The excitement and romance of a themed wedding will transport your guests away from the everyday, and they'll all leave with the glow of those who've enjoyed a truly great party!
You don't have to dress in period gowns and stage swordfights and duels (although you can if you want to!). An effective theme is usually as simple as a colour (all white, red and silver, navy and soft pink), a motif (hearts, seashells, roses) or even just an ambience or 'feeling' you wish to create (classic elegance, fairytale romance or sleek city nightclub). A theme ties all the strands of your day together to create a well-coordinated and stylish celebration.
Your reception is the main focus of a theme and your reception venue should dictate the best way to decorate. Venues that have relatively simple décor are best if you want to transform a function room into a medieval theatre or the set of the next Star Trek movie. While grand ballrooms or historic houses can present you with a ready-made set for your celebration. Uncomplicated themes that use colours and motifs are most common and can look extremely effective.
Themed decoration
If you're planning a themed party, make sure it's a winner by hiring a decorator who specialises in themed events. If you're doing the decorating yourself, visit specialist prop hire outlets to source amazing items that reinforce your theme. Costume hire outlets, second-hand and Asian import shops, party supply stores and liquidation centres are good places to source themed elements.
Carry your theme through
Once you have decided on your first priorities with decorating for your theme, the smaller decisions such as the bomboniere and table centrepieces will fall easily into place. Before you finalise any aspect of your wedding, ask yourself "Does this promote my theme or detract from it?" If in doubt, leave it out! Another thing to avoid is adding too many uneccessary decorations simply because they fit with your theme. You want things to look simple and uncluttered.
"¨Ideas for wedding themes
Themed weddings have become hugely popular in the last couple of years. A well thought out and executed theme creates a vibrant party atmosphere, helping everyone get into the mood.
Any time of year can be the inspiration for a fantastic wedding theme."¨With a few simple touches you can take your cue from nature and create elegant bliss.
Spring
- Pastel colours (soft pink, lilac, mauve, lemon, mint green, baby blue)
- Silver
- Fresh flowers eg lilies, tulips, jasmine
- A garden in bloom
- Blossoms
- Cupid
- Light, floating fabrics
- Twinkling fairy lights
- Fresh, light scents in oil burners
Summer
- Bright, bold colours (fuchsia pink, orange, emerald green, sea blue)
- At the beach
- Barefoot elegance
- White and candlelight
- Soft Peonies, sunflowers, hydrangea, frangipani
- Stripes or flower prints
- Outdoor wedding or marquee wedding
- Fruit
- The tropics
- Island life
- Aztec patterns
- Bonfires
- Muslin or organza overlays and softly draped fabrics
Autumn
- Warm colours (burnt orange, chocolate brown, plum, burgundy, gold, copper, bronze)
- Leaves
- Rustic linens, hessian or heavy weave napery
- Seed pods, nuts, dried branches and leaves for decoration
- Fairy lights
- Log fire
- Woody fragrances
Winter
- Pure white, plum, navy, red, gold
- Winter wonderland
- Gingerbread
- Yule fest
- Winter sports
- Australian native flowers
- An evening by candlelight
- Crystal and glass beads as decoration
- Fur trimmings