A Guide on How to Choose a Wedding Theme

outdoor wedding theme
Photo by Analise Benavides on Unsplash

With so many options available – rustic, vintage, travel, country, beach, etc., – figuring out how to choose a wedding theme could be overwhelming. So many questions pop-up unanswered. Before anything, It’s important to first understand what the purpose of a wedding theme is in the first place, and learn all the options you have before you make the final choice.

How to Choose a Wedding Theme

If you want to be able to know how to choose a wedding theme that reflects both you and your partner’s personalities perfectly (that was a mouthful), then you’ll want to first understand who you are as a couple. And what the purpose of a wedding theme is.

outdoor wedding theme
Photo by Edward Eyer from Pexels.com

How do I find my wedding theme?

To find your wedding theme, start by thinking about what you and your partner love and what represents your relationship. Consider your interests, favorite colors, and any meaningful elements you’d like to incorporate. Look for inspiration from various sources like wedding websites, magazines, or social media platforms. Experiment with different ideas by creating mood boards or discussing them with your partner, and choose a theme that feels true to your personalities and creates a special ambiance for your big day.

What are themes or motifs?

Themes or motifs are recurring ideas, subjects, or symbols that are woven throughout a piece of literature, artwork, or any other creative work. They serve as underlying messages or central concepts that provide cohesion and deeper meaning to the overall work. Themes can be broad and abstract, while motifs are specific elements or images that reinforce the theme. Together, they enhance the story or artistic expression by conveying important ideas or emotions.

Why you need a Wedding Theme

Your wedding theme will be the “big picture”. It will set the tone and the mood at your wedding. Understanding this will help you with your problem of how to choose a wedding theme.

A Guide for all of your Decisions

It will be the ultimate guide as you choose the design for your invitations, table settings, flowers, souvenirs, etc. It will help you stick to a cohesive aesthetic, as well as guide you towards a certain ambiance you want to create at your wedding.

To Represent You as a Couple

Amidst the current trends or what your best friend/maid-of-honor says, the most important factor in choosing a wedding theme is that it should be about you as a couple. Your wedding theme should bring out both your personalities. When your guests arrive at your venue, they’ll be able to say that your theme speaks volumes of your traits. This will make your wedding even more memorable.

Questions to Help you Find a Wedding Theme

Here are some helpful questions that you need to discuss as a couple in deciding a wedding theme:

  • How did you meet?: You can base your entire wedding theme on the actual place where you met. It’s a great way to tell your story and look back at where your relationship started.
  • What activities do you enjoy doing as a couple?: This could give you ideas on what you want to include in your wedding reception. For example, if you both love to listen to jazz music, then your theme could center entirely around a jazz theme.
  • What kind of clothes or outfits do you both like? Do you enjoy formal attire? Casual? Are you the jeans-and-white-shirt kind?: This is a good question as you both can identify whether you want your wedding theme to feel formal or relaxed. Knowing what type of clothes you’ll be most comfortable in, can help you choose a theme to go along with it.
  • How is your house decorated?: What colors do you surround yourself with? Do you like bright, tropical-like colors, or soft, pastel hues? Your theme can be based on the colors you feel most comfortable and happy being surrounded by.
  • What are your shared passions and interests?: What are the hobbies you both share? What type of food do you love to eat? You can choose a theme based on the things you love. For example, if you both love delicious seafood meals, then a beach wedding theme is the perfect way to go.

Your answers to these questions can help inspire you to learn a wedding theme that would suit your personality best. Do you both like to travel? Maybe you could consider a destination wedding. Do you like colorful outfits? How about a whimsical/bohemian theme with colorful balloons and floral arrangements? Are you into music? You may choose to design your venue with musical instruments and have your invitations printed with musical notes. The possibilities are endless, and these questions will lead you towards the right choice.

Things to Consider When Choosing a Wedding Them

The first problem of how to choose a wedding theme is picking through all the options, and finding the right one for you and your partner. Before you can move on to figuring out how to choose a wedding theme, you’ll first need to consider the following.

A Venue

A venue can make the biggest difference in your challenge of how to choose a wedding theme. You could want an outdoor, nature theme, but not have the right venue for it. You might want a winter-themed reception, but find that there’s no venue to accommodate the aesthetic you are hoping for.

Consider the different factors of a venue

  1. What local venues can accommodate the wedding theme you are looking to have?
  2. What’s the aesthetic of local venues, and which ones can you work with?
  3. What’s the weather like around the time of your wedding, and will this affect the theme and venue you are hoping for?

If you’ve already booked your wedding venue before you’ve finalized your wedding theme, you may check the details of the place and the ambiance. Think of how those could work with your theme. Gather information and inspiration from the venue.

If you haven’t chosen a place yet, think of what venue would be perfect for the wedding theme that you have in mind. Make sure that it is within your budget. Remember that your venue will set the tone and the general aesthetic of your theme.

The Color theme

The color theme can actually help you answer your question of how to choose a wedding theme. You’ll want to consider exactly what colors both you and your partner love to wear, or feel most comfortable in, and work with that.

Color theme Questions:

  • What colors do you like?
  • What colors do you usually wear?
  • Are you into pastel? Dark colors? Bright colors?

Discuss this as a couple and see which colors would match perfectly with your wedding outfit, cake, flowers, and even table covers. If you find that you are more into colors that reflect Autumn leaves (brown, red, orange, and yellow tones) then you can choose a Fall Wedding Theme. Knowing what color theme you want will help you choose your wedding theme.

Your shared interests

Taking note of your shared passions and interests as a couple and the activities you enjoy together would help a lot in being specific about your theme. If you love formal occasions, would you go for a classic-themed reception? If you can be specific with the details of your shared interests, it’ll be easier to incorporate this in your ideas for themes.

The Season of your Wedding

Simply put, don’t plan for an outdoor wedding in winter unless you and your guests are willing to brave the cold. Choosing a season will help you choose a theme as the weather will be a factor that affects the ambiance and feel of your entire wedding. If you’re choosing a summer-themed wedding, choose a date that guarantees warm, summer days.

Your Budget

This can’t be emphasized enough. Despite the norm, and people’s expectations, you don’t need to follow certain trends if your budget doesn’t allow it. If you’re going to be broke right after your wedding day because of expensive preparations, then, that’s not a healthy start of your marriage. You must spend within your means. A big part of figuring out what theme you should have is knowing what type of materials you can afford.

You need to confirm your desired budget and choose a theme that will cater to this choice. For a budget-friendlier (cheaper) option, you can go for more of a rustic, outdoor, garden, or vintage theme. These theme options do not require the expense other themes may demand.

Where to Find Inspiration for your Wedding Theme

A big part of figuring out what wedding theme will be right for you and your partner is getting a little help from inspiration. These are three effective ways for you to find inspiration for your own wedding theme.

Take advantage of the Internet

There’s an entire online world that you can get lost in to find incredible inspiration for wedding themes. Take your time to research different types of weddings. Take note of your favorite finds, and share this with your partner. This is a great way to get inspired to find the wedding theme that’s right for you.

Read Wedding Magazines

Wedding magazines are quite literally made to inspire you for your wedding. Take advantage of the visual creativity of magazine editors and contributors. They are experts and artists at their craft. And it’s the perfect medium to find new and innovative wedding theme ideas that you can get inspiration from.

Wedding Magazines to Get Inspiration From:

Take your time reading through wedding magazines as you’ll find hundreds of visual inspirations and the best tips and advice from professionals in the wedding industry.

Look back at Old Photos of you and your Partner

You can look back at old photos to contemplate on the memories that brought you the most joy. This could be traveling, dancing, eating, or even being part of a specific event. Look back at your old photos to help you get an idea of what you and your partner enjoyed doing the most, and get inspiration from this to help you identify a wedding theme that will bring you the most joyful memories.

You value the big moments as much as the little details. You appreciate gourmet food, good music and beautiful design. If you could fill your wedding day with flowers, you would. – Anneli Marinovich

Wedding Theme Ideas

To help you get started on how to pick a theme for your wedding, here’s a list of some of the more popular wedding themes. Keep in mind that you don’t need to be confined to just one theme. The key is to pick a theme or two, add some personal touch, and execute!

Beach Theme

If you love some “vitamin sea”, and your guest list only involves your close family and some of your friends, then this is a good choice. It can be expensive to have a beach wedding that caters to 250+ guests. But having an intimate 50+ guest wedding will be perfect for a little soiree by the sea.

A beach theme is one of the easiest themes to accomplish if you are figuring out how to choose a wedding theme. The only hurdle is finding a great venue by the sea, and inviting all of your guests to join you on your big day. Otherwise, when it comes to decor, the sea on its own is a great backdrop. You don’t need large decorative statements for your theme to get noticed.

Music Festival Theme

If you and your partner have gotten lost in love within the chaos and thrill of music festivals, bringing this experience to your wedding will be absolutely stunning. There’s nothing better than the excitement of a music festival. And it can be a really lovely wedding theme if you and your partner are passionate about music. Invite a band who can play all of your favorite songs, reminisce with all of your friends and relatives, and dance the night away with this one of a kind wedding theme.

Classic and Formal Theme

This is a ballroom or events hall type of wedding. It’s timeless and refined. If you’d like a black-tie wedding, then this is a good option. Since this theme is too common, your wedding might look like everyone else’s. Customize and add personal touches where possible. And consider that a ‘classic’ type of wedding may be an expensive one as you will be renting out a large venue to accommodate the classic look.

Carnival Theme

Are you an absolute sucker for the romance that comes along with a great night at a carnival. We find the carnival as the first-date destination at almost every ’80s and ’90s romantic comedy. But this cliche most definitely never gets old. Take your wedding theme to a whole new level with a fun-filled carnival theme. Bring out the popcorn, the corndogs, the wine and beer, and as many carnival attractions as you can, and have an absolute blast with friends and family at your wedding reception.

Rustic Theme

This theme is for the laid-back and relaxed couple who do not want to make a big fuss over their entire wedding plans. It is also the perfect wedding theme for those who want to have a more eco-friendly wedding. A rustic theme can be the easiest (and cheapest) to pull off as it focuses on upcycling materials, and using what is readily available for decorations. It’s simple, yet unique. And the best part is, it’s affordable to do.

Bohemian Theme

Work with everything nature has to offer with a beautiful bohemian inspired theme. Fill your venue with hundreds of flowers. Build your decor from nothing but natural materials. Choose a beautiful garden or outdoor reception under the sunset sky. Have comfortable tents, with decorative pillows and oriental rugs for decorations. The bohemian theme is an absolute dream come true. And it is perfect for those couples who love to get one with nature.

Tropical Theme

If you like a wedding by the pool, garden, or beach, and you love the feel of going to a tropical country. This is the theme for you. You can recreate a destination you have been to (or want to go to) to give your guests the feel of tropical paradise amidst all of your wonderful wedding celebrations.

Casual Garden Party Theme

If you want to take on a more relaxed and casual feel for your wedding theme, you can choose a casual garden party look. This wedding theme goes hand-in-hand with a backyard, outdoor, summer, or spring type of wedding. And it is also one of the more affordable wedding themes on the list.

Minimalist Theme

This is for the “less is more” kind of couple. Your venue could be a loft, rooftop, or glasshouse with a sleek architectural design. Simple, yet sophisticated. You can choose to have a small party for your reception, have the most beautiful table settings, set up in a small, yet charming space. This theme is a favorite for the more modern couple.

Vintage Theme

Get inspired by the sophisticated styles of a vintage theme. Look for vintage clothing designs and vintage decor to help transform your wedding festivities into something out of an old Hollywood film. This is another great theme that’s easy on the budget, yet can bring out the most unique of experiences for you and your guests. A budget-friendly idea if you’re trying to find out how to choose a wedding theme.

Romantic Scenery Theme

Think soft pastel colors, endless rows of candles, delicate lighting, a blanket of flowers, and a jazz band playing in the background. It is everything, every romance novel has ever been made of. With the use of beautiful lighting and stunning decorations, you can transform your wedding evening into the most romantic night of your life.

Celestial Theme

If you and your partner are avid lovers of everything beyond this planet, then a celestial theme wedding is an absolutely perfect match for you. Bring out your inner love for the stars, and celebrate your newly vowed marriage under the clear night sky. This futuristic approach will definitely stand out in your guest’s wedding books. And it’ll be an easy motif if you’re struggling to figure out how to choose a wedding theme.

Mardi Gras Theme

If you love the bright and whimsical magic that the Mardi Gras Festival brings, then making it your wedding theme. This festival is known worldwide for bringing loud music, bright colors, dance, and theater, into one incredible event. It is the epitome of joy and celebration. And what better theme for a wedding reception than a Mardi Gras celebration.

Vineyard Theme

Beautiful wine and romantic evenings go hand in hand like chocolate and strawberries. That’s a big reason why vineyards have always been a popular location for wedding receptions. If your struggling with how to choose a wedding theme, just consider the beautiful landscape of a vineyard. Enjoy the fun of wine tasting by the lovely views of the vineyards. Pair great wine with great food, and you’re set to have an absolutely wonderful wedding reception.

Botanical Theme

If you don’t know how to choose a wedding theme, a botanical theme is the easiest choice. Make lush greenery and large floral arrangements the absolute center of all of your decorations. Combine the beauty of flower arrangements with the organization of sophistication of modern interior design, and have yourself a romantic botanical wedding theme. Your imagination can run wild with greenery sculptures and floral walls and mosaics. A botanical theme is an absolutely Instagram-worthy choice.

How do you make a catchy wedding hashtag?

Creating a catchy wedding hashtag involves a few steps. Start by brainstorming words or phrases related to your names, wedding theme, or shared interests. Combine these elements in a creative and playful way. Ensure the hashtag is easy to read, spell, and remember. You can also seek inspiration from online generators or ask friends and family for suggestions. Once you have a few options, test them out to see which one resonates the most and reflects the spirit of your special day.

Conclusion

Choose a theme that both of you would love, something that would bring out your personality or your common interests. Pick a theme that would make your heart smile when you look back at it on your wedding anniversary many moons from now. Follow this guide, and soon, you’ll be able to resolve the question of how to choose a wedding theme. And if you haven’t already, click here to shop for the perfect wedding band.

Photo by J Carter from Pexels.com

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