Winter Wonderland

In the midst of the Valentine’s Day fury, where people are dashing through the cold streets buying cards and roses and making dinner reservations, I marvel at why we make such a big deal over this holiday. The answer I came up with is simply that it is nice. It is nice, in the middle of winter, to curl up with the one you love. It made me think about a phenomenon that I have never really understood–the winter wedding.

Being a warm weather person myself, I have never really understood why people choose to get married in the winter. I simply adore a wedding outside, amidst bountiful trees and green grass. Somehow the newness and freshness of a wedding seems oddly juxtaposed to the dormant winter. And yet, there are a surprising number of couples who simply adore the whiteness of a wedding in winter. The beauty of snow’s pure whiteness against a clear blue sky leads beautifully into a loud and boisterous and warm reception, partying the night away in celebration of a new marriage.

Perhaps the hype around Valentine’s Day and the allure of the winter wedding have something in common. When we’ve become hermits, and all but hibernated through a long and cold winter, it helps us all to have a cozy event, surrounded by love, warmth and romance. A winter wedding filled with close friends and family is like an oasis in a desert of snow.

What are your thoughts? Have any of you out there been to or had winter weddings? How did it compare to the classic June affair?

Carla Gonzalez-Hart

(photo credit: nitsrejk)

April 14th, 2009 by admin | Posted in Wedding Planning | (0)