Most weddings have a theme, whether intentional or accidental. Traditionally, wedding themes comprised matching the bridesmaids dresses with the flowers, and possibly tying those in with the odd bit of ribbon here and there. These days, even weddings without a ‘theme’ as such still tend to have a colour scheme that runs through most aspects of the wedding.
If you are looking to theme your wedding to suit your taste in colour, style or interests, the following is a list of things to consider :
- Colour – Traditionally, the only way to theme a wedding. What colour do you feel represents you as a couple? Bring this colour through in the attire, stationery, table settings, decoration, cars.
- Style – In recent years, period style has played a large part in wedding themeing. Is there a particular decade that you admire for it’s styling?
- Objects – Is there an object that defines your relationship. This could be an item you found on your first date or a little something that has always meant something to your relationship.
- Food – Do you both have a passion for certain food – do you both love a glass of scrumpy? Perhaps apples could set the theme for the day, using the colour; the shape in the invitations; cider on your tables. This can work well for many foods – oriental/sweets/American Diner themes.
- Places – Your honeymoon destination or a favourite place could be the basis for an entire theme – colours, styles, food, props – all in the theme of a special place.
- Concepts – Films, books and brands all offer great themeing ideas. Most couples have a joint passion for a film, book or brand and these all offer plenty of scope for themeing.
Plan Your Theme
Your wedding theme may be something you want complete control over, or you may prefer to hand this large task over to a wedding planner. For your theme to carry through into all aspects of the day you will need to spend a lot of time planning. If you don’t spend enough time considering and planning the theme, you may struggle to tie everything together.
Begin by brainstorming your interests, covering all the aspects above. Write all these down and decide which interests you are most drawn to for your wedding theme. Keep an open mind to two or three ideas as when you start to think about how your ideas can be implemented into a wedding setting, you may find that your favourite ideas simply are not practical enough.
Make Some Early Purchases
Colour is a big part of any theme, regardless of the original idea. Consider what colours you think of when you think of your theme idea. This could be as simple as choosing white and one muted colour, or as extravagant as having three colours, each in a variety of shades. Once you know what colours you want, purchase a few items that you might like to incorporate into your wedding – ribbon is a great start as it is produced in such a variety of colours, and can be used in a very soft, traditional way; or can be geometric with hard lines, or displayed rough and rustic.
Posters, books and other printed material are great for wedding theme inspiration as they convey style, colour and even type, all of which can be incorporated into wedding themeing.
The traditional starting place for deciding on a theme are the flowers and the bridesmaids dresses. If you already know what you would like your bridesmaids to wear, or which flowers you would like, use these as the basis for colour and style, which you can then pull through into other aspects of the wedding.
The Professionals
Cake and stationery designers can be invaluable when pulling your theme ideas together. These designers have creative flair and understanding of colour and style. Make a few early appointments to discuss your ideas with these professionals as they may be able to offer suggestions you wouldn’t consider yourself. They will also be able to show examples of their past work and this may inspire your own theme.
The Big Picture
It may be a good idea to have a notebook set aside for your wedding theme ideas. In this book you can plan your entire wedding theme. Break your wedding day into parts (ceremony, champagne reception, wedding breakfast and evening reception, for example). Now write a list of ways in which your wedding theme can be incorporated into each part of the day. For an example, below is a list of ‘theme-able’ items at the wedding breakfast:
- Table Plan
- Place Name Cards
- Menus
- Table Names
- Napkins
- Crockery
- Favours
- Centrepieces
- Cake
- Food
- Chair Covers
- Speech Props
- Props throughout the room
For most of your themed items, you will require many pieces (one per guest/one per table). In order to ensure that you carry out the entire theme the way you have planned, articularly if you have a strict budget, theme items need to be purchased early on in the planning stages. If colour is a big part of your theme, you will need to source many different items – often from different suppliers – in the same colour and this can take time. If you are making purchases online, be aware that photographs and monitors vary in colour and contrast so where possible, ask for a sample to be posted to you before you commit to buying in bulk.
For your marriage ceremony to be legal in England, it must take place in a registered venue, and by a registrar or vicar. Below I have listed the various types of registered wedding venues. These are:
- Churches (and other places of religious worship)
- Country Estates and Houses
- Hotels and Restaurants
- Town and Village Halls
- Houses and Cottages
- Special interest (Caves, Train Stations, Football grounds etc.)
Ceremonies can take place indoors and outside, with the latter taking place within a permanent structure which has been duly sanctioned according to law, for the celebration of marriages. Many country houses, hotels and special interest venues now offer outdoor ceremonies and if you are interested in this kind of ceremony, venues offering this service can be found within most counties.
Seperate Venues
Whatever your ceremony venue, you should consider your post-ceremony and evening receptions to take place within a 20 minute drive of the ceremony. As a photographer, I find that a drive of any length does take away from the flow of the wedding day – particularly where guests are not local to the area. Parking at venues and Loading cars with kids, pushchairs etc. can take a while.
All-In-One
While a drive between locations can take away from the flow of your day, hosting your wedding in just one location can also be problematic, particularly with an ill-run venue. Don’t assume that just being a wedding venue is enough to ensure your wedding day runs smoothly. While large country estates look fantastic, many are relatively sprawling, inside and out. I have shot many weddings where the day is structured, with the use of six or more different rooms – The lounge, pre-ceremony; the ceremony out at the orangery, the library for the champagne reception; the dining room for the breakfast and speeches; the evening reception in the main hall; a side-room for a disco – you want to have a relaxing day for both yourselves and for your guests, and all this to-ing and fro-ing can be stressful and confusing.
Wedding venue staff (front-of-house in particular) will attempt to mould you into their way of running a wedding. While they are the experts in this, they also want to make their lives easy so if there is anything in their suggestions and services that you are not happy with, question it and try to adapt the day to suit your ideals.
Town and Village Halls
Some town and village halls offer wedding ceremonies and receptions run by their staff. Others offer the venue as an empty shell with which you can decorate, supply caterers and nominate a master of the ceremonies (to ensure smooth running of the day). If you like to organise and take control of planning, these venues can work really well. Lighting and themeing companies offer many services, some of which can completely overhaul the interior of a bland building, including covering the walls in swathes of fabric (think marquee) and spot-lighting individual tables (think awards ceremony).
Special Interest
All across England, local places of interest (museums, football stadiums, caves, train stations etc.) are offering their properties and grounds to wedding ceremonies and receptions. These venues operate in much the same way as country houses and in doing so tend to offer wedding planning and front-of-house services to ensure smooth running of your venues. Some of these venues come with restrictions and clauses for your wedding day, so it is worth researching your chosen venues well, before paying a deposit. Many will still be open to the public during your wedding day. Some will restrict your use of their grounds, and a good example of this is where weddings take place at golf courses – you and your guests will likely be asked not to enter the golf course – what can seem like a vast, sprawling venue for your wedding day can turn out to be restricted to just a couple of rooms.
Wedding dress shopping tends to be a relatively major part of wedding planning.
The only rules that apply to wedding dress design and colour are the ones that you yourself stand by. You need to ask yourself what is important to you. Are you choosing your dress style based on your ideal wedding? Your religion? Perhaps you dislike the traditional christian white or ivory wedding dress but are unsure of your options. Here are a few pointers:
- Length can vary from full-length to a mini-dress. Churches sometimes restrict flesh exposure.
- Choose your dress colour based on your own ideals – white or ivory, a tint of colour or something bold.
- The style of dress should be dictated both by your taste, and by your body shape.
Your budget should be your first consideration when dress-shopping, as this dramatically determines where you should begin your search. You will find your perfect dress regardless of budget but you don’t want to waste time looking in the wrong place for your dress.
Custom-Made
If you want a truly unique wedding dress that suits your shape and flatters your features, you will need to have a dress custom-made for you. You will want to find a dress designer who’s designs suit your taste and style. As with any custom-made product, prices vary.
- For those on a lower budget, or those in search of something slightly ‘edgier’ in style, look for a designer who is new to the industry – newly-graduated fashion designers have fresh ideas and are likely to charge less as their businesses are in their infancy.
- Higher budgets come with a wider choice of wedding dress designers. You will have much more choice when looking for a designer so spend some time finding a few designs that suit your taste, from various designers in your area. Meet with these designers and choose one who really understands your requirements.
Off The Peg
Buying a dress ‘off the peg’ offers a more limited choice than having a dress custom-made. Buying an ‘off the peg’ dress may require you to try many dresses on before you find ‘the one’. Go into the shop with an open mind as to the style of dress that you are after. Try different styles on until you know the best style for you – you can then narrow your search to only trying on dresses in that style.
Second Hand
Buying a second-hand wedding dress isn’t for everyone. If you are on a tight budget, or are looking for an older style, no longer offered by dressmakers, second hand could be a good option. Wedding dresses are usually only worn for one day, but loose value dramatically (great for those buying second-hand)
- Long wedding dresses always get dirty, so if your second-hand dress is a floor-length dress, check that it either hasn’t been used (it’s owner may not have ‘made it’ down the isle) or that it has been dry-cleaned.
- Buying a short wedding dress second-hand is easier to cope with. The dress won’t have been trailing across the floor for 12 hours, getting dirty and tattered. If it has been dry-cleaned, it should be as good as new.
- It is possible that your second hand dress can be altered if it is a little too large for you. Unfortunately, you are unlikely to know whether it can be altered until you have bought it. Make sure it is as close a fit as possible, before you buy.
