13 Winter Wedding Ideas for a Magical Celebration
If you’re planning a winter wedding, there are so many playful and beautiful ways you can incorporate the season into your overall day. Check out these 13 winter wedding ideas for some fun and creative inspiration!
#1 - Design a statement jacket
When it comes to winter wedding ideas, you’ve gotta think about wardrobe! You’re going to want to bundle up for at least some of your wedding day, so you might as well make that a feature rather than a bug. Whether that’s a leather jacket with ‘just married’ embossed on the back, an amazing fur coat, or a statement peacoat, make sure you have a plan to enhance your wedding day attire when it gets chilly!
#2 - Give blankets as wedding favors
Having a basket of blankets for your guests to use if they get cold is one of the most classic winter wedding ideas - but take it a step further to give your guests a wonderful gift. If you get each guest’s initials embroidered onto a blanket, they can take them home as wedding favors.
#3 - Serve up hot chocolate
What could be better on a cold winter’s night than a steaming mug of hot chocolate? A mug of hot chocolate at a wedding, that’s what! Whether you put out a hot chocolate bar for your guests to help themselves to throughout the evening, or bring it out later in the night for a pause from the dance floor, hot chocolate is one of those winter wedding ideas that’s a sure crowd pleaser.
#4 - Use dried flowers in your décor
If you feel like fresh blooms give too much of a summery feel, but you don’t want to go fully down the evergreen route, dried flowers could absolutely be your friend. Find a florist who works with dried florals and weave them into your bouquets and centerpieces for a look that’s striking, dramatic, and beautiful.
#5 - Incorporate velvet
Velvet is the perfect material for looking elegant in wintertime - done right, it’ll give your wedding just the right seasonal atmosphere. Tie your bouquet with a velvet ribbon, get the groomsmen to wear velvet bowties, go for velvet table runners - there are so many little winter wedding ideas to incorporate velvet into your day.
#6 - Light the fires
One of the best ways to create a magical atmosphere at a winter wedding is to get the fires roaring. If you’re lucky enough to be getting married in a venue with fireplaces, make sure you ask about having the fires burning during your event. A traditional fireplace isn’t the only place you can bring a cozy feeling into your celebrations, though - a bonfire (with s’mores!), braziers, and lanterns are all winter wedding ideas that will take your event to the next level.
#7 - Decorate with boughs and branches
If you want to nod to winter without going full Christmas in your decorations, using evergreen boughs and branches is a great way to do that. Line the aisle with boughs, hang them from the ceiling, or use sprigs of them in the boutonnieres - bringing the outdoors inside is a sure way to make your celebrations feel that little bit more special.
#8 - Go for a fondue fountain
When it’s cold outside, people aren’t craving salads. Now is the time to lavish your guests with comfort food! A cheese fondue (a classic on ski slopes!) is one of my favorite winter wedding ideas. It’s an incredible way to celebrate with people - playful, a little bit unusual, and totally delicious. You could have it as part of the main meal or bring it out towards the end of the night as a treat for the people still giving their all on the dance floor.
#8 - Have a snowball fight for photos
As a wedding photographer, I’ll tell you now - a snowball fight makes for some adorable (and pretty hilarious) photos. If you’re up for it and you’re getting married somewhere snowy, you and your wedding party should absolutely have a snowball fight during pictures! It’s these kind of spontaneous and joy-filled moments that you’ll cherish the most.
#9 - Bring on the candles
Candlelight is one of those winter wedding ideas that is going to fit almost every different wedding aesthetic, from the whimsical and boho to the glamorous and traditional. For your ceremony you could consider wreathing the altar space in a circle of candlelight. For your dinner, consider dimming the lights and letting candles on the tables really do the heavy lifting.
#10 - Consider a night sky theme
If you’re looking for winter wedding ideas that aren’t too on-the-nose, consider basing some of your décor and aesthetic around the night sky. A frosty sky full of stars is so beautiful, and the icy colors of a galaxy or a dark night are the perfect winter tones. Using darkness and stars - whether in literal shapes or as more abstract themes - in your decoration is a great way to create a powerful, memorable atmosphere for your celebrations.
#11 - Don’t be afraid of monochrome
There are two ways you can go when it comes to designing a winter wedding - fully lavish and cozy, or simple and striking. If you’re more drawn to a clean aesthetic, then don’t be afraid to commit to a monochrome color scheme for some parts of your day. For one of the boldest winter wedding ideas, you could go for an all-white look - now, that would be a winter wonderland! Monochrome color schemes create such a powerful sense of space and place - and they are so chic, too.
#12 - Go big on lighting
Lighting is always important, but for a winter wedding when the majority of your celebrations will be taking place after dark, it’s even more crucial. I would say that more is more when it comes to designing a lighting scheme - make sure you test it at the venue ahead of time to make sure that you like the way it looks, and add string lights, lanterns, or other light installations if you prefer.
