6 Creative Ideas to Inspire Your Home Wedding

Our homes are where we get to spend most of our lives with our loved ones and while many people choose a grand venue to get married in, it can be a wonderfully rewarding experience to tie the knot at your humble abode. And what could be more intimate than getting married to your beloved partner at home?

But not only is a home wedding a great opportunity to make your big day extra special, it’s also a chance to get creative with decorating, preparing, and styling your house. The latest figures indicate that approximately 219,000 couples get married each year in England and Wales.

So,with a cost of living crisis seriously reducing our disposable income, a home wedding is a great alternative option that can help you save money. Here are our top tips to help inspire your home wedding.

Can you legally get married at home?

There is a limitation when it comes to a home wedding and that is the requirement for the civil ceremony to be held at a venue with the appropriate licence. Rules were relaxed during the pandemic and have been extended indefinitely to allow ceremonies to take place outdoors – however, this must be on the grounds of a venue that is an ‘approved premises’ for ceremonies.

Essentially this means if you want to have your wedding at home, you will need to factor in a trip to a registry office at some point to make your paperwork official. You can still exchange your vows at your home with your ceremony conducted by a celebrant but to have it sealed as an official marriage it must take place elsewhere.

1. Plan for the rain

In the UK we know that any time you plan an outdoor event you are guaranteed to get rain. Of course, this isn’t always true but it’s not uncommon for us to have rainy days at least 40% of the year, so making alternative plans for your wedding is a smart play.

But just because the weather is drab doesn’t mean your wedding has to be and you can use this as an opportunity to bring as much colour and flair to your garden as possible. A marquee is essential for a British outdoor wedding and you can dress yours with flowers, lighting and textiles for the ultimate wedding vibe.

For a more personal touch, fill your marquee with photos of you as a couple and memories with your family and friends. Most importantly, stick to your style and what feels authentic to you and your home setting.

2. Declutter and flood your home with light

The chances are that your home wedding is going to take place in the summer months for the best chance of a sunny wedding. There are a few summer styling upgrades you can make to your home and garden to improve the aesthetics of the day. Create space and comfortable areas for you and your guests to really relax and enjoy the day. 

For example, rather than having your guests brush past your coats and winter boots in your hallway, replace them with summer shoes and straw hats to improve the summer feeling as they enter the property to use the facilities or grab some water. Celebratory bunting can link both the indoors and outside entertaining areas, and even little elements like homemade signposts can give your home that venue feel, and guide everyone to be in the right spot at the right time. 

[Image source: Ben Rosett on Unsplash]

For al fresco styling, make sure to install and fill up your flower pots, baskets and beds to ramp up the summer vibe while also creating vibrant and colourful wedding photo moments.  A canopy allows for guests to shelter from the sun while textiles like cushions and tablecloths help make the ceremony more comfortable. Blankets are another essential consideration for keeping your guests warm as the sun goes down.

3. Have fun with your table plan

The beauty of having a wedding at home is being able to invite as many people as you wish, as long as you have the space to accommodate them all! You could fully embrace hosting a wedding at home and playfully pin your seating plan to your washing line using pegs, or post the plan onto your fridge using magnets for a fun alternative.

But, just because you are hosting your wedding at home doesn’t mean you need to compromise on the classic wedding aesthetic. With little more than an empty picture frame, some flowers and a printer you can elevate your seating plan to one befitting that of a wedding hosted in a country manor.

4. Use seasonal blooms for arrangements

Exotic flowers are a feast for the eyes but it can be incredibly energy intensive to bring them from bulb to bouquet. However, a more sustainable approach that can be just as visually impactful on your wedding day is to create flower arrangements using local and seasonal blooms.

Not only will this help to lower the carbon footprint of your wedding but it also helps to keep your ceremony local. It is also a different approach to flower arranging than many others take and allows you to showcase why where you live is beautiful and worthy of hosting your big celebration.

Seasonal blooms in the UK include:

Roses, lavender and sunflowers in the summer

Dahlias, marigolds and pansies in autumn

Mistletoe, holly and hellebores in winter

Bluebells, tulips and cherry blossoms in spring

[Image Source:  Mahdi Nazmul on Unsplash ]

5. Garden games

As you will have to visit a registry office to have your wedding vows officially recognised, it’s a good idea to provide your guests with some entertainment as they wait. Rather than hiring an expensive form of entertainment, consider creating your own.

For example, garden-friendly versions of games like ball in a bucket, ring toss, boules, noughts and crosses or even rounders can be bought for relatively little money but offer hours of entertainment for your guests.

6. Use spaces with special meaning

The most obvious place to host your home wedding ceremony is in the garden but as this is a more intimate affair then it’s also important to consider places of significance throughout the property.

For instance, if you spend a lot of time cooking together in the kitchen then it’s an important place in your home and should feature in your wedding ceremony on some level.

Whether that’s posing for photographs in your wedding outfits while pretending to cook or where you cut your wedding cake, finding ways to make your home part of the big day is important for a DIY ceremony.

A home wedding for the personal touch

Your wedding is a chance to celebrate the love you and your partner have for each other with your friends and family. Enjoying a ceremony and reception at home just increases the connection your loved ones will feel to your special day while allowing you to creatively decorate and style your home just the way you want it.