Summer Weddings: 72 Ideas You’ll Want To Steal

A brilliant place to start when it comes to making your wedding really reflect the season is by choosing the right venue. In summer there will be a lot more daylight that could last until around 9pm in the months of June and July, so it makes sense to choose a venue that lets all this gorgeous natural light in. Somewhere with lots of glass like an orangery could be a fabulous option, or perhaps somewhere that’s known for its fabulous gardens. Some of our favourite summery venues are Woodhall Manor, Trevenna, Manor By The Lake, Kew Gardens, Syon Park, Euridge House and Orangery, and Sezincote.

“Look for a venue that gives you the option of an outdoor ceremony and drinks reception, but also has space indoors that will work if the weather isn’t great,” says Andri. “Barn venues often work well for this reason, as they may have multiple spaces. And they’re not always a rustic wood beam vibe, there are some cool industrial style barns for hire too, with covered but open-sided courtyards that make great outdoor dance areas. Country houses with beautiful gardens are also a natural outdoor wedding choice where you can bring in additional structures like greenhouse marquees or stretch tents to give you cover.”

At a summer wedding, you have more options when it comes to your ceremony. You could have it inside your venue, or with the warmer weather you might want to consider a space outside your venue, especially since the permanent legalisation of outdoor weddings in England and Wales in March 2022. Don’t get over excited and imagine the perfect summer day without a cloud in the sky and balmy temperatures though. While it could be like that, this is the UK, so it’s important to have a Plan B. “Always have a wet weather back up, just in case you need to move it inside,” says Andri. “And think about the timings of the day, you don’t want a midday wedding as it will be uncomfortable for guests to sit in the full midday sun and won’t look good in photos if guests are squinting. An afternoon wedding will be better.”

If you do decide to have elements of your summer wedding day outside, then remember to consider your guests needs. Whether it rains or shines they will feel the effect of the weather. “Hire some plain white umbrellas,” suggests Andri. “They can serve a double purpose of protection against showers (just in case) and create shade.” A basket full of pretty umbrellas or parasols will look lovely with your wedding decor too.

For some couples planning a wedding around a specific theme helps them to keep focused on the look they’re trying to achieve. Think summer and themes like fairgrounds, village fetes, seaside, country garden party, festival and even a favourite summer sport like Wimbledon, Ascot and Henley Regatta spring to mind! Another idea is to loosely base your wedding theme around a favourite summery programme. “Thanks to Bridgerton we’re seeing a lot more use of pastels and hand painted floral motifs on stationery, cakes and dresses,” says Andri.

If you’re known for your love of music, it can be a fun idea to turn your wedding into your own mini festival. A wedfest theme can work really well at a summer wedding. Some easy ideas to get started include street food served from trucks, a stage with various different musical acts throughout the day, a tipi venue, hay bales for seating, lots of bunting, personalised wristbands for your guests, ticket-style invitations, chill out areas, glitter and tattoo stations and rustic wooden signs.

Summer is a time for light and bright colours reflecting the colours of the flowers that are in bloom as well as the (hopefully) bright blue skies and shining yellow sunshine. If you want your wedding to really complement the season, then steer clear or heavy, dark colours and look to nature to guide your colour palette with bright pinks, purple, yellow, green, orange or more subdued pastel tones.

In summer as it’s likely to be warm weather, you could rethink the way you arrive at the venue. Perhaps you could make your entrance on a decorated tuk tuk, on bicycles, by horse and carriage, open top car, moped or VW camper van?

In summer you can go to town with flowers and foliage because they’re so naturally abundant. Whether you’re getting married inside or outside, a living aisle can look amazing and is one of our favourite summer wedding ideas. Ask you florist to fill planters with seasonal blooms and then use these to line either side of the wedding aisle. To make it affordable, let these flowers do double duty and repurpose them at your wedding reception.

If your budget doesn’t stretch to a living aisle, consider a petal aisle instead. Petals are a lot cheaper than floral arrangements and looks incredibly romantic, especially as you walk down the aisle and waft them gently with your train or veil.

Weather looking like it will be hot on your big day? It can be a lovely touch to provide pretty fans for guests to help them keep cool.

If your venue has the space and ability, it can be a magical idea to host your wedding breakfast outside. Wait to eat until the sun is setting as then guests won’t bake in the direct sun, and at twilight you can have lots of romantic strings of lights over the tables, which will make the setting look like something out of a fairytale.

If a lot of your wedding is taking place outdoors then you will need to think carefully about different zones and providing shade for your guests. “Draping is coming back in a big way,” says Andri. “It’s a great way to divide large spaces, create shade and add interest to a space.”

An easy way to create separate zones at an outdoor wedding and reception is by setting up outdoor seating areas using furniture that would usually be indoors.

“Street food trucks work really well as a fun alternative to a sit-down meal, especially with an outdoor venue,” says Andri. “Depending on numbers of guests I’d go for at least two trucks and have some tray-served options such as canapés or bowl food too, so there’s not too much of a rush to queue for food at the trucks.”

On a hot day you need to keep your guests hydrated, but bottles of water or plain of jugs of tap water aren’t exactly inspiring or pretty wedding day drinks. “Have a water station with different flavoured waters for when guests arrive,” says Andri.

This one goes without saying really, but your choice of dress is important if you’re getting married at the height of summer. Looking for inspiration for the best summer wedding dresses… read our guide and discover 32 of our favourite summer bridal looks here.

Ask your florist to provide some fresh flowers that match your bouquet for your hairdresser to weave through your hair. A flower crown can look fabulous at this time of year too.

Grooms might want to consider something a little more casual or lighter when it comes to their wedding suit. Linen is a good fabric for summer suits or why not wear chinos and a blazer instead of a full three suit suit or tails? Light blues, pink, beiges and soft greys all look wonderfully stylish at this time of year.

As well as a wet weather plan that involves some indoor space for your wedding ceremony and reception, think about your outfits if it happens to rain on your wedding day. If you have to walk across grass at any point remember it might not be dry so you and your bridesmaids might want to have some wellies to get you from A to B. A range of colourful wellies can look really fun in your bridal party photos.

Seasonal fruit as a table runner or in your flower arrangements can look incredible and adds a real summer vibe to your big day.

Give your wedding a holiday vibe by going all out tropical with your wedding decor. Monstera and palm leaves are huge and are really cheap and effective for giving your wedding an instant tropical look. Pineapple motifs (or the real things), bird of paradise flowers and a vibrant pink and orange colour palette will complete the theme.

While summer has a lot of positives for weddings, there are a few downsides… insects, sunburn and overheating being the main ones. One of the best summer wedding ideas to ensure your guests aren’t inconvenienced by any of these is to provide a relief station with bug spray, sun cream, parasols, hankies and even blotting paper for anyone concerned their make-up might run.

Lots of guests like to wear hats in summer to keep the sun off their faces. When it’s time to come inside the venue though they’ll need somewhere to put their hat, and we love the idea of a cool and creative hat wall that’ll look so much chicer than just random hats dotted around the place.

If you cater for your guests’ every last need on your wedding day they’ll be very happy wedding guests indeed. A surefire way to ensure they’re comfortable and content is to provide a pretty basket full of essentials in the toilets such as deodorant, tissues, perfume, hairspray, hair bands and pins, safety pins, wipes and plasters.

Everyone loves to go to the beach in the summer, so why not transport all your guests to a beautiful beach and host your wedding there? You could say your “I dos” with your toes in the sand and then all your guests could enjoy a little paddle during the drinks reception. And just imagine how stunning your photos will be with the sparkling sea as the backdrop.

Some flowers are edible so you can use them as decor in and on your summer wedding food. Some of the prettiest ways to use them are in ice cubes in your drinks and cocktails, on top of canapés and on your summer wedding cake.

Real flowers can also be used to elegant effect in your wedding stationery. You could press your favourite summer flowers the year before your wedding and then use them on your DIY invitations or ask a wedding stationer like Gable & Grain to create the look for you.

On a hot day heels and smart shoes can get very uncomfortable. To ensure your guests fill the dance floor when the music starts it can be an excellent idea to provide a basket of flip flops so they can dance the night away. You can even get personalised flip flops to match your wedding theme.

Before you use comfy chairs and sofas to create chill out areas at your reception they could also work well for the ceremony. “Use a mixture of sofas, armchairs and chairs for your wedding ceremony,” suggests Andri. “It instantly creates a more relaxed vibe and looks great in photos.” As well as thinking outside the box with some fun seating try setting up the ceremony in a different shape to the norm. Hay bales or chairs set in a semi circle looks amazing and means all guests get a great view of the ceremony.

At beach weddings it can look incredible if you (or an artist perhaps!) decorate the sand with your initials or a motif from your day.

Want to keep your guests cool? Serve alcoholic ice lollies during cocktail hour alongside more classic cocktails.

Worried your guests will get bored while you’re having your pictures taken? Hire some fabulous fairground entertainment like rides, a magician and games such as a coconut shy and they won’t even realise you’re not there!

At a summer wedding you can be really creative with your bar. Think about a themed bar or hire something cool like a vintage airstream bar, a horse box bar or a vintage dresser.

Having a destination wedding or got a UK venue with a pool? Then make the most of it with a fun Ibiza-style pool party the night before or even as part of your actual wedding day. Just make sure to tell guests to bring their swimwear along!

If you don’t like the idea of a traditional sit down wedding meal, you could do something really relaxed instead like a wedding picnic at a summer wedding. Provide pretty rugs and a basket of gourmet goodies for each “table” and sit back and enjoy a seriously special al fresco meal.

Has your venue got a sweeping staircase? Ask your florist to decorate the bannister with fresh flowers for an entrance that looks like something out of a Disney film.

If it’s warm weather why don’t you take your first dance outdoors? Lay some pretty rugs on the floor, mark out a floor with festoon lighting and dance with your new husband or wife under the stars. Magical!

Instead of dessert (or maybe even as well as!) why not hire an ice cream van or cart to serve guests throughout the day?

Appeal to your guests’ inner child with a retro pick and mix station decorated in summery style.

Instead of a traditional book think of something unique that fits your theme, like individual postcards with your wedding destination on it, jenga blocks, a polaroid photo book, signed champagne corks, a surfboard, oars, a typewriter, a map, a sports bat… the options are endless.

A cheap and effective way to bring nature into your wedding is by using pretty succulents. You could even tell guests to help themselves to one at the end of the day as a wedding favour.

One of our favourite summer wedding ideas is this magical illusion roof created using fairy lights at an al fresco wedding breakfast.

Looking for more ideas for colourful summer wedding décor? An easy way to add pops of colour to your tables is by hiring colourful glassware.

At the end of the evening continue to enjoy the warm weather by asking your guests to light a sparkler each and create an arch for you and your new spouse to walk through together.

At a summer wedding you’ll probably use every inch of your venue so it’s important to have excellent signage. Bright neon signs can looks absolutely amazing as both decor and to point guests to the various places they need to go.

As summer wedding ideas go, this is one of our favourites… set up a romantic camp fire area with hay bales and a s’mores station and invite guests to sit under the stars to chat and toast marshmallows together.