Thinking about a themed wedding?

Original and innovative, a themed wedding, allowing you to fully express your personalities, is the ideal alternative to the 'good old' traditional wedding.

Do you dream of a highly personalised wedding, the kind of celebration that’ll stay etched in the minds of your family and friends forever? A themed wedding may be just the thing for you!

Whether you’ve always dreamed of a gothic getup or tropical paradise wedding party, the important thing for a themed wedding is not to pay attention to the criticism you may get from friends and family. There will definitely be some, particularly from more traditionally oriented family members.

Otherwise you may start to doubt your idea and end up abandoning it altogether. So, try not to pay attention to questions like, “What are you going to look like dressed up in that?” or objections such as, "No one’s ever had a wedding like that before, everyone will be laughing at you!

Let your loved ones know that this wedding theme is something that you feel very strongly about and in the end, it’s your wedding, not theirs. It’s up to your guests then whether they decide to come... or not (at least you’ll know who your real friends are!).

Choosing the theme for your wedding

You want to theme your wedding day but don't have any – or too many – ideas? Here’s some inspiration to help you choose the right theme to suit your wedding.

Honeymoon: you could take inspiration for your wedding from your honeymoon destination. Whether you’re planning to jet off to the Maldives or trek around Mexico, you can develop your honeymoon destination as a theme for the decoration at your wedding and why not also extend it to the wedding buffet (pareos, palm trees and pina coladas, etc)?

A joint passion: are you both film lovers, passionate about ecology or a certain culture? Your joint passion or values are a good way of setting the tone for your wedding day.

Be careful to know what your budget is and what you can afford, plan well in advance according to your needs. An Oriental wedding for example will require a lot more time and money than an ‘eco-friendly’ wedding.

A certain era: fan of the 80s? Nothing could be easier! Pull out all the hits from that decade, get out your fluorescent Bermuda shorts, Walkmans and Santa Barbara hairdos. You love prehistoric times, the Middle Ages or Greek Antiquity? You can dress up in period costumes or decorate the room accordingly.

Geographic favourites: Do you love a particular region or country? If one of you is from a different UK region, or is born abroad, your wedding can be a symbol of the union of two countries or two parts of the UK.

Don’t hesitate to use clichés and folklore like regional symbols on invitations and table settings, flags and regional songs, a fashion show of traditional dress or buffet of culinary specialities (without getting too kitsch of course)...

Colour coded: While black can be a difficult colour (you don’t want your guests to get the wrong idea when they turn up at the church!), there are plenty of colours you can use.

Write down everything your favourite colour conjures up in your mind (yellow = sun, chicks, buttercups / red = fire, fruits, toffee apples, Ferraris / blue = sky, sea, bluebells...). You can make up an endless list of things to incorporate into your wedding theme.

A country theme, sea theme, 1920s or futuristic... the possibilities are infinite. You’ve understood the principle so let yourself be guided by your imagination and put your ideas into practice!

Keeping on theme...

You’ve decided on a black and white theme, the 1920s or the solar system? This will be your ‘style guide’, use it to choose the invitations, for decorating the hall, choosing the food or even setting a dress code.

Start by theming the text on your invitation: choose a font that suits the theme, Charleston style for the 1920s or tall elegant gothic characters for your Goth theme. Try and keep similar colours and visuals for the reception decoration as well.

If you want your guests to get involved, you could specify a dress code on the invitations. For example: “black and white dress only” or “Please wear your best astronaut costume”. Be careful not to overdo it though, small reminders here and there are better than a ‘full-on’ look. Imposing an extravagant dress code and ambiance could become a bit too much for your guests. You wouldn’t really expect your gran to rent out an astronaut costume, would you?

Limit the theme to your invitations, hall decoration and reception activities; including the music and wedding buffet if you can actually work the food and enterntainment around the theme. Simplicity works best and you don't want to go overboard on the kitsch, unless of course that is your theme!

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