If you're getting married, you have a lot of decisions to make. Flowers, favors, food, music, the venue, the guest list, the clothes'it all needs to mesh into a coherent whole to make a perfect wedding. If you're overwhelmed with all the choices, you should think about what you want the overarching theme of your wedding to be. Once chosen, a theme is a powerful tool to help you narrow down your choices. Here are a few tips on how to choose the perfect wedding theme.
Simply the season. This is the easiest way to pick a theme for your wedding: what season will it take place in? The season makes a big contribution to what colors you'll use, what favors are appropriate'even the food. Fall weddings tend to use natural earth tones and fall colors'reds, golds, and yellows. Favors and decorations center around a foliage theme. Winter weddings use sparkling white as well as dark greens and deep reds, and for decorations you'll often see evergreen and snowflakes. Spring and summer weddings generally use pastels and copious amounts of flowers.
Celebrate the holiday. Does your wedding take place near a holiday? Christmas, Halloween, Easter, the 4th of July, and Valentine's Day weddings are all popular themes. If your wedding is near the bride or groom's birthday, it might be fun to have a birthday-themed wedding'with slumber-party favors and ice cream at the reception.
A passion you share. Do you and your fianc' love to play golf together? Did you meet at a Star Trek convention? Are you wine connoisseurs or devoted baseball fans or nature-lovers? The best themes have to do with a love that the couple shares, or possibly a link to how they met. Brainstorm with your loved one about things you share a passion for that might translate into a fun and creative wedding theme.
A period in history. Are you both fascinated by medieval history, Celtic jewelry, Regency splendor, or Victorian romance? If there's a period in history you both love'or maybe one that one of you loves and the other doesn't mind'it might translate into a perfect wedding theme. Some couples try to make their food, dress, and entertainment as close to the period as possible'while some just use it to inform the decorations and add the perfect ambience to the wedding.
A heritage wedding. Is he Scottish? Is she Korean? If one (or both) of you has a strong sense of heritage, there's no better way to personalize your wedding than to incorporate it. Scottish weddings complete with bagpipes and kilts are a fun and popular choice'as are elegant Asian weddings, German brew fests, or weddings with a Native American or even an African tone.
A special location. Weddings at interesting locations add a distinctive spin to the typical ceremony. Beach weddings and outdoor weddings are obvious choices. Some couples get married on sailboats, in airplanes, or in hot-air balloons. Others choose a historical location or building, or a public garden for their ceremony.
A personality fit. Are the two of you hopeless romantics? Adventure-lovers? Kids at heart? Think about your personality as a couple. What really tugs at your heartstrings, makes you smile, or gets your blood pumping? Personality-themed weddings can center on fairy tale romance, bungee-jumping adventure, or nostalgia for childhood. The better your wedding fits your personality as a couple, the more memorable it will be.
Planning a wedding doesn't have to be complex. Give some thought to your theme. Once you've picked the right theme for your wedding, the rest of the details should fall right into place. |
