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Out top 11 Alternative Wedding Ideas

Have a look at our top eleven alternative wedding ideas for the bride that likes to do things a little differently-

1. Country Garden High Tea
Have a Shabby Chic High Tea around 16:00 in the afternoon – this means the wedding ceremony should start around 14:30. A high tea is a classy combination between tea and supper. Think country garden, silver crockery, cake stands, cotton napkins, petit fours, scones and cream, finger snacks and sandwiches. Quite an elegant affair and perfect for

Photo Courtesty of Project Wedding

2. Botswana Wedding
This is for the outdoor, adventurous couple. Think bushveld, hurricane lamps, sundowners under African skies, private plunge pools and luxury personified…pure indulgence! With a small wedding party you can easily pull this off. Set up your ceremony under the trees or in the middle of a dry river bed and guests arriving at the main lodge would then be transferred in game vehicles to the destination. The bushveld makes for dramatic wedding photographs so take your time with the photographer and organise for guests to be taken to a secluded viewing point for champagne and snacks.

Photo courtesy of: Aleit

3. Hot Air Balloon Ride
For those not afraid of heights, consider getting married in a hot air balloon. Say your “I do’s” high in the sky and then make your way back down to terra firma for a spectacular champagne breakfast wedding with family and friends.

Photo courtesy of: Aamodt’s Balloons

4. Camping Weekend and Wedding
Get your friends and close family members to prepare for a weekend away camping without telling them about your plans to tie the knot – as a clue you can mention something like a weekend of fun, love and celebration – this should get them all guessing for what’s in store. Let a few key people in on the plan so that they can help with the wedding arrangements (would be a good idea to prepare the parents of both families for this event – you don’t want to end up with disgruntled family members while you’re supposed to be celebrating – it’s a respect thing). Prepare a beautiful dinner and have a marriage officer meet you wherever you are staying, and let him announce in front of everyone that he has come to marry Janine and Barry for example. This would be spontaneous and relaxed yet very special. You can get your friends to take photos so that you still have beautiful memories of your wedding. This should turn out to be a weekend of laughter and yes.. tears!

Photo courtesy of: Once Wed and Nancy Neil

5. Laid Back Picnic
This is perfect for a medium-sized wedding – besides the fact that there is not much fuss or too much planning involved in a picnic wedding, the scenery will make for absolutely beautiful photos. You can either get a wedding planner to glue all the details together or you can do it yourself. Research which venues in your area cater for picnic celebrations – they usually supply delicious picnic baskets for adults as well as healthy, interesting ones for children. You can always add an extra toy or colouring book and crayons to the kiddies basket to keep them busy while the adults kick off their shoes and play ring a ring o’rosies or simply sip on some bubbly and take in the view!

Photo courtesy of: Ruffled Blog and Ben Blood Photography

6. Roaring Forties Floating Restaurant
For something completely different, celebrate this special day aboard the beautiful Museum Ship, CS Cable Restorer, which houses the unique Roaring Forties Floating Functions Restaurant and Conference Venue, permanently docked in historic, picturesque Simon’s Town in the Western Cape. Their d√©cor is nautical but elegant, with navy blue table cloths and Long Island striped overlays. They also hire out our white linen and chair covers for functions but for weddings they are already included in the venue hire. They have a beautiful outside deck adjoining the functions/ conferencing area. This area is lovely for pre-dinner / arrival drinks as well as being a great spot to take photographs with Simons Town as your backdrop.

7. Themed Weddings
If you want to spice up your wedding, a great way to go about it is to have your guests and yourselves dress up! Most people still enjoy dressing up, those that are still young at heart at least! There are venues that offer a medieval experience where guests, as well as the bride and groom can dress up in medieval outfits (usually for hire at the venue). But your imagination need not be limited by the venue – you should be able to implement any theme, anywhere. If you’re looking for something old world but still elegant then go for a vintage theme. If you’re looking for something young and colourful, why not get inspired by a fun carnival theme. Carry the theme through from your stationery to your d√©cor and from the food to the entertainment for a complete success.

Photo courtesy of: Green Wedding Shoes and Jamie Hammond Photography

8. Forest Dinner
Imagine an elegant dinner table set up in the middle of a forest, lit with candles and fairy lights. How Romantic! You would have to talk to various country wedding venues that are on forest land if they would be prepared to organise something like this for you.

Photo courtesy of: Once Wed and Jose Villa

9. Breakfast Wedding on a Mountain Top
This wedding would be organised by a Mountain holiday resort and would suit a small intimate wedding. Have your guests arrive at the resort for Breakfast and surprise them by transferring them to the top of the mountain escarpment, via helicopter where a beautiful table has been set for breakfast. The bridal party would arrive last and get married “on top of the world”. Not all mountain resorts offer helicopter transfers but you maybe able to organise some 4×4′s and transfer guests to a remote hillside i.e. not as high as a helicopter would take you but still far enough away to feel like you are ‘away from it all”.

10. Adventure Race Wedding
For the adventurous at heart! This will take some imagination and organisation on your side but will no doubt add huge entertainment for your guests! The final destination would be to find you two – the bridal couple. You could have a picnic set up under a beautiful tree or even next to a river – anywhere your heart desires! You would be able to say hello and congratulate each guest as they arrived. You could then proceed with the ceremony and follow that with speeches and prize giving for the adventure race!

11. Theatre Wedding
Yes, a wedding ceremony in a theatre – Bride and groom are the centre attraction with guests witnessing the exchanging of vows whilst holding a bag of popcorn and sipping on fizzy drinks. Hire out a small local theatre and thread the theme through from your invitations to your d√©cor.