Unique Wedding Theme Ideas
By Jasmine Macdonald
Why not let your personality shine through with a theme wedding?
Just add a splash of imagination, and you'll be destined for an event your guests won't soon forget.
The Luau
Make your guests feel like they're on the shores of sun-drenched Hawaii. How? Decorate your reception hall with tiki torches, orchids, and palm fronds. Play traditional Hawaiian music (with ukuleles). For food and beverages, serve pupu platters and mai tais. For party favors, give each guest a fragrant flower lei.
Start with a historic site. Pick from red, white and blue for your bridesmaids' gowns and accessories, not to mention your table linens and other decor. Hire up some fifes and drums. For an old-fashioned feast, have a barbeque — then serve ice cream and cake with sparklers on top.
This relaxed yet classy event's at home on a yacht, at a yacht club or even down on the shore. For decorations, draw on colorful signal flags. The bride could don a straw boater hat instead of a veil, and the men dress down in blue blazers and khaki pants. A clambake or lobster bake is perfect for your wedding feast. Use large conches or miniature lighthouses as centerpieces.
The Mardi Gras Wedding
Get your guests' heels kicking with a jazz or Zydeco band. Serve up Cajun favorites such as gumbo, crawfish etouffee, jambalaya, and an oyster bar. For drinks, serve Hurricanes (what else?), and hand out Mardi Gras beads as wedding favors.
The Kentucky Derby Theme
How about a day at the races? Bride and bridesmaids alike should wear fabulous hats, and the music should be reminiscent of bluegrass. For drinks, serve Mint Juleps (hand out silver-plated julep cups as favors, or fancy paper fans). Arrive in a horse-drawn carriage.
Take your guests back with food, drink, dress and merry-making from times of yore. The bride, groom and attendants should all dress in period costumes (encourage your guests to join in the fun). For food, set up a carving board heaped with roasts, whole grain loaves and other hearty fare.
During the ceremony, draw on the medieval handfasting ritual, in which the couple faces each other, crosses arms and holds hands. The best man then binds their hands with a ribbon, forming the sign for "infinity" while the couple recites their vows.
Only your wedding could make this time of year even more magical. The bride might don a white velvet gown, red cape, and white fur muff, while the bridesmaids sweep down the aisle in red or white velvet. Heartstring-pulling Christmas hymns are a natural — get your guests in the holiday spirit by having the children pass out song sheets, and pausing for a Christmas carol sing-along.
For decor, use poinsettias, holly and pinecone centerpieces. A sparkling Christmas tree makes a fabulous focal point — you can even deck it with favors for the guests in the form of adorable ornaments. To continue the storyboook look, have the bride carry holly and gold-painted pomegranates, and the bridesmaids bypass the usual bouquets in favor of holly wreaths with tiny silver bells.
Decorate your reception hall in shades of cranberry and pumpkin, deep greens and sables. Use cornucopias as centerpieces, stuffed with gilded fruits and vegetables. Scatter pumpkins and gourds — left plain, touched with gold, carved with your monogram or hollowed and filled with flowers. The bride could carry ivy or leaves along with her autumn-friendly flowers. For the food, start with with the "comfort" offerings you'd see at a Thanksgiving buffet.
Jasmine Macdonald is the publisher of several wedding themed sites. She also publishes a website which allows you to make your very own wedding website. You can check it out at:
www.fun.createswebsites.com for a FreeTrial Offer.
theme wedding, Christmas wedding, fall wedding, Mardi Gras wedding, nautical wedding
hi,
Im getting married on December 2012. we already booked the venue. It will be a garden wedding. http://www.villesommet.com Im thinking of pink and green shade since its my favourite but he loves blue. (still confused)
Im still thinking of the wedding theme. Maybe with paper airplanes and post cards for menu card/table number. Need help!
We’ve been dating for 10 years and almost the whole year of it was in long distance relationship.
Thanks in advance:)
Lalaine,
Something like this would be so pretty…
Love this…With navy, pink, green…
The green could be greenery, like here..
And here
I think these a great way to add all 3 colors to your wedding without sacrificing what you both love. Let me know what you think.
Hi,
my fiance and i are getting married in january. and we r thinking of orange and yellow as our colors. Being catholic, we are having a church wedding with our ceremony theme being “love is patient, love is kind…….”. We are also planning a formal evening outdoor reception. My problem is that i cant seem to figure out a theme. kindly advise.
Lisa,
I would carry my love theme into my reception. Romance being key in decor. have the love is patient everywhere from the cake topper to the paper goods etc. If you didn’t want to go this route, then what are the things or places you both love. A theme is optional, you could just have the decor in everything you both love and is sentimental to you, carrying out the love theme. You can even look to your honeymoon destination and incorporate a little vacation for the guests. Do you have a fave era? movie? Even the colors can be your theme, or a monogram. A theme shows the guests a little about the couple.
Hello,
I am planning my wedding for September 2012. I have no idea where to start. I can’t decided on a theme. All I know is that I want something very glamourous and elegant, but also unique. I am thinking an ethereal or grecian touch…possibly silver and baby blue or silver and white for colors. I’m so up in the air. I love diamonds, also. Throw any ideas at me! Justjustinsgirl@hotmail.com
Marissa,
Can I get a pic or venue link, so I can see what colors work best? Thanks!
Stacey…I have not confirmed my venue yet. It will be one of two outdoor garde3ns. One is an 1800′s Victorian estate with tons of English rose gardens, fountains, and peacocks. The other is a castle with lots of manicured lawns and flower beds. Ideally, I’d like to have tents for an outdoor reception. I’m still up in the air, I think I need an event coordinator!
Oh yes, I was thinking of pale sky blue and silver, or pale sky blue and pale lavendar? Plus I know everyone who knows me expects everything to be pink, so that is not an option, I want to surprise and wow everyone :)
Marissa,
I always recommend securing a venue before choosing a color scheme because it may clash. Once you secure your venue,please let me know and we can begin on some ideas. Thanks!! Looking forward to hearing from you!
My finace n I are getting married in July we are having a beach theme wedding but I still haven’t figured out what colors I want to do! I really rather not blue, any ideas?? Also if anyone knows of any good websites I can go to, to look at deceration ideas and what not! I am not very good at this kind of things. Thank you!!
Tiffany C.,
Of course! Here are a few of my faves…
* Site one
* this has some beautiful work
* some themes from sandals resorts( I love white for a beach wedding because of the contrast it has with the water/sky-plus its so versatile and failproof)
I was playing with the notion of having a Mardi Gras themed wedding in September. Is that too odd?
flbeachbride,
No not odd at all. Google image search mardi gras wedding for more ideas.
If you like, just call it a Cajun wedding or New Orleans wedding. Have a jazz band, cajun food, and use mardi gras colors.
so my fiance and are are planning a smallish wedding in a relatives back yard in September i know i want purple to be one of the colors and maybe brown or black. im not really going for a formal type wedding i want a theme thats fun and goes with the time of year any ideas woul be greatly appreciated
Ava,
Purple and black woul dbe really fun colors to work with. Brown will lean less of an edge.
* look at this real wedding, instead of lemons and limes use grapes instead ( for the purple)
* this site you can search great ideas by color
I agree . . . a grape harvest theme would be easy and inexpensive. Baskets with grapes as centerpieces . . . a simple white cake with sugared grapes. Instead of feeding each other a piece of cake, feed each other grapes . . . how sweet and sexy would that be!
Some more grape ideas . . . again, I recommend checking out http://www.etsy.com . . .they always have interesting items. If you want to add some brown, use some fall leaves.
Nancy B. Your comments have been so helpful to so many ppl you should really think about becoming a wedding planner!! I would love to get some ideas from you. I would like to give you my email address if you would be ok with that??
Hi everybody,
I am in desperate need of ideas to cary out our wedding theme.
We are both world travelers, we live abroad and our families are very multicultural. We would like to have a “world theme” of some kind that captures our love for traveling and adventure but have NO CLUE on how to cary out this idea in practice.
The wedding party will be inside, in a hall.
Any tips on invitations, decorations, entertaining will be most welcome. Thank you thank you thank you !
Laura,
* here are some travel theme wedding pics
* pretty amazing
laura,
* more details
* you may like this, be sure to check out all parts
* this is so pretty!
Use your menu to make a statement . . . especially with hor dourves. You could use antiqued glopes and maps and use beiges and browns as your colors, or use blues and greens and colored maps and globes. Decorate with flags. Have a suitcase wedding cake or a tiered cake with a little luggage set on top. Give luggage tags as favors. Go to http://www.etsy.com for custom made passport or boarding pass invitations. Dance to international music. Say some of your vows in a foreign language. Use wedding customs from a foreign country. Have “I Love You” spelled out in several languages on the tiers of your wedding cake. “Name” the tables at your reception site with the names of places you would like to visit. Have a coffee bar with various kinds of coffees. Use wine bottles from other countries as vases for the flowers on your tables. Have a singer perfrom a song at the wedding in Italian . . . just use your imagination!
I found an old post I did on travel weddings . . . use postcards – old or new – as decorations. You can find old ones on ebay, or check out esty, they may have things made of old postcards.
Need help my wedding is May14 2011. My colors are mermaid an azalea. I have NO idea on decorations for tables…… Help me…… I kind of like a country theme since its at a lodge but not set in stone on that idea….. Its a NICE lodge an my budget is not big I kind of like modern ideas…..So im very cofussed. Any suggestions will be usfull…… At one point I thought of topiarys…. HELP ME IM SO SCATTERED BRAIN……………………..
Vicki,
I am not sure eaht the lodge allows but waht about lanterns filled with candles and rose petals? It would be a rustic elegant look. You could even think about hurricane globes.
* like this
* another idea
Vicki,
* these centerpieces are fantastic-the entire wedding is!
* last pic on this page
* I also like the river rock and floating candle/flower centerpiece
* here it is
Hello, I am getting married July 9,2011. Our wedding is at the community hall at a park. The ceremony is out side on a deck that looks over a small lake and our reception is inside (people are allowed to mingle outside as well!) The colors we have chosen are Aqua and a shade of pink (haven;t decided the exact shade just that it will be a bright pink) I am having a hard time picking a theme.. Any suggestion????
Carrie,
Themes are optional. You could choose a nature type theme incorporating a tree wedding invitation maybe with a waterfront pic.
* like this invite
you could choose to have aspects of a beach wedding since it is lakefront or even a honeymoon theme wedding( where is your honeymoon and give guests a glimpse of that). vintage, location, color theme, hobbies, anything goes.
Closeby where I live is a marina style restaurant on the small lake. It has outdoor gazebo and porches overlooking the water. If there are boats etc at your location then you could do a sea theme wedding. Just touches. Think nautical ropes etc.
Carrie,
* look at this gorgeous setting, your aqua and pink( in the orchids)
Carrie,
If I could see pics or a link I might be able to help more with a theme. If it has old charm then using a era or movie theme.