Twilight Weddings
With the seemingly infinite choice of options, finding the right type of wedding format to suit your special day can be a daunting challenge. There’s often the tendency to stick with the traditional timeline of late morning ceremony, drinks reception, wedding breakfast, speeches, followed by yet more guests, drinks and food for an evening reception and dancing. But, just as wedding trends around styling, outfits and food & drink have evolved, so too has the wedding timeline and format, with Twilight Weddings becoming an increasingly popular choice for couples looking to break the mould with a more informal and cost-friendly way to celebrate with friends and family.
With a range of venues, set against the picturesque landscapes of Essex and Suffolk, Milsom Weddings are the picture-perfect backdrop for a twilight wedding. Here, the team share their insight around why a twilight wedding could be the perfect package for your special day.
What is a twilight wedding?
Running from late afternoon Monday – Friday (Monday – Thursday during peak months), Twilight Weddings offer all the same magical moments of the traditional wedding timeline, just condensed into a shorter period of time. They typically run to the below timeline, but can, of course, be tailored and adapted to suit you.
4:00pm – Ceremony
4:30pm – Drinks reception & canapés
6:00pm – Wedding Breakfast
8:00pm – Speeches
8:30pm – Dancing
12.00am – Carriages
Why should you consider a twilight wedding?
- Smarter Spending – Twilight Weddings not only often come with a more cost-sensitive price tag from venues and suppliers who have greater availability during the week, but the wedding timeline also allows for a more cost-effective use of your budget. With a later wedding breakfast, you only need to cater for one main meal for guests in the evening, and having a shorter day also reduces the food & drink cost overall.
- Greater availability – Avoiding a peak weekend date is a sure-fire way to ensure greater availability from both venues and suppliers. We know how important it is to couples that they get the right venue, the right florist, the right hair & make-up, all of which get booked up a long time in advance. However, weekdays = greater availability, meaning you’re more likely to get your pick of the bunch!
- Fewer conflicts & clashes – Not only are suppliers likely to have less commitments mid-week, but so are your potential guests! No one wants their wedding to clash with a friend or family member’s, so considering a Twilight Wedding gives you the best shot of having all your family and friends with you to celebrate.
- Golden hour – There is something pretty iconic about golden hour on your wedding day. In traditional wedding formats, this comes at the end of a long and photograph-filled day. For Twilight weddings, however, golden hour is perfectly timed for peak photography opportunities, and in off-peak months, may even mean you saying ‘I do’ as the sun sets. Each of the Milsom Weddings venues enjoys picture-perfect locations, benefitting from wrap around grounds, outdoor lighting, and even a riverside location.
- A more relaxed approach – With a later start, Twilight weddings mean a more relaxed timeline for pre-wedding prep on the day, and more time spent with family and friends before the ceremony starts. For couples looking for a more intimate and informal format, you can’t beat a Twilight Wedding at Talbooth House & Spa. A luxurious country home, which can be yours for the weekend, it offers the ultimate Twilight wedding package from ceremony in the House to sundowners & canapés by the pool. Talbooth Restaurant also offers a more relaxed approach to the wedding breakfast, with BBQs, sharing plates and bowl food all allowing more time for mingling with guests.
Start planning your twilight wedding
If you think a Twilight Wedding might be for you, why not come and chat to the Milsom Weddings team? We still have availability throughout 2024, and would be delighted to discuss how we could help shape your special day.
