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We’re back with our second part of ‘4 themed wedding ideas: perfect for planning and inspiring your special day’. And we are so excited to share and inspire you to get your theme on for the best day of your life.
Some love them, some hate them. But, themed weddings open up opportunities to share your passions. Whether that’s a strong addiction to Harry Potter or a desperate longing to be a Disney princess, themed weddings allow you to live out your fantasy for the biggest day of your life.
We’ll be posting our third and final part on Friday, February 5th. Can you guess the themes that’ll conclude our series? Let us know in the comments section below.
With that in mind, let’s roll out another 4 themed wedding ideas and how to achieve them through decor, dress sense, catering and everything in between.
1. Rustic Wedding Theme
Even the word ‘rustic’ warms our fingertips. Based on that magical word, we’re picturing roaring fires, delicious home-cooked food and a color pallet that perfectly represents fall.
With the rustic wedding theme, you’re going to need to focus heavily on wedding decor. Invest in some fairy lights - particularly ones inside small bulbs on long strings - because they’re going to set a ‘twinkly’, romantic atmosphere.
You’ll also do well to get some mason jars, bales of hay and utilize oak beams in your decor. It’s no surprise that, because hay is such a perfect companion to this theme, the best venue to truly say ‘rustic’ is a barn.
We’re not saying you should get married next to Daisy the cow. Though that’s the common misconception, barn venues are beautifully clean.
In fact, barnyard weddings make some of the most stunning weddings of all time. It screams out ‘home’, which, if you truly think about the definition of marriage, is a stunning way to start off your adventure as Mr and Mrs, Mr and Mr or Mrs and Mrs.
As we mentioned earlier, this theme comes to life when you select lighting properly. On top of your twinkly fairy lights, candles add extra warmth, not just to the temperature, but to the whole vibe. Instead of having bright spotlights that you’d usually find on stage or on the dance floor, the more natural flickers of light truly set the scene.
In terms of flowers, roses are the perfect pairing for the rustic theme. Deep colors rather than your lighter, more traditional shades, will help to contrast against gypsophila and the oak beams.
Speaking of ‘oak’, you’re going to want to use wood scattered throughout this theme. Logs are a great way to bring that ‘natural’ theme home. Use these logs for place names, table mats, cake stands and ring bearer cushions. You could even opt for using wooden boards for food rather than plates.
Everyone loves eating with their hands, right?
(Just be wary of messy food. The bride will be furious if she stains her white dress with ketchup!)
You can have some fun when it comes to your wedding cake. It’s all about naked wedding cakes for the rustic theme.
Curious about naked wedding cakes? Check out Brides’ post on 36 Naked Wedding Cakes We Love.
The naked wedding cake is symbolic of the phrase “it’s what’s on the inside that counts,” and could be compared to an ‘inside out cake’. That said, don’t mistake them for being messy. They’re pure, pretty and delicious.
(Plus, they help save a few pennies, too!)
Grooms should also take this theme hands-on. Their attire can compliment the theme through selecting brown hues and tweed. It looks on point, adds some class and will look marvelous in the wedding photos.
And, the bride can follow suit, (literally). Brides dresses should be inspired by the Boho theme. We’re talking lace, intricate designs and a flowy, relaxed shape.
2. Modern Wedding Theme
If you’re all about keeping up with the times and love the modern look, a modern themed wedding could be perfect for you.
The modern wedding theme is usually adored by couples who are fashion-forward and style-focused. It’s unsurprising, then, that they’ll want to show their modern outlook through their wedding theme.
This theme is all about geometric shapes and stylish color schemes. While this changes throughout the decades, the latest craze is rose gold. And lots, and lots of monochrome.
While you’re a lover of keeping up with the latest trends, you’re also big on originality. So, try to find venues that are a little ‘quirky’ or unusual. While more traditional couples prefer outdoor venues and picturesque settings, this theme works best in the city.
This theme also demands courage. You need to be brave when it comes to decor. Especially because you’ll find far fewer pins on Pinterest for inspiration. This is not because the theme isn’t a winning theme. Instead, it’s due to the high levels of creativity needed to pull it off.
Think unusual lighting. Large floor lamps and strobe lights will give the theme an edge. On top of that, have fun with your glassware. You could use empty, (but sterilized), candle pots, cement jars or anything that isn’t designed to hold a drink.
The show-stopper for this theme comes down to the tiny detail of place cards. Like your glassware, this is a chance to get seriously creative. Using slate or crystal and having your guest’s names engraved generally works well.
Think carefully about the latest trends and how you can incorporate them into your place cards. Plus, these make beautiful wedding favors. They’re personalized, quirky and will remind all of your guests of the best wedding they’ve ever been to!
Wedding dresses, with this theme, are best when they’re super simple. Lace will nod toward a more traditional theme. So, plain dresses work best. You can always dress them up with lots of bling and large curls in your hair.
And there’s nothing more modern than modern music. Leave the hits of the 50’s at home and share your first dance to a loved song in our decade. The newer, the better.
3. Country Garden Wedding Theme
We’re getting instant ‘Alice in Wonderland’ vibes just thinking about it.
The country garden wedding theme is the perfect theme for those who love traditionalism with a slight hint of originality.
As it’s based outdoors, you’re going to need to try to pick a summery month. There’s nothing worse than being uncomfortably cold at a wedding - whether it’s your own or someone else’s.
So, if you select this theme, it needs to flatter the date you’re getting married, too.
(We know it’s impossible to guarantee warm weather. But, it’s best to boost your chances by booking a date in late spring or summer.)
The country garden theme is relaxed and intimate. Perfect for couples who are choosing a smaller wedding. But, just because it’s small, it makes no difference to the level of beauty.
In fact, can you get much more beautiful than copious amounts of flowers and the scent of lilies? We don’t think so.
As such, the flowers are the main event of this theme. You can’t have a country garden wedding theme without the flowers. So, while the wedding is small, go big on the floral side of things. You want a massive range of them. No flower is off limits. No size, no color, no type. You want big bursts of color, but these are complemented by lighter shades, too.
But, we hear you. Flowers ain’t cheap.
So, ask your guests to bring one potted plant from their garden. It’s unlikely that they won’t be up for the donation. And, this can help bulk out your country garden theme without having to spend too much on flowers. Plus, it’s a lovely way to involve your guests on the big day.
When it comes to food and sweet treats, this theme is just adorable. Macarons and dainty finger food brings this theme to life. You want to avoid anything messy and try to stick to the ‘can I eat it with my hands?’ rule. The sweeter, the better.
Your decor should also involve lots of props. Think about a beautiful, English garden. Watering cans, large plant pots, wellies and lots of greenery will make this theme apparent and stand out in your wedding photos. It’s also worth mentioning the theme on your invitations, as you don’t want 10 guests turning up wearing black.
Guests should wear floral patterns or light, pastel colors to incorporate the theme. Of course, as always, guests should not wear white. That’s for the bride and the bride only.
(If you go to someone’s wedding wearing white, we can’t trust you.)
Speaking of the bride’s dress, this theme opens up a few options. While we recommend that the best way to flatter the country garden theme is to opt for a floaty dress, it’s not essential. It’s more about the color. Brides should choose white or ivory for this theme to contrast the colors of the flowers and plants.
While a tighter dress won’t look out of place, the loose-fitting, floaty dress works best.
4. Harry Potter Wedding Theme
Some couples can think of nothing worse. For some, this theme is immediately ‘tacky’. For us, though, we can’t get enough of the Wizarding magic from a Harry Potter wedding.
This theme is super particular, and, we won’t lie, it’s not easy to pull off. But, if both members of the wedding adore Harry Potter, they can avoid being muggles for the day and embrace the magical world created by JK Rowling.
The most obvious place to start is the seating. We immediately think of the Great Hall in Hogwarts, where hundreds of floating candles are directly above the student’s heads.
(Not a great shout, Hogwarts founders. That’s a fire hazard on so many levels.)
You can recreate this. While Hogwarts holds up the candles with pure magic, you can do the same with a few muggle tricks.
You’ll need a lot, and I mean a lot, of string. And, to avoid those fire hazards, it’s best to select electronic candles.
Nothing halts the magic showstopper than the tables setting fire.
There are so many options for seating plans. Whether you choose to organize people by house (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin), by magical creature, (thestrals, phoenixes and bowtruckles are my personal favorites)or by magical destinations, (Hogwarts, Hogsmede, Godric's Hollow, Platform 9 ¾), your seating plans will be a massive nod toward your theme.
Follow the footsteps of the wizarding world and serve butterbeer and firewhiskey at your wedding.
To save you Googling it, here’s the recipe for delicious, creamy (and surprisingly non-alcoholic), butterbeer. That said, a few drops of vodka and you’ve got the perfect wedding potion for grownups.
There’s something beautiful about sparklers. Use them the same way you’d use a wand and you’ve got a perfect Harry Potter moment. Rather than throwing confetti, (which we don’t recommend as it’s significantly poor for the environment), give your guest one sparkler each. Walk with your significant other underneath the ‘wand’ bridge.
Check out how one Potter-fanatic (although, he only joined the Potter club recently), used this approach in his own wedding here.
The Potterless podcast follows the journey of an adult man reading the Potter books for the first time. The above link takes you to the Potterless Instagram account where he incorporated small parts of Harry Potter into his wedding.
Your cake and cake topper can show your wizarding obsession better than anything. In fact, when researching for this blog post, I fell head over heels in love with every cake in this article put together by Glamour magazine.
Your wedding invitations should introduce the theme. Rather than flat out telling your guests: ‘hey, come to our wedding. It’s a Harry Potter themed day’, show them your theme without saying it. Reference ‘the unbreakable vow’, or design it using a Daily Prophet template.
It’s probably a little too much to have them delivered by owl, but having a wax seal or a stamp that states ‘delivered by Owl Post’ is a great little hint toward the Potterverse.
Like I said, this theme isn’t for everyone. The Harry Potter wedding theme is for Sirious fans, (see what I did there?), who would Snape (and again - I’m sorry), if they couldn’t incorporate the magical world of Harry Potter into the most magical day of their lives.
I don’t like any of these themed weddings.
Don’t panic! We still have our final 4 themes to post. So, keep an eye out for them on Friday, February 5th.
With one final part to come, what themes do you think will make the shortlist? Let us know in the comments below.