Guide to Having a Winter-Themed Wedding
‘Tis the season to get married! Before you say “to have and hold away from the cold” this yuletide season, check out these unique winter wedding ideas to inspire your happily ever after. From ice-crystal fantasies to rustic woodland decor, our guide will have you on your way to designing the ultimate winter wedding!
Planning a Winter-Themed Wedding
Winter weddings are snow much fun! Learn how to plan a winter-themed wedding with these seasonal tips.
Select a Winter-Friendly Venue
Consider the weather as you research venues for your winter nuptials. Your location should provide shelter from the cold while creating a beautiful backdrop for wedding decor. Think about travel distance for guests in case of icy conditions, and inquire if any venue areas or services are unavailable during the winter months.
We love a rustic barn with wooden beams to visually warm up the space against a snowy landscape. Historical log cabins and stone ski lodges offer the quintessential winter experience. Try a conservatory, indoor botanical garden, library, or Christmas-card-worthy Victorian inn if you want to step away from the norm.
Embrace Seasonal Details
Rethink the traditional bouquet this winter and have the bridal party carry unique seasonal decor, such as:
- Wintery wreaths: Holiday greenery isn’t just for the walls! Ask bridesmaids to carry festive boxwood wreaths suspended from large ribbon loops.
- Pretty poinsettias: For a splash of color, hold poinsettia arrangements. This beloved winter plant comes in striking red, pink, and white tones.
- Marvelous muffs: Swap flowers for faux-fur muffs. Rhinestone brooches on classic white muffs exude elegance.
- Luminous lanterns: Fill your day with music, love, and light. Channel that Christmas caroler magic by carrying glowing lanterns down the aisle.
Ask your venue if they’ll have evergreen decorations like trees, garlands, and wreaths displayed at the time of your wedding. It’s helpful to work with existing decor by adding removable ribbon, ornaments, and floral touches that match your theme.
Get Cozy
Take advantage of the colder weather and elevate your fashion choices to stay warm andchic! Long, fitted sleeves and lacy high necklines are a stylish addition. These romantic bridal silhouettes are having a moment and are here to stay. You’ll have the best dressed bridal party in velvet dresses and suit jackets in deeper jewel tones like burgundy, navy, and forest green.
To keep the sleeveless style and dance the night away sweat-free, pair your wedding dress with a fur-lined cape and outfit your crew with pashminas, formal coats, and vintage-inspired sweaters. And don’t forget about your guests! Sprinkle space heaters outside and provide rolled blankets in oversized baskets so attendees can bundle up.
Serve It Up Hot
The crisp air brings on the cravings for hot drinks and favorite winter meals. We adore these delicious seasonal food ideas to warm up your reception:
- Hot chocolate bar: Customize your cocoa any way you like with a hot chocolate bar! Stock the bar with mugs, different flavored marshmallows, cinnamon, peppermint sticks, whipped cream, and rich hot chocolate on tap.
- S’mores station: Guests love snuggling up to outdoor fire pits to roast marshmallows on skewers. Load up wooden trays with marshmallows, graham crackers, milk and dark chocolates, fresh fruit, and custom fillings for s’mores.
- Sumptuous soups: For a simple soiree, line up soup shooters during cocktail hour. Or opt for a gorgeous grazing spread of various soups, mini grilled cheeses, artisan bread, and crackers.
Four Winter Theme Wedding Ideas
It’s time for some winter wedding inspo! We’ve got your big day covered with these yuletide themes.
1. Have Yourself a Merry Little Wedding
A stunning winter color scheme of Christmas red and green is sure to impress! For a sophisticated take on this classic combo, lean into deeper tones of holly berry red, burgundy, emerald, and juniper. Embrace that warm holiday glow throughout your entire celebration with lighted white votive candles in glass holders.
At the reception, jingle all the way with silver bell napkin rings around green napkins. Evergreen garlands dotted with red roses and miniature red glass balls create timeless centerpieces. Add height with tall iced pine branch arrangements on each table. Get even more festive with a display of lighted Christmas trees decorated with gold and red ornaments, surrounded by oversized red and green gift boxes. At the end of the night, remove ornaments to hand out as favors as guests leave.
2. Ice CastleFantasy Wedding
Step into a frozen fairy tale with an icy wedding fit for a snow queen! Turn your wedding location into a dreamy ice castle with cool blue hues, snowy branches, silver sparkle, and crystal accents. Imagine walking down the aisle with a rhinestone crown, shimmering fantasy wings, and a bouquet of silver leaves.
Awe your guests by suspending snowflake ornaments and crystal chandeliers from the ceiling. For centerpieces that Jack Frost would love, line the tables with light blue linens and tall white branch centerpieces. Crystal pillar candle holders, glass crystal diamonds, and white-flower-filled leaning crystal bud vaseslook like they were carved from a glacier. As a final touch, scatter metallic blue and silver votive holders everywhere and add silver branch accents to your guest book and dessert tables.
3. Rustic Winter Woodland Wedding
Interested in a cozy, rustic vibe? Look to the great outdoors for inspiration! Dress up your ski lodge, barn, or cabin venue with red berries, branch arrangements, and perched red cardinals. Top ivory linens with plaid shawl runners to warm up your tables like a winter blanket. For a touch of texture, nestle birch bark pillar candles and snowy pine cones in evergreen centerpieces. Clear vases filled with cranberries and vanilla candles will have your wedding day smelling like freshly baked Christmas cookies.
Keep the fun winter animal theme going with birds, penguins, huskies, and reindeer on reception tables. Fill galvanized buckets with glittery foam “snowballs” and place a vintage sled above the sweetheart table with the couple’s initials. A wedding cake on birch log topped with two cardinal lovebirds is truly sweet!
4. I’m Dreaming of a White Wedding
There’s nothing more magical than a landscape blanketed in white snow with the sunlight twinkling off of icy branches. Bring that snow-covered beauty to your wedding day with a white winter wonderland theme! Dress your bridal party in shades of ivory, light silver, and champagne gold with the wedding couple dazzling in white. Drape your ceremony aisle in glittering white fern garlands and all-white floral arrangements.
Who doesn’t love a whimsical entrance? Greet guests at the ceremony site with playful white polar bears in artificial snow. For a venue as pretty as a snowglobe, decorate with lighted white Christmas trees with frosty white, metallic, and icicle ornaments. Give your tables an icy aesthetic with clear lucite chairs, white linens, and white branch centerpieces covered in white LED fairy lights and glittery white flowers.
Design Your Wonderful Winter Wedding Theme With Jamali Garden
Once you know how to plan for a winter-themed wedding, you can start finding your decor. Jamali Garden has a vast selection of wholesale wedding decor to help you create the perfect winter wonderland celebration.
Shop our curated winter-wedding collection of sparkling snowflakes, ornaments, white and silver branches, winter greenery, berries, candle holders, crystal chandeliers and more!