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A Lighted Affair - Inspiration for a Nighttime Ceremony

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A Lighted Affair – Inspiration for a Nighttime Ceremony
Jacqui

Thanks for coming to read about my ceremony, and hopefully gain some inspiration for your own!

First a little background

A couple of years ago, a Facebook friend of mine got married. She had her wedding at a beautiful venue here in Nashville and a real-life friend of mine attended it. I was goo-goo-gaw-gawing over how pretty that venue was at night and how unique I thought it was to have the ceremony while it was dark outside when she informed me that it was all an accident – the girls were not done getting ready for the sunset ceremony she had planned!!! I decided, however, that I wanted to do my ceremony at night on PURPOSE!

There is something so romantic and flattering about light other than sunlight.

As usual, I turned to Pinterest to gain some inspiration. Surprisingly, there was not much to go off of. I did find this amazing picture of a couple standing underneath a large oak tree with lights, lights, and more lights dangling in the tree (not strung like Christmas). I knew that is what I wanted to go for.

tree with lights!
Something like this, but on a smaller scale – good find Huffington Post

My next step: Find a tree!

Each venue we found within budget that appeared to have potential for a large oak tree was surveyed. We found several that we liked, but ended up choosing the venue with better location and owners, but a less fabulous tree. (It’s still fabulous enough, don’t worry!). So I had my venue, complete with tree, and now I needed lights!

So, for the last eight months, I have been stopping in any and every Hobby Lobby I am near to use my 40% off one-item coupon to purchase a box of globe lights. They are 20 feet long each and run me about 7 dollars a box. I figure, I am going to need about 15-20 boxes (15×7=105+) and, my wonderful venue owners saved the day with a $75 quiet generator rental [this will make sense later].

At one point, however, my Matron of Honor (who was only doing her job!) convinced me I had taken on “WAY TOO MUCH” and made me realistically think that I may not be able to pull this off. I contacted several local lighting companies. I was not sure how much something like this would cost, but if it wasn’t too budget busting, it may be worth it. Well, they wanted to rent just the “quiet” generator for 250 bucks and their “small chandelier” would run me upwards of one Benjamin. Yeah right, I’m out on that. When I was discussing my grief with the owners of my venue, they invited me over to do a “test run” with a couple boxes of lights, just to make sure I could pull it off the day before! I’m telling you, Farrar Hill Farms is the BEST – Hands Down.

So – what else is going to be so special about this nighttime ceremony?

Picture this: guests will walk along a candle lit pathway carved through a field with tall grass on both sides to get to my ceremony site. Upon arrival, they will be escorted with a flashlight to their seat, like the old time movie theaters. My friends husband, who just so happens to be a pianist, will greet guests with his musical stylings and play throughout the ceremony. When it is time for the bridal party to walk down the aisle, they will carry small lanterns with candles, in place of bouquets (but remember they are wearing those gorgeous floral bridesmaid gowns!). The backdrop will be well lit by strings of all lengths dangling from a tree, accompanied by a gorgeous DIY chandelier (posting soon!) hanging in the middle, marking the spot for myself and my groom to stand!

Can you see it??

Quickly, I do want to visit the other bonuses, besides the beauty, of having a ceremony like this. First, the costs you will cut on the bouquets alone is incredible, not to mention flowers for other decorative purposes typically seen in wedding ceremonies! Plus, the girls can keep their lanterns for a little memento! Lights are also able to be sold afterwards, or even given to family and friends for use on back decks and porches. Lastly-think about how gorgeous these photos are going to be (Don’t worry, we will still get the daylight pictures during the “first look”).

I would LOVE to hear about your ceremony style..what is something unique you want to do?


Jacqui

lives in the great and wonderful city of Nashville, Tennessee. She got married in 2015 - read her wedding planning posts here.