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Hygge winter weddings on a DIY budget

Winter Wedding

What is HYGGE?!

Well, I hear you say, I know what a winter wedding is, and I understand the concept of DIY and working within a budget, but what the Mads Mikkelsen is Hygge?   Well first let’s learn how to say it, Hygge is pronounced Hoo-ga and is a Danish word for which there is no direct translation.  It is the feeling of comfort, contentment and cosiness that you might feel when curling up with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate.

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It is experiencing a warm fuzzy feeling when enjoying the simple things and as Denmark is supposedly the happiest place in the world, we could learn from them about how to bring this feeling into planning a wedding.  Weddings don’t have to be hideously stressful and expensive; you can attain great Hygge by creating a simple, beautiful wedding that brings joy to you and your guests.

Getting started with Hygge

The first thing to do is plan ahead, if you are creating the decorations, you are going to want at least a year to gather all the necessary bits and pieces without breaking the bank. Here are some ideas that you might want to try, or us them for inspiration. 

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DIY winter ceremony decorations

Pinecones, you can do amazing things with pinecones they are incredibly versatile.

Use them to make unusual place settings put them in glass bowls with battery operated lights to make enchanting table displays or hung as decorations particularly seasonal when combined with fir tree cuttings or use to make seasonal buttonholes.

Speak to your local council or park to find out if you can collect tree offcuts.  freestanding branches can be sprayed white and decorated with lights and snowflakes or baubles and really adds height to your table displays.

Something the children will enjoy are marshmallow snow garlands 

Ask friends and family if you can borrow their Christmas trees to create a magical forest in the entrance area to your venue.

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Winter wedding favours

Consider homemade small treats as wedding favours such as jam, preserves, honey, keep it simple or personalised envelopes of your favourite flower mix

Atmospheric lighting suggestions for your ceremony

Candles always make everything look better, display them in a variety of empty clean jars which make wonderful candle holders from pesto pots to mayonnaise.  Ask your friends to pass you their empty jars, you can decorate them with twine or get really arty and paint them but do make sure the paint is fit for purpose.  Spray paint wine bottles to make candle holders.  Great fun collecting the bottles!

Snowflake projectors are now quite affordable and can add some wintery magic to the dance floor

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Using nature in your winter wedding 

Nature can provide a wonderful backdrop to your winter wedding.  Decorate with your venue with hanging mistletoe and a touches of fir or evergreen on your tables.

Bring out the child in your, paper cut snowflakes on ribbon are so pretty, or go full on Kirstie Alsop to create impressive paper stars 

The colours for winter weddings should be rich so look for  warm tones of berry red, burgundy, black and gold or deep forest green. Add extra wintry romance with lots of natural greenery, or even a hint of tartan.

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Creating the Hygge effect with cosy stations

If you are going for the Hygge effect make sure that your guests feel cherished, keep them warm and relaxed.  If your venue has an open fire, make sure it will be in use on the day.  Think about your guests who may want to step outside, leave rolls of folded blankets at their disposal to use and or baskets of umbrellas!

Top tips for food at your winter ceremony

Set up one or more of these and your guests will be in seventh heaven

  • Mulled wine and mince pies
  • Child friendly hot chocolate, marshmallows, cream, sprinkles and little gingerbread people
  • Adult friends as above but with addition of flavoured cream liqueur or spirit of choice
  • Tea and coffee stand with mismatched china (trawl charity shops for these – great fun)
  • Doughnut station (make one from scratch and decorate with your favourite ring doughnuts)
  • Sweet station – think Woolworth pick’n’mix

Catered food should be simply prepared, warming and delicious, think nut roast or roast beef, salmon…. hearty, healthy, wholesome.

 6 william moreland jyR5uInXhzo unsplash doughnut wall

What to wear at a Hygge themed wedding

Vintage matches the hygge theme perfectly, but think about layering little faux fur boleros or sumptuous cloaks, if you are outside for any part of your wedding ditch the stilettos and pimp up your pumps or keep some additional shoe options on standby,

Keep your look natural and relaxed vintage lace and holly crowns. Lost in Paris create beautiful wedding dresses made from recycled European lace sourced from markets in Paris.  Each dress has it’s own story and you get to add your own unique story to its history.  

Closer to home you can discover the joys of owning a vintage wedding dress 

Music at a winter wedding ceremony

Complete the Hygge experience by really enjoying the party, so why not start off the dancing with a ceilidh or barn dance.  Both have callers and encourage the crowd up on their feet and really warm things up.

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Above all have fun, take joy in the atmosphere you have created and notice the smiles on the faces of the people around you and feel the warm, fuzzy glow that comes from your DIY, Hygge wedding.

Skål!

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