Plans for a winter wedding should include steps to protect your guests. I’ve got the winter wedding ideas you need!
Seasonal influenza and the common cold are on the horizon. Stay calm! You can make your wedding day the fabulous celebration you dreamed about and promote health and safety.
Here are a few ways to reduce germs and create a safe party for your guests:
10 ideas to protect winter wedding guests
1. Give winter wedding favors with health benefits
Custom wedding hand sanitizer is a thoughtful gift your guests will appreciate. It is easy to customize online with your names and unique designs in colors that match your theme.
I recommend placing baskets of hand sanitizer by the entranceway for the convenience of your guests. It’s also a good idea to put a few of these popular wedding favors near the gift table, at the bar and in restrooms.
2. Tie the knot and celebrate at the same venue
Snowy or slick roadways could create a hazard for some guests, especially those attending from out of town. Using the same venue, if possible, for your wedding service and celebration is safer and less complicated for everyone.
Ask the owner of the building or your wedding planner to create a separate area to exchange vows. Often a few minor adjustments in decorations can temporarily transform an adjacent space. Tip: Ensure your wedding theme and colors are consistent in both areas.
3. Keep your I Do Crew toasty
Guys typically wear tuxes that offer warmth in chilly weather, but bridesmaid dresses are another story. If your bride tribe will be showing some skin, it might be wise to add shawls, capes or shoulder wraps to their winter wedding attire. Think custom wedding blankets for gifts!
Just because the groom and his squad have warmer clothing, doesn’t mean they wouldn’t appreciate some comfort. A sweater vest or casual wool jacket may be a great alternative to that stuffy suit after dinner.
4. Add lip balm and soothing lotion to gift bags
Help heal cracked lips and dry hands of guests who are coming from further away. They will appreciate the gesture! Use customized wedding lip balm and personalized gift bags to highlight the colors and theme of your special day.
Other great items to place in those welcome bags include a map of the local area, a sample bottle from a local winery, custom snacks and an itinerary of the wedding day. (One of my favorite gift bag stuffers is scratch-off lottery tickets!)
5. Don’t keep guests waiting outside
Avoid a bottleneck at the entranceway by placing your guest book and gift table further inside. If you’re planning a receiving line to welcome family and friends at the door, be sure it moves quickly so no one is left outside shivering.
6. Clear the way on your wedding day
A winter wedding in some parts of the country, such as our Buckeye State, can include snow and ice! Be sure the parking lot and sidewalks your guests will encounter are clear and dry.
Contact the owner or manager of your venue several months before your wedding day to confirm such a plan.
7. Do a temperature check
Find out how to control the temperature at your wedding event space. Will you have access to the thermostat? Is there someone who can adjust it for you?
You certainly don’t want guests chilled to the bone or working up a nasty sweat on the dance floor. Hint: Keep elderly guests seated away from doorways and other drafty areas.
8. Warm their bellies, too!
Cozy winter treats can have a calming effect that helps keep everyone healthy! Studies show that people with less stress are better able to battle the common cold and other illnesses.
Create a hot cocoa bar or coffee bar (or both!) with customized mugs guests can take home as favors. Another idea is to serve frosted wedding cups pre-filled with warm apple cobbler or iced gingerbread cake. Mmm!
For those who don’t mind the chill, try an ice cream sundae bar for fun!
9. Have a communication plan
Sadly, a snowstorm or other catastrophe could prompt you to delay wedding plans. That would be devastating. But it would be much worse if uninformed guests took risks to attend the postponed event.
Use multiple communication modes such as your wedding website, a group text, social media or a phone chain to let guests know the status of your big day.
10. Hire a cleaning crew
Spread joy not germs by hiring people to clean surfaces and floors during your celebration. Have your cleaning crew inconspicuously wipe down coffee and wedding dessert bars, properly dispose of trash and sweep floors as needed.
Other personalized winter wedding items
Totally Wedding Koozies offers other winter wedding favors and party essentials to make your day truly unique! Browse these beautiful items for a magical winter wedding:
16 oz. wedding stadium cups
Customized wedding cups might be the most economical expense in your budget. They serve a duo role: a party supply and a wedding favor! Your guests can use these popular 16 oz. stadium cups during the reception and take them home when the party is over.
You’ll also have no cups to wash or to dispose of later. It’s truly a win-win! We offer more than two dozen product colors and imprint colors and every type of design you can think of to customize your cups. We can even use your unique artwork!
Stadium cup material: High-density polypropylene
Most popular winter wedding colors: Navy, placid blue
Printed wedding napkins
It’s the small things that often make your wedding décor a hit no matter what the season. Personalized wedding napkins will compliment your dinner setting and serve as a functional accent at the bar and wedding cake table.
Napkins are a necessity at every wedding but can be instrumental in softening deeper hues that are commonly used in the winter.
Napkin materials: 3-ply tissue
Most popular winter wedding colors: White napkins with silver, gold or bronze foil imprints
Wedding can coolers
Give your guests a gift they can use year-round to keep beverages cold! Can coolers and koozies® are especially appreciated at winter weddings to keep hands warm and drinks from dripping on those fancy clothes.
No worries about matching your wedding theme; select from more than 50 product colors in select styles! And with hundreds of imprint designs to choose, it’s easy to find the perfect customized artwork for your can coolers, bottle coolers, slim can coolers or any style that fits your needs!
Can coolers material: Polyurethane foam, Elite neoprene, PVC foam and vinyl with foam backing
Most popular winter wedding colors: Sandstone, placid blue, steel blue, maroon
Wedding sunglasses
Personalized wedding sunglasses can block the glare from sparkling, white snow and make everyone look cool! Get in on one of the hottest wedding crazes with sunglasses for all!
You’ll love the photos of your wedding party sporting one of our unique styles. Guests can wear these in your wedding photo booth and take a pair home as a cherished memento of the fun they had sharing your day.
Sunglasses material: Polycarbonate and polypropylene
Most popular winter wedding colors: Navy blue, silver
Are you planning a winter wedding? What extra steps will you take to ensure the safety and good health of your guests?
Share your tips and great ideas in the comments section. We’d love to hear from you!
