Autumn is a wonderful season for weddings: crisp air, golden leaves, and a cosy romantic atmosphere. A humanist wedding ceremony in autumn is the perfect opportunity to create a celebration that is unique and meaningful to you as a couple.
A humanist wedding is a non-religious ceremony that puts the focus on your personal love story, and is a heartfelt and joyous way to mark your commitment to one another. For humanists, as for many people, the cycle of nature and the natural world around us are wonderful sources of inspiration, so embracing the seasons when planning your wedding can be a lovely way to incorporate nature into it.
In this blog, we’ll share some tips and inspiration for planning an autumnal humanist wedding ceremony.
Using Seasonal Colours and Natural Décor
Let nature be your guide! Draw inspiration from autumn’s rich palette. Think burnt oranges, deep reds, golden yellows, and forest greens. You can also incorporate natural elements into your décor, such as pumpkins and dried leaves. Although summer may have come to an end there are still lovely seasonal flowers you can use like dahlias, chrysanthemums, and some sunflowers. Consider using wooden signs, fairy lights, and candles to create a warm, inviting atmosphere that complements the season.
Cosy Drinks and Comforting Treats
Keep your guests warm and happy with drinks that capture the spirit of autumn. Serve hot chocolate with marshmallows or consider a specialty coffee bar where your guests can pick up a pumpkin spice latte. For a more adult option, consider a signature cocktail with flavours like cinnamon, ginger, or spiced pear. You can combine these with comforting treats as chocolate cookies, s’mores, or a dessert table featuring spiced apple crumble.
Bringing the Outdoors In
While an outdoor ceremony surrounded by autumn foliage is breathtaking (and, remember, humanist wedding ceremonies can happen at any location you choose), you can also bring the outdoors inside, with natural touches. For an indoor venue like a barn or a rustic hall, use branches, leaves, and wreaths to create a woodland feel. Decorate tables with small logs and hang garlands of autumn leaves. This ensures that even if the weather on your special day takes a turn for the worst, your wedding will still capture the essence of the season.
Embracing Rituals of Change and Growth
Humanist weddings are deeply personal ceremonies which offer you the chance to include any rituals that are meaningful to you as a couple. For an autumnal ceremony, you could consider a ritual that symbolises re-growth, such as planting a tree together, or you could also include a handfasting ceremony using large ribbons in autumnal colours.
Making the Most of Autumn Light
The light in autumn is soft, golden, and mellow which makes it ideal for stunning photographs. If you plan your ceremony to take place during the ‘golden hour’, just before sunset, your photographer will be able to capture the most magical light; talk to them, and your celebrant, about what you hope to achieve, and they will work together plan to make the most of the beautiful amber rays. The low light can also be a perfect excuse to use lots of candles and fairy lights to create a romantic backdrop for both your ceremony and reception.
Whether you’re dreaming of a rustic barn, a woodland ceremony, or a city wedding with autumnal details, speak with your humanist celebrant about your ideas and they will work with you to create the perfect ceremony.
Planning the perfect ceremony but haven’t booked your celebrant yet?
Humanist Ceremonies wedding celebrants are highly trained by Humanists UK to lead personal and authentic non-religious ceremonies.
You can find a wedding celebrant near you by using our simple to use map: https://humanists.uk/ceremonies/find-a-celebrant/weddings/
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Looking for more wedding inspiration? Check out these other fabulous real-life humanist weddings:
- We had a humanist wedding after 22 years together
- 24 years together, five children, and the perfect humanist ceremony: Sarah and Ravi’s fun multi-cultural wedding
- Lewis & Imanina’s countryside elopement
- Lauren & Chris’ castle wedding in Northern Ireland
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