How to choose a wedding theme

If you have recently got engaged you may have already been scrolling through Pinterest and pinning like there's no tomorrow with all the images you would like your wedding to look like for your wedding day. With this in mind you may start to see a theme emerging. But you may not be entirely sure what to do with this information that you have been gathering. Not to worry I am here to help you sort that out!

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Firstly though we need to clear up the word 'theme' as it gets a bad reputation in the wedding world!

'Theme' often gets mistaken for novelty weddings that are a bit cringe worthy or are very matchy matchy. Very often people think fancy dress or costume play! Or you may hear the word 'theme' and think it's sounds restrictive, like once you have decided on a theme you can not stray away from it. But this is not the case and is far from the truth.

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'A theme is just the setting for telling your love story.' It's sets the atmosphere and tone of the day that you want to create. And if you've chosen it well, it will remain the core for all your decision making which should make wedding planning EASIER.

So, choosing a theme can be difficult for some, as if you have lots of ideas then this can easily get confused and lead to overwhelm. And if not enough ideas are flowing, then this can make it difficult choosing important elements of the day.

So we need to channel the information we are gathering to help us to figure this out.

So I'm here to guide you through the steps so you can get a clear vision of your theme. 

To help you get a clearer picture of what you are after we need to set the scene with the basics before we move on.

- Where do you want to get married? (This maybe the countryside, the city, or maybe abroad)

- What season would you like it be in? (Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter)

- How many guests would you like to come?

- What is your budget?

- How do you want your wedding to feel on the day?

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If you have been to other couples weddings then there's a lot you can learn from them.

- By observing what you liked and disliked about their day will really help you with your own decision making.

-Think about what went well on their day, and what the guests seemed to enjoy the most. And what are your fond memories you have taken away from it. Then you will clearly start to see what is important to you and the guests.

- Reading online blogs or magazine features on 'Real Weddings' will be really helpful. Engaging in the whole story and not just the photos may spark some useful inspiration. And ask your self what was it about that you enjoyed most, and why does it resonate with you. What are the common features that keeping coming up?

Ok so now for the fun bit!

It's time to go crazy with collecting everything you are visually drawn to. Forget about budgets for the time being and start looking for things that inspire you.

-Use the Pinterest app, which is a great tool for weddings. Create a board to pin all your ideas, it doesn't all have to be related to weddings, just pin what you like.

- There is nothing like holding a magazine or book, tear out the pages that interest you. It will make a nice change from the computer screen.

- Go window shopping, go to your favourite places and look around at things you like. Make a note of things you are always drawn to, taking note of colours and textures.

- Your home is probably most important as this is the place that reflects the both of you. Look at the colours you like and textures you always reach for, and what does your home feel like. 

Now its time to narrow it down a bit and start selecting your favourite ideas from your collecting spree. 

Creating a physical mood board will give you the tool you can always refer back to throughout the wedding planning process.

To create one all you need to do is:

- Print all your favourite photos from Pinterest and add them to a large piece of paper/mount board.

- Cut out all your favourite magazine images that you want to use.

- Add any paint colour palettes, fabric samples, wallpaper scraps etc that you have found on your collection.

-Arrange them all down on your paper and this will resemble what you want your wedding to look and feel like.

Your next step is to select your keywords for your wedding.

This is going to help you a huge amount along the way, and will save you so much time and energy as you plan.

These are the words that whenever someone asks you what your wedding is going to be like, or what your theme is going to be, you will always have this to refer back to.

- Look at your mood board and write down as many words that best describe what it looks like.

Such as - Bright, cheerful, fun, etc.. or Simple, Whimsical and Relaxed etc..

- Once you have your words, narrow it down to three of your favourites that describe the board.

And there you have your description of your theme. It's that simple!

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Well done if you have got this far! Now you should have a clear picture of your wedding theme with a colour palette, mood board and your keywords.You're ready to take on the rest of the planning journey! 

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If you need some more help deciding on a theme that represents the kind of couple you are, I am a wedding stylist who can help you with the design. If you would like to read more about it you can find out more here.