Wow Your Wedding Guests with a Creative Theme

Looking for ways to wow
your wedding guests? Consider using a theme that is purposefully carried
throughout your wedding- from start to finish. Theme can be color, a motif, a
style, or a combination. Whatever your theme, it should somehow reflect the two
of you. Just as a personal interest story in the newspaper is more interesting
than the legal notices, a wedding that incorporates personality in every detail
is exciting and memorable.

A couple in Richmond, VA,
recently used a country blueberrytheme for their wedding because he proposed
after a week-long trip to Maine where they fell in love with the ripe, delicious
blueberries. They had a blueberry motif custom-designed for their wedding which
they used on everything, from the invitations to the seating cards, the favor
tags to the drink menus. While it was an untraditional choice, the story behind
it created great interest for wedding guests.

To determine your theme, think
about something that is meaningful to you as a couple. Are you high school sweethearts? Consider
using a school daystheme. Did you meet somewhere interesting? Revolve your
theme around the taxi you shared on that cold, rainy day. And just because you
choose to use an untraditional theme, elegance is not out of the picture.
Consult with your stationer to develop a motif that matches all aspects of your
vision. Your taxi can be champagne-colored rather than yellow, and can be
sketched artistically rather than look cartoony.

Once your theme has been
decided, entice and excite wedding guests by sending invitations with your
unique theme. Invitations really set the stage for guests and give them a
previewof what to expect. A luxurious invitation tied with a wide silk
ribbon tells guests that your wedding will be glamorous and the unexpected
cream-colored taxi printed on the ensemble will pique their interest and create
anticipation for your special day.

Staying on theme throughout
the ceremony is easy: use your motif on the programs and choose flowers and
dcor that match or complement your color scheme.

For your reception, choose a
location suitable for your theme. Remember that any space can be transformed.
In some cases, choosing a location based on theme can be happily
cost-effective, especially if the space is not normally used for wedding
receptions. Then, transform the location with dcor. For a school daystheme,
for instance, consider giving mini composition notebooks as favors.
Centerpieces might consist of a bowl of neatly arranged apples. Seating cards can be made to look like worn
detention slips. Adding appropriate and tasteful embellishments and details can
make any theme sophisticated, humorous, chic, or dramatic.

As hinted above, theming
your wedding can be very cost-effective. But don’t worry about looking cheap,
as the choices will be viewed as purposeful, not budget-minded. In the case of
the blueberry wedding mentioned previously, the couple decided on a pizza and
movie night for their rehearsal dinner. They treated guests to pizza from their
favorite pizza joint, then afterward projected their favorite romantic movie
on a wall and served freshly popped popcorn. The guests loved the casual intimacy-
it didn’t cross anyone’s mind that this was actually a cost-cutting measure!

When planning your wedding,
be creative and freely express your personality and style. Your wedding will be
memorable, your guests will be impressed, and of course, the day will be
exclusively, perfectly yours.

Denise Wilson owns
Dogwood Blossom Stationery & Invitation Studio. She works one-on-one with
clients to design and create invitations and accessories that capture their
personality, vision, and style. Her work can be seen at
http://www.DogwoodBlossomStationery.com