Bridology

Many couples look for ways to personalize their wedding. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to pick a strong theme and carry it throughout the day. The chosen theme can be a quote, a place, a style, a design, or even a monogram. Themes range from the very concrete (beach theme, travel theme, country cookout) to the abstract (A Love Story, French Indochine, modern), and should reflect the couple and their relationship.

Create a Cohesive Look

Picking a theme early in the wedding planning process will help narrow your decor focus in an overwhelming sea of possibility. Also, echoing the theme in the wedding day decorations is an ideal way to tie all the elements of the day together. For example, a couple who decides on a nautical theme wedding would naturally gravitate toward colors like navy, white and red or pink, along with design details such as nautical rope, seashells, lanterns and stripes.


How To Pick A Theme

The most important part of a theme is that it truly reflects the couple. Here are a few questions to get you thinking about possible wedding themes:

1. What has characterized our relationship? What words would our friends use to describe us? (Foodies, travelers, homebodies, tech geeks, etc.)

2. Where are our favorite places? What are our favorite foods? What are our favorite activities? What designs do we gravitate toward (check out how your home is decorated)?

3. If you’ve already chosen your wedding location, what qualities does the location represent? Is it on a cliff overlooking the ocean (perfect for a beach, nautical or tropical theme wedding), or is it on a quaint vineyard (a great location for a vintage or outdoorsy wedding theme)?

4. What time of year are you getting married? Snowflakes, roasted marshmallows and rich jewel tones are ideal for winter weddings, while bright, sunny hues and mojitos are summer-specific.

Carrying Out Your Chosen Theme


Success is in the details. Incorporate elements that represent your theme throughout the wedding day in different ways:

1. If you’re using a monogram of your initials, add it to the ceremony programs, the top of a menu, the cake, monogrammed cocktail napkins, and the favor bags or boxes. You can even have a gobo light project your monogram onto the dance floor for the evening.

2. Use your wedding colors, which should reflect your theme, in unexpected places to create a cohesive look. Print menus and ceremony programs on brightly colored cardstock that will pop against neutral linens, tie colored ribbon around white napkins, add a glass bowl filled with personalized matchbooks in your wedding colors by the bar during cocktail hour – the possibilities are endless.

3. Decor elements that evoke your theme should be brought into the day. A nautical theme wedding can incorporate items like anchor print ribbon on favor boxes or napkins and mini sailboat place card holders and tealight holders. Casual country cookout weddings can use red and white checkered tablecloths and printed paper bags for guests to put home baked goods in for favors.

Most importantly, be creative. Think outside the box for unique and unusual ways to incorporate your theme into the day for a special reflection of you and your fiance.