23 Inspiring Wedding Theme Ideas for Your Big Day
One of the most exciting aspects of wedding planning is choosing your wedding theme. It ties your whole event together, uniting everything from your wedding decor ideas to your food and drink menu. With endless wedding theme ideas out there, it can be difficult to know what to choose for your big day.
That’s where our list of the best wedding theme ideas comes in. Here, you’ll find a mix of popular wedding themes along with some more unusual offerings so you can plan how you want your special day to look and feel. Plus, we’ve included digital wedding invitation designs to match each theme for even better planning.Â
The Best Wedding Theme Ideas for a Timeless Celebration
Some couples dream of a fairytale wedding with traditional wedding dresses and pastel colors while others may want a festival vibe with rock-inspired outfits and live music performances. Whatever your style, you’re sure to find something you love among these 23 fun and creative wedding theme ideas.
1. Romantic Wedding Theme
Design: Snow + Ivy
Matching invite: Watercolor Romance Invitation
Embrace a long-standing popular wedding theme by transforming your day into a romantic celebration. Mix a pastel color palette with delicate floral arrangements, soft linens, and elegant centerpieces to create a dreamy backdrop for your wedding reception.
2. Whimsical Wedding Theme
Design: Jen Owens Illustration
Matching invite: Floral Whimsy Invitation
Take your guests on a magical adventure with a whimsical wedding. Head to the forest or celebrate your nuptials under a canopy of stars, surrounded by fairytale, folklore, or mystical decor and music.
3. Boho Wedding Theme
Design: Loree Mayer Design
Matching invite: Boho Palms Invitation
Host a beautifully bohemian wedding brimming with earthy colors, textures, and ambiance. Make your own DIY macrame wall hangings, create a cozy lounging area with floor cushions, swap traditional bouquets for wildflowers, and stick to a natural color palette for your boho wedding.
4. Beach Wedding Theme
Design: National Park Foundation
Matching invite: Acadia Invitation
Whether it’s a local or destination wedding, head to the ocean for a lovely beach wedding theme. Work with your wedding planner or DIY your own special day on the beach, with a wedding ceremony on the sand and a relaxed reception with local food, cocktails, and a sunset view.
5. Traditional Wedding Theme
Design: Lissa Anglin
Matching invite: Finishing Touch Invitation
Create a timeless event with a traditional or classic wedding theme. Choose a traditional wedding venue, like a hotel or country home, where you can host an elegant sit-down dinner followed by an evening of dancing. Luxurious fabrics, soft color palettes, and pretty floral arrangements bring this traditional wedding theme to life.
6. Modern Wedding Theme
Design: Stacey Meacham Design, LLC
Matching invite: Modern Type Invitation
If a traditional celebration isn’t your style, then perhaps something modern would be your dream wedding theme. Host a modern wedding in a contemporary venue like an art gallery or a city penthouse with chic modern wedding decor and a sophisticated color scheme.
7. Botanical Wedding Theme
Design: Claudia Owen
Matching invite: Vintage Flower Invitation
Transport your wedding guests to a dreamy landscape of living flowers and greenery with a botanical theme. Whether you host at a botanical garden or a museum with gorgeous gardens, this wedding theme idea is sure to delight the senses for everyone.
8. Elegant Wedding Theme
Design: See That There
Matching invite: Elegant Proposal Invitation
Create a day you’ll always remember with an elegant and glamorous wedding, complete with a black tie dress code. Look for a sophisticated hotel or wedding venue that offers space with glam chandeliers, sculptures, or other features that step up the glam factor.
9. Nautical Wedding Theme
Design: 2birdstone
Matching invite: Nautical Stripes Invitation
Celebrate your love for all things under the sea with a nautical themed wedding. Feature seashells and starfish in your centerpieces, opt for navy and white table linens, and plan a menu of fresh seafood for your guests to enjoy.
10. Fiesta Wedding Theme
Design: Becky Nimoy Stationery
Matching invite: Papel Picado Neutrals Invitation
Bring your special day to life by taking inspiration from the fabulous fiestas of Mexico. Hang colorful papel picado around the venue and use Mexican-inspired table decor. You could even order a tres leches wedding cake with a themed topper. As for the menu, consider taking some pointers from our taco party planner to make it a day to remember.
11. Eco-Friendly Wedding Theme
Design: Owl and Toad
Matching invite: Suede Invitation
Showcase your eco-friendly approach to life with this popular wedding theme idea. Source locally grown food for your menu, provide “green” transportation for your guests with electric vehicles, and put the focus on sustainable materials throughout your big day.
12. Seasonal Wedding Theme
Design: Jamie Alexander
Matching invite: Flowing Fall Frame Invitation
One of the easiest wedding theme ideas is to base it on the season of your big day. For example, you could focus on pretty pastel florals for a spring wedding. For a summer wedding, perhaps it’s sunflowers or tropical greenery. For a fall wedding, pumpkins or barn weddings are excellent options. And if you’re hosting a winter wedding, go all-in on a winter wonderland theme or make it a festive, holiday-inspired affair.
13. Gothic Wedding Theme
Design: Signature Greenvelope
Matching invite: Moody Florals Invitation
If you want to explore the dark side of romance, it doesn’t get better than a gothic wedding. This wedding style is perfect if it’s already part of your own aesthetic, or if you want to host a wedding inspired by your favorite gothic novel or movie. (It could also coincide with a Halloween wedding.) Stick to a color palette of deep, rich hues that set the tone and look for a venue with a gothic vibe — like a castle, an historic library, or a museum.
14. Woodland Wedding Theme
Design: National Park Foundation
Matching invite: Sequoia Invitation
Celebrate alongside nature with a woodland wedding. Seek out the perfect place in the forest or woods to say your vows, followed by a wedding reception inspired by your surroundings. Use natural textures like linen and jute for your table settings, wood blocks as part of your centerpieces, and a long table decorated in string lights.
15. Rustic Wedding Theme
Design: Jessica Williams
Matching invite: Rustic Twinkle Invitation
You can’t go wrong with a rustic motif, one of the most popular wedding theme ideas. A rustic wedding theme is inspired by nature and feels organic and authentic, so use natural textures, locally sourced food, Mason jar lights, and plenty of in-season flowers to create the look.
16. Minimalist Wedding Theme
Design: Claudia Owen
Matching invite: Minimal Diagonal Invitation
Get back to basics — but do it in style — with a minimalist wedding theme. Put the focus on your wedding vows, the amazing meal, and the dancing afterwards by keeping the decor and color palette subtle. Consider simple yet sophisticated ensembles for your wedding party (all in one hue, like powder blue, peach, or mint), pared down wedding flowers, and a “blank canvas” venue without much fanfare but still plenty of elegance.
17. Tropical Wedding Theme
Design: Kiss by Kohl
Matching invite: Lovephool Invitation
Host a bright and bold celebration with a tropical-themed wedding. This is the perfect wedding theme idea if you’re excited to move away from traditional pastels. Find inspiration from tropical plants, flowers, birds, and fruits like pineapples and bananas to put together a look, menu, and wedding cake that matches your fun vibe.
18. Farm Wedding Theme
Design: Holly Whitcomb
Matching invite: Pastoral Vista Invitation
Host a beautiful wedding and introduce your guests to the timeless value of local farms with a farm wedding. Enjoy a barn wedding ceremony indoors and an outdoor wedding reception where your guests can enjoy plenty of space and fresh air. Feature homegrown ingredients on your menu, sample locally made wines and ciders, and share some of the history of your unique wedding venue with your guests.
19. Art Deco Wedding Theme
Design: Claudia Owen
Matching invite: Deco Diamond Invitation
Take inspiration from the Great Gatsby for a wedding day filled with glitz and glam. Lean into the Art Deco aesthetic with a color scheme of gold accents and jewel tones, sparkly wedding attire, and chandeliers galore. Serve up popular cocktails from the era, and enjoy live music from swing or jazz musicians.
20. Festival Wedding Theme
Design: Tennie & Co
Matching invite: Dusky Desert Invitation
Escape to a mini version of your favorite festival with this fun wedding theme idea. Swap bridesmaid dresses for festival-inspired looks, set up a photo booth with oversized props, and ask your wedding guests to come dressed ready to sing and dance the night away to live music.
21. Garden Party Wedding Theme
Design: Plum Pretty Sugar®
Matching invite: A Garden Affair Invitation
Step into an oasis with a beautiful garden wedding. This is a wonderfully laid-back wedding theme idea, and you can either use a loved one’s backyard or book a venue with formal gardens. Suggest a relaxed and ethereal wedding dress code and enjoy an afternoon of fresh lemonade, cocktails, and afternoon tea.
22. Vintage Wedding Theme
Design: Laura Bolter Design
Matching invite: Gilded Vintage Floral Invitation
Turn back the clock and seek out ideas from the past with a vintage wedding theme. This wedding theme idea is characterized by soft, glowy lighting, lace and delicate fabrics, and elements from the past — like an old jukebox, strings of pearls strewn across tablescapes, or a vintage ice cream cart.
23. Fairytale Wedding Theme
Design: Signature Greenvelope
Matching invite: Once Upon A Time Invitation
Escape into a land of fantasy with your very own fairytale wedding. Play the princess or the prince, and host your big day in an impressive castle or magical woodland setting. Choose soft wedding colors for your special day, and use either traditional fairytales or their contemporary equivalents to inspire your decor, wedding flowers, wedding cake, and attire.
Plan Your Dream Day with These Wedding Theme Ideas
It’s your big day, so celebrate it the way you want to. Whether you’re leaning toward boho vibes, gothic influences, or rustic motifs, we hope these wedding theme ideas have helped get you closer to making your wedding dreams come true.
Once you have your wedding theme figured out, choose wedding invitations that align with your vision. Our collection of digital invitations has something to match every theme, and they’re easy to customize. And if you’re not sure what to say, our wedding invitation wording tool will ensure you find the right words so you can focus on all the other wonderful elements for your special day.
