Planning Your Wedding around a Theme or Motif

More and more couples have been tailoring their weddings to their individual tastes, hobbies, personalities, and cultural backgrounds, and infusing these aspects of themselves into the celebration, from the ceremony to the reception and beyond. This makes the celebration unique, meaningful and memorable.

Many couples choose a theme (or motif) around which to center their wedding. When a wedding is planned around a theme, the details – invitations, décor, music, menu, etc. –work together to create a unified effect. It takes a lot of planning to coordinate a wedding around a theme, but this planning actually makes the wedding process easier. When you have a central theme in place, you streamline many decisions, such as types of food to serve or party favors to give. You have built-in inspiration already. This gives you a more manageable framework from which to focus on the details that really matter. You will still have many choices to make, including which aspects of the theme to include and how to incorporate it.

Your wedding can be orchestrated like a scene from a well-written movie, with all of the elements working so well it will seem to your guests that the entire process was effortless; however, at the same time, they will notice the attention to detail and appreciate the overall effect. They will be wowed. For you, the day will seem effortless because you will have all the details under control. Organizing around a central theme may seem time-consuming in the planning stages, but it will help you stay organized and focused on your goal.

Motifs can be based on anything: region or location of your event or honeymoon, where you grew up, met, or became engaged; culture; holiday; season; colors; flower; hobby; interest; profession; era; movie; music; anything that means something to you. You can get as creative as you want. Some potential themes/motifs include: art deco; something blue; mosaic; Gone With the Wind; Breakfast at Tiffany’s; New Orleans; Italy; France; Latin; Asian; Irish; Moroccan; Pink; Valentine’s Day; winter wonderland; beach; tropical; maritime; etc. The possibilities are endless.

Once you decide on a motif, you are free to infuse it into as many wedding elements as you choose, including:
Save-the-date announcement
Wedding planning website
Invitation
Location/venue
Décor
Flowers
Wedding attire
Food/drinks
Wedding cake (including cake topper)
Cocktail napkins
Wedding favors
Gifts for bridal party and out-of-town guests
Wedding book
Music/entertainment
Table cards and seating card display
And so on

Lastly, having a theme or motif makes the wedding planning process even more fun.

Posted by Lori