Tips and fun ideas for a successful wedding theme

Great tips and fun ideas for a successful wedding theme

Are you getting married and thinking about choosing a wedding theme to give your big day a lovely, cohesive feel? How exciting – you’ve come to the right place. A wedding theme creates a sense of cohesion and can also make it easier for you as a couple to plan the wedding if you have something to base your decisions on.

The theme can also be decisive in determining everything from the invitations to the wedding attire and the decorations. But how should you go about choosing a wedding theme, and what different themes are there to choose from?

What is a wedding theme and why is it important?

A wedding theme is exactly what it sounds like: a theme chosen for a wedding. It could, for example, be a particular colour or a season. Of course, choosing a theme for your wedding isn’t compulsory, but the fact is that it can make things much easier for you as the bride and groom, and for your guests too.

For you as the bride and groom, it can make planning easier as you have something to base your decisions on when it comes to choosing the venue, flowers and attire, for example. If you stick to a theme and tailor your choices around it, it can make the arrangements for – and everything else surrounding – the big day feel more cohesive.

By choosing a wedding theme, you can also create a sense of cohesion in the run-up to and during the wedding day, something that guests usually appreciate. As well as creating a visual thread running through the day, it can also make it easier for wedding guests to know what to expect, for example regarding the dress code.

How do you choose the right wedding theme?

It can feel difficult to choose a theme for your wedding because there are so many different ones to choose from, and that’s understandable. Here are a few tips to bear in mind when deciding on a wedding theme: the theme should reflect your personalities, interests, style preferences, your budget and, last but not least, the venue you’ve chosen – if you’ve already booked a wedding venue or reception venue.

A common mistake when choosing a wedding theme is failing to take the venue and the season into account. For example, if you’re planning to get married in a rural barn, it might be more appropriate to choose a rustic theme rather than a luxurious and glamorous one. Overcomplicating the theme is also a common mistake, so try not to make it harder for yourselves than it needs to be.

Suggestions for different types of wedding themes

There are many different things to consider when choosing a wedding theme. Below are some suggestions for different types of themes, which you can then tailor to your own preferences.

Choose a wedding theme based on the season

A simple way to choose a theme is simply to base it on the season of the year in which you plan to get married – in other words, organise a seasonal wedding. Do you want to get married in winter?

Host a winter wedding! Do you dream of saying ‘I do’ in a garden or on a jetty during one of the warmer months of the year? Make summer the theme of your outdoor wedding!

Let the venue determine the theme

If you’re finding it hard to choose a theme, another option is to let the venue you’ve chosen for the wedding determine the theme. One example is having a beach wedding if you’re planning to get married on a beach somewhere abroad.

Similarly, a country-style, rustic wedding would be ideal if you’re getting married in a barn, a romantic wedding theme if you’re celebrating your love at a cosy manor house, or a vintage theme for your wedding if you dream of saying ‘I do’ in an old castle.

Choose a theme based on a colour

It’s common to choose a colour as the theme for the wedding. You’ve no doubt heard of weddings where the bride and groom have gone all out on a particular colour, such as white or pink. In these cases, it can involve everything from the guests’ attire to the wedding decorations and food.

If you don’t want to get too fixated on a single colour, you could instead decide to stick to a colour palette – which is far more common – and in that case, the theme could, for example, be pastel colours.

By including more colours in the palette and theme, you as the bride and groom won’t be placing the same demands on your guests, which is often much appreciated. Make sure everything from the invitation cards and flowers to the crockery matches in the same colours. It’ll look lovely!

Use a country as your wedding theme

You don’t need to organise a destination wedding just to use another country as your wedding theme. How about, for example, throwing a Spanish-themed wedding where guests are treated to tapas, sangria and a flamenco show? That would certainly be a hit!

Draw inspiration from things you enjoy

There’s nothing to stop you, as the bride and groom, from thinking outside the box and creating your own wedding theme. Perhaps you have a keen interest in a particular decade, love ABBA or are passionate about a certain style of design?

Dare to be creative and think about how you could build on that to come up with a potential theme. At the end of the day, the most important thing is that you choose a wedding theme that you yourselves enjoy. As long as you do that, your wedding will be a success, no matter what.

Create a mood board on Pinterest, for example, to visualise your wedding theme.

Tips on how to use the theme

Once you’ve chosen a wedding theme, it’s important to tailor the wedding and all its elements to that theme. Some suggestions for elements that are best planned with the wedding theme in mind include the wedding invitations, the dress code and wedding decorations such as printed materials, flowers and table settings.

Invitation cards

This is an excellent opportunity to introduce your guests to your wedding theme as soon as you send out the invitations. For example, if you’re having a summer-themed wedding, you could design invitations in cheerful colours with floral elements or other summery motifs.

Dress code

The theme usually dictates not only the dress code for yourselves, but also for your bridal party and the other wedding guests. Perhaps you’ve chosen to get married on a beach and want a relaxed wedding with a bohemian theme where the dress code isn’t too strict.

Another example is, once again, a pastel-coloured theme, in which case the dress code might simply be about wearing the right colours.

Printed materials

To create a cohesive wedding design, it’s a good idea to use the same design on printed materials – such as place cards, menus and table numbers – as on the invitations. Not only does this look stylish, but it also shows your guests that you’ve gone the extra mile when it comes to the design.

Flowers

The wedding’s floral arrangements are also something you can easily adapt to the theme. Let’s say you’ve chosen a rustic theme; in that case, it might be lovely to use wildflowers from a nearby field or flowers from the garden.

Of course, you can also enlist the help of a florist and ask for a more natural look for everything from the bridal bouquet to the table flowers.

Table settings

A table setting can essentially look however you like and is therefore easy to adapt to suit the wedding theme. For example, if you’re planning a wedding at a castle and have chosen an elegant, classic theme, you could use a lovely vintage tableware set in muted colours and select a handwritten style for the text on your printed materials.

Hopefully, this post will provide a little inspiration for those of you who are in the midst of your wedding planning and are looking for some ideas on themes. With the right wedding theme, you can create a personalised wedding that neither you nor your guests will forget in a hurry.

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