How to plan beautiful Christmas weddings in the Lake District

Deck the halls!

With holly of course, but also with spruce, magnolia, conifer and cedar. For something a bit more traditional, also incorporate rosemary, pine and pinecones, star anise, orange pomander balls, dried orange slices, scented candles and whole cinnamon sticks into your Lake District wedding. You can easily create a beautiful centre piece for round tables by getting a large log slice with a few candles and your foliage set all around it, or for long tables create a centre runner with all the above spread across the middle of your table.

If you are getting married in a venue such as a hotel, it’s likely that they will already have the venue dressed for the Christmas period and so to save on overbuying Christmas decorations, check with your venue first to see what they already have planned in terms of lights and trees and other bits you may have thought of including.

Wedding Candles

There is nothing that symbolises winter and Christmas so much as candles and twinkly lights! Fill your venue with candles and tea lights; pillar candles in different sizes, tall dinner candles in just white or different colours (black, reds, greens, silvers and gold for extra festiveness) or scented candles in form of cinnamon, winter warmers and pine to create a gorgeous festive scent that will fill the venue and make your guests feel cosy and warm when they arrive.

Festive tipples and Snacks

Christmastide and weddings are both renowned for revolving around food and drink and in this cold weather you definitely need to get those extra calories in to keep you warm for your Christmas weddings!

So why not indulge your guests with some delicious treats throughout the day – create a Christmas market feel to your drinks ceremony reception with stalls of different treats from mince pies, doughnuts, s’mores and boozy hot chocolates, and in the evening let your guests feast on hot turkey and stuffing sandwiches and delicious roasties to fuel those hours on the dancefloor!

If you want to keep it traditional and offer canapes, there is nothing better than a bit of Christmas party food! Pigs in blankets on cocktail sticks, smoked salmon blinis or mini turkey sliders are always a winner to go with your drink of choice…

..and whilst on the subject of drinks, this time of year offers so many options to provide to your guests during the drinks reception, such as mulled wine and cider, eggnog or fun baileys shots. And there are of course lots of fun and unique ideas for Christmas cocktails – gingerbread martinis, cranberry mojitos or why not a crushed candy cane rimmed glass with a deliciously classic cosmo to get the guests’ festive spirits up!

Your time to sparkle!

For your Lake District wedding dress, this is the time where you can add as much sparkle and shimmer as you like! And to keep warm, a classy, fur-trimmed cloak to make you feel like a proper princess or a simple soft feathered jacket to complement your dress.

When you plan your outfits for your bridal party, go with sequins, metallic colours with lots of dazzle for the ladies and dress the groomsmen in dark greens and burgundy – if not the whole suit then perhaps just the ties and pocket squares. Buttonholes can include thistle, pine cones or a deep red rose.

Other charmingly festive details

• Have a mistletoe hung up for guests to have a cheeky kiss underneath, or who knows, it may even spark a new romance of which you can be thanked for later!
• Snow-fetti! Swap the traditional dried flowers or paper confetti to beautiful snow-like confetti for that extra wintery touch in your wedding snaps
• Have a gingerbread house replica of your wedding venue! Challenge yourself and make your own – it could be a great task to master together or simply have it made professionally – either way, it will be a great showstopper to wow your guests!
• Fireworks! Nothing ends a night like a fireworks display – it’s the ultimate symbol of celebration so what better feature to sum up your wedding day and night!

Wedding Bouquets

We have already mentioned all the gorgeous greens of Christmas and as much as it looks absolutely stunning as decorations you might not want to hold a big bouquet of spikey pine branches and sharp holly. White and pale greens such as eucalyptus or succulents, with deep reds to add a pop of colour (large roses, peonies and amaryllis) will look stunning against your Lake District wedding dress.

Carols and Hymns

Play the most romantic Christmas songs you know – it could be for the ceremony or simply background music for the drinks reception or wedding breakfast. Here are some of our favourites:

Real Love – Tom Odell

Can’t Fight This Feeling – Bastille

Driving Home For Christmas – Chris Rea

A Christmas Love Song – Barbra Streisand

White Christmas – Bing Crosby

A Little Love – Celeste

What Christmas Means To Me – Stevie Wonder

All I Want For Christmas Is You – Michael Buble

Merry Christmas Baby – Otis Redding

Baby It’s Christmas – Amy Grant

Merry Christmas Darling – The Carpenters

If you have room for it in your budget, then why not have a small choir to sing Christmas songs during the drinks reception?

Wedding Favours

Personalised Christmas wedding baubles and snow globes, candy canes, bride/groom gingerbread men, miniature tipples and sparklers for impressive photos are just a handful of ideas for fun, festive favours guaranteed to put a smile on your guests faces!

So there are our top tips for the best Christmas Weddings in the Lake District! We cannot wait to see some gorgeous Lake District weddings at The Swan next year! 🎄

Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our Swanderful wedding planner today! Get in touch

As a highly regarded spa hotel in the Lake District, we endeavour you to relax and unwind in our spa before or after the big day!