How to Plan a Winter Wedding

Winter weddings are glamorous and dramatic and different from the traditional June wedding. Planning a winter wedding takes creativity and patience, since it isn't as common and the weather becomes a large issue. Follow the steps to learn how to plan your own romantic winter wedding.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Plan Your Look and Choose Colors

1. Choose jewel and ice tones for great winter wedding colors—sapphire blue, ice blue, purple, silver and white—along with traditional red, green and navy.
2. Wear diamond or pearl jewelry, classic for winter because of the resemblance to ice and snow.
3. Look for an elegant and fun wrap or shawl to keep you warm for outdoor photos since most wedding dresses are sleeveless or strapless. This is also a great way to add some color.
4. Give bridesmaids similar wraps or shawls in white or muted color. Add white fur accents to dresses to give a traditional winter touch.
5. Use flowers that are in season, such as roses, lilies and holly branches, or be willing to pay a lot more to ship in other flowers. Think about adding ornamental berries or silver accents to your bouquet.

Plan Your Wedding and Reception

6. Send winter/ice/snow themed invitations. You can pay to have a company print them for you or make your own using store-bought stationary. If your wedding is a theme wedding, such as Christmas or Valentine's Day, use that as your invitation theme to tie everything together.
7. Have the wedding and reception, if not in a church, in an inn with a fireplace or a historic cottage or bed and breakfast. Make sure heat is available.
8. Keep decorations simple. Many places will already be decorated for the holiday season, so you may be able to save some money by using those decorations in your wedding. Consider poinsettias, candles or cranberries as centerpieces. Think about hiring an artisan to create an ice sculpture.
9. Serve cake with icicles or snowflakes or use a snow globe cake topper. Consider serving apple cider, hot chocolate or eggnog at the reception.
10. Give holiday ornaments, snow globes or cookie cutters with cookie recipes attached as wedding favors. Also think about giving coffee mugs and candles in scents such as Cinnamon Apple, Pumpkin Pie and Vanilla.
11. Hand out mini bells to ring as the bride and groom leave the wedding or reception. Have a horse and carriage waiting for another traditional addition.