Planning a summer wedding? I love the relaxed feel of summer weddings: the possibility for outdoor ceremonies, garden party or festival feel celebrations, pastel colours and daylight that lasts until late. I’ve asked some of my favourite wedding suppliers to share their top tips for planning a summer wedding, to help you know which flowers are in bloom, how to stop your wedding cake from melting and what to consider for gorgeous summer wedding photos.
While sunny weather can never be guaranteed (and it’s always worth having a wet weather backup plan), summer is the best time to plan for an outdoor wedding ceremony – whether that’s on a beach, in a garden, up a mountain or in a wood.
- You might choose a rustic vibe with haybales for seats, picnic basket meals and lanterns to light an area for dancing late into the night
- For a garden wedding you might select garden games (jenga, connect four, croquet, cricket or petanque), flower pot favours and a mix of wooden benches and rugs on the lawn
- By the sea you could opt for a fish and chips wedding breakfast and an ice cream van, ask your guests to write you messages in the sand and even paddle in your wedding dress!
- Or you could plan a festival wedding complete with personalised wedding wrist bands, silent disco and tipis for glamping
Summer wedding flowers
- Delphinium – a true cottage garden bloom, they come into their best during the summer months and are perfect for meadow arrangements and adding height to designs. They are available in pastel shades as well as darker vibrant, blues, violets and pinks
- Dahlia – are the peony of the summer, they come into flower from late July, early August and are a wonderful focal flower that comes in a huge variety of shades so suitable for most colour palettes. Some popular varieties include ,café au lait’, ‘wizard of oz’ and ‘Arabian nights’
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Nigella – also know as ‘love-in-a-mist’ is a small, delicate flower perfect for those wild and whimsical designs
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Cosmos – daisy-like blooms which have delicate petals and thin, wavy stems. One of the most popular varieties is called ‘Black Beauty’ and smells like chocolate!
Summer wedding cakes
Summer wedding photography
In the UK, long summer days are perfect for relaxed weddings, with opportunities for outdoor photos late into the evening. While it’s lovely to have sunshine, direct sun is not so flattering in the middle of the day, so if it’s really bright you might be best finding some shade for portraits and group shots happening straight after the ceremony.
And if you love the buttery sunset light of golden hour, make sure your photographer will be staying late enough. This beautiful light tends to be best (depending on the weather) about an hour before sunset – and sunset can be as late as 9.59pm depending on your date and location.
Summer wedding inspiration
If you’re looking for inspiration, there’s plenty to be found in some of my favourite summer weddings:
- Yee Lin & Neil had a beautiful outdoor garden wedding ceremony in the grounds of Fennes, a country house in Essex, and a summer wedding reception full of peach and blue blooms
- Calum & Richard’s midsummer wedding in a vineyard in Hampshire, included a marquee full of home grown flowers, wooden seats under big sun shades and a gin bar
- Dorothée & Lee had a town hall wedding in Oxford, before travelling by boat to The Perch pub for a hot, sunny, relaxed summer wedding that ended with paddling in the river
- Marta & Marcus chose a summer church wedding with a reception in the flower gardens of the Cambridge College, a short wedding dress (with pockets!) and a tower of cheeses
- Emily & Stephan’s Kent church ceremony was followed by a garden party wedding in their back garden, with lots of pink flowers, personalised wine bottles and cork placecards, and sunset photos
- Claudia and James celebrated their multicultural wedding in the walled garden of the Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire, with flower lined pathways and an ice cream tricycle
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If you’re planning a summer wedding, I’d love to talk to you about photographing your day – please send me a message to arrange a time to talk.
