When deciding on a location for your Valentine's Day wedding theme, go for intimacy, a place where lovers might meet. You might consider a picturesque country inn, a gazebo, or even your very own beloved garden at home. Candles, either in candelabras or glass holders, make especially romantic lighting for an evening wedding. Whichever you choose, keep illumination soft and low.
Lace, hearts and ribbons are a must for the invitations. Style them after valentine greetings, and send them in red envelopes with heart-shaped confetti sprinkled inside.
Roses are the most obvious flower choice, but all flowers suggest romance. Be passionate in your arrangements. Have masses of blossoms and buds overflowing their containers.
A valentine bridal gown might be made from frilly lace or plush velvet. The design could feature off-the-shoulder sleeves above a plunging, v-shaped neckline to mimic the shape of a heart. Mirror this with an arrow-shaped bodice and long, full, flowing skirts. Add a red velvet neckband with a locket holding a picture of your love. For the groom, pair a black or white tuxedo with a red silk vest, or simply a red-rose boutonniere.
If you'll be writing your own vows, find ways to include the words "heart," "be mine," and "I'll be yours forever." You could also arrange a time during the ceremony for other couples to affirm their love.
Put a big red heart on the wall as a backdrop for your ceremony. Have another one behind you while you sit on a plush, pillowed loveseat to open your gifts.
A Valentine's Day wedding theme cake should be made in a heart shape (a luscious chocolate cake, perhaps, made to look like a giant valentine truffle).
Hearts, lace, flowers, doves, and cupids complete with bows and arrows are all are good decorating motifs for a valentine theme wedding. Create a valentine mood at your reception tables with silver or cut-glass dishes filled with red cinnamon hearts or miniature heart candies bearing declarations of love and attraction.
Use lacy valentines as placecards. If you know someone who's skilled at calligraphy, have him or her inscribe each one with a famous love poem or quote, or with sweet valentine phrases such as "together forever" or "true love." Pictures of the bride and groom together, framed in a heart shape, would also be romantic.
Small heart-shaped boxes of chocolates would be welcomed as favors. Or buy CDs of your favorite romantic music to share with your guests. Heart-shaped satin pillows trimmed with white lace and embroidered with the names of the bride and groom and the wedding date could be presented to members of the wedding party.
Your valentine menu might include sandwiches cut into heart shapes, fancy red gelatin salads, and heart-shaped cookies glazed white and decorated with the word love in various languages. Or you might consider serving foods long associated with love, such as artichokes, oysters, asparagus, and strawberries. Chocolate contains the same chemical our brains release when we fall in love, so you can't serve too much of this. For an extra touch of valentine fun, make a decorative sign for your punch bowl that reads "Love Potion."
To include your guests in a special way, have them write valentine messages in gold ink on red or pink paper hearts. Provide a heart-shaped box to hold these, covered in red satin and trimmed with white lace and ribbons. Messages could include ways or reasons to express your love, or things to love about each other. You could read these aloud during the reception, or keep them secret and open them later.
Music has been called the language of love, so make sure your wedding speaks it fluently. Why not hire strolling violinists to play love-song serenades? Or you could have a DJ play songs containing the word "love," or "valentine." If you like opera, how about playing some well-known love arias?
A horse-drawn carriage is a romantic and memorable way to depart your valentine theme wedding. Have guests shower you with roses instead of birdseed or confetti. Don't worry about overdoing it. When you say the ultimate "be mine" with a Valentine's Day wedding theme, nothing can be too sweet or too romantic.