With its changing colors, gorgeous foliage, and cool temperatures, it’s no surprise that fall is one of the most popular seasons to say “I do.” Whether you want a Halloween event or a simple backyard wedding, there’s something cozy about autumn weddings. For festive inspiration, here’s a list of fall wedding ideas for everything from napkins and fall decor to serving s’mores after you tie the knot.

Best Fall Wedding Ideas for a Memorable Wedding

Fall Wedding Decoration Ideas

1. Line the Aisle With Pumpkins

Pay homage to the autumn season during your ceremony by lining the aisle with pumpkins. Use a variety of shapes and sizes or alternate colors, and add some greenery or apple accents at the base.

2. Add Floral Chair Sashes

Add fresh autumn florals to your reception chairs to bring nature indoors. For an even more romantic feel, dress the chairs in velvet sashes and add small touches of flowers and foliage.

3. Decorate With Fairy Lights

Create a magical experience by decorating your ceremony and reception with fairy lights. Incorporate them into suspended foliage, pillars, and even your ceremony arch to add some twinkle when you say, “I do.”

4. Incorporate Seasonal Centerpieces

Make the season the focal point of the reception by incorporating festive centerpieces placed on slices of wood. If you want extra height, utilize sticks and branches and creatively wrap foliage around them.

5. Accent Your Guest Book Table With Monogrammed Pumpkins

Add a white monogrammed pumpkin to your wedding guest book table or sweetheart table. Use metallic, copper, or rich gem tones to contrast with the white pumpkin.

6. Opt For Rustic Wooden Seating

If your ceremony is outside, consider offering seating on wood stumps or benches to add a rustic, down-to-earth feel to your wedding that works perfectly with the fall foliage.

7. Use White Pumpkin Place Cards

Instead of your typical reception place cards, write the names of guests on mini white pumpkins. To add to the autumn vibes, use burgundy, emerald, or deep orange paint for the calligraphy.

8. Incorporate Produce Into Centerpieces

Don't stop at flowers when you’re thinking about fall wedding decorations! Including produce like apples, berries, or wheat can add a special, seasonal touch to your reception.

9. Illuminate With Lanterns

Lining the aisle with lanterns is a beautiful way to illuminate the walkway, especially if it’s a cloudy day or an evening ceremony. Alternatively, add suspended lanterns above your reception centerpieces to add a warm, ambient glow.

10. Get Crafty With DIY Apple Tealight Candles

Tealight candles are a lovely way to add ambiance to your wedding, but you can take it a step further by turning apples into candle holders. Simply carve out holes in the apples and place the tealights inside.

11. Exit on a Hayride

What better way to close out the perfect fall wedding than by making your exit on a hayride? Cozy up as newlyweds wrapped in a fuzzy blanket before you head off to your honeymoon destination.

12. Seat Guests on Hay Bales

Bring the farm to your wedding with hay bale seating. Incorporate your wedding colors by adding styled covers to the bales for added comfort.

Fall Wedding Venue Ideas

13. Hold Your Ceremony in a Forest

Add a rustic feel by holding your ceremony in a forest where fall leaves can speak for themselves. Utilize tree stumps, hang lanterns from branches, and incorporate string lights to add ambiance.

14. Embrace Natural Foliage

Work with the season by embracing the natural foliage. Whether it’s bright red and orange falling leaves or rich autumn blooms, include nature’s festive beauty as a part of your big day.

15. Take Photos Among the Foliage

Don’t miss out on the chance to capture photos in the fall foliage. Even if your wedding is indoors, get your wedding party together to snap a few portraits outside in the autumn leaves during golden hour.

16. Say “I Do” Under an Arch of Foliage

Reading your vows and saying “I do” under a floral arch always makes for a romantic and beautiful ceremony. Add festive elements like branches and autumn leaves to tie it together.

17. Make the Fireplace a Focal Point

If your venue has a fireplace, take advantage by making it a focal point of your special day. Decorate the area with fall foliage and candles, and add seating to give your guests a cozy place to chat.

Fall Wedding Color Ideas

18. Make Use of Gem Tones

Pull your ceremony together with colorful details. Rich gem tones like burgundy, emerald, and gold make for a wedding color palette that ties in with the fall season.

19. Include Copper Elements

If you’re not a fan of traditional metallics, add subtle copper elements to complement foliage centerpieces and candles. Copper tones pair perfectly with a green or pink color palette, ensuring whites and blacks pop.

20. Add Metallic Touches

Bring out the magic of the fall season with subtle metallic touches. Paint pumpkin stems, adorn reception tables with metallic candle holders, or incorporate copper tones into your ceremony archway.

21. Choose a Muted Color Scheme

Let nature speak for itself by selecting a simple color scheme that makes the fall foliage pop. Colors like beige and muted sage tones contrast incredibly well with bright fall leaves.

22. Integrate Contrasting Pops of Color

Complement red and orange autumn hues with contrasting pops of color. Emerald and sage pair beautifully with warm tones while accentuating their brightness. You can add black accents to create a moodier vibe.

23. Add Dashes of Warm Pinks

If autumn reds and oranges aren’t your style, incorporate warm pinks into your wedding color palette. Deep pinks pair well with burgundy, beige, emerald, or sage tones.

24. Add Pops of Black

Add pops of black, such as black silverware or candles, to contrast with your white dress and make you the center of attention on your special day.

25. Use Terracotta or Burgundy Linens

Sometimes less is more when it comes to wedding decor. Embellish your reception tables with simple terracotta or burgundy runners or linens to add a small pop of color to the evening.

26. Choose Moody Tones for Your Glassware

Instead of regular clear glassware, switch it up with colored glasses to add flair to tablescapes. Colors like red, amber, emerald and pink look great on a tabletop with a centerpiece.

Fall Wedding Attire and Accessories Ideas

27. Dress Your Wedding Party in Rich Colors

Use your bridesmaids’ attire to accent your fall-inspired decor! Choose rich colors such as burgundy, copper, or taupe for dresses and tuxedos.

28. Wear Velvet Attire

Spice up the wedding party’s wardrobe with velvet dresses and tuxedo jackets, and complete your own look by adding some velvet statement pieces.

29. Wear a Flower Crown or Fall-Motif Hairpiece

Add flair with a DIY flower crown for yourself, your bridesmaids, or your flower girl. An October outdoor fall wedding is an opportunity to rock your natural hair and add a hairpiece with flowers, maple leaves, or feather motifs.

Fall Wedding Accent Ideas

30. Add Leather Accents

Leather accents are a subtle touch that can help tie your fall wedding together. These small details add a sophisticated feel to your big day, whether it’s place cards, table decor, or suspenders for the groom.

31. Add Apple Accents

Apples are a simple way to add pops of color to your wedding arch. Incorporate the fall harvest by adding baskets of apples or making DIY apple tealight candles.

32. Add Touches of Plaid

We’re not asking you to wear plaid to your wedding—unless that’s your thing! Instead, add touches to your decor ideas, such as on your tablescapes or wedding invitations.

33. Incorporate Feathers

Feathers are overlooked but are a great way to incorporate fall into your wedding day. Add them to table centerpieces, guest place cards, or fall wedding cakes. Feathers can also make a beautiful addition to a natural updo.

Fall Wedding Catering and Dessert Ideas

34. Design a Harvest-themed Reception Menu

Everyone loves Thanksgiving dinner, so design a harvest wedding theme menu. Offer turkey or ham for your entree, and serve whatever your favorite Thanksgiving sides are!

35. Opt for Pie Instead of Cake

If you’re not a fan of traditional wedding cake, spice it up by serving pie at your rustic wedding instead! Pumpkin, apple, or pecan are perfect flavors for celebrating the fall season.

36. Have a Pumpkin Wedding Cake

Who doesn’t love a pumpkin roll at this time of year? Serve the dessert alongside cake at the reception, or even better—have a pumpkin-flavored wedding cake with cream cheese frosting.

37. Serve Caramel Apples

Make delicious caramel apples and serve them up at the cocktail bar or as wedding favors. If you want to give them a bit of a kick, infuse the apples with whiskey before coating them in caramel for a yummy treat.

38. Opt For a Seasonal Snack Bar

If you don’t want to serve a full course after your wedding ceremony, style a self-serve snack bar with seasonal treats like fruits, pie, and smoky sliders.

39. Serve Warm Beverages

Hosting a dry wedding reception? Rather than offering fall-themed alcoholic drinks, serve up warm beverages like lattes, hot chocolate, and hot apple cider during cocktail hour.

40. Create a Barrel Bourbon Bar

Serve bourbon to add a Southern flair to your outdoor wedding. Set up the bar on a wooden tabletop perched on barrels with rustic floral arrangements.

41. Include Edible Decor

Decorative barrels with apples, mini pumpkins, and berries will go a long way in tying your fall wedding together. Style the displays with wooden stumps, fall greenery, and candles.

Fall Wedding Flowers and Greenery Ideas

42. Hang Foliage

Want to save space in your place settings? Instead of large florals, opt for a sleek and simple candle centerpiece with beautiful autumn foliage suspended from above.

43. Use Pampas Grass

Pampas grass adds a touch of boho to your wedding day. Its neutral color goes well with any color palette, as fall decor in wedding centerpieces, wreaths, or bouquets.

44. Carry a Fall-inspired Bouquet

What better way to embrace fall foliage than by incorporating it into your wedding bouquet? Include eucalyptus, seasonal flowers like coneflowers, dahlias, and celosia, or maybe even a bushel of berries!

45. Frame Corners With Autumn Flowers

Keep the venue cozy for an indoor wedding ceremony by framing corners with blooming autumn flowers like chrysanthemums, goldenrods, and amaranthus paired with gourds.

46. Hang Colorful Fall Wreaths

Put a spin on traditional green wreaths with colorful fall flowers, branches, and strings of berries. Have your florist set the vibe by hanging wreaths on doors to welcome guests.

Fall Wedding Favor and Invitation Ideas

47. Keep Guests Warm With Cozy Blankets

Keep your guests warm with fuzzy blankets or complimentary scarves they can take home. Keeping guests comfortable adds to the cozy vibe that comes with the fall season.

48. Send Out Plaid Fall Wedding Invitations

Plaid is a fall staple, but maybe you don’t want to incorporate it into your actual wedding day. If that’s the case, maybe plaid wedding invitations or escort cards are more your jam!

Zola: Your Place to Plan a Fall Wedding

Whether you’re recently engaged or in the thick of wedding planning, this list of fall wedding ideas will inspire you to plan magical nuptials you’ll never forget. From the wedding dress to your wedding aisle and beyond, infuse autumn’s beauty into your celebration for a wonderful seasonally inspired day.