Summer is the best time for festivals. Music, art, opera, yoga and many other social gatherings - the possibilities are already diverse here in Latvia, not to mention the offer of large foreign music festivals. Freedom, music, lace dresses, flower crowns - all this characterizes not only weddings at festivals, but also weddings organized as festivals. The wedding music festival, which is attended by thousands more, has a truly unconventional choice that will suit daring couples. If you still want to keep the feeling of a festival, but be with only your friends and loved ones, then a wedding that is organized as a multi-day festival will work as an alternative.

POSITIVE WEDDING POSITIVE ?

No matter how important music is at festivals, one thing that unites them all is love. Undeniably Latvia's biggest music festival Positivus brings together more and more young couples every year. Perhaps that is why there is no shortage of work in the Salacgrīva registry office on festival days. Why not get married right there in Salacgrīva and then go to a three-day party? In fact, since Latvian legislation allows, you can get married anywhere, even if it happens under the pine tree where you met years ago at the festival itself. The statistics have not been collected, whether any couple has already used this opportunity, but the fact that it is one of the current wedding trends in the world is clear.

One of the world's most famous music festivals - Glastonbury , the website even includes a separate section Weddings at Glastonbury or wedding festival. The visitors of this festival are not so lucky, because the law does not allow to conclude a legal marriage at the festival. However, a wedding party or a stylized ceremony is not uncommon there.

Bettija Liger - owner of event agency Brilliant Events says that couples who are sociable, open to unconventional ideas and definitely love music and parties would choose to get married at the festival. "There would be an unusual, but very special atmosphere at such a wedding, when among the thousands of people who are swirling and bubbling right next to each other, a couple can look into each other's eyes and promise eternity. I think it would be a particularly beautiful way to stop the moment and enjoy together the feeling when there are seven billion people in the world and there is one person standing in front of you."

MUST BE READY FOR ANYTHING!

After all, there is really no shortage of festivals in Latvia. This is not only about the biggest music festivals - Positivus , LMT Summer Sound , Laba Daba , but also various specific festivals - a real festival of freethinkers and creative people Give&Get , a festival of active recreation, music and creativity Playground , lovers of yoga, dance and various fire rituals will like the Solar Festival , while folklore lovers will appreciate the festival Baltica . Each festival has its own special atmosphere and audience. For example, the music festival Laba Daba has already unofficially won the title of the most family-friendly festival. For this reason, four couples got married for the first time at the 2015 festival, citing both getting to know each other at the festival and the desire to stay outside of all established traditions as the main motivation. There, at the festival, after the ceremony, a treat was organized for the guests, and there was no shortage of entertainment throughout the night.

However, the creative director of the event agency Oga Events Arta Bondare reminds us that if you choose to get married at the festival, you should be ready for EVERYTHING. Starting with an unpredictable audience and unexpected comments from them, ending with the fact that it is no longer an intimate event, but the happy couple is watched by thousands of people. "Courageous, open people with the ability to perceive everything with humor must choose the marriage festival, because in this case you will have to be ready not to take everything to heart. For those who feel free and feel that the respective festival is very important for them as a couple, I can only advise you not to be afraid of such a choice. Such a wedding will definitely be remembered for a long time not only by themselves, but also by everyone present," assured Arta.

WEDDING AS A FESTIVAL!

However, for those couples who don't want to get married in a big festival among thousands of strangers, but just as much want to bring a festival atmosphere to their wedding, the solution will be to organize the wedding as a festival. Weddings of this style have already found their place in the world and there are quite a few couples who organize a real three-day wedding festival. Arta Bondare, the creative director of the event agency Oga Events , also points out that festivals and weddings have more in common than it might seem at first. "A big wedding is like a mini festival because the ingredients are the same as any festival - the main event, music, entertainment, food, drinks and dancing until the morning."

If you decide to hold a wedding as a festival, you will need to think about several issues:

• How big and long are you planning to hold a wedding festival? Gundega Skudriņa, the creator of Skudras Metropoles , points out that there are various options for festival weddings. They can be organized over several days, inviting all acquaintances, schoolmates and friends and creating a stage and entertainment program. At such a wedding, the number of guests can reach several hundred. From a financial perspective, guests can get involved with donations for admission tickets.

• If the wedding is like a festival, then you should follow the festival design. The guests can be given fabric entrance wristbands that are so suitable for festivals, the invitations can be designed as entrance tickets to the event, and the bride and groom can be hung around their necks, for example, with a VIP sign. You can find inspiration for the visual design, for example, on the Instagram account @wedfest.co or using the hashtag #festivalweddings.

• Appropriate clothing! Depending on the mood in which you will create your wedding festival, you should also make sure that the guests are frighteningly prepared. If it's going to be a three-day festival with guests staying in tents (as befits a real festival), then you should make sure that your guests are aware of everything they need to bring and carry on their backs, so that they can enjoy the slightly unconventional start to your new life!

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