Weddings don’t need to be white dresses and morning suits. How you want to spend your special day is such a personal thing that no two weddings are ever totally alike. Choosing a wedding theme can help you plan all the added extras when there are so many options to choose from. As an added bonus, it can be a brilliant ice breaker for two groups of people you’re bringing together. But how do you choose a wedding theme? Here are nine ways to find a style for your special day that’s unique to you and your loved one.
Wedding Theme 1: Let Colour Set The Tone
A theme can be as simple as choosing a colour. You might have a signature colour that your friends associate with you. If you both have one, it makes a stunning visual symbol of your union. Choosing a colour wedding theme will narrow down your choices for floral arrangements, table decorations, bridesmaid dresses and button holes. It’s also an easy way for your guests to accessorise to feel a part of the theme.
Wedding Theme 2: Take Inspiration From The Seasons
Seasonal food and flowers, especially if they’re locally sourced, will also be a more eco-friendly option. Log fires, warm cocktails, hearty roasts and evergreen foliage will make the coldest winter wedding feel cosy. Bring a little harvest festival into your autumn wedding theme with edible centre pieces and fallen leaf arrangements in golds, reds and browns. Pot up pansies or primroses and scatter pastel almonds for Springtime wedding favours, or celebrate Summer with picnics and ice creams.
Wedding Theme 3: Location Location Location
Pair your wedding theme with your dream venue: a medieval feel for a castle ceremony, rustic touches for a barn reception, or vintage boho for a gathering in an art nouveau style hotel. Many venues will often work with preferred caterers, florists and wedding coordinators who will know just what brings out the best of the location. If you’re doing it all yourself, take some time to really look at the venue and let your imagination run riot. Think about the architecture and period features, the local history or other special features that would add some fun and interesting details.
Wedding Theme 4: Love What You Do
Did you meet salsa dancing? Are your lives dominated by cycling? Do you spend all your free time playing video games? If you have a particular passion, you can really push the boat out and add some fantastic quirky touches with a hobby wedding theme. Don’t be afraid to create an event that is unusual. If it’s something you really love, your friends and family will enjoy sharing it with you!
Wedding Theme 5: Box Sets and Big Screen Bliss
If you’re dedicated Star Wars fans, walking down the aisle to John Williams’ Victory March with flower girls dressed as ewoks and storm trooper groomsmen might be the dream ceremony for you. Whether you have a shared love of the Marvel cinematic universe, the romance of Downton Abbey, or the epic drama of Game of Thrones, there’s a world in inspiration in popular culture for a tv or movie wedding theme.
Wedding Theme 6: Let Me Show You The World
Taking inspiration from your cultural heritage or travels can add special meaning to your day. You may share a love of a particular country, or perhaps want to add a taste of your honeymoon destination and reflect this in your food, music, outfits and decorations.
Wedding Theme 7: Once Upon A Time
Choosing a historical era as a wedding theme can be fantastic fun – especially if you combine this with a quirky location. A grand Tudor feast with authentic food, a genteel Regency tea party straight from Jane Austen, a 1940s swing dance with rations and vintage china: all perfect if your friends and relations like to dress up.
Wedding Theme 8: Save The Date
If your wedding date happens to coincide with a memorable date or special occasion, why not combine the two? Christmas, Halloween, Valentine’s Day, Easter are all simple themes to work in to your wedding, with the added bonus of the wealth of ideas already out there for parties. Don’t forget about patron saints, famous anniversaries and birthdays too. That Star Wars themed ceremony would be perfect on May the Fourth!
Wedding Theme 9: Green Is The New White
Eco-friendly elements might be a major factor in whatever celebrations you are planning, but you could let being green take centre stage. Making all your stationery and decorations from recycled materials, choosing local produce, providing biodegradeable or natural flower confetti for your guests, and arriving on bike or horseback are all environmentally friendly options. Reducing the carbon footprint of your special day can really start your married life with a real sense of wellbeing. Don’t forget to check with your venue to see what green options they can already offer.
How Far Should Your Theme Go?
Your theme can be all encompassing, or it can just add subtle touches to a traditional celebration. Your guests might not appreciate a request to don full fancy dress for an Alice in Wonderland theme, but would enjoy the fun of a Mad Hatter tea party buffet, “drink me” miniatures for wedding favours and a game of croquet on the lawn. Make sure you consider your guest list when you’re working out how far you want to go with your plans. You can hire a professional planner to research and coordinate all the extras if your budget with stretch to it. It doesn’t have to cost the earth, though. Pinterest is a great resource for ideas you can recreate on a shoestring, and friends and family can always be roped in to make accessories in advance. Try to keep it achievable and not stressful. When you’ve chosen your venue and theme, don’t forget to check our guidance and talk to our team to see how you can work your theme into the ceremony itself!
Whatever kind of ceremony and celebrations you choose, the most important part is the I Do, and the days that follow after.