Off to the fair!

Having blown over from the States, we are seeing them pop up more and more often here too: weddings with a colourful fairground atmosphere! Think of large pink candy floss, a tent with colourful garlands and balloons, popcorn stalls and toffee apples, a Ferris wheel or merry-go-round and lots of crazy games.

Photo (above) by Lauren Photography

In America, a Fun Fair or Carnival is more or less the counterpart to our Flemish fair. But if you go to a Fun Fair in America, you’ll enjoy circus entertainment, fairground rides and authentic theme-park fun. One thing is certain: the fun factor is always exceptionally high. Curious what a Fun Fair Wedding is all about? House of Weddings lists the best ideas for you.

Setting

Go for a green outdoor location such as a park, a meadow, or a garden, and set up a large round tent. Typical base colors for a Fun Fair are red and white, but if you don’t want to limit yourself to just these two, choose a white tent. That way, you can still go in any direction with the styling.

Styling

You’ll create the perfect Fun Fair styling by using cheerful primary colors like yellow, blue, green, and orange. A Fun Fair also comes with a real outdoor vibe. Choose long wooden folding tables with matching chairs and white tablecloths. Have everyone sit together at the big tables. Decorate the tables with little buckets filled to the brim with colorful lollipops, popcorn, or vibrant flowers. Balloons, garlands, bunting, and confetti are décor elements that absolutely can’t be missing.

*Foto's: Megan Thiele Studio's (2x), Bryon Loves Fawn, Megan Thiele Studio's*

Entertainment

Make sure you have plenty of outdoor space, because “Fun Fair” and “games” go hand in hand. A ball toss booth, sack races, hitting the bell with a hammer, shuffleboard,… Take it a step further with a full-on carousel or mini Ferris wheel!

*Foto's: O'Malley Photographers, Before I Do, Jasmine Lee*

Print materials

Designing your stationery is pretty straightforward within this theme. Go for cards with playful line drawings of animals like an elephant, lion, or giraffe (which can also come back in your wedding favors), or choose the typical red-and-white striped pattern. Little flags can pop up everywhere, and slip “admission tickets” into the envelope for your guests, as if they bought a ticket to your event.

Food & drinks

Dinner? Go for food trucks with easy finger food, such as corn with chicken, burgers, ribs, tasty salads, and so on. You can display the menu on large chalkboards. For dessert, it’s all about sweet, sweet and… sweet. Cotton candy, red candy apples, an ice cream stand, churros, popcorn, lollipops, colorful bags of candy, creamy cupcakes,… Delicious!

Wedding favors

The options for wedding favors are endless—as long as you add plenty of color! Fill little jars with big colorful gumballs, invite a cartoonist to make a funny, colorful portrait of your guests, create a personalized bag of popcorn, or send everyone home with a large lollipop featuring your initials as a keepsake.

*Foto's: Jose Villa, Amy and Stuart Photography, Elyse Hall*

The Dress

Finally: your dress can be exactly how you want it. More than once, a Fun Fair wedding bride chooses a retro style—think: Grease!—but that’s absolutely not a must. Whether you go for a fifties style, wear a short playful dress, or choose a long dreamy gown: it’s entirely up to you. You can, for example, carry through the cheerful, colorful Fun Fair vibe in a very colorful bouquet—or what about bright red shoes?