“Timeless and classic” weddings will always be in style… But that doesn’t mean we can’t also have a little fun too!

We are loving how “themes” are starting to be a mainstay in weddings and events, and we’re not just talking color schemes or lots of florals. We mean themes that incorporate concepts, animals, patterns, and even just general vibes.

Building your wedding around a theme allows you to “brand” your event to you as a couple, allowing you to bring in more personal elements to make your event your own.

If you’re looking to spice up your wedding and make it a totally unique experience for you and your guests, here are our tips for how to incorporate a theme and make it ICONIC (not kitchy).

Choosing A Wedding Design Theme

So here’s the thing—your wedding is going to have a “theme” regardless. This is how we create a story and what helps give us direction in narrowing down design options and committing to ideas. We all know what it feels like to fall into the endless Pinterest rabbit hole of way too many options! 

We start every wedding design process with getting to know our couples beyond just their wedding decor ideas—what they like, how they spend their time, how they met, what their home design is like, and what’s most important to them. 

From there we can start to get creative about bringing in personal elements and creating a wedding “brand” through a theme. This can be as simple as including your beloved dog with the decor of the bar to building the entire design around a concept. 

Leaning into your style and your story is the easiest place to find a theme that feels personal and natural to you. 

Love maximalism? We are definitely going to play with color and pattern! 
Spend most of your time on the beach? Let’s find a way to incorporate coastal elements!
Was your first date over wine and pizza? We can make a pizza bar as a late night snack!
Where did you both grow up? That’s a fun part of your story to incorporate too!

Incorporating A Theme Without Taking Away From The Wedding

The benefit of having a wedding planner is our knack for incorporating elements of your theme while also still keeping your event elevated and romantic (not like a kid’s birthday party). This is still a wedding after all!

We do this by honing in on specific design elements and incorporating them into the design.

If you are going for a Western-themed wedding, that doesn’t mean cowboy hats and cows everywhere. It means we are designing a wedding with Western styles and elements. For example, it may look like western graphics included in your signage or utilizing western textures in your fabrics.

With this approach you don’t have to be afraid of making things more personal because we know how to incorporate concepts without making them cheesy or too obvious!

Our favorite part of wedding design is pushing our creative limits for how we can maintain a level of elegance while also making things unexpected and fun. 

Elements We Use In Your Wedding Design To Incorporate A Theme

When you hire us as your full wedding planners, you are hiring an entire, experienced design team. We are considering every piece of your wedding design, down to the way the forks will sit on the table and how the lights will be strung. This is how we make sure that nothing is competing or overwhelming within your design, ensuring your wedding is fun but tasteful.

Here are a few unexpected elements we use to incorporate a theme into wedding designs.

Draping

Draping is a GAMECHANGER when it comes to transforming a space. It can be used to create drama with bold colors or used to soften or tone down interiors.

Brittanie designed a Halloween-inspired wedding where she and the team transformed an open-air rustic building into a gorgeous “haunted mansion”-style wedding. We hung black draping from the ceiling to bring in the dark colors but also add whimsy and romance.

Patterns and Fabrics

Bringing in patterned linens or custom wallpaper accents is a really fun and elevated way to incorporate a theme into a wedding design. The style or subject of the pattern can hint to your theme, or you can use textures that fit within the theme, like leather, velvet, sequins, or fur. 

We actually used cowhide accents for our Disco Rodeo party last year and it was such a fun way to bring in the western feel without making it too “farm animal.” 

Statement Pieces

Statement pieces are one of the easiest ways to incorporate a wedding theme. From seating charts to signage to a checkered dance floor, all are opportunities to add a “wow” moment so the rest of your decor can be more subtle to the theme. 

Room Changes

If you have a venue that requires guests to move from space to space throughout the night, this is an excellent way to incorporate a theme without having to commit it to the entire wedding! 

Brittanie designed a wedding at The Carolina Yacht Club in Wrighstville Beach, NC with a simple beachy ceremony, an intimate back porch garden dinner, and a nightclub featuring a martini bar inspired by their dog! 

Kinsey designed a New Year’s Eve wedding that was classic and elegant for the ceremony and then brought out the confetti and disco balls for the dance floor. 

This is a really fun way to bring in multiple personal elements without them competing or being confusing! 

Your Venue Sets (And Limits) Your Theme Options

Your venue is the foundation of your wedding design. Of course you can totally transform a space (as we’ve shown with our annual party at The Elia!), but we also want to be mindful of budget and resources.

Even with draping and rentals, your venue’s characteristics will still shine through. Rustic or light brick, modern or gothic window shapes, light or dark wood tones. These will all affect the direction of your design and theme.

But figuring out the specifics of this is part of your wedding planner’s job!

Kinsey designed a wedding this year at the Cape Fear Club in Downtown Wilmington, NC with a bride that was dreaming of a colorful (mostly pink!), romantic theme. However, that would have competed with the dark, masculine interior of the venue. Rather than forcing the pink into a dark space, we chose to go with shades of green (olive, lime, and even some patterns!) to marry the colorful with the pre-existing design of the space!

If you are sold on a specific theme rather than a venue, it’s best to work with your planner BEFORE committing to a venue! 

Kinsey also had a couple this year who loved the idea of a “beach club” theme. We went with the Oceanic Pier to give the perfect mix of ocean views but also a space that could be easily elevated to that European beach club aesthetic. 

Looking to incorporate a theme into your wedding design?

We’re your girls! Don’t be afraid to bring anything to the table and let us see if we can find a way to incorporate it into your wedding design without going overboard… you know, unless you want to 🙂 

Reach out to us to learn more about our Wilmington, NC full wedding planning services here!