How to Have a Festival-Style Wedding
Advice 23.06.2021
With more and more couples opting for an informal, four-day celebration, it makes sense to incorporate happy memories of Glastonbury, Reading or Leeds into your big day and have a festival-style wedding.
From music and glamping to street food and wellies: here are our top tips on how to have a festival wedding.
Have an outside ceremony
It’s a festival wedding so, of course, you need to have your ceremony outside. Nothing is quite as romantic as walking across a wildflower meadow to meet your loved one standing under a pagoda or arch. And remember, you can decorate your pagoda with flowers, bunting, fairy lights or colourful paper balls for that informal festival vibe.
But take into account the great British weather and have a back-up plan in case the heavens open. And provide pashminas or blankets for guests too in case there’s a nip in the air.
Wear a boho dress
As you’re getting married outside avoid any kind of Cinderella-style dress with tons of petticoats and a long train and instead opt for something laid back and cool. Even Carrie Symonds chose a boho wedding dress and bare feet for her festival-style wedding when she got married to that old chap at number 10. Choose something floaty, lacy, unstructured and super comfortable.
Have fun with make-up
When it comes to festival wedding make-up, keep it natural for the ceremony and then ramp it up for the evening. So for the day, wear make-up that looks fresh and pretty, and keep your hair long and wavy or in a relaxed up-do with flowers (see below).
But as we all know, no festival is complete without a bit of sparkle. So as the party starts, bring out the glitter and body paint and go to town. You can even set up a glitter bar so your guests can join in the fun.
Wear flowers in your hair
No festival-style wedding is complete without a flower crown or two. For a bohemian vibe, choose pretty flowers such as white sweet peas, orchids and gypsophila mixed with greenery, or use freshly picked wildflowers such as cornflowers, poppies and marigolds. For something bright and bold opt for delphiniums, freesias, roses and dahlias. Or use dried flowers and feathers for a rustic flower crown look.
Duplicate your headdress flowers in an informal, unstructured bouquet tied with ribbon. And decorate your tables with jam jars, miniature milk bottles and cans filled with fresh just-picked-from-the-meadow flowers.
Use hay bales for seating
If you’re having an outside wedding, your guests will need somewhere to sit. And hay bales are the perfect choice for that festival-style look. For comfort, cover your hay bales in pretty crocheted blankets or furry throws or opt for hessian sacks or organic cotton covers.
Have festival-style signage
For anyone that’s ever staggered around a field looking for their tent, you’ll know that signage is absolutely essential when it comes to festivals. Use wooden signposts to direct your guests around the site. And upcycle old pallets to write out the day’s activities and events so everyone knows where they need to be and at what time.
Wear wellies
Ever since Kate Moss rocked up at Glastonbury in her Hunters, wearing wellies at a festival have been an absolute must-have. If you’re having a festival wedding, wellies are a fun and quirky way to bring colour into the proceedings and they’re a practical option too. Opt for bright colours that match the wedding bouquets and theme of the wedding or go for a classic green or black.
Hang colourful decorations
Festival-style wedding decorations are bright, colourful and not expensive. They can usually be purchased fairly cheaply, or even better, made by friends and family at home. Bunting is an absolute must and streamers, paper balls, paper lanterns and felt pom poms are great fun. Silk flowers, fresh flowers and greenery such as ivy, wrapped around arches, pagodas or tables all look pretty. While fairy lights, festoon lights and twinkling candles are perfect for when the sun goes down.
Serve up festival food
Forget sit down wedding breakfasts. Instead hire catering trucks and pop-up food stalls to serve up festival-style grub and street food. So what’s on the menu? Juicy burgers, a hog roast, big plates of paella, and wood fired pizzas are always popular. (Remember to cater for veggies.) Then follow up with ice creams and lollies from an old-fashioned ice cream cart. Come midnight as the party’s ramping up, serve halloumi or bacon butties
Play hands-in-the-air music
If you’re opting for festival-themed wedding, you’re going to want to provide some big tunes, whether you go down the live band route or hire a DJ.
Set up some kind of stage for authenticity and have them play all your favourite floor fillers to get everyone up and dancing and the atmosphere pumped up. Whistles and glowsticks are optional.
Hire tents and tipis
Say ‘festival’ and the first thing you think of are tents. If you’re having a festival wedding over a number of days, hire tents, yurts or tipis for your guests and have everyone camp – or better still glamp - in the grounds of your wedding venue. Decorate the tents with bunting, fairy lights or furry throws. You can even put signs with your guests’ names above the ‘door’.
Play outdoor games
If there are kids coming to your wedding, keep them occupied with outdoor games such as giant Jenga or Connect 4. Or hire an inflatable jungle gym or bouncy castle (ones that your adult guests can enjoy too).Or have a mini tournament complete with games, obstacle courses and water slides.
Install a retro-style photobooth
Who doesn’t love larking about in a photobooth? Hire a vintage photobooth complete with hats, glasses, moustaches and props and you’re guaranteed to get some hilarious photographs to look back on.
Have a reportage-style photographer
As it’s a festival-style wedding, avoid those traditional, group photos and hire a wedding photographer who’s comfortable taking relaxed and informal reportage-style wedding pics. Ask them to capture all those fun and quirky moments that happen throughout the day.
Let off fireworks at the end of the night
Go out with a bang and end the night (or early morning) with fireworks and sparklers. It’s the perfect way to end your festival-style wedding day.