Christmas Themed Wedding Ideas and Inspiration

‘Tis the season to get married! Many families come together to celebrate Christmas and partake in holiday festivities. Next year, keep the festivities jolly by planning a Christmas themed wedding.

When done right, Christmas weddings are luxurious and packed with holiday traditions like mulled wine, decorative trees and lights, and the wintery appeal of a snowy landscape. Here, we’ll outline the best themes, decor and planning tips to help you achieve your dream Christmas wedding.

WHAT TO INCLUDE ON YOUR WINTER WEDDING CHECKLIST

Wedding planning starts about a year before your wedding date. Wedding checklists are relatively seasonless, but the specific details — like your type of cake, wedding dress and decor — will vary depending on your wedding theme. For a Christmas wedding, some things to consider putting on your checklist include:

• Book the right venue: If you live in a colder climate, prepare for the colder weather by booking an indoor venue. It’s especially helpful if the wedding venue has beautiful outdoor scenery for a brief photo op in the snow.
• Decide on a Christmas theme: Christmas inspires many holiday wedding themes. Create a mood board of your favorite holiday festivities and aesthetics, then use it as inspiration when choosing a wedding theme.
• Place an order for decor rentals: Whether you’re relying on your interior design skills or working with a professional, browse local wedding rentals for Christmas decor that will bring your theme to life.
• Hire a wedding photographer: You’ll never forget your wedding day. A professional photographer provides photographs to hang around your house and keep in your memory book.
• Design and send wedding invitations: Wedding invitations set the mood for your wedding. Create a wedding invitation that embodies your wedding theme and get your guests excited to celebrate your big day.
• Prepare wedding favors: Just as wedding invitations set the tone for your wedding, wedding favors finish the story with a thoughtful “thank-you.” Choose a Christmas themed wedding favor that will keep your guests in a loving, festive mood.
• Choose flower arrangements: Winter flower arrangements take advantage of seasonal blooms like cotton, berries, poinsettias, gardenias, roses, dusty miller and more. Talk to your florists and choose the best wedding arrangements that correspond with your Christmas theme.
• Buy a wedding dress and bridal party attire: Every bride needs the perfect wedding dress. Winter weddings typically require more layers for comfort, so many brides choose long-sleeved styles or capelet accessories.
• Pick a menu: Christmas is a heart-warming holiday that requires festive foods and beverages. Talk to your venue’s caterer and decide on a menu with wintery hors d’oeuvres, savory main courses, chocolatey desserts and festive cocktails.
• Order your wedding cake: The sweetest part of your wedding is the perfect wedding cake. For your Christmas wedding, choose a cake that matches your wedding theme, like a gingerbread-flavored cake or snowy decorative frosting.

Grab your wedding planner and a pen, and get inspired with the following Christmas wedding ideas.

CHRISTMAS WEDDING THEME IDEAS

Christmas weddings take inspiration from many Christmas traditions, like:

• Decorating Christmas trees with lights and ornaments
• Sipping hot chocolate in front of the fireplace
• Wrapping and exchanging gifts
• Making and decorating gingerbread houses
• Preparing for Santa’s visit with the children in the family
• Baking Christmas cookies
• Mailing holiday cards
• Going Christmas caroling

Embrace these festivities by integrating their symbols into your wedding theme. Some examples of Christmas wedding themes include:

1. JINGLE BELLS

Jingle bells, often called sleigh bells, are sweet and dainty decorations that embody the Christmas season. In modern folklore, Santa attaches jingle bells to his sleigh and reindeer to signal his arrival to homes worldwide. Traditionally, jingle bells are silver or gold with a small rounded shape and light-hearted jingle.

Some Jingle Bell-themed decor to include in your wedding is:

• Jingle bell wedding wreaths
• Jingle bell garland
• Jingle bell Christmas tree ornament favors
• Jingle bell balloons
• Jingle bell-filled vases

You don’t have to decorate your wedding venue with jingle bells from floor-to-ceiling. Rather, bring the Jingle Bell theme to life by consistently including them throughout your invitations, wedding decor, floral arrangements and favors.

2. WINTER WONDERLAND

One of the best parts of Christmas is waking up to a snowy winter wonderland. Snow piled on pine trees, the icy reflection from the snow on the ground and the blue-grey sky are all defining characteristics of a winter wonderland.

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Embody these characteristics in your wedding using:

• White and evergreen flower arrangements
• Cool-toned lighting
• Frosted tree branches, achieved by spray-painting branches white
• A clean, white color scheme with blue accents
• Snowflake-inspired wedding invitations

If you think it’s going to snow on your wedding day, try finding a wedding venue with windows looking out on a snowy landscape. It’s the little details that let the Winter Wonderland theme shine.

3. HOLLY JOLLY CHRISTMAS

While a Winter Wonderland theme embraces the colder winter aspects, a Holly Jolly Christmas theme takes inspiration from crackling fires, mulled wine and plaid gift wrapping.

Think about the feeling of waking up on Christmas morning and running downstairs to a gift-filled Christmas tree, decorative throw pillows, warm lighting and Santa’s half-eaten plate of cookies. Bring these fuzzy feelings into your wedding venue using decor like:

• Plaid accessories
• Decorated fireplaces
• Warm-toned lighting
• Lanterns and candles
• Red and evergreen flower arrangements
• Half-cut and sliced logs
• Christmas ornaments

A Holly Jolly Christmas theme gives you more room for creativity. Think about your personal Christmas traditions to personalize your wedding even more.

WINTER WEDDING COLOR SCHEMES

In every other setting, a red and green Christmas color scheme would be ideal. But for your wedding, designers recommend picking one of the two colors to avoid going overboard. Once you’ve picked your wedding theme, start assembling your color scheme by picking a focal color, a companion color and an accent color. Some examples of Christmas color schemes that correspond with our three themes include:

• Red, white and gold: Following the Jingle Bell theme, use gold jingle bells as your accent color. Gold has warm tones that work well with warm-toned reds, like the classic Christmas red. Because red and gold are dominating colors, integrate plenty of white details — such as bold white blooms or white place settings — to keep the scheme feeling clean and fresh.
• White, cream and silver: A Winter Wonderland theme requires a clean color scheme to translate a snowy white appearance. Consider an all-white wedding, with layered shades of pure white and cream and silver or baby blue accent tones.
• Hunter green, navy and white: The Holly Jolly Christmas theme relies heavily on warm-toned lighting and colors. Hunter green resembles pine trees’ deep green color and pairs nicely with a rich navy blue. Integrate a refreshing accent color, such as white or light gray.

Once you start shopping for decor, you’ll get a better idea of what colors best embody your Christmas wedding theme. Don’t be afraid to try a few color palettes before committing to one you love.

CHRISTMAS WEDDING DECORATION IDEAS

The decorations you have available may greatly influence your color scheme decision. Decorate your Christmas wedding venue with:

• Plaid blankets: Plaid is a common pattern during the Christmas season. Plaid bows, blankets, wrapping paper, stockings, napkins and other decorative elements instantly make your wedding venue feel cozy and festive.
• Candlelit lanterns: Lighting plays a big role in your wedding venue’s transformation. Your venue will supply basic lighting, but you may want to talk to a local wedding rental vendor about extra lighting fixtures, like warm candlelit lanterns or chandeliers.
• Ornament-filled vases: Ornaments are a Christmas staple. Include ornaments in your decorations by filling a large, clear vase with gold or silver ornaments, depending on your theme and color scheme.
• Decorated fireplaces: On snow days, getting cozy around the fireplace is a must. Bring the snow day tradition to your wedding venue by decorating the fireplace — or renting a decorative fireplace if your wedding venue doesn’t have one available — with garlands, evergreen, stockings and candles.

Decoration rentals are just one part of your total venue decor. Flowers and greenery are equally important to traditional decorations.

SEASONAL FLOWERS AND GREENERY

There is no shortage of red, green and white flowers. When planning your wedding, make notes about the types of arrangements you’ll need, such as bridal bouquets, bridesmaid bouquets, boutonnieres and centerpieces. Your florists will walk you through the types of seasonal flowers available and make recommendations based on your vision, like:

• Christmas wreaths: Once the winter season hits, many households celebrate by putting a Christmas wreath on their front doors. Embrace this winter tradition by putting a large, chic Christmas wreath on your reception doorway, above the fireplace mantle, or outside as a photo op.
• Seasonal blooms: For your bouquet and other arrangements, integrate seasonal flowers like camellias, carnations, ranunculus, roses, star of Bethlehem, stephanotis and more.
• Filler flowers: Winter filler flowers come in an equally large variety and add depth to your arrangements.

Examples include waxflower, statice, solidago, dusty miller, cotton, berries and baby’s breath.

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Another seasonal plant you might want to consider is a Christmas tree. A Christmas tree is perfect for a holiday wedding and can act as a focal point for wedding festivities. For example, guests can slowly decorate the tree throughout the night or pile their wedding gifts under the tree.

CHRISTMAS WEDDING INVITATIONS

Wedding invitations are your guests’ first glimpse into your wedding. Wedding invitations get your guests excited and set the tone for your wedding theme. It’s the little details that elevate your wedding invitations. Some details to consider using for your wedding invitations are:

• Handmade paper: Instead of using traditional wedding invitation paper, consider using handmade paper. Handmade paper looks and feels more luxurious than traditional paper. It is thicker, textured and has a rustic appearance.
• Dried flowers: Dried flowers and greenery make wedding invitations feel luxurious and well thought out. Use rustic-looking twine to tie on dried flowers like lavender, bakers fern, baby’s breath and waxflower.
• Ribbons: Another Christmas emblem is big, bold ribbons. Consider adding a three-dimensional ribbon to your wedding invitation. For example, you could have a festive wreath surrounding your and your partner’s names with a beautiful bow hanging from the bottom of the wreath.

You can find premade wedding invitations online that already include these Christmas elements. Or, you can design your own wedding invitations with online stationery design tools and software.

CHRISTMAS-THEMED WEDDING FAVORS

Thank your guests for celebrating your wedding day with wedding favors they’ll enjoy and use. You don’t have to break the bank, either, as long as it’s thoughtful and meaningful. Simple winter wedding favors you can gift your guests include:

• Wedding ornaments: A holiday tradition for over 95 million U.S. households is decorating a Christmas tree with lights, garland, tinsel and, of course, ornaments. Design your own Christmas ornaments with your new shared last name or with an emblem of your wedding theme, like a jingle bell.
• Hot chocolate bombs: Very few people will turn down a cup of hot chocolate. Hot chocolate bombs are ingredient-filled balls of chocolate you place into a mug of hot milk, causing them to melt with chocolatey goodness. Your guests will enjoy a relaxing drink when they get home after your wedding.
• Festive-scented candles: Not much can top the coziness of candles. On a snowy winter night, lighting a festive-scented candle is just what your guests need to get in a merry spirit. Some companies allow you to create your own scent, and others allow you to customize a candle label. Either way, your guests will enjoy this wedding favor.

When looking for the perfect Christmas wedding favor, look for a company that offers themed and customizable favors that match your wedding goals.

WINTERY WEDDING CAKE IDEAS

The sweetest part of every wedding is the delicious wedding cake. For your Christmas wedding, consider themed wedding cakes like:

• Red velvet cakes: Red is one of the most recognizable Christmas colors. If you include red in your color scheme, choose a red velvet cake for its vibrant red color.
• Naked cakes: A growing cake trend is a “naked cake,” which is a cake that is iced in between layers but mostly bare on the sides. The naked-cake effect gives a wintery and rustic appearance that’s especially fitting for a Winter Wonderland wedding theme.
• Gingerbread house-themed cakes: Gingerbread is a beloved Christmas flavor. Embrace this Christmas tradition by having a gingerbread-flavored cake, topped with a gingerbread town and adorable gingerbread men.

Talk with your wedding baker and explore the many Christmas cake options and themes they can make.