having a wedding theme

Weddings really stand out when a lot of thought and planning has gone in to the look and style of the day. Putting a theme to your wedding can be a great way of reflecting who you are as a couple and allows you to add your personal touches to make your wedding just how you want it.

So, how do you choose a theme for your wedding?

Colour
Probably the simplest way to get a theme running through your wedding is to pick a colour, or a colour palette that works really well for your wedding. You can incorporate your colours on your invites, flowers, bridesmaids, centerpieces, and even your wedding cake to make everything coordinate. 

You don't have to stick to one or two colours either - check out my last post on rainbow weddings!

Styling from a different era

A'vintage' wedding is one of the most popular theme choice recently, why not take it a step further and choose a particular era to style your wedding around.

Any decade has it's own fashion and styles that you can apply to your wedding, make your guests feel like they've stepped back in time!

Your interests

A good way to decide on a theme is to think about any particular interests you and your other half share, or anything important to you both, it could be animals, music, film, travel... Or think about how you first met, or any experiences that you've shared together that you'd like your wedding to reflect. My Fiancé proposed to me in Paris so we are including subtle Parisian influences in our day.

How do you make your theme come to life?

Incorporating any theme you decide on in to your wedding is never impossible in this day and age. I've seen weddings online covering almost every theme you could possibly imagine (some of them are just plain crazy and awesome), you'll find inspiration overload on the world wide web for anything you want.

Look through the numerous blogs and magazines out there and start collating things you like. Mood boards are wonderful things for wedding planning, or you could do what I've done and create a shared document that you're constantly adding ideas, pictures, links and all things wedding-related to. And whatever you do, use Pinterest - one of the most amazing sources of inspiration! If you're engaged and don't have a Pinterest account, then get one, NOW! You'll thank me.

Sit down with your other half and review everything that you've come across that you might like for your own wedding. Now is the time to rule out anything that either of you definitely do not want, or anything that is an absolute must for your special day. Have fun!

trend alert: rainbow weddings

A popular wedding trend that I'm seeing more and more of recently (and really loving) is a rainbow theme. It's an easy way to create a edgy and bold look for your day, if you want something a bit out of the ordinary.

You can create this look using all the colours of the rainbow together throughout your wedding. This doesn't have to be restricted to just your venue decor...

The wedding party

You can really make a statement of colour by dressing your groomsmen and bridal party in different rainbow colours, and even the bride's dress if you're really going for it!

If you don't want your wedding party too overloaded with colour, make it more subtle by giving each bridesmaid a different colour bouquet and shoes (or any other accessories) but keep all their dresses the same. Black dresses work really well for this. Equally for the groomsmen, a subtle and fun way to incorporate colour is with each having a different colour pair of socks, or different colour ties for a more bold look.

The flowers 
Have you ever seen rainbow roses? Yes, they are real flowers. I first saw these in a shop a couple of years ago and they blew my mind! Surely they can't grow like that? With a bit of research I found out how it's done, and it's so simple you can do it yourself! You'll need white roses with a fairly long stem, 4 different colour water soluble dyes (contrasting colours work best) and 4 cups.  Read how it's done below:

1. Fill each cup with water and add in the dye drop by drop until the solution becomes opaque. You should have 4 different colour solutions now;
2. Carefully slice the stem long ways into 4 pieces, cut about 3 quarters of the way up the stem;
3. Place the 4 ends each in to a different colour solution, make sure the rose is stood upright;
4. Leave it for 24 hours and that's it! Take it out and bind the stem together again with tape or string.

You can do this with any white flowers, carnations work really well too!

The cake
Last but not least, a rainbow wedding just wouldn't be complete without a rainbow cake...

Hide your burst of rainbow colours on the inside of a plain cake using layers of different colour sponges, or decorate any cake of your choice with rainbow flowers, bows, ribbons, anything! If you didn't want one main cake to cut, cake pops are a fun treat for your guests that you can easily decorate and arrange in whatever way you want.

Don't forget to follow me on Pinterest for more wedding inspiration! x

Planning your wedding - Part 2

Part 2/10 of my brief guide to planning your big day:  start thinking about your day

(read part 1)

You're over the initial excitement / shock / panic of getting engaged (well mostly) and you've agreed with your partner on a sensible budget. It's time to start deciding on one of the most important parts of your wedding day. The style of wedding.

The first thing to think about is what sort of wedding will you have? 

Have you always dreamed of a traditional church wedding? Or would you rather have a civil ceremony? This is probably something you'll both know straight away, so an easy one if you both agree!

Do you want a wedding that's completely different and unique? I've seen some beautiful weddings based on the couples' lifestyle, where the boundaries are pushed and all traditions go out the window. Or would you rather a simple, elegant and classic wedding?

Maybe a summer garden wedding is what you want? Or would you stress too much about the unpredictable British weather? I know I would! Maybe consider a marquee and have the best of both worlds.

What about a beach wedding abroad? Destination weddings are stunning, but think carefully about your guests, as not all of them may have the means to travel to a different country. If having all of your friends and family around you on your big day, this may not be the best option.

Do you want a huge, blow-out party or a more intimate celebration with a few of your loved ones? This is another point to consider before you start looking for venues, you wouldn't want your guests to be too crammed in, or so spread out that half your guests disappear!

So. Many. Questions.

Discussing and answering these together with your other half will help you massively with deciding on things such as your venue, the time of year you get married, and your theme, if you want one, so it's best to nail them down as early as possible as the rest of your day will fall in to place around them.

Remember not to stress out at this point though, there'll be plenty of time to be a Bridezilla later on!

Read part 3 here.