From 99s to lawn games, beer ‘barrows to glow sticks, it’s easy to create a laid-back vibe for your Big Day with one of these awesome summer wedding trends!
1. Fun Post-Ceremony / Evening Food
The number one way to guarantee happy guests and a very cool, laid back vibe for your summer wedding is by serving amazing food throughout the day. There are loads of great street-food-style vans that can be set up to spoil guests with fantastic fare such as mouth-watering pizza (Wedding Wood-fired Pizza from Dough Kitchen in Wicklow) or of course much needed after-hours burgers and chips (The Chip Van is your man) or gourmet sliders from the vintage American airstream trailer, The Airstream. For something different check out the cult classic Lala Poutine, dishing out the delicious Canadian mash up of chips, gravy and a very inviting cheese. Or if you fancy a fab laid back buffet for the wedding itself, PigOut.ie does delcious BBQs, Pig Roasts, Lamb Roasts and Rotisserie Chicken and sides while Adare Farm also specialise in tasty hog roasts and BBQ treats!
How to Master a Foodie Wedding Part 1 & 2
Photos: 1. Photo by Cami | 2. Bre Thurston | 3. Lala Poutine in Dublin | 4. The Chip Van
2. Create a Festival Feel
You may not be going full-on Glamping for your Big Day, but you can always create a festival feel with decor and dress! Pop on some wellies with your maids and get some fun photos for the album or get into the hippie vibe and don a fresh floral crown for the drinks reception. Hire a VW Van (like recent real bride Julie did!) to bring you to the ceremony or name your tables with ticket stubs from summer gigs. For a real centrepiece, check out the awesome 70s vintage caravan from Vintage Vanp which can be hired as a bar to serve your very trendy personalised cocktails from during the drinks reception!
Photos: 1. Image via Boho Weddings by Shannon May Photography | 2. Vintage Vanp | 3. Photo by Jamie Lauren Photography | 4. Photo via by Konrad Kubic Photography | 5. Photo via by Brosnan Photographic | 6. The Parlour Press Wedding Stationery
3. Serving Beer in a ‘Barrow
…or indeed in any other unusual beer-bottle-friendly artifact you can get your hands on.
Photos: 1. Photo via by Moat Hill Photography | 2. Photo by Dominique Bader Photography | 3. Photo via sweetlittlephotographs.com | 4. Photo via | 5. Photo via by Eden Photography
4. Outdoor Photo Booth
Photo booths have been around for the last few years for weddings, but summer celebrations provide some of the best backdrops for great images. There are loads of great photo booth backdrops out there to inspire your own, suffice to say you need some great props to get guests in the mood!
Photos: 1. Photo via | 2. Photo via | 3. Photo via | 4. Photo via | 5. Photo via OhHappyDay.com
5. ICE CREAM VANS!
A summer trend we’ll never tire of no matter what the occasion is the sweet, nostalgia-twinged tinkle of the ice cream van chimes – surely the sound of summer. Guests are sure to be all sorts of excited when they emerge after the ceremony to the sight of a friendly face serving delicious 99s for them to munch on before strolling to the drinks reception.
Photos: 1. Photo via | 2. Photo via | 3. Photo via | 4. Smith’s Ice Cream Vans, Ireland
6. Lawn Games
Lawn games are a great way to get guests mingling and have some guaranteed laughs during the wedding. Giant Jenga, Connect 4 and Ping Pong are always a hit and will keep guests busy while the couple is off for photos. If it’s too much on the day itself, organise a game of rounders or some Sports Day style races for the day after.
Photos: 1. Photo via | 2. Photo via | 3. Photo via | 4. Photo via | 5. Image by Hugh Forte
7. BALLOONS!
No matter what style of wedding you’re having this summer, balloons must feature in some way, shape or form. Gorgeous giant balloons are great for photos, and there are some brilliant DIY projects out there for balloon invites and centrepieces. Letter balloons look amazing as a photo booth or dessert table backdrop, and kids (and probably some adults) will love having some punch balloons to play with in the evening.
Photos: 1. Photo by J Wiley Photography | 2. & 3. Project by Studio DIY | 4. Photo by Britta Marie Photography | 5. Photo by Connie Lyu | 6. Photo via A Practical Wedding
8. Tropical Theme
The biggest trend for summer weddings by far is a tropical theme. We’re pretty crazy for this bright and colourful colour palette, which lends itself to some gorgeous ideas for summer decor. Think gorgeous garlands, fresh flower arches, vivid coral accessories and mouth-watering exotic fruit canapes for the drinks reception and the rest will style itself!
Photos: 1. & 2. Photo via Wedding Chicks | 3. & 4. Photo via Intimate Weddings
