Do I need a theme for my wedding?

This is a question I hear a lot. Simply answered, no. Your wedding should portray your love story, what makes the two of you tick, your relationship. If there is an aspect to your love story that brings a theme to the forefront, then yes, why not run with it and have fun? If not, don’t worry or grasp at straws to find one. The point of your wedding is that it represents you and your fiance, not someone else. If you are looking for direction, you’ve come to the right place. So where do we start, you ask?

{ OnceWed }

Try making a list of places and memories that tell your love story. If you’re ambitious, write the whole thing. When you go back through photos and reminisce, there are often elements that truly mean something to the two of you. Those are the pieces that you want to showcase and share with your families and friends.

These elements do not have to take center stage either, but can be accents. For example, if you are sports fans, maybe use a frosted team logo on glasses or wear a themed garter. If you enjoy crosswords and coffee on the weekends, make a crossword puzzle about your relationship and give away small bags of your favorite brew as favors. Was your first date at a local pizzeria? Consider ordering a few pies from them later in the night to share that with your guests.

Maybe you enjoy travel and, if you were so lucky, got engaged on a trip. Using cities you love or places you’ve found connections in are good for inspiration as well.  If your focus is on family, maybe  you treat yourselves and guests to family recipes, homemade salsas and jams from Grandma’s garden, home movie entertainment, have your brother’s band play a set at the reception. Whether it’s a feeling, time period, song, place, movie, whatever – make sure your hearts are all in.

You don’t necessarily have take everything literally either. Get creative, use online resources, talk it out with your inner circle. Be careful not to solicit too much input, though. This can get very confusing and overwhelming, making a final decision much more difficult. I promise, it will be more momentous and joyful for all involved when your design choices have significance to who you are as a couple. Everyone has a unique story and I could go on and on with ideas for days. My hope is that you can use some of these ideas as jumping off points to make your wedding truly yours, no one else’s. Who wants a cookie cutter wedding anyway? A well curated and bespoke wedding is a memorable wedding that everyone will be talking about for years to come.

Happy planning my lovelies! Stop back and share some of your stories, will you?

xoxo, Jenn