8 Equestrian Wedding Ideas for Horse Lovers

Include all your loyal & loving friends on the wedding day – including your dearest equine friends! 

 

There are many ways to honor your love of horses in your wedding celebration, and you can feature them in your theme either a little or a lot, depending on your personal tastes and wedding budget. 

 

Below are a few of our favorite equestrian wedding ideas to help inspire you. 

Pro tip: If you plan to have real horses at your wedding (or any live animals, including pets or other farm animals), make sure a horse trainer or qualified friend is on-site to help out. This person can take care of the horses throughout the celebration, and keep an eye on body language cues to ensure the horse doesn’t become overwhelmed. Weddings can be busy events with lots of noises and unexpected activity, creating a stressful environment for a horse. Having someone there to tend to your equine friends will help things go more smoothly. 

 

 

Some farms and horse stables that double as wedding venues are very welcoming to LGBTQ+ couples, and may offer inclusive speciality wedding packages for same-sex and same-gender couples. Inclusive venues can often recommend LGBTQ+ friendly wedding vendors in the area, too. (Photo: CREATISTA / iStock)

 

 

8 Sweet Horse Wedding Ideas for an Equestrian Themed Celebration

 

1. Wedding Venues with Horses

 

An easy way to give your wedding an instant equestrian theme: take your wedding vows in a beautiful outdoor setting with horse stables nearby! Many established farms and ranches host special events like weddings, elopements, and vow renewals. They might even offer several wedding packages at different price-points, to make planning a wedding easier. Just search for “wedding venues with horses near me” or “equestrian weddings near me” (or near your wedding destination) to see what comes up! 

 

There’s an equestrian wedding venue for every vibe! For example:

 

You might choose a rustic country setting, like BlissWood Bed and Breakfast Ranch, located about an hour’s drive west of Houston. This charming ranch in Texas Hill Country specializes in equestrian themed weddings and rustic country weddings, with a horse-drawn carriage, dancing in the show barn, and other sweet details for horse lovers. (Their website says that they welcome LGBTQ+ couples, and they're listed on My Gay Houston, which is a plus.)

 

Or consider an upscale venue in the city, like The Red Horse Barn Weddings & Events, at the Huntington Central Park Equestrian Center in Huntington Beach, California. This sunny urban venue is just two miles from the ocean, and boasts a 10-horse stable and elegant rooms and gardens for dining, dancing, and tying the knot. Watch a video of a beautiful wedding at The Red Horse Barn here: Enchanting Wedding at The Red Horse Barn in Huntington Beach, CA 

 

 

Rent a horse and carriage for a fairytale wedding entrance or departure! This is simple way to give your wedding day the royal treatment, and create lasting memories for you and your guests. (Photo: andykazie / iStock)

 

 

2. Horse and Carriage Rental: A Fairytale Wedding Entrance or Exit

 

Nothing is more romantic than a horse drawn carriage ride! Horse carriages are the perfect touch for a fairytale wedding, as you come and go like royalty, and it’s definitely something guests will remember for years to come.

 

A horse and carriage can be used for both arriving and leaving your wedding ceremony, depending on your tastes. Just remember that horses move a lot slower than cars – and that’s the appeal – helping you slow down and savor the wedding experience.

 

Related: 5 Great Reasons to Ask a Friend to Officiate Your Wedding

 

Arriving at the venue in a horse carriage will give you and your partner a few more moments to prepare, to savor the sweetness of the day, and enjoy each other’s company one on one before the fanfare of the ceremony. Making your wedding exit in a horse carriage gives you time to reflect on (and revel in) your new status as newlyweds, and to steal a few quiet moments alone before the next part of the celebration begins.

 

 

3. Wedding Honor Guard with Decorative Riding Crops 

 

Put a fun horse-themed twist on a traditional wedding honor guard using riding crops, jumping bats, or horse whips. Simply add colorful ribbons or flowers to each crop and ask honored guests to raise them up to create an arch or canopy for you to walk through as you leave the wedding ceremony as newlyweds. This is also a sweet and simple way to include children in your wedding celebration! Children can help with decorating or serve as part of the honor guard.

 

This sweet idea is based on a heartwarming wedding story published in Horse & Hound: A UK riding instructor and five-star eventer was surprised by 21 of her riding students on the day of her wedding. The young ‘Pony Club’ held up decorated riding crops as the newlyweds left the church, serving as a joyful surprise ‘guard of honor’ to celebrate the marriage. 

 

 

Photo credit Horse & Hound magazine: Newlywed Rosie Thomas is joined by members of her 'Pony Club,' students at the five-star eventer's school. Students surprised their riding instructor on the wedding day and served as 'honor guard,' brandishing beautifully decorated riding crops to celebrate the day. 

 

 

4. Horse Wedding Ring or Equestrian Engagement Set

 

Propose with an equestrian-themed engagement ring, or seal your love with an equestrian or horse-themed wedding ring! During the wedding ceremony, exchanging wedding rings symbolizes your unending love and devotion; your wedding rings are also a wonderful way to show a little of your personal style, individual passions, shared interests, or free spirit.

 

Jewelers offer many beautiful interpretations of these themes; choose from elegant diamond horseshoe rings, designs that incorporate silver or gold horse heads, or rings engraved with wild horses and galloping stallions.

 

 

Where can you take wedding photos with horse? You can hire a photographer that specializes in equine & wedding photography (or ask a qualified friend to help out) and take photos at a local ranch or farm. Take photos before and during your wedding ceremony, or during an engagement photoshoot. (Photo: ielanum / iStock)

 

 

5. Take Wedding Photos with Horses  

 

Include your horse in your wedding photos, or pose with horses at your wedding venue to create the perfect fairytale wedding album. If you don't plan on having real horses at your celebration (just a horse theme), you can also take engagement photos or 'just married' photos with horses at another time.

 

Related: Making it Click: 4 Ways An Officiant Can Make the Wedding Photographer’s Life Easier

 

The key to great wedding photos with horses is a photographer that’s familiar with horses and comfortable working around them. If your wedding venue happens to be a farm or boarding stables, staff members may be able to recommend a photographer they trust and have worked with before. 

 

For more useful advice on how to plan a wedding shoot with your horse (or horses), check out this helpful article from If The Saddle Fits: How To Include Your Horse In Wedding Photos

 

 

 

6. Decorative Feed Bags as Wedding Welcome Bags or Wedding Favor Bags

 

Put a funny twist on wedding welcome bags by placing gifts in a decorated feed bag! 

 

Welcome bags and wedding favor bags are a thoughtful way to ensure your guests are comfortable during the celebrations. As a funny twist on the traditional welcome bag idea, present your guests with a ‘feed bag of fun’! 

 

These bags can be left in hotel rooms or at the hotel reception desk to greet out-of-town guests, or placed on a special table at the wedding ceremony. You can also place them on individual guests’ chairs if your gathering is small. 

Ideas for horse themed wedding favors: For an outdoor wedding at a farm or stables, consider adding small packaged snacks, bottled water, bug repellent wipes, paper fans, personalized ‘lucky horseshoe’ wedding favors, horse-shaped lapel pins, cowboy boot-shaped bottle openers, pony lollipops (for kids), and other cute equestrian themed items.

 

Related: The Ultimate Wedding Emergency Kit Checklist: 45 Essential Items

 

 

Here comes the bridle party! (Photo: ZeynepKaya / iStock)

 

 

7. Throw Rolled Oats During the Wedding Recession 

 

Throwing rice at weddings has been a tradition for centuries, but tossing oats has become a popular alternative. In many ways, this is actually a return to the original wedding custom: Ancient Roman wedding guests actually threw wheat and oats during the wedding recessional, not rice! 

 

Related: The Dos & Don’ts of Throwing Rice at Weddings

 

A horse-themed wedding is a perfect match for this old wedding tradition. Horses love rolled oats of course, and oats are an eco-friendly wedding option at most outdoor venues. (Always check with your venue before throwing anything outdoors though!) And oats are considered a symbol of fertility, abundance, prosperity, and new life. When guests toss oats at you, they’re offering good wishes and blessings for a long and prosperous marriage.

 

 

8. Choose a Wedding Officiant That’s Comfortable Around Horses

 

Ask a horse-loving friend or relative to get ordained online to officiate your wedding! Having a friend officiate is a great way to create a personal and memorable wedding ceremony. If you have a riding buddy, riding instructor, or close friend that loves horses as much as you do, they might make the perfect wedding officiant. 

 

Your friend can get ordained online for free with AMM to officiate your wedding. AMM's ordinations are free and never expire.

 

Once they’ve been ordained, they might need to register their ordination with the county clerk before performing the ceremony, depending on where the ceremony is held. Click the links below to learn more about online ordination and minister registration: 

 

• Get ordained online with American Marriage Ministries
• Learn more about Minister Registration in your state

 

You can also hire a professional wedding officiant in your area, or ask your wedding venue for officiant recommendations. 

 

 

Horse carriage rides are a cozy way to celebrate on the wedding day year-round. (Photo: wanderluster / iStock)

 

 

More horse wedding ideas:  

 

There are many other ways to include a horse in a wedding ceremony, or to add equestrian themed details to your wedding day without the real thing.

 

Get creative and see what works for you! In addition to the ideas above, you might also add these fun horse wedding ideas to your big day: 

 

• Have your horse walk you down the aisle (walking side by side)
• Make your wedding entrance on horseback
• Have your horse pull you down the aisle in a decorative wagon, like this bride did
• Handfasting ceremony using your horse's lead rope or lead line
• 'Lucky' wedding horseshoe for the bride to carry down the aisle
• Wedding veil attached to cowgirl hat 
• Personalized show jackets (embroidered with 'Mr. & Mrs.', 'Mrs. & Mrs', or 'Just Married,' etc.)
• Order a custom equestrian theme wedding cake / horse themed wedding cake
• Use hay bales instead of chairs for guest seating 
• Use cowboy boots in place of traditional flower vases
• Send horse themed wedding invitations or save the dates

 

Related: Creative Save the Date Wording & Designs for Your Wedding

 

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