Tips for a Western Wedding?

Ok. So, I want an outdoor wedding with as many members of the wedding party on horseback as possible. But how? I want the best man and ushers (and groom) in black tuxes/suits with black cowboy hats and boots. I want the flower girl to ride down the aisle on a pony tossing the petals, but I still want her wearing a dress. How can this work? I would LIKE for the ushers/best man and bridesmaids to do something w/horses but idk what, since I want the bridesmaids and ushers/best man to traditionally want back down the aisle, arm in arm. I want to look western, too. I want a white sleeveless dress with old brown cowboy hats. I don't want to wear a cowboy hat because I want to get my hair done and have a veil. I'd like to ride half way down the aisle on horseback and then get off and let my dad escort me the remainder of the way, but this unlikely to happen because I don't want my dismount to look tacky. I want to incorperate horses as much as possible. Plz help me out on everything!!! :-)

Tips for a Western Wedding?
I can't find a photo but I once did a western wedding where they were married outside. There were hitching posts behind the "altar" area. In the center and to the front of the posts was an Arch where the B %26amp; G and officiant stood. Each Attendant had a horse but didn't ride them in, they walked them in and before standing in their position they tied their horse to the post and basically stood in front of it. The Groom came galloping up from the front ( if you're a guest it looked like he was riding in straight towards you) it was very dramatic because he was riding fast and had his horse stop on a dime! He tied down and took his place up front with the Officiant. Then the Bride came from the side and behind riding side saddle, no hat but an impressive veil that flowed behind her in the wind as she rode. The guest could see her coming from a ways off. Her dad was at the back of the chairs(and hay bales)and helped her dismount. The Flower girl placed a wreath of flowers around the horses neck and she walked the brides horse down the aisle and tied down while Bride, Dad and Mom got situated with bouquet( her Mom handed that to her). Then they all 3 walked down the aisle. At the end everybody walked back down the aisle. They did a little receiving line then the bridal party and Bride %26amp; Groom went up front retrieved their horses and rode over to the reception. The girls all rode side saddle. It was very sweet and country!! Here are some other sites that may help as well.


http://www.askginka.com/themes/country_w...


http://www.montana-wedding-photographer....


http://www.northwestwesternweddings.com/





best wishes.....................
Reply:It's certainly possible to incorporate horses, there are just a few things to remember. Renting several horses won't be cheap. They need to be very calm horses (there'll probably be a good bit of flapping and noise) and if they're going to stand there during the ceremony AT LEAST one will go to the bathroom and in my experience, when one goes the rest follow. If your groomsmen and/or bridesmaids are scared of horses that could make things go less than smoothly. If they aren't experienced I'd definitely take them out riding at least once to get comfortable with it.


It is certainly possibly to ride a horse in a dress without ripping it or showing more leg than you want to provided the skirt has enough fabric. I would recommend getting on a horse wearing a skirt that is similar to the dress you want and seeing if it will work.


To avoid a less than graceful dismount in front of everyone (not to mention quarters will be tight in the middle of the aisle), I would recommend riding up to where the guests are seated, dismounting and walking from there. You will need at least one or two people to manage the horses. Have them help you get on and off to avoid falling or ripping your dress. I would also say do the same for the wedding party (have them dismount before they get too close to the guests, but they will still be seen riding up). Then you can also ride away after the ceremony.


If you decide that might be too difficult, some other options would be arriving/leaving in a horse-drawn carriage, have the ceremony overlooking a pasture with horses in it, giving guests the option of going for hay rides during the reception or going for a horse back ride before or after the wedding. We had a bachelorette party come to the stables I was working at and we were able to put her on a white horse for her ride. We also had a couple different coaches for the bride and groom to choose from.


This is certainly possible, but as with all things, the key is practice! This also depends on where you're at. I know they wouldn't be hard to find in Colorado or any other western state.


You can email me at boardercat@hotmail.com if there's anything else I can help you with.
Reply:Are you having your reception at the same location as the wedding? If not, and it's close enough, I would have the bridal party leave on horseback, it would be a great conversation starter at the reception... getting on and off a horse (even in only semi-formal wear) is going to be difficult. For the flower girl, it would be super nice if you could find a mini-carriage/wagon (someone in your family could probably make one!!). I would just be afraid of her falling off the pony or dropping her basket of petals.


I looooove the cowboy hats!!


I started to plan a western wedding for my friend.. use galvanized pales to hold your centerpieces, you can use sisal rope in so many ways! There's a lot you can do!!


Hope it works out for you! Have fun!
Reply:I like that youre making your wedding reflect you. But have you actually visualized this? The aisle to have horses walk down must be very wide. Your guests will be seated, the horses will tower above them. Once at the front, how will people get off the horses gracefully and what will they do with the horses? What if the horse just shits as it walks down the aisle? That would horrible for the guests sitting next to it! There are a lot of logistics to work out here.
Reply:have everyone come down on horse back. then dismount at the front. someone can be in charge of tethering the horses just off from the ceremony spot.


you and hubby can stay on your horses and have the officiant be elevated to eye level, either on a riser or bales of hay








or have everyone ride around the guests a few times, like a large circle around the guests, then dismount and walk down the aisle.





i love the idea for your dress





you can still have the flower girl come down on pony. just have someone help her off when she's at the end of the aisle.


she can either ride western or side saddle, either will work
Reply:Best thing that I can think of is to have all of the girls ride side saddled. I think it's a great idea to have your father accompany you some of the way down the aisle. It brings your father into the spotlight with you before you get married (which puts the spotlight on you and your husband to be). Good luck and hope you figure it out!
Reply:Your love of horses is certainly the focus of your wedding. For the comfort of you and your attendants, you can still be western without everyone riding a horse. I would find a stagecoach for my attendants to arrive at the site. You have the opportunity of setting up your site, so I would do a semi-circle for the seating. The stagecoach could circle the area and drop off your attendants just short of the actual alter site and walk the across the front of the guests to the alter. You could arrive in a decorated horse driven surrey or carriage with your dad.. Yeah, but I would have the groom ride in on a horse. Possibly all his groomsmen too if you have the horses available. I would have a "hitchin post" at the site where the ceremony will take place. The cowboy hats for your groom and his attendants. And, boots for everyone. Remember to have a couple of horse attendants to help with any droppings.


If you are going casual dress for your guests, you might want to have hay bales around for extra seating. Have fun.
Reply:What is one of your attendants is afraid of hoses? Do all your attendants ride? It's unadvisable to put an inexperienced person on the back of a horse without prefessional supervision, Horses also bite and kick, rear and can be hard to control as all animals are unpredictable......so there are issues of insurance should someone get hurt...





...and they will poop and take a wizz when the urge hits, even if it means stopping in the middle of marching down the aisle........I really think you should reconsider horses, dear.



sweating