Decorating for a Winter Evening Wedding Reception
Winter weddings are gaining popularity as brides look for elements that will set their weddings apart from the traditional summer affairs. Because winter is the wedding off-season, brides often choose November to February weddings, as vendors are able to offer better prices when demand is lower. Whether capitalizing on a Christmas or New Year’s themed wedding, throwing a Winter Solstice celebration or simply using the sparkling silvers and golds of the season, decorating for a winter wedding reception affords the bride dozens of ideas and opportunities.
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Things You'll Need
- Wedding decoration books
- Color swatches
- List of vendors
- Coordinator/planner
- Wedding magazines and websites
- Craft supplies
Instructions
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Preparing
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Determine the theme of your wedding—this will influence every other decision you make, and the only part of the wedding plan more influential is the budget (particularly if you are on a small or tight budget). The theme can play a huge role in your venue choices, meals, entertainment and more. A cozy, Christmas-themed wedding would be better suited to a lodge or log cabin than a black-tie New Year's affair, just as a Winter Solstice celebration works well as an outdoor ceremony and reception.
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Find a venue. The rules and regulations at your chosen ceremony and reception venue(s) will be a huge determiner in your decorations, including the amount and types of decorations you can use, the ways you can mount them and more. Some venues will not allow anything affixed to the walls. But, are there pillars or columns in the room? If so, you can wrap the columns in tulle and then stretch the tulle from one column to another and affix lights or other decorations to the stretched tulle "walls." Don't let the limitations of the location discourage you, but remember to follow the contract you sign.
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Decide what you can make, what you can repurpose, what you can borrow and what to buy. Assessing decorations you or family and friends can provide before purchasing or making decorations can save both time and money.
Creating Decorations
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Use heavier fabrics and bolder pieces for a winter wedding than you would see at a summer affair. The Knot, a premier wedding website and magazine, recommends velvets and dupionis, as well as plenty of "crystal sparkle in ice-carved vases and embellished ribbons."
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Design your own centerpieces with crystals, feathers, pinecones and other non-living elements. You may also opt for artificial flowers in place of live flowers, particularly if your ideal flowers are out of season and would be more expensive. Fitting into a Solstice or Christmas theme, you may want to include Christmas ornament globes, twinkle lights, Solstice-specific elements or berries.
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Construct an arch or altar from vines, wooden frames or winter branches. You can also build the frame from basic lumber, PVC pipes or other materials and cover the base with wintry branches and elements.
Buying Decorations
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Purchase bouquets and centerpieces that are innovative and creative—again, The Knot states, "think outside the flowerbed and bring in a few nonfloral elements, such as white snowberries or viburnum, hypericum or pepper berries, which add dimension and serious seasonal appeal." Look for ways to incorporate the textures and colors of your venue—you can incorporate the colors of knotty pine walls in a ski lodge through brightly-hued lilies, ribbons and more.
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Consider purchasing or renting an arch that coordinates with your winter theme, or look for chairs or benches you can rent that will complement the rest of the decor. A Solstice celebration might feature bales of hay for seating, or a New Year’s Eve wedding could spotlight classic upright chairs with satin and ribbon covers.
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Incorporate local elements into your decor, particularly if you are having a destination wedding and the location is new to you and your guests. Use greenery, branches, leaves, pinecones, flowers, berries and other flora from the area, or translate the colors from the scenery into your table linens and centerpieces.
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References
- Photo Credit Winter image by melanie from Fotolia.com
