoor wedding, making sure you choose a church that isn’t draughty and remembering that your guests will need a cloakroom for all those heavy jackets. With a winter wedding, it is always worth thinking deeply about transport and commuting times if the weather goes wrong.

You also don’t want your hair and make-up getting ruined on the way into your venue, so make sure you pick somewhere with good access if the weather turns bad.

The Temperature

It is going to be cold whether it rains, snows or the sun splits the sky; it is an Irish winter wedding, and it will be cold. Make sure your guests know this, that your venues are well heated, that you have sufficient space for jackets to be deposited, that you don’t freeze yourself, and that you don’t have goose pimples in your wedding photographs.

The temperature of an Irish winter wedding can affect every facet of your big day – from your gown to your wine list – so make sure you consider this at all times. Here are some of our top tips for fighting off the cold on your winter wedding day:

Greet guests with a warm drink – not personally (unless you want to) but guests arriving at the reception will be delighted to warm up with mulled wine or warmed apple cider.
Ensure that all areas are heated – you can hire heating in if the church needs it.
Provide shawls or scarves for your guests: these can even double as decorations on the backs of chairs to save you some cash.
Hand warmers or hot food wrapped in foil is a great way to keep guests warm.

For more ideas on keeping your guests warm during your Irish winter wedding, see this article, from Wedding Ideas Magazine. You can also consider things like cutting out the amount of time your guests spend in church or outdoors to make things more convenient (and a lot less cold).

The Photography

It is always essential to choose the right wedding photographer – but for a winter wedding in Ireland, it becomes necessary. The right photographer with the right experience will be able to get the shots you need in half the time an inexperienced one will; this will save you time spent outdoors and will seriously impact the look of your images.

If you are cold when your picture is taken, it is going to be evident that you are cold. A professional photographer knows the tricks of the trade; like how to keep you as warm as possible until that last crucial second. Hire the wrong photographer on your wedding day, and you will end up out in the cold, possibly shivering, and with pictures that leave you with nothing other than memories of how cold and miserable a day it was.

A Few More Winter Wedding Top Tips

We put together a few more top tips for throwing the perfect winter wedding in Ireland, just for you! Our top Irish winter wedding tips include:

Serving hot chocolate at any time, or giving hot chocolate out as favours.
Having a backup option ready for transport in case the weather turns nasty.
Extra travel time is better than frozen guests.
You are allowed to wear clothing under your dress.
Visit your venues at night: that’s how they will likely look on the day.

You can find a whole host of other noteworthy tips on Hitched. In the meantime, we wish you the very best of luck an Irish winter wedding is a dazzling affair, provided you manage to get it right.