Celebrate the Season With These 18 Fall Wedding Ideas
Planning a beautiful fall wedding? There’s so much wedding inspiration you can take from the warm scenes and cozy atmosphere that comes with this dazzling season. To help you plan a memorable and joy-filled experience for your big day, here are some of our favorite fall wedding ideas, including suggestions for your venue, decor, food, and more.
1. Apple Orchard Wedding Venue
Take advantage of the season and hold your ceremony and reception at a gorgeous apple orchard. You could even decorate with bushels of harvested apples for even more rustic appeal. The outdoor fall wedding aesthetic is hard to beat, making this a lovely way to celebrate your big day and this special time of year.
2. Sunflower Bouquet
Add some fall flair to your wedding bouquet with a bold bunch of sunflowers. This is one of those fall floral arrangements that can match your style whether you’re going for rustic chic or sophisticated glamour.
3. Jewel Tone Bridesmaid Dresses
Swap out the soft pastel tones for something more lively with richly colored jewel-tone dresses for your bridesmaids. Think dresses and accessories in fall wedding colors such as ruby, amethyst, citrine, emerald, and sapphire. You can add more luxury with fabrics such as silk or velvet, which look especially beautiful in autumnal hues.
4. Fall Floral Wedding Arch
Design: Diasty Hardhikaputri
Who says fresh florals are just for spring or summer? Create a stunning fall backdrop for your wedding vows or a gorgeous background for your DIY wedding photo booth with a floral arch filled with seasonal classics like dahlias. For an extra sweet touch, feature the same blooms in your wedding flowers or fall wedding centerpieces.
5. Seasonal Cocktails
It’s always fun to put a seasonal twist on some of your old favorites, and cocktails are no exception. Serve up a delicious menu of seasonal fall cocktails to your party guests featuring apple cider, dark fruits, or cinnamon. Don’t skip the signature wedding cocktail either — take a drink you and your partner love and add a hint of the season to make it extra special.
6. Gold Accent Table Settings
Fall is the perfect season to add in some of the warm, welcoming tones of gold and copper. For a stylish fall wedding idea, feature metallic accents throughout your reception and ceremony decor. Think golden place settings, cutlery, and candlestick holders. These shiny accents will add a bit of glam and tie your fall wedding decor together.
7. Fall Wedding Invitations
Design: Patrice Horvath Design
Get creative with your fall wedding invitations. We love using a warm color scheme for your wedding stationery, with natural touches to complete the look. If you’re going for something more contemporary or sophisticated, gorgeous jewel tones are always a big hit for fall. Look for online invitations with a calligraphy style to add personalized flair, or go with something modern for your wedding soirée.
8. Candles as Decor
We love fall wedding ideas that are both pretty and practical, and this is one of them. Candles not only give off a beautiful soft light, but they also double up as lovely fall decor ideas. Seek out a mix of tall and short candles (flameless or natural), add some rustic or contemporary candle holders, and you have a simple yet stylish tablescape for your guests to admire over dinner.
9. DIY Foliage and Floral Crowns
Design: aticnomar designs & art
There’s no reason you can’t have an activity at your wedding reception. Set up a fun craft station where your guests can make their own DIY floral crowns or boutonnieres with fall foliage and greenery. This is a lovely way for people to get creative, mingle, and leave with something that reminds them of the day you’ve spent together.
10. Plaid Blankets for Guests
Depending on where you live, a fall wedding could get pretty chilly. Help your guests stay warm by providing plaid blankets. You can stay on theme and seek out blankets that match your wedding colors. For an extra thoughtful wedding favor idea, present your guests with their own monogrammed blanket as a thank you for being there.
11. Fall Wedding Cake
Spring and summer weddings are all about feeling light, breezy, and fresh. With autumn weddings, you’re often inspired to take a more rustic or rich take on color schemes, decor, and food. For a wedding cake that fits the theme, we love the idea of going with a single tier cake decorated with rich jewel tones — or keep it simple and offer single-serve cupcakes in warm fall flavors like apple cinnamon, pumpkin, or carrot cake.
12. Rustic Barn Wedding Ceremony
Design: Robinson Creative House
Fall conjures up warm fuzzy feelings, making it the ideal season for cozy, boho-inspired get-togethers. Celebrate the season with one of the best fall wedding ideas — a rustic wedding. Gather your loved ones and book an authentic barn or outdoor venue to say your “I do’s” and party the night away.
13. Coffee and Hot Cocoa Bar
Let your guests have fun preparing their own DIY wedding drinks with a coffee and hot cocoa bar. Make sure there’s a good selection of coffees, teas, and cocoa — including decaf and vegan options. Lay out plenty of flavored syrups, toppings, and whip cream and encourage people to create their own coffee shop favorite.
14. Pumpkin Centerpieces
Take your wedding centerpieces to the next level by adding plenty of pumpkins. This is a fall wedding idea that never fails — it’s a classic (and easy) way to work in one of the season’s most iconic elements. Create a tower of mini pumpkins or use a large one surrounded by painted smaller ones. Try one of these pumpkin centerpiece ideas for fun wedding decor your guests will love.
15. Maple Syrup Favors
There’s nothing that says fall quite like maple syrup. Feature this delicious flavor throughout your wedding for a sweet touch. Flavor your wedding cake icing with maple syrup, or send your guests home with a tiny bottle of locally made syrup as a thoughtful wedding favor.
16. Backyard Wedding Venue
Design: Paper Raven Co.
If the weather complies, why not host your big day at home in your backyard? A backyard wedding is a wonderful way to celebrate with your closest friends and family members — whether it’s your own yard or that of a friend or relative. Celebrate together with a backdrop of warm fall leaves, laughter, and good company.
17. Bonfire Reception
We love fall wedding ideas that bring people together to bask in the cozy feeling of the season. Having a bonfire or fire pit at your autumn wedding reception gives everyone the perfect spot to gather, talk, and relax. It’s also the ideal place to make some deliciously gooey s’mores and even enjoy a campfire sing-along.
18. Apple Cider
There’s something so comforting about warm apple cider in the fall season. Whether you’re hosting your wedding reception at a cider farm, barn, or somewhere more contemporary, this is one of those seasonal wedding drinks that’s not to be missed. Enjoy your warm cider outside next to the bonfire, or serve it up as an alternative to champagne for your first toast.
All the Fall Wedding Ideas You’ll Need
Fall weddings are among the most beautiful celebrations with the dazzling colors, crisp air, and sense of coziness that come with the season. You can really play around with the warm color palette, cozy textures, and rustic decor to create a magical experience for you and your guests. Choose a theme, find a venue, put together some lovely decor choices, and find some stunning wedding invitations to match.
