There are myriad of wedding themes, locations and backdrops you can search for and suggest to your wedding photographer when planning a winter wedding or a fall / autumn wedding. It is important to remember that sunlight starts to become scarce from around mid fall / autumn and much scarcer still in the winter. It might be an idea to ask your wedding photographer how much shooting time is required for your wedding photography and schedule the wedding ceremony to allow enough time and light so that your photographer can fully utilise the fall or winter Wedding afternoon and possibly capture the brilliant bursts of soft light before sunset. Fall and winter afternoons produce some of the most dramatic and softest natural light of the year.
In some parts of the world fine fall or autumn weather can entail a combination of clear blue skies and warm yellow sunlight against deciduous trees which results in some of the beautiful and dramatic lighting effects without harsh shadows encountered during Summer wedding shoots. Although winter usually brings with it the harsher weather conditions such as cold temperatures, rain or snow making wedding photography difficult, some regions are fortunate enough to encounter clear blue skies once in a while. If you are fortunate enough to encounter clear conditions on your wedding day, the choice of a fall wedding or winter wedding theme can work in your favor. If planned well and successfully, a fall or winter Wedding theme will make for an exceptional wedding photo album.
A Few Ideas
When most brides picture images of fall, they picture golden leaves and warm light emphasizing the earthy brown and golden leafy tones. Winter wedding pictures are usually visualized as consisting of cloudy dark dramatic skies and wedding couples carrying black umbrellas in wet city streets. If your fall or winter wedding ceremony is close to the city, having pictures taken at the local gardens is almost a must. During fall, some city pavements and streets may have leaves scattered about which look great in wedding photographs, particularly if the photographer emphasizes these by shooting fairly low with a telephoto lens. Wedding pictures that utilize architecture shot next to trees that are shedding golden leaves makes for a great fall wedding photographs. Avenues of bare trees against dramatic winter skies also make for popular themes. During winter the light diminishes rapidly and a creative photographer will take advantage of the low lighting conditions by trying to capture city lights, neons against the cool blue winter cityscape whilst highlighting the bride and groom by bathing them in a warm soft light. City Arcades with small bustling shops also make great winter wedding picture locations.
If you are looking at a fall or winter wedding in a rural setting, a field with a cottage, barn or old fence, again bathed in warm fall afternoon light makes a great backdrop, particularly if it's set against a moody sky with patches of blue. Orchards and vineyards set against the sky make for great fall wedding themes. Shooting through bare branches to give a candid effect is also a well used technique.
Fall can be unpredictable in some regions and winter even more so; if this is your situation, remember to have a 'Plan B' option in case the weather turns nasty. Whether your wedding is in the city or in the country, you might want to base your fall or winter photo shoot near your reception venue and choose a reception venue that is suitable for indoor picture taking. Some rural reception venues are beautiful old converted barns, farmhouses, warehouses or mills that look good as backdrops. Likewise some city wedding reception venues consist of old landmark buildings, or warehouses situated on old wharves that make for a great setting. Another 'Plan B' strategy to avoid bad winter weather is to ask your wedding photographer to approach one of the city hotels and ask them if you can use the hotel lobby incase a storm whips up. Make sure that the building you choose is well illuminated and suitable for wedding pictures.
Fall Autumn Wedding Photo Albums
Your wedding photo album can complete your fall or winter wedding theme, even if the imagery used is subtle. You might opt to design simple artwork as part of your album design, reflecting your fall or winter theme. Alternatively, you can forego the artwork and design a wedding album page with simple color blocks which are complimentary to the earthy fall or winter colors in your wedding pictures to add visual interest. These are just simple design techniques your photographer can use to convey your wedding album theme. Another technique that will aid to personalise your fall / autumn or winter theme is to have tiny detail pictures of the designs that were present on the wedding day. Fall/autumn and winter weddings conjure up associations and images of branches or leaves such as Maple and colors like yellow, red, orange, burgundy, brown or gold and are are particular suited to elegant weddings where subtle earthy tone are used. Some couples take the combine these themes with other themes during the Halloween in October, Thanksgiving season during November (in the USA) or Christmas Season during December.
