Christmas wedding

Author: Joanne Elliott

It may sound like a slightly corny idea, but Christmas themed weddings can be magnificent. Instead of appearing tacky, you can design your wedding to be stylish, elegant and simple. Capture the spirit of Christmas with these simple hints and tips ...

Wedding Attire:
Your dress does not necessarily have to make you look like Mrs. Claus unless you would like it too of course! A long velvet cape would be quite a subtle addition to a traditional dress, and you could use a decorated muff, rather than a bouquet.
Traditional Christmas fabrics include taffeta and plaid, so keep this in mind when you are selecting your dress.

Colors:
Use red, white and forest green, but also consider gold, silver and burgundy.

Flowers:

  • Fire and ice roses are white with red-tipped petals. These would work perfectly for a Christmas themed wedding.
  • Instead of flowers you could use sprigs of holly, ivy and pine.

Otherwise, consider using poinsettias and baby’s breath in your flower arrangements.

Decorations:

  • Install Christmas trees with tiny white fairy lights, or simply string up the lights in bushes around the church or chapel.
  • Greenery roping looks fantastic twisted around furniture, and is relatively cheap to buy.
  • Buy some beautiful red potted poinsettias to decorate the altar with.
  • Candles are always good, but are particularly effective at this time of year.

Don’t forget, if you are getting married in a church then it may well already be decorated. This has really great implications if you are a little short on money.

Music:

  • Obviously you could ask the organist to play church hymns.
  • Otherwise, a choral group would be fantastic, particularly if they are dressed in Dickens-esque Edwardian or Victorian clothing.
  • A harpist or a string quartet would be another great alternative too.

You could even incorporate hand bells ... but not as you walk down the aisle, as this will probably detract people’s attention from you!

Transportation:

  • If you are lucky enough to live somewhere which is guaranteed snow, why not arrive on a horse drawn sleigh?!
     

Otherwise, you could play on the Cinderella ball theme, and arrive in beautiful a horse drawn carriage. You could decorate the carriage to co-ordinate with your dress and the decorations inside the church or chapel too.

Reception Refreshments:

  • For drinks you could serve eggnog or mulled wine. Don’t forget how nice cinnamon sticks smell!

sYour wedding cake could be decorated with tiny Christmas ornaments or holly. (But make sure that you don’t use poinsettias, as a relatively large number of people are allergic to their secretions).

Reception Games:
 

  • Why not hold a special ‘singles dance’ where each person is provided with mistletoe headdress wreaths. This will add a fun element to the proceedings, and will help your guests to mingle with one another. And you never know, you might be at their weddings next!

    Joanne Elliott is an international freelance writer and illustrator involved in several different areas.