Weddings have changed… in the best way possible. Once formal and predictable, wedding celebrations have expanded to include personality, whimsy and fun.

If you’re planning a wedding and would love to incorporate a theme, this is your call to action: your big day is a blank slate, begging you to inject some personality, passion, and delight.

To help you get started, we’ve put together this planning guide of unique wedding theme ideas. Use the ideas for inspiration, or choose your favorite and get going.

Pick an Era

The 1920s are their own special kind of glam. Think Great Gatsby, flapper dresses, red lipstick, speakeasies, and jazz. A historic brick building (or a dive bar!) that’s been around for a while could be the perfect venue.

Don’t hold back, go all out. From décor that matches the decade to ensuring the wedding and bridesmaids’ dresses nail the time period. 

Not sure where to find the dress? Bella Bridesmaids has a stunning collection, encapsulating all sorts of styles that span every look and era. No matter which theme you pick for your wedding, you’re guaranteed to find the dress that ties in perfectly with your overall look.

If you’re into history or fashion from a certain time period, or if there’s a movie or TV show you love that takes place over a certain time period, you can easily fold that into the theme.  

You could have a wild west theme; host it outdoors. Use hay bales for seating, and mix in the best rustic flare. Barn wood, metal, candles, and lace. Your bridesmaids’ dresses could include a busty bodice, and your groom would look dashing in a hat and suspenders.

Incorporate Nature

Nature’s beauty and grandeur has been inspiring awe in people for millennia. If you’re one of them, having a nature-themed or outdoor wedding is an obvious choice.

Whether you celebrate outside in the high desert – watching the sun bring the landscape to life, lighting up red rocks, and painting the scattered clouds all sorts of warm pastel pinks, coral, and lilacs as it sets – or you decide to bring the outdoors indoors. Have an underwater theme inside a stately hotel, complete with shell décor, bluish lighting, and billowing silks above that mimic the surface of the ocean when viewed from below.

An outdoor theme can include renting a campsite, or glamping. Celebrating on a beach, or renting a ski chalet in the off-season.

The beauty of the outdoors is undeniable, and for those who truly can’t get enough, it only makes sense that they incorporate it into the wedding theme.

Pick a Season

Each season contains its own special magic. Playing up the perks of your favorite one through incorporating it into the wedding theme, can cast some of that special ambience over your special day.

Spring and summer weddings can be full of fresh fragrant blooms. A fall wedding can include a collection of gorgeous crimson and yellow leaves woven into the decor. Warm string lights, hot apple cider, and piping hot pies with a flaky buttery crust.

Choose an Event

Love motorcycles and rock ‘n roll? That could be a really cool, fun wedding theme. On the other end of the spectrum, an ethereal fairy-inspired wedding would be an enchanting way to celebrate.

Some people choose carnival or music festival-type celebrations, complete with food trucks, live bands, and a kickass dancefloor.

If there’s an event you simply can’t get enough of, something you associate with celebration and fun, use it! Pull all your favorite parts of the event into your wedding day. Spice the festivities up, and make it unique and memorable as you share some of your favorite things with your favorite people.

Borrow from Pop Culture

From iconic films to your favorite musician, sports team, or celeb. Pop culture is rife with theme ideas, and weaving in the dazzle of a star is a great way to inject a little more pizzazz into the wedding day festivities.

Get Inspired by a Lifestyle

Does the idea of country life make your heart happy? Or how about an English garden party in a sprawling leafy manicured garden? 

Different lifestyle aesthetics are not only great for wedding inspiration, they also lend themselves flawlessly to the overall decor.

There’s no need to follow trends, follow your heart instead. Pick a strong central theme, or mix a few together. Have fun, and remember – it’s your wedding.

Conclusion:

While options may seem endless, don’t get too overwhelmed. Through the process of elimination, you’ll be able to narrow it down, leaving you with the best: the foundational elements necessary to create and celebrate your special day, your way.