Give Your Wedding a Festival Feel!

Décor & Flowers, Planning & Advice

Electric Picnic is here (whoop) but for those of you that can’t afford to splash out on tickets because of a certain wedding budget, or those of you that are going but who will have withdrawal symptoms come Sunday night – there are lots of fun little ways to create a festival vibe at your wedding!

Wellies

It wouldn’t be a festival if you didn’t have your Hunters to hand (or Penney’s best). Wellies are up there on the list of priorities when it comes to tackling Stradbally and you’ll definitely want to have some hanging about for guests if you’re near a forest or using a potentially muddy field for your wedding bash. If you’re after something a little girlier for your big day, be sure to check out these wedding wellies from The Welly Shop designed specifically for brides who want to strut about in chic festival style.

Marquee Setting

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Image from Anna & Colly’s real wedding, Photography by Eden Photography

If you’ve your heart set on a festival style shindig, you’ll be zoning in on eclectic marquee wedding venues. There are two options when it comes to marquees – you can avail of one that’s already on-site in a hotel (hard work done for you) or you can hire a marquee if you like the idea of having your wedding party closer to home. If you have the space, a backyard wedding can a be really fun and personal way to party but if the parents’ are breaking out in a sweat at the thought of the clean up, don’t despair you can still have the cool festival style experience by availing of hotel venues with their own impressive tents – the likes of The Millhouse, Hotel Doolin, Kippure Estate and Ballybeg House all have amazing marquees on site. When it comes to decorating your space, think boho – florals galore (and don’t forget floral crowns for the hair), bunting, burlap and all things shabby chic – you could even have your own chill out area.

Marquee VenuesExclusive Venues | Alternative Venues | Hotels Castle Venues | Country Houses | City Venues

Entertainment

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Image by Hugh Forte

A cracking band and DJ is an absolute must. You could even include cute little DJ request cards for guests to fill in to really put an emphasis on fun tunes to dance the night away to (if you’re looking for some party songs to inspire you – check out 20 top party songs for weddings). And if you’re still trying to decide which is the right band for you? Be sure you check out our article on the top tips for choosing your wedding band! If you’re looking for ways to entertain guests as they lounge about on the lawn pre-dinner, things like giant Jenga, frisbee, croquet and beach ball and are just some of the games that will go down a treat. If you want to go all out like the Picnic with all manner of entertainment and stalls to keep guests busy, you can even think about hiring jugglers, magicians, cartoon artists and fireworks to up that party vibe – for more entertainment ideas be sure to have a read of our article 10 Top Entertainment Options here!

Wedding Signage

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Image via BigDaySigns

If you’re having a festival style bash for your wedding, you’ll need to think signage. If you’re after a truly personal touch, get yourself over to BigDaySigns. You can have your very own custom wedding signs made up for that extra special touch so guests know where the party is at – they also offer wedding number plates so you can arrive in style and flower girl and page boy signs for that cuteness factor. And don’t forget to add bunting to your décor list – no festival inspired shindig is complete without these cheery triangles (we have our eye on the ditsy floral version from the weddingsonline shop for WOL headquarters).

Bathroom Baskets

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Image via The Bridal District | Image by Drew & Megan Photography

Your last few pre-festival days are spent adding baby wipes, dry shampoo and the likes to your shopping basket and if you’re having an outdoor wedding with Portaloo’s, bathroom baskets might be very useful indeed. These little hampers full of practical goodies will be welcome by almost all the ladies – think of things like wipes, safety pins, mints, spare tights, mini deodorants, hairspray, dry shampoo, nail file, scissors, perfume, plasters, lip balm, stain removal wipes, moisturiser and bobby pins. All these little things can add up mind so pick and choose what you think are essentials.

Tasty Eats

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Image via The Chip Van

Pottering about with a hot dog or burger is part of the festival experience. So if you’re looking to set a nice laid back tone and have something tasty for guests to nibble on in the wee hours after a few tipples, have The Chip Van pull up just before midnight. Curry chips, quarter pounders, onion rings, cod and chips – what’s not to love. We also love the idea of a Mr Whippy Van pulling up post ceremony or dinner for 99’s. And if you’re looking for the perfect cake to top off your amazing day, this campervan cake from French Wedding Cakes is almost too cool to cut up – that’s not to say guests won’t be shy about polishing it off with a cuppa come midnight.

Photo Fun

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Image by Rima Brindamour | Image by Elizabeth Messina Photography

A photobooth (to find suppliers in your area click here) is a must for any festival style party so be sure to stock up on the props. The other option is to have disposable cameras on tables so your pals can snap all the antics as the day goes along – you could even have a few moustaches or sunnies on the tables to encourage some silly snaps. Another fun idea we came across is the slo-mo video booth (check out a great example here!) – you can actually hire your very own slow motion video booth from Vivid Eye Video to catch all the real time action from your guests rocking out to the lads giving the groom the bumps. And if you’re a fan of social media and fancy instagramming your wedding like Kimye and co, be sure to check out our article on Insta-Weddings here with all you need to know!

To shop our selection of Props from the weddingsonline shop click here

Glowsticks

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Image via Boho Weddings by Shannon May Photography

These little bands of fun brighten up the night and set the party wheels in motion. Tiger have quite the selection of glowstick goodies including rings, hairbands and earrings but if you’re just looking to light up the night with some glowstick bracelets, you’ll find them in the Euro Shops.

Main Image by Jamie Lauren Photography