Do I Need A Wedding Theme?

I was at a bridal shower and when I got chatting to the bride about her wedding day, I asked her if she had a wedding theme. She said that she kept getting asked this question but didn't know how to answer because she didn't know what a wedding theme was. Her response was completely normal because many people don't know what a wedding theme is or why they might want one, and this is the reason I wanted to write this blog entry!

So first of all, let's talk about what a wedding theme is.

Some common answers I get when I ask someone about their wedding theme, are: "I don't want a themed wedding", "why do I need a theme?", "I have wedding colours, is that my theme?" or the most common: "I don't have one." The important thing to keep in mind is that all weddings have a theme. A theme is the visual appearance of your day and how your guests will remember your wedding. It is the concept or idea that flows throughout the event. So whether you choose one or not, your wedding will have a theme based off of what everyone will see and feel from the atmosphere you created. Think about what you want your day to look like and feel like in order to help you choose a theme. Your venue plays a major roll in the theme of your wedding. If you are getting married at a barn venue, your guests are going to remember your wedding as a country or rustic wedding. If you are getting married at a botanical garden, your guests will think of your day as a garden wedding. If you choose the beach, guess what people might think your theme is? Do you see what I mean by venue playing a major roll here? Your venue is the place to start when choosing your theme and then you can base all your other elements around this theme. A wedding theme sets the tone for your day and this is why you want to choose one!

Why Choose A Wedding Theme?

Choosing a theme for your wedding is going to help you curate the day that you want to have. The options are endless when it comes to planning your day, so having a theme will help help guide you on all of the decisions you make along your wedding planning journey. I encourage you to choose a theme before starting any wedding planning "google-ing" or "pinterest-ing." Otherwise, if you are generically and openly searching things like "wedding centerpieces" you are going to quickly get overwhelmed with the possibilities and might get confused about what you want. If you do already know exactly what you want then I bet you have a theme in mind (and maybe you didn't even know it!) Choosing a theme to plan your wedding around gives your day a cohesive look and feel across all of the details and elements of the wedding. While there is no mandatory rule that you must choose a theme, I highly encourage you to!

How To Choose A Theme

You want to choose a theme that suits you both as a couple. Keep in mind as mentioned earlier, your venue plays the most important role in your theme so let's start there. I'll use my own wedding as an example here. I am a sentimental and outdoors person who LOVES autumn, my now husband is a very easy, go with the flow kind of guy and is happiest when I'm happy. (yes, I know, I am the luckiest!) So we chose my parents beautiful backyard (the place that I lived my entire childhood) under the most vibrant tree in the height of fall for our ceremony. Many of our guests raved about the vibrant tree and how beautiful it was for the ceremony space, our wedding will definitely be remembered as a fall wedding. This is exactly (part of) what we were going for. We had a two part theme and the other part we were going for was Romantic. Since the ceremony space was creating the fall vibe, we needed to incorporate the romantic theme in other ways. To do this, we first chose to have a Sunday wedding with an early 10pm sparkler exit. Then we chose elements such as a white lace wedding arch, a cascading bridal bouquet, a romantic choreographed first dance upon our reception entrance, lots of candle décor, a sweetheart table and even the style of my wedding dress. We then also carried the fall theme throughout our reception space as well with décor elements in our wedding colours of plum and burnt orange. This is how we created our "Autumn Romance" wedding. I have to admit, a 2-part wedding theme is trickier to carry out, (and is not usually recommended) but it shouldn't even surprise me that I chose a two part theme because I am such an indecisive person it makes sense that I couldn't choose just one! If you are stuck on what you think you want your theme to be, first consider the type of people you are and where, when and how you are planning to host your wedding and go from there! Colours can also be themes, so if you're still stuck maybe a colour theme would suit your wedding best. This is something that can be incorporated throughout every aspect of your day and makes for an 'easy' theme to create. Whatever you decide, make sure it suits you both and is how you want your day to be remembered.

How To Succeed With Your Theme

In order for your theme to be successful in creating your desired atmosphere, you want to first decide on your venue and theme before doing any other wedding planning. Once you have both of these set, you can then carry on with planning every aspect and detail with this theme in mind. Your theme will guide you in choosing the styles/colours of each element so that every aspect of your day is emitting one cohesive theme across the board. Your theme should be expressed through things like stationary, wedding attire, flowers, décor, favors, centerpieces, wedding cake, linens, and even through things like your seating plan, meal style, first dances and photography. Another tip in succeeding with your theme is to try to choose one that is not too vague, the more specific the theme, the easier it will be to choose elements that suit your theme.

Theme Examples

There are literally endless possibilities when it comes to themes, so I'm going to share with you just a few :)

Timeless Themes:

• Classic Black and White
• Country Charm
• Traditional White

Trending for 2023:

• Garden Party
• Whimsical
• Boho
• Casual
• Rustic Barn
• Vintage

Others (that I just love):

• Autumn Colours
• Sage Green
• Luxury
• Enchanted Forest
• Colourful
• Sparkly
• Blush
• Lavender
• Lace

Need help creating your theme?

That's what I'm here for! Feel free to reach out for a FREE theme creation consultation! :)