Styling for Summer Weddings - Mode - Professional Wedding Stylist

There is much to love about the summer wedding season. Sunny weather, bright bold colours and an abundance of floral options to choose from, makes it a wonderful season to get married in!

There are pros and cons of each season (yes, even pros about Winter weddings), but today we’re looking at a few tips when it comes to your floral and wedding design palette during the summer months.

When looking at the style and design you want to reflect throughout your wedding day, it is important to take a few things into consideration. Venue selection, lighting, placement (indoors/outdoors), will all affect the palette you desire to create. See my last post about this here

Summertime evokes feelings of joy and elation, and you’ll want to select a palette that speaks to those emotions beautifully. Whether you choose to go soft and feminine with pastels and neutral tones, or bold and bright with block colours, each needs to be balanced out correctly throughout your wedding design.

It is important for me to say that you can really go O-T-T (over the top) with bright bold colours everywhere or simply have pops of colour in whatever shade you choose, it really is up to personal preference and there is no right or wrong way here. The only thing I’d recommend is to make use of a stylist that knows how to balance it all out nicely for you,or make use of these tips.

PINPOINT YOUR STYLE

It is important to nail down the overall visual you are trying to create. If you are unsure of what that may be, I suggest creating a Pinterest board of the table designs. colour palettes and weddings that really catch your eye. Once you have saved enough, you will begin to see a pattern forming. You would have saved more of one style than of any other. Did you save lighter, more romantic images or dark and dramatic? Did you love the opulence of the designs, or did you tend to favour the minimalist settings? Make notes of what makes you feel good and delete the rest!

CHOOSE YOUR COLOUR PALETTE

What colours attract you the most? Think of your home décor or wardrobe. These questions go a long way in nailing down your personal style and will make it easier to carry that throughout the styling process of your day. The one thing I tell every bride is, that they need to stay true to who they are, and the wedding day will be timeless for them. Trends are wonderful to refer to, but always make sure you’re connected to what you want to do rather than attempting to create something that is not true to your couple style.

Select a neutral base palette, and use that throughout to keep the setting together, and then use your chosen colour pop strategically to create the design more effectively.

MAKE IT AN EXPERIENCE

As a planner and stylist, I love creating a wonderful experience for my clients and the guests at their wedding celebration. Think of special touches here and there that will make your guests feel more comfortable throughout the day:

Offer a cool towel on arrival to wipe their hands
Give them a bottle of water or a chilled welcome drink
Hand out fans so they can cool themselves down in the heat of the today
Provide handheld umbrella for them to find shade under.
Two words…heel stoppers. This is a favourite special touch for me to do. If you really want to show some love to your lady guests, provide a pair of heel stoppers for them to put on when they arrive, this way they wont sink into the grass during the wedding celebrations.
If you are having an outdoor wedding, make sure there is plenty of shade for guests to find shelter in. No-one wants to be sweaty when they’re all dressed up and you certainly don’t want to be uncomfortable standing at the altar.
Ensure the venue has a rain plan for in case of summer showers. I know that it is always a plan B, but chat to your stylist to make sure that plan B will be just as beautiful if it should happen. That way you are not too disappointed should you need to make use of an indoor space.

If you do opt for any of these, try have them personalised and done in a neutral colour. You don’t want bright blue bottles or fans showing up in your wedding photos! When in doubt…go clear and white so that it blends in nicely.

These tiny little moments throughout the day will guarantee your guests will have a wonderful and enjoyable time with you.

CONSIDER YOUR BRIDAL PARTY

Your bride tribe is with you the entire day, come sunshine or rain they are running around making sure that you and your groom (or bride) have what you need. Here are ways to make sure they’re taken care of too:

Have breakfast and plenty of liquids available because you usually start very early on the day.
Keep a cooler of water and drinks on the ready so that no-one gets dehydrated.
Stay away from too much alcohol. Leave this for the party later! Alcohol will dehydrate you and you want to be your best until the party begins later on the evening.
Select clothing that will keep them cool and comfortable. Whether you allow them to choose this themselves, or you select it for them, make sure that they can breathe and that the material is not too constricting or heat retaining.
Provide heel stoppers for the bridesmaids and the mum’s to make it easier to navigate the grassy terrain should you have one.
Bridal hampers with wet wipes, heel stoppers, waters, tissues, comfy slippers, robes and cooling face spritz is a lovely way for each bridesmaid to have what they need close by.

FLORAL SELECTIONS

Once you have chosen your style and theme that you’d like to use throughout your wedding design, the work of selecting the appropriate florals to use begins. The ideal situation would be to use florals that are naturally in bloom or locally grown, as it makes it a more sustainable choice, supports the local community, is easier to get hold of, and (a biggie I’m sure), is better value for money than imported options that are available.

We are fortunate to have many local floral suppliers that provide information on what is available per season in your area and month of your wedding. It is vital to note that it can never be 100% accurate as floral harvests are affected by weather and no one has control over that!

However, here are a few things to consider when choosing florals for your summer wedding:

Speak to your stylist and florist (and I do recommend using a reputable florist) first before setting your heart on a flower you’ve seen on the internet or any social media site. You need to ensure that it is a floral that will be available for your wedding date and in your budget. Anyone scrolling the internet can land on many international inspirational sites and this can mislead a bride in their selections.
The long duration of weddings, paired with heat and humidity, means that durable wedding flowers should be a big consideration if you want to ensure that your floral design looks good the entire wedding celebration.
You don’t need to avoid delicate flowers altogether, but allow your florist to find the right way to use them.
Decide if you want to do an opulent and lush floral design throughout your wedding day, or do you want a more minimal approach to the design.
Take into account if your wedding setting is going to be in full sun or indoors. Many florals are very sensitive to harsh heat and direct sunlight, so your florist will advise you on what you can use to create items such as arches, plinths, meadows and especially your bridal bouquets (they go with you for hours as you take photographs and you need them to last as long as possible).
Indoor settings have their own issues to consider. Even air cons can affect your florals so have all the information from the venue on the areas you want to use and present them to your stylist or florist so they can make informed suggestions for you. Humidity will cause wilting quickly in some flowers while being not so bad for others!
Don’t assume doing greenery only is a budget friendly option. For example, the cost of keeping greens hydrated and looking lush in your design can, at times, work out more expensive than doing bud vases with a pretty selection of summer florals. Just placing greens directly on the tables or in arches without hydration will lead them to dry out extremely quickly and you will end up with limp and /or crispy dried greenery instead of lush looking greens.
Understand that there are costs involved in getting your floral design done for your wedding day. Selections, travel, cleaning cost, purchasing, storage, tools and equipment, labour and installation to name a few. This is a provided service that is billable just like any other service for your wedding day.