Picking a Style or Theme
A theme can be as simple as "informal" or as complicated as "1950s Hawaiian." To help pick a theme or style, make a list of the things you and your partner love. Are you movie buffs, nature fans, foodies or Renaissance faire enthusiasts?You can also base your wedding's theme around the season or location; plan a winter wedding with snowflake decorations and ice sculptures, or a beach wedding with shell decorations and vases filled with sand and sea oats.
Some popular wedding themes (and a few ideas to get you started):
- Mardi Gras: Decorate in the traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold; give out masks or beads as favors or, if you're adventurous, wear them!
- Country Western: Use cowboy boots as vases, hand out personalized ten-gallon hats to your wedding party, and start up the country music.
- Art: If you and your partner are artists or art fans, you can decorate with prints of your favorite artists or your own work. Supply paper tablecloths and art supplies so your guests can decorate their own tables, and encourage doodles and drawings alongside messages in your guest book.
- Medieval: Hit up a local Renaissance faire for costumes, vendor names and ideas. Serve traditional medieval foods like venison and mutton, hire period musicians, and even consider teaching your guests a simple medieval dance during the reception.
- Sports: If you and your partner are huge soccer or football fans, why not bring your sport of choice into a wedding theme? Serve foods common at tailgate parties, design a ball-shaped cake and hand out sport-related favors like personalized golf balls, hockey pucks or whatever relates to the sport of your choice. If you're a true fanatic, you could even hold your ceremony or reception in your favorite stadium.
Picking a Color Scheme
A wedding color scheme is optional, but many couples elect to pick a few colors to accent such elements as invitations, decorations, flowers and favors. To figure out your color scheme, start out with you and your partner's favorite colors. You can also base your color scheme on the season of your wedding, on any prevalent colors at your ceremony location or on the colors of your favorite flowers.Decoration Ideas
Wedding magazines and websites are great places to start for decoration ideas; you can also check out regular decoration and design magazines. Here are a few ideas to get you started:- Fill your hall with rented plants or even potted trees.
- Borrow family heirlooms like serving dishes, mirrors or sculptures.
- Use photographs (of you and your partner during your courtship or your ancestors' wedding photos).
- Special lighting like colorful lanterns, spotlights or strands of twinkle lights.
- Drape walls and furniture with fabric in your wedding colors.
- Fold napkins into decorative shapes.
North Carolina Decoration Sources
Holland Rent-All: Raleigh-based rental outfit offering wedding decorations, serving utensils and party equipment.Party Rentals Plus: Rental offering tents, furniture, serving items and decorations in Salisbury.
Things Remembered: Purveyor of wedding gifts and accessories including cake toppers, guest books and candles with locations across North Carolina including Gastonia, Charlotte, Pineville, Winston-Salem, Asheville, High Point and Greensboro.