A complete list of barn wedding inspiration for every style
If your dream wedding vision includes a barn, you are not alone. Barn wedding venues have become increasingly popular settings for nearlyweds of every style. In fact, in the case of a barn wedding, the venue sort of is the theme.
But not every barn wedding is necessarily a rustic wedding. Barn weddings can be quite glamorous, depending on how you use decor, lighting, and the indoor and outdoor options a barn venue provides. Not to mention your wedding attire, which can make your wedding feel like old world elegance or modern rustic charm.
Keep reading to see how we break down exactly how you can find barn wedding ideas that fit YOUR dream day vision.
Photo by Luisana Rodriguez Photography.
What’s in a barn?
Whether you’re considering a barn venue for the wedding reception or for both the ceremony and reception, it’s always a perfect backdrop for your nuptials. You may choose to rent out an entire property for your epic barn wedding. Decide what’s most important to you about your venue choice: stunning views, farm animals on site, a water tower, indoor and outdoor space.
There are red barn weddings on farmland ranches or beautifully restored, contemporary barn estates set atop rolling hills. There are barn venues surrounded by springs, or forests, or by sprawling landscapes with nothing else around. Perhaps you want a barn venue located near a church or chapel.
Your wedding planner can help you hone in on your desired style to find the perfect barn venue for you.
Barn weddings are a blank canvas for your theme
A rustic wedding makes sense in a barn, letting the venue speak for itself. Think minimal decor, seasonal organic produce, and wildflowers from the property. You can lean into the barn wedding theme with full-on cowboy boots, line dancing, and a rib roast-yum!
But you also don't have to be having a western themed wedding to employ the countryside charm of a barn. You can have a bohemian theme in a barn wedding with fairy lights or macrame wall hangings. Turn your barn wedding glam with faux fur draping and big, bright floral arrangements. If you want a wedding theme with a vintage feel, lace gowns and porcelain dinnerware looks great in a barn wedding venue.
Farm weddings may have a cocktail hour that includes petting farm animals like pigs and chickens. Or maybe the animals are featured in your barn wedding reception--a baby goat ring bearer would be super cute. Farm weddings could also have you riding to a rustic barn on a horse. Dream big!
Photo by T&K Photography.
Barn weddings have built-in decor
One of the best reasons to have a barn wedding reception is the rustic elegance of a well cared for or lovingly restored barn. When you think of a rustic barn wedding venue, think of vaulted ceilings, exposed beams, and hay bales. Adding small, complementary touches like string lights, mason jars, and simple florals makes them easy to outfit and oh so charming.
Fashion fitted for barn weddings
Since most wedding themes are well suited for barn weddings, choose your fashion accordingly. You may go with fancy dresses and suits with cowboy boots or long sleeved lace gowns and bolo ties. The gents can wear light colored suits, like heather gray or powder blue. If you're having a winter white barn wedding, faux fur shrugs for the ladies are perfect rustic chic accessories to a simple wedding or bridesmaid dress.
Photo by DNA Photography.
Use your barn theme to inspire the food & drink menu
Deciding to host a wedding at a barn venue opens up the endless possibilities of what your wedding day menu can look like. Just think about it, you could play into the cattle farm theme and choose to serve ribeye, steaks or chicken ‘fresh off the farm’. Or you can go the route of a simple BBQ with corn bread, sauces, grilled corn and more! Or if your barn has a Tex Mex look and feel, then why not go all out with grilled tacos and margaritas - your possibilities are endless and that’s the beauty of hosting a barn wedding. But regardless of what you end up choosing for your menu, we recommend selecting a meal that both you and your partner love the most. After all, it’s your special day and you should enjoy every minute of it, especially when it comes to the food!
When it comes to your cocktail selection, start playing on the rustic barn theme and have fun with the glasses that you choose to serve the drinks in. From mason jars, to beer cans and even red solo cups, you can have fun with the drinks you serve. If you’re choosing to have a special cocktail for both you and your partner, maybe lean into the natural elements of the barns location and include some decorative elements like wildflowers as finishing touches to the top of the drink - have fun with it and make sure you enjoy how they taste too.
Outdoor games, entertainment & music
Most barn venues have outdoor space and beautiful views of fields or animals that are included in the venue rental which is the perfect place for outdoor games to entertain your guests. These games can be customized corn hole boards, horseshoes, or if you’re big party people, beer pong. Take a look at the space and see what spaces you can use for places for your guests to play games or even sit and relax during the cocktail hour. These locations are also a great place to put a live band or DJ which we recommend are conveniently located to both the dance floor as well as the bar to keep the evening flow.
To start narrowing down on your barn wedding inspiration, we recommend finding barn decor photos and real wedding images that you can use to start to compile a mood board. Once you have those initial images of your ideal barn wedding vision, you can start to hone in on your style and the decorative elements that support them. You can easily find ideas on Pinterest like this one.
But if you’re still lost on where to find these inspiration images, we suggest you look at real wedding inspiration boards that industry experts like Loverly have created just for you! Plus get expert advice on wedding planning and step by step walkthroughs on how to pull off your dream barn wedding with a membership to the Loverly I Do Crew masterclass series.
A barn wedding venue is a powerful choice for your big day, and there are so many great ones to choose from. It's always a good idea to look at real weddings and real wedding photos to picture what your barn wedding could really be. Hopefully this list was a helpful place to start.
