This blog post may contain affiliate links. At no extra cost to you, we get a little bit of money when you purchase something through one of our links. Thank you for helping support a small business just by reading! You can read more about our affiliate disclosure policy here.
There’s no better way to celebrate the union of love and the festivities of Christmas than with a spectacular winter wedding. Although planning your nuptials around the festive period can add one or two extra considerations to think about, the results will absolutely be worth it.
If you’re considering tying the knot around the winter holidays, this Christmas wedding ideas guide will help you with everything you need to plan the ultimate magical festive wedding.
Read More: 10 Hen Party Games to Ensure Heaps of Bridal Shower Fun!
Christmas Wedding Ideas Top Tips
Here at Wildling Weddings HQ, we’re absolute suckers for a snowy, festive wedding celebration – especially here in Scotland, which can make for some seriously stunning wedding photography!
But irrespective of where you’re tying the knot, this guide will help you put together all your Christmas wedding ideas for the winter wedding of your dreams.
Read More: New Year’s Eve Wedding Ideas: A Guide to Planning
Winter Wonderland Wedding Theme
Naturally, one of the many reasons so many couples are drawn to a Christmas wedding is to indulge in the winter wonderland wedding theme.
Here’s everything you need to know to throw the most epic winter wonderland wedding:
Read More: Christmas Proposal Ideas: 21 Romantic Ways to Guarantee a Yes
Take Inspiration from the Christmas Tree!
One of the many great things about a Christmas or winter wedding is getting to incorporate Christmas decorations into the equation.
This means Christmas trees, baubles, tinsel, and all the fairy lights you can shake a stick at – and the best part is that it can act as the wedding decor too, and can be styled with the outfits and accessories you go for.
Couples may wish to liaise with their venue of choice to see if there will be Christmas decorations included. If so, it can be worth checking out the style/colour, especially if you’re planning on accessorising your wedding colour scheme with the decs.
If there won’t be decorations included, be sure to check whether taking your own won’t be an issue (we’re sure it won’t but it never hurts to ask!).
Photography by Wildling Weddings
The Wedding Venue
Okay, so the venue plays a pretty important role in your wedding, irrespective of what time of year you get married, but it is especially important when planning a winter wedding.
Depending on how cold your location gets during the winter months, it’s crucial to check out the technical side of your venue – particularly if it has heating, or at the very least, a log fire!
Wedding Invitations
As with most weddings, the sooner you set a date and mail out your invites, the better. This is perhaps especially applicable for Christmas weddings, as many of your guests will probably plan their festivities well in advance, so be sure to give them as much notice as possible.
Be Seasonal With EVERYTHING!
If you’re going for a Christmas or winter wonderland theme, go all in! This means getting seasonal with the dinner menu and drinks. An example would be orange and cranberry punches, peppermint cocktails, or even eggnog!
Winter Wedding Favours
Christmastime gives you the perfect excuse to get super creative with your wedding favours and whip up something winter-themed for the cutest, most festive ‘thank you’ to your guests.
The great thing about wedding favours is they give you the opportunity to have some fun, without spending a lot of money. And when it comes to winter wedding favours, the inspiration is endless.
Just some of the winter wedding favours you can play around with include:
● Personalised Christmas tree baubles.
● Miniature Christmas trees (again, with a personalised touch for added creativity).
● A festive scented candle.
● Candy canes.
● Mini crackers (homemade ones can be insanely cute and will be adored by your guests).
Read More: Getting Married in Scotland: A 2023 Guide
How to get the BEST wedding photos – tell me where to send these tips!
Winter Wedding Decorations
As we mentioned earlier, one of the many great things about putting together your Christmas wedding ideas is exploring the endless options you have with winter wedding decorations.
Depending on your personal preferences when it comes to wedding/Christmas decorations, you shouldn’t have any issue coming up with the perfect plan (again, check with your venue, as they will likely already have their own decorations up, which may clash with the rest of your wedding).
Some winter wedding decorations to consider include:
● Greenery and garlands all the way! This offers ultimate classiness and simplicity, and you can even accessorise them with your colour scheme, as well as include your wedding-coloured fairy lights, florals, and more.
● Sustainably-sourced Christmas trees. The Christmas tree will never not be the quintessential emblem of the festive period, and you can opt for different sizes, depending on the venue’s capacity, etc., and kit them out with decorations in your wedding colour/s.
● Fairy lights. Okay, so most weddings include fairy lights anyway, but they really do add a magical, Christmassy element to anything they touch. Plus, with a winter wedding, they can be a great, cost-effective way to gussy up all areas of your venue.
● Winter-scented candles. Why not kit out the venue with your favourite winter-scented candles to add a sentient element to your big day? Christmastime is associated with delicious smells (cinnamon, orange, winter spices, vanilla, mint, winter berries, and so on), which will add a cosy, delicious feel to the day.
● Snow (real or otherwise). No Christmas wedding is complete without a sprinkling of snow, and depending on your location, you can make the most of the real snow (if you have it) by stepping outside for some seriously festive wedding photography, or dusting certain areas of the venue (such as Christmas trees, the dinner table, etc.) with fake snow or snowflake-shaped glitter. You can even create your own snowflake-shaped confetti for when you and your partner step out after tying the knot!).
Photography by Wildling Weddings
Winter Wedding Colours
Christmas is associated with certain colours, typically gold, silver, evergreen, bold reds, and white. This gives you SO much flexibility with orchestrating your wedding colour scheme.
Of course, if you want to forsake the trad winter wedding colours and create your own unique Christmas wedding pallet, there’s that option too – it’s your wedding and there is no right or wrong way to go about it.
Winter Wedding Centrepieces
Your winter wedding centrepieces give you the perfect opportunity to incorporate your favourite Christmas accessories into the decor.
This could be anything from small/miniature Christmas trees, poinsettia flowers (a really nice touch if red is your wedding colour), scented dinnertable candles/tealights, Christmas wreaths, fake Christmas gifts using wrapping paper in-keeping with your style/colour scheme, and so much more.
The great thing about the digital age we’re living in is there is so much winter wedding inspo to be found online.
Winter Wedding Food Ideas
OK, so there’s no doubt about it, one of the most enjoyable parts of any wedding is sitting down to feast and raise a toast to the happy couple.
When it comes to winter wedding food, you can make the best of the endless delicious seasonal foods that come with this time of year, as well as lots of festive sweet treats and mouth-watering tipples.
Some winter wedding vegan food ideas we can’t get enough of are:
● Vegan canapés. Canapés are a classy and delicious way to feed your guests before the main meal is served. A wedding can be a long old day and we often find we’re starving by the time the vows are done and dusted, so a vegan canapé selection can be a great way to fill a little hole in those tums at the beginning of the reception.
● Christmas dinner style wedding meal. Who doesn’t love tucking into their Christmas dinner (with all the trimmings)? Why not include one in your wedding for the ultimate Christmassy feel?
● If you want to save the Christmas dinner for Christmas day itself and instead wish to go down an alternative edible route, some other ideas include roasted squash and spinach risotto with pine nuts and vegan parmesan, a cockle-warming spicy chickpea tagine, vegan burgers, mushroom and white wine stroganoff, vegan wellington (think mushroom and chestnut or butternut squash, perhaps), ratatouille, and so on.
● Desserts. No wedding is complete without a sugary treat to finish off with, and some of the winter vegan desserts we love include warm chocolate brownies with whipped almond cream, traditional Christmas cake (these will need to be made months in advance to let the brandy soak into the mix), Christmas fruit (think orange and lemon) panna cotta, vegan cheesecake, and more.
Christmas Wedding Ideas: FAQs
The two main components of planning a Christmas wedding are making sure your venue is warm and cosy, and winterproofing your wedding outfits (particularly if you plan on an outdoor procession or ceremony).
It’s certainly not a bad idea, as Christmas weddings can be seriously romantic and beautiful. BUT – there are things to consider. For example, whether or not your celebrations will clash with the holidays and whether that’ll mean some guests aren’t willing/able to make it.
Christmas Wedding Ideas
