How to Plan a Christmas Wedding!
Decor by: Sparkling Decor & More | Venue: Indianapolis Propylaeum | Cake by: Moist Cake Co. | Flowers by: Gillespie Florist | Calligraphy by: Louella’s Paperie
Every bride who has been looking around for wedding vendors will know by now that winter weddings can be significantly cheaper. November-March are the wedding “slow seasons” and you can often find discounts by booking a date during those months. However, just because it’s not a summer wedding does not mean that you have to sacrifice on the ambiance or décor for your day! There are so many benefits to having a winter wedding, and so many ways to make it a classy and elegant atmosphere that you and your guests will remember forever! If you’re looking to be different than all the other summer brides, and you love winter, lights, pine, cozy fires and hot chocolate, a winter wedding is definitely for you! So how do you begin planning?
Let’s start with the venue. For a cozy vintage feel, the Indianapolis Propylaeum (shown in pictures) is one of my favorites. This victorian mansion features beautiful hardwood floors, grandfather clocks, intricate crown moulding, fireplaces, large mirrors, pianos, and other details that set the stage for a romantic evening. Most older and historical buildings will offer similar aesthetics, though. Unique to this particular theme, the darker, dimly-lit venue will be your best bet!
What about décor? You can’t go wrong with a warm red and green theme! It’s nostalgic for most people, and if you buy the décor during the warmer seasons you can get all of it at a huge discount! Stores like Hobby Lobby and Michaels have great deals on Christmas and Winter decorations, even up to 75% off in the summer! You can save hundreds just by shopping off-season. Adding extra wreaths and garlands and lights everywhere will help push that vintage cozy feel!
Need More Winter & Christmas Wedding ideas?
Hot Chocolate Bar
Have a self-serve hot chocolate bar! You can rent a chocolate fountain with hot chocolate pouring from it and have all the mix-ins surrounding the table! A more budget-friendly idea would be to have a few crockpots full of hot chocolate. There are so many amazing recipes online for crockpot hot chocolate (my favorite is peppermint). Just browse around Pinterest to find ones you like! Your mix-ins can act as decoration as well. Fill up a variety of sizes and shapes of glass jars with things like marshmallows, candy canes, caramels, cinnamon sticks, chili powder (for Mexican cocoa!), cookies, cherries, etc. If you really want to step it up and make it more of an adult-friendly reception, have Godiva Chocolate Liqueur, peppermint Schnapps, spiced rum, or Bailey’s as an option!
You can also have all the mugs for the hot chocolate be your guest’s wedding favors! You can buy off season and get Christmas mugs, or you can make custom mugs to have your wedding date, monogram, or even a photo of you and your love printed on them!
Ornament Tree
Another great wedding favor idea is to give an ornament! Have a small tree (size up your tree according to the size of your guest list), and put a bunch of custom wedding ornaments all over it for each of your guests! A good rule of thumb (and a good money saver) is to only give one favor for every household that is attending. No need to give one to every individual member of the family!
Gift Tree
Buy (or borrow) a large, statement worthy Christmas tree and make sure it is decorated beautifully. This can be the centerpiece décor of your whole wedding reception! Your guests can put your wedding gifts under the tree (optionally, you can make this the same as the “ornament favor tree”). You can save the tree and put it up year after year for Christmas, and it will always remind you of your wedding day!
Mistletoe
Add Mistletoe above the sweetheart’s table, and perhaps even at the entrance of the reception! You can also use mistletoe instead of the bouquet toss. This way you can keep your bouquet, and it’s a cute way of handing off the next “Christmas Kiss” to the single ladies! You could also use mistletoe instead of the garter toss for men.
Holiday Photo Booth
Have a photographer set up a super cozy Christmas scene for your Photo Booth! These will be good holiday pictures for your guests to hang up every winter, and will remind them of your wedding day every time they see it!
Christmas Dance Music
If it were me planning a Christmas wedding, I would definitely hire a swing band to play a ton of Christmas songs. It’ll have more of a vintage feel and would be a much-needed break from all the pop holiday songs your guests have been hearing on loop on every radio station all season! If a band is out of your budget you can ask your DJ to play only classic Christmas songs or jazzy styled instrumentals, whatever fits your couple style the best!
Ride Away in a Sleigh!
Obviously, if you want to go all out, riding away in a sleigh (or more realistically, a holiday styled horse-drawn carriage) is going to be the PERFECT send-away for the perfect night! You could always arrive as the bride to the venue in the carriage as well for a grand entrance. Of course this is probably the most extravagant and unnecessary of all the ideas so far, but what a statement it would be!
