A Wintry Christmas Wedding

Whether or not you celebrate the holiday, the Christmas season is one of the most joyful times of year. Trees are decorated with twinkling lights, houses have candlesticks in the windows, carols are always playing on the radio, and everywhere you look people are doing their best to embrace the season.

Donations to charity skyrocket around Christmas time. People give gifts and food to perfect strangers. We all try to be better and more giving around the holidays. If you ask me, this is the perfect time to get married. It's easy to let the seasonal cheer and goodwill become a part of your ceremony.

You can also reduce your decorating anxiety by embracing the colors, motifs, textures, and foods of the holidays. Venues tend to be less expensive in the colder months, weather that also gives you an excuse to experiment with long-sleeved dresses, pretty shawls, and elegant coats. And who doesn't love romantic, rosy-cheeked pictures in the falling snow of a winter wonderland?

Red, Silver, and White

The commercial colors of the season are red and green but if this combination is a little too primary for your taste, try creating a more elegant vibe with the red, silver, and white of a high society Christmas. Try adding a red sash to your white gown, and some silver teardrop earrings and silver ballet flats. Decorate your place card table with red rose petals. Use pretty white lights around your doorways and posted menus.

Vintage Ornaments

If you're hoping to have a little vintage fun with your Christmas wedding, visit the thrift store or your mom's attic and dig up some old-fashioned holiday favorites. There are so many kitschy and cute Christmas doodads out there, from 1960's bubble lights, to garish Santa statues, to fake fireplaces with electric flames. Old ornaments make for interesting and unique decorations. If your family is anything like mine, you've got several boxes full of them sitting in your basement. Hang them from centerpieces, create a wall display, or set up a Christmas tree in the corner (more on this idea below).

The Tree

No Christmas wedding is complete without a tree! Your wedding tree can serve many purposes. You can use it to display your favorite ornaments, or to hang pictures of you and your partner; light up the room with colorful, festive lights; give guests little cards on hooks and ask them to hang words of wisdom; and have guests put their gifts under the tree in lieu of a gift table. The best part? Your tree will be the perfect backdrop for photographs.

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