Modern Filipino brides now opt for a wedding with a specific theme. Ironically, our wedding was theme-less. What we had for our wedding was just a color theme of plum, gold and champagne because those are my favorite colors and I think theyre pretty elegant and classy.
But if we can do our wedding all over again, I would definitely pick out a specific wedding theme. A theme makes a wedding more personal, more coordinated and definitely more beautiful!
So how does one arrive with a wedding theme?
First and foremost, the couple should decide which type of wedding theme suit their personalities and lifestyle. Once theyve picked their theme, its a lot easier to coordinate the invitation, styling, favors, flowers, dresses, menu, music and all the other items required when it revolves around a specific theme.
Below are some possible wedding themes and ideas that I have gathered online which you can use for your own wedding. I have listed them in no particular order.
1. Cherry Blossoms
Cherry blossom is the unofficial national flower of Japan. (Sakura is the Japanese name for cherry tree.). This beautiful Japanese flower can range in colors from white to a pale pink to dark pink.
Antique pieces such as pie safes and jelly cupboards are popular in shabby chic décor.
Popular wedding details that you can use are pillows made of vintage cloth or fabric, vintage linens, vintage bedspreads, vintage chandeliers, and anything with roses on it. It is a soft, relaxed feminine romantic way of styling that looks comfortable and inviting. Shabby Chic is also sometimes called cottage style.
A trend right now is to mix and match, contemporary with vintage, very much the Shabby Chic look. Dried lavender, tied with dried grasses and affixed to the pews lends a Shabby Chic feel. Dress windowsills with wreaths and candles in colored mason jars. These same decorations can later be used on the reception tables.
Most couples choose this wedding theme for its laid back and peaceful atmosphere. There are a lot of beautiful beaches in the Philippines where you can hold your beach wedding. You can opt for a church ceremony + beach reception or a beach ceremony + beach reception which is kinda cool and romantic most especially if you are having a sunset or sunrise beach wedding.
Other people who dont have the luxury of time to plan an out-of-town beach wedding can also bring the beach to their venue of choice (garden or indoor) by incorporating beach or ocean-related decors to their reception venue.
For the color motif, you can start with a base color such as a deep-sea blue, light emerald-green, or a medium blue. From there, you can combine any other sort of color for accents. For example, use a colorful fish to get some ideas or perhaps check out what colors are found on coral reefs.
The beautiful colors of the huge variety of ocean fish, the coral reefs, and other sea creatures can be breathtaking, so incorporate them into your wedding stationary and decorations.
An interesting idea to use as an ice-breaker at guest tables is to research facts about the major oceans and seas. Print various facts about each body of water and make enough copies of each fact card for each guest table.
However there are many other considerations you will need to take into account when planning this type of wedding like the time of day do you wish to have your wedding, tide schedule, type of weather that normally occurs around your wedding date, facilities nearby that you can use to continue with your wedding festivities should it rain.
Either way, beach weddings can be very romantic and memorable for both the wedding couple and the guests. Just be sure to plan well for all possibilities ahead of time and you should have a wonderfully romantic wedding day.
4. Butterfly
Many ideas abound when creating a celebration based on butterflies. You can choose to go with a simple, all white butterfly wedding theme or perhaps choose to have a color scheme related to a specific species of butterfly.
Play around with ideas until you come up with something that is uniquely suited to your personalities and desires. Any way you look at it, a butterfly wedding theme can provide enchanting elegance to any wedding.
Table decorations could consist of butterfly confetti, floating butterfly candles, and small plant pots filled with wild flowers and butterfly accents. Decorate the venue with flower garlands and attach colorful butterflies to the garlands here and there, of various sizes. Use pillar candles as centerpieces. Wrap wide ribbon around the bottom and attach glittering butterfly embellishments to the ribbon.
You can also make your own butterfly bubbles. Just buy small jars of bubble mixture and decorate the outside with ribbon and either glue on a color printed butterfly or create your own labels and glue to the bottle. You can put these butterfly bubbles on each of the tables at the reception for your guests to enjoy (read: play with).
5. Rose
The rose theme wedding idea pairs the vibrant fragrances and colors of roses with the beautiful colors of the rainbow for a casual, yet unique celebration.
Depending upon the roses (types and colors) that you choose to use, they can impart either a formal or a casual atmosphere. With this particular flower theme, you can focus on a casual setting using the colors found in a rainbow (soft shades of pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple), along with complimentary corresponding roses.
Rose confetti will add a romantic touch to your tables. You could also sprinkle some in your invitations too. Scatter assorted colored rose petals on the tables. Fill clear glass bowls, large wine glasses or large clear vases with water. Sprinkle rose petals on top and add some rose-shaped floating candles. You can then use these as your guest table centerpieces.
6. Victorian Vintage
Do you love the idea of vintage weddings? Is the Victorian era your personal favorite? Lets plan a wedding with elegance and nostalgic fun.
Victorian weddings are a wonderful choice for a garden wedding. Serve up some crumpets, tea, and old world charm with this Victorian garden theme.
When planning Victorian weddings, youll want to find a suitable garden setting such as a large backyard, park or pavilion area. If you cant have it outside, choose a Victorian style mansion, Inn, or church with a view of beautiful gardens and an elegant long veranda that allows guests to stroll about.
For the decors choose pieces that are elegant and classy looking. Keep in mind that Victorian style tends toward the frilly and feminine. Patterns, which often include floral designs, are used heavily. Fabrics are often velvets, damasks and needlepoints, and the most popular colors include eggplant, bottle-green and red.
7. Rustic Country Style
Do you want a country-style wedding with rusticity and charm by the bucketful? Envisioning a glorious ride for two around the hayfield? See yourself gliding down the aisle in a fresh-as-summer cotton eyelet gown?
If you crave an atmosphere of relaxation, simplicity, and rustic charm, consider unusual country weddings with old-fashioned country-style. Country theme weddings can transport you and your guests to a simpler time, if only for a moment.
For your color motif, start with a palette of earthy tones: yellows and golds, tans and umbers, sage and russet, celadon and cinnamon.
For unusual country weddings consider unique favors. Your guests will be honored to receive handmade, country-style favors. Small jars of home-canned jams or jellies, with pinked squares of calico fabric tied around the tops with ribbons, would be treasured. Your homemade labels could include a thank you to the recipient for sharing your special day. If youre not comfortable with canning, fill the jars with lemonade mix, hot cocoa mix or coffee beans instead.
8. Romantic Whimsical
Candlelight, champagne, a beautiful aura of ambience this is what a romantic wedding theme entails. From soft subtle colors to fine music and elegant decorations, fairytale weddings speak to the heart.
So what constitutes a romantic wedding theme? Some may lean toward red or pink hearts; soft, delicate flowers; candles; bubbly champagne and wine; pearls; large bows; organza and chiffon materials; romantic music.
As you can see, there are many romantic wedding theme variations that work well with romance and they dont have to be just hearts and flowers! How about a Love wedding, where you use the words of love in different languages on favor tags, place settings even on your invitations?
Think of a whimsical forest setting when deciding on the decorations for your romantic themed wedding. A lovely idea is to have a colorful mushroom figurine with some glitter on it, which you can make.Butterflies, birds, dragonflies or lady bugs 
9. Oriental
This is not an exact composite of an Oriental wedding. Instead, these Asian wedding ideas will give you a general idea of some Asian (mostly Chinese) traditions and customs that you may wish to include.
The best thing to keep in mind is that the wedding colors for an oriental wedding are usually red and yellow. White is used sparingly since this color is associated with funerals.
10. Outdoor Tent
I think everyone, at one time or another, has toyed with the idea of having an outdoor tent wedding. The fresh air, the room and the freedom it inspires fills us with romantic notions of how perfect our wedding could be.
However, having an outdoor wedding comes with its own challenges. Having an outdoor tent wedding can be very romantic and fun, but it does take a lot of advance planning and coordination.
For one, outdoor tent weddings tend to be more expensive than indoor weddings. You will need to rent everything, then pay to have it all set up. You will need one or more large tents to help shield people from the hot sun during the day, as well as from any sudden downpours you may unexpectedly receive. You will also need to rent the tables, chairs, tableware, etc. and pay for someone to set it all up for you.
With an indoor wedding, all of these items are supplied by the location of your choosing. So, be prepared to budget more for an outdoor wedding and be sure you get estimates (in writing) from various wedding suppliers so that you could choose wisely. You should also consider the climate conditions around your wedding date and have back-up plans in case of bad weather.
11. Tropical
When you think of the tropics, what comes to mind are warm, sandy beaches, sunshine and blue-green waters. Other icons of the tropics encompass flowers such as orchids, hibiscus and exotic lilies; palm trees; conch shells; and luaus.
Each of the different tropical islands in the world have their own cultural traditions and customs that make their weddings unique and very interesting and you can find pages on the internet relating to the wedding traditions of the different islands.
12. Spring
Spring wedding colors usually lean toward pastel shades paired with the vibrant hues such as the bright yellows and reds of tulips or the deep purple of an iris. You can easily create an engaging wedding color scheme by pairing two or more colors together such as pinks and greens, hot oranges and pinks, or deep purples and vibrant (or pale) yellows. Just take your cue from nature itself.
When it comes to spring wedding ideas, the main rule of thumb is to stay away from the dark, rich colors usually associated with fall and winter (burgundy reds, pumpkin oranges, golden yellows, rich royal blues and purples). Remember to keep your wedding colors light and airy to reflect the renewal of spring.
13. Summer
Summer is the time of year when a huge variety of flowers are available. Keep your guests in mind when planning your reception. Summer, being what it is, can range from a warm, sunny, mild day; or develop a blistering heat wave; or provide a never-ending torrent of rain. You need to be prepared if you are having an outdoor wedding and should choose a location where shelter (and air conditioning) is available, if possible.
In the end, just remember that summer wedding ideas offer you a freshness reflecting the season, lots of sunshine, and happiness. Enjoy your perfect day to the fullest.
14. Pirate
If youre feeling a little more daring and adventurous or if youre a big fan of Jack Sparrow, you may want to consider this theme. Not too many couples have used this theme so it is still quite unique.
With the Pirates of the Caribbean movies being so popular, there are dozens of places that sell party supplies and favors that would be suitable to use for a pirate wedding. One favor idea I saw was pirate-designed pens and pencils, which you could purchase from National bookstore or any other book store that carries these items. You can also have the pens/pencils personalized with your names and wedding date.
Pirates werent famous for their table manners, so a buffet style dinner would be more suitable with this pirate wedding theme over a sit-down dinner. Think finger foods, lots of drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), and easy to serve desserts sort of like a cocktail.
You can also research famous pirates and jot down their names and 8 to 10 facts about each. You will need at least enough different pirate names/facts so each guest at a table has a different pirate. So if you have 8 guests seated at a dinner table, you will need 8 pirates. (You can then use the same names for each of the other tables).
Begin by typing out the pirates name at the top using a cursive font. Then list the facts down the page. Print out copies on beige parchment paper or on white paper thats been soaked in tea (to give an old, stained look). Rag the edges of the paper and burn the corners slightly so that it looks like an old document. Roll up the paper and tie with thin rope or place in a bottle.
Place one pirate fact sheet at each table setting. Your guests will enjoy opening their treasured document and reading the facts on their sheet to the other guests while they wait for dinner to be served. These can also be used as your wedding favors.
15. Christmas
Typically, Christmas themed weddings will usually have Christmas trees as part of the decor so why not take that to the next level by using a lot of green in your decorations?
Use large and small tree shapes for centerpieces and favors; have your wedding cake made to look like a beautifully decorated tree decorated, and use brightly lighted and decorated trees as decor.
Quick Suggestions For Christmas Themed Weddings
Angels (use white and gold as your colors)
Santa Claus (use red and white as your colors
Christmas presents
Christmas wreaths
Poinsettias and holly
16. Fine Art
If youre a couple that loves art, museums and other artistic pursuits, or if painting is a hobby that brings you hours of pleasure, then you may want to consider a wedding theme based on Artists of the World.
You can feature either your favorite modern-day artists or perhaps take a trip back in history to create a unique celebration around famous artists such as Leonardo De Vinci, Rembrandt, and Claude Monet.
One thing you should do first is decide on what artist(s) you wish to feature with this fine art unique wedding theme.
It could be everything Monet or you may want to pick an artist to be represented at each guest table. So for example, if you expect to have 10 guest tables, you would need information on 10 different artists. It would certainly get the guests milling about and talking to each other as they discussed which famous artist is dining with them!
Just as with a typical wedding, you could have your ceremony and/or reception pretty well anywhere. However, heres a unique twist on the artist theme have your wedding in a museum, art gallery or a painters studio! Regardless of where your wedding is located, youll want it to look like an artist studio (all the better if you can find one to rent out). Think paints, colors and canvas in your design.
17. Angel
When planning an angel theme wedding, think fluffy white feathers, cute cherubs, Grecian columns and urns, and of course, angel wings to use as a decorating scheme. Colors should be soft and dreamy, like a light dusty rose and sage green combination with gold accents. A soft baby blue with lilac and white accents is also a nice color mixture.
18. Starry Starry Night
Capture the essence of a celestial marriage celebration with this starry night theme wedding idea. Look for designs that signify a star wedding theme. For your invitation, select midnight blue or black paper and have your wording printed in gold lettering.
You can ask your invitation supplier to add gold stars down one side and across the tops of the invitations. You could also buy star-shaped stencils and gold glitter acrylic paints and stencil the designs on the invitations.
You can also work with an all white palette and incorporate vintage looking street lights throughout the space. Votive candles, white roses and orchids as finishing touches can successfully bring the tablescape to life. Look at the amazing styling below.
Wishes Come True Wedding Favors:
Some easy favor ideas are star-shaped: keychains, cookie cutters tied together with ribbon, cookies, soaps, chocolates, etc.
Give your guests star fairy wands with a tag that asks them to wish upon the star.
A fun item are the glow in the dark stars that you stick to ceilings and walls.
Star-shaped floating candles make lovely favors.
Consider using playing cards with celestial themes on the back as thank you gifts.
19. Sports Theme
- baseball-inspired mood board
Celebrations based on sports themed weddings are an interesting concept and they do lend themselves well to a lot of decorating options. Just choose your favorite sport or team, then use the colors and symbols available to help build your wedding theme.
Invitations, decor, favors, cake design, colors, and often food choices, will all be centered around your favorite sport. If you both have a favorite team, then it should help make your planning even easier.
For golf, green and white would be the best color choices and the decor will center around golf clubs, golf balls, tees, flags, etc. Your invitation could even resemble a score card.
For those who like the idea of having a marriage celebration based around a sport or hobby, theres a huge variety of sports to pick from.
20. Backyard
An informal backyard wedding differs from outdoor weddings held at private venues in the sense that you are inviting your guests to your house. What more charming a place for a wedding than your own garden, decorated with your favorite furniture and already filled with warm memories.
But before you plan a backyard wedding, there are a few things youll need to consider. First, can your yard accommodate the number of people on your guest list? Often backyard weddings are planned for weddings with less than 100 guests.
Next, do you have enough places for guests to sit, or will you need to rent or buy benches, tables and chairs? Do you have a place for guests to move in case of bad weather, such as a barn or shed or will you move the wedding inside your home? Or, will you rent tents? Another major concern is parking.
Once youve decided that you can accommodate a backyard wedding, the planning begins. If you already have a colorful garden, youll just need to spruce it up for the big event.
Think about using decorations with butterflies, frogs, strawberries, wagon wheels, birds and birdhouses, bumblebees and daisies in your motif. Carry these elements through from the invitations to the food tables and napkins to thank you cards and favors. With a little creativity, your backyard wedding will be a cherished event with a charming, homey feel.
21. Barn
A barn theme is another variation of a country-themed wedding.
The major idea revolves around an atmosphere of relaxation, simplicity, and rustic charm, and old-fashioned country-style.
A barn is not as easy to decorate as a reception hall or garden that may frequently host weddings. With careful planning and coordination, however, a barn can go from rustically simple to romantically gorgeous.If your wedding will be at night, lanterns hung from barn rafters would cast a romantic glow. Or use scented-oil lamps placed on lace doilies for a more genteel country atmosphere.
While a barn may seem like an empty palette for wedding decorations, most barns for rent do have restrictions on the types of decorations that may be used. Because of the risk of fire, open flames may not be permitted, and extra hanging items may not be allowed. Before planning an elaborate decorative scheme, couples should investigate what types of restrictions the location imposes on decorations.
22. Picnic
If you are aiming for a low-budget wedding maybe you can achieve it with this theme especially if you can pull off the styling on your own. You can buy stylish picnic blankets from Divisoria. You can also ask your caterer to pack brown bag lunches for the guests, and put a sticker on each one with the menu written on it. Cute!
You can also have lots of dancing in the wedding reception. Just play the music on an Ipod and have your guests join you.
You can also use picnic baskets with fruits and breads as your centerpieces. And have wooden tables and chairs for your reception.
23. Barbecue
Mention a barbecue and most people immediately think of eating outdoors and a man cooking at the grill in a big apron and chefs hat. The masculine feel of a barbecue theme is what makes it different from a picnic theme.
Other common barbecue elements include the colors red, white and blue; colorful plastic dinnerware; and fresh flowersplus lots and lots of food.
So to decorate for a barbecue-themed wedding, its natural to start with the table settings. Purchase plastic red and white checked tablecloths to cover all of the tables. Set the table with plastic or paper plates and plastic utensils.
Use paper napkins in red, white and blue if you go the plastic or paper plate route, but if you opt for the tinware or enamel ware, use colorful red bandanas for cloth napkins and silverware.
If the reception is outdoors, consider a bonfire after dusk to really set the scene for a barbecue-style wedding. Fireworks after dark would be another great way to kick off the couples marriage in stylebut make sure you have the proper permits and use safety precautions.
24. Retro
During these days of modern fashion, the retro style wedding is again returning back and the demand for the retro style wedding gowns, wedding bands and jewelry is gradually rising up. Everything that was old is stealthily turning to be new again.
Trying the retro style wedding may be a fun just as overwhelming as the most modern style of wedding. Some of the unique ideas of wedding can be found just by giving a backward glance to the style and the fashions of the past eras.
Starting from the theme of invitation to the bridal garments, every single aspect of your wedding should be planned as such. The most significant thing is to set a tone to create a purely retro atmosphere for your wedding.
Retro styled items can be found in most vintage stores or thrift shops. It also wouldnt heart to ask your parents or grannies if they still have their old retro stuff ;)
You can also incorporate antique-style butterfly brooches, flower brooches, pearl set style brooch and etc. in your wedding details. Such vintage fashion combines with every modern detail to deliver an entirely different flavor.
25. Modern Vintage
Timeless pieces can make a wedding classic yet fresh and modern, and not too theme-y. Think old leather, heavy damask textures, pinstripes and ribbon. You should also have stunning photography, a dramatic lighting and shadows, a vintage-y location, everything should be classic!
26. Travel
Image above borrowed from this site.
If you love travel almost as much as you love one another, why not plan a travel-themed wedding? Heres how.
Decide what element of travel you want to focus on as your theme. Is there a particular destination that you want to re-create? Or is it a particular element of travel, such as going on a cruise, that will be central to your wedding theme?
Include the theme of the wedding in the announcements and invitations. If you are planning a cruise-themed wedding, create invitations that resemble a travel itinerary package and an RSVP that resembles a ticket to the ship.
Create the ambiance around the theme. Whether your travel-themed wedding will take place indoors or outdoors, choose decorations that will make your guests feel like they are a part of the world youre trying to replicate.
When you plan your reception, include the theme in your menu, the style of your cake and even in the favors you give to your guests. Below is a cute luggage cake that you can use as inspiration.
27. Winter Wonderland
Whats great about this season is that delicate snowflakes and sparkling ice crystals can usually be found within most winter themes and these are easy to work with and enhance.
For starters, you might choose winter wedding flowers as your theme, using flower types and colors as your inspiration for centerpieces, favors, cake style, and wedding attire.
You can also opt to focus your wedding theme upon the colors of winter. And dont worry, you neednt settle for red and green! Think clear crystal, pure white, and ice blue like in this fanciful winter wedding idea Crystal Ice Palace.
Other colors that suit this season are midnight blue, teal green, ruby reds, burgundy, gold, silver, and finally jewels tones of ruby, sapphire, emerald, and purple.
Try to think of how you could use ice sculptures and glittering ornaments to enhance your decor.
If you are using floral arrangements to decorate your reception table, choose glass vases and fill with crystal or ice blue gel beads . Surround the arrangements with votive candles for a beautiful reflection.
As you can see, there are a lot of options available to help plan a winter wedding celebration. Take your time and explore the related articles on this page for lots of enchanting ideas.
28. Fairy
Do you like fairies? Plan your marriage celebration around this charming fairy theme wedding idea.
Do you love magic and mystery? Want an outdoor wedding surrounded by flowers and birds? Wouldnt you like to be transported to an enchanted land on your wedding day?
I think the ideal place to have a fairy theme wedding is outdoors. A venue with a big garden, a butterfly sanctuary, a botanical garden or even your backyard will be perfect.
Decide your color palette for your wedding. As this is a garden wedding, you could use pinks, lavenders and white. To accentuate these colors, you can add a touch of silver or gold.
29. Rock
Variations of these theme are punk rock, glam rock and rock & roll themes.
If you can imagine yourself walking down the aisle to Coldplays Yellow, or dancing with your husband for the first time to The Polices Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, then you might want to consider having a rock themed wedding.
The genre of rock and roll is very broad, diverse and can refer to so many types of rock music so it all depends on your type of rock music.
Below is a mood board of what I think makes up a rock themed wedding main colors are blacks with white black trim on the cake, black lace, black accessories. There should also be an eclectic mix of casual and formal elements for both the bride and groom and the wedding details. For instance, the groom and groomsmen can wear black suits with Converse sneakers
30. Modern Filipiniana
When we say Filipiniana theme, the elements mainly revolve around things with Filipino roots or those associated with Filipinos or the Philippines. Wedding details used are those that highlight our the Filipino culture.
For the gown of the bride, it could be a terno-inspired gown (a kind of Filipino dress worn by women made of piña fabric and has distinct puffy sleeves) while for the groom it should be a barong made of piña fabric as well.
Other details used are materials made of abaca, sinamay, capiz, bamboo etc.
Using the Filipino language in your invitations, stationary, vows and speeches would also emphasize on your guests the Filipiniana theme of your wedding.
Favors can go from candles to soaps, edible and potable, engraved and monogrammed. All of which, of course can come in Filipiniana fashion.
The trick is to use indigenous materials! Our picks: flavored lambanog (wine made from fermented coconut juice) in a bamboo or abaca wine holder, miniature wicker basket of goodies (relative to your own definition of goodies), potpourri wrapped in sinamay fabric.
So there you have it!
Thirty wonderful wedding theme ideas. I must have skipped some because honestly there are no boundaries or limits with regard to choosing a wedding theme. You can choose whatever your creative mind can conceive or you can mix and match those that I have listed above. It is all up to you!
Have fun conceptualizing your theme.
Heres to weddings!
XOXO,
Travelling is my life
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