The One Thing That Makes all Your Other Decisions Easier

Weddings are exciting, but almost immediately, you may notice a very long to-do list. It’s easy to get preoccupied with party favors and venues. Choosing a theme for your wedding might be the last thing on your mind. But it should be the first!

Your theme gives you a concept from which to base all of your other decisions. Once you know the main idea, it will be much easier to figure out everything else.

Making your mind up early on about the theme means you’ve defined the colors, decor type, and the overall look for the day. It creates a far more organized approach for the months of designing.

Let’s break this down into a few steps, then say hello to easy wedding planning!

Step one: Choosing Your Theme Words

Your big day should tell a story. It’s the mood you want to evoke with your wedding. Think about you and your fiance; what words come to mind? Fun? Romantic? Quiet? Social? Think about what type of people you are. Use this to help determine a few central words. Pick two or three that best describe you as a couple.

It might be challenging to figure this out, but try this idea. Get a notebook and list words and phrases that describe you and your fiance or how you envision the wedding day. Eventually, you can narrow this down, and these will become the theme words. Ask yourself how you want people to feel when they leave the celebration.

An excellent way to help nail down your theme words is to create a vision board. You can do this using Pinterest, or if you’re crafty, there’s always poster board and cut-outs from magazines. It doesn’t have to make sense or match right away. You can use pictures of anything wedding related, like food, invitations, or fonts. Just try to pick images or words that describe how you want the day to feel. Doing this can help you get a better idea of what you’re aiming for.

Once you’ve done this, you can decide on a few words that accurately describe your wedding look. If you’re unsure of what “theme words” are, here’s a few to get you started:

• Elegant and understated
• Fun and vibrant
• Simple and classy
• Casual and chic
• Entertaining and sophisticated
• Minimal and purposeful

Step two: Choosing Your Colors

After deciding on the theme words, you can pick colors that go with them. Colors should evoke some ideas that go along with your theme words. For example, pastels make the mood light and romantic, while deeper colors call for a more intimate event type. They can also coincide with the time of year. As for how many wedding colors, the agreed-upon number is between 3 and 5.  It narrows it down to the primary colors and accent colors.

Once your colors are defined, it takes the pressure off. Your shopping and venue search just got way more manageable, which brings us to the next point – decorations.

Step three: Decorations

Your decorations will have a significant impact on the wedding. It tells your guests what type of event it is. Think about your theme words and what goes with them. Is it a classic and straightforward affair that calls for neutral decor like white linens and flowers? Or maybe it’s a casual, rustic party that goes better with wood accents. Use your theme words and colors to decide.

Since decorations are so important, it’s best to place them where guests will notice them. Anywhere that people walk, like the aisle or entrance, are great places to get the most out of them.

Step four: Pulling Everything Together.

You’ve picked the theme words, decorations, and colors. Now it’s time to bring everything together. That means lighting, songs, and activities all reflect your theme. As you decide about invitations, the cake, food, and deejay, ask yourself what best shows the wedding style. Keep your colors and theme words handy while you’re shopping, so you know right away if something works or not.

Choosing your theme may at first seem like it’s creating more work for you. Rest assured, it isn’t. Once you decide on this, it will make all your other wedding planning decisions come together much faster. From now on, you’ll only need to ask yourself what fits best with your central words, decor, and colors to create the meaning you want your guests to understand. Keep asking yourself what works and what doesn’t, and all the details will come together beautifully.

Most of all, remember that your wedding day is about you and your fiance celebrating the commitment you’ve made. Everything else is a reflection of that love. Your big day is one of the happiest of your life, and when you use these ideas for choosing a theme, it will be the party of the year!

Author Bio:

Alex Loredo is a freelance writer. She utilizes her knowledge of events and planning to create content that motivates and inspires. She writes for Thrive Global, Adventures and Coffee, and more. Alex specializes in events, hospitality, and planning topics. When she isn’t writing, she can be found reading, baking, or on a never-ending quest for the world’s best cup of coffee.