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winter wedding ideas

26 Festive Ideas for a Merry Christmas Wedding

If you want to have a festive Christmas wedding, follow these creative holiday themed ideas! 

A stunning bride in a beautifully decorated Christmas wedding venue with festive decorations, cozy winter attire, and seasonal bouquets, capturing the magical spirit of a holiday celebration.

Here are some festive Christmas wedding ideas for you to use at your holiday themed wedding!

1. Festive Christmas Cocktail

Christmas wedding ideas

Have a festive Christmas cocktail at your wedding. Some ideas for Christmas cocktails are mulled wine, white russians, or a holiday sangria. Name your signature drink after something Christmas related, such as, “red nosed rum,” “jingle juice,” or “santa-gria.”

2. Custom Napkins

Christmas wedding ideas

Make custom Christmas themed napkins for your cocktail hour. They can be monogramed with the newlywed couple’s names, or it could say “happy holidays!” Spread the Christmas cheer through cute custom napkins!

3. Christmas Tree Decor

Christmas wedding ideas

Decorate your venue with Christmas trees to make it a holiday party. Use an extravagant or large Christmas tree to decorate your venue as the main focal point, or use smaller trees as centerpieces or decorations throughout your venue.

Make sure they are decorated with ornaments and lights that match your specific color scheme. You could even decorate your Christmas tree with photos of the bride and groom!

4. Christmas Cookies

Christmas wedding ideas

Try having assorted Christmas cookies instead of, or in addition to, a wedding cake at your wedding. A cookie bar makes for a great dessert display at Christmastime!

5. Mistletoe 

Christmas wedding ideas

Add some mistletoe throughout your venue to spread the love at your wedding. Make sure you kiss your new spouse on your wedding day underneath the mistletoe for an adorable photograph and memory. 

6. Christmas Berries

Christmas wedding ideas

Use Christmas berries in your food and for decoration at your wedding reception. Decorate with holly berries, cranberries, and any other types that work well with your color scheme. The holiday berries will bring some cheer to drinks too if you choose to add them in!

Berries add a lovely deep red color and can work as on-theme wedding decor for Christmastime nuptials. 

7. Christmas Themed Appetizers

Christmas wedding ideas

Serve Christmas appetizers at your wedding for a throwback to Christmas’ pasts. Serve appetizers like pita trees, red and green charcuterie boards, or even stuffed bread shaped like candy canes. 

8. Holiday Color Scheme

Christmas wedding ideas

Use red or green Christmas wedding colors throughout your wedding color scheme to create some holiday spirit. Some may even choose to use black, white, and gold to add to the elegance of a Christmas themed wedding. These Christmas wedding colors will tie your wedding together. 

9. Jingle Bells

Christmas wedding ideas

Add lots of jingle bells to your wedding to add to the Christmas spirit. At your ceremony, you can even use them to walk down the aisle. Give them to your ring bearer or flower girl to hear lots of jingling down the aisle. 

10. Seasonal Holiday Flowers

Christmas wedding ideas

Use seasonal flowers that are perfect for Christmastime at your wedding. Holly, paper whites, mistletoe, Christmas rose, rosemary, and poinsettias are all seasonal during the winter months and especially during Christmas. 

11. Holiday Themed Tablescapes

Christmas wedding ideas

Use winter berries, pine sprigs, and even artificial snow to create dreamy Christmas tablescapes for your reception. You can even use Christmas themed decorations if that is a part of your theme. Make sure your centerpieces wow your guests with your creative ideas. 

Use red ribbon as a table runner, or stick to more neutral wedding colors like white, gold, and silver. 

12. Garland and Wreaths

Christmas wedding ideas

Decorate for your Christmas wedding with garland. Place it artistically and it will add a little bit of winter woods into your indoor venue. You can place wreaths in your reception area also, which will definitely add some Christmas spirit to your celebration.

Natural wedding decor like wreaths and garland will add a rustic Christmas look to your big day!

13. Christmas Lights

Christmas wedding ideas

Use Christmas lights to add a special glow to your reception area. Place lights on trees, garland, wreaths, or even string lights above your dance floor to create a magical atmosphere. 

14. Christmas Ornaments

Christmas wedding ideas

Christmas ornaments are a perfect decoration to use at your Christmas themed wedding. Place the ornaments on trees, garland, wreaths, or even use them as unique place cards at your reception. 

15. Eggnog or Hot Chocolate Bar

Christmas wedding ideas

Serve hot cocoa and eggnog at your wedding. Set up a hot chocolate bar with marshmallows and different flavored hot chocolates to choose from. You can also serve eggnog to your guests as an extra special Christmas treat.  

16. Christmas Corsages

Christmas wedding ideas

Cute Christmas themed corsages are the perfect touch for members of your wedding party. Use holly, pine sprigs, and velvet to create a festive pin for your closest friends and family members who are in your wedding. 

17. Artificial Snow

Christmas wedding ideas

If it isn’t a snowy day like you were hoping for on your wedding day, use artificial snow to recreate the cozy feeling. At your reception, you can even see if the venue will allow you to use fake snow as confetti on your dance floor at the reception. This would be the ultimate surprise for your guests when it starts to snow inside!

18. Poinsettias

Christmas wedding ideas

Poinsettias are a beautiful Christmas plant that will bring some of the red Christmasy color into your wedding. Use these seasonal plants to decorate your reception venue, ceremony venue, or the dance floor. 

19. Festive Bouquets

Christmas wedding ideas

Use red roses and greenery to make a Christmas themed bouquet. The holiday colors will be perfect if you add some Christmas 

20. Christmas Accessories

Christmas wedding ideas

Add a little bit of Christmas magic to your wedding by using sparkly or red accessories. Gold and silver accessories are the perfect touch to a magical Christmas wedding. 

21. Red and Green Bridesmaid Dresses

Christmas wedding ideas

Use red or green bridesmaid dresses to tie your theme together. You can choose to also mix red and green dresses to have the perfect Christmas wedding theme.

22. Christmas Card Invitations

Christmas wedding ideas

Invite your guests to your wedding by using a Christmas card! It’s good to represent that you will be having a Christmas themed wedding in the invitation, with red and green accents. Also you can decorate your invitation suite with ornaments, greenery, and ribbon. 

23. Christmas Ceremony

Christmas wedding ideas

If you are having a Christmas wedding in a church, tie in the story of Christmas into your ceremony. Use candles to make a magical Christmas atmosphere, and sing some Christmas hymns if you would like to.

  

24. Christmas Place Cards

Christmas wedding ideas

Make custom place cards for your guests to find their seats at your reception. Use holly leaves, pine sprigs, or ornaments to add a Christmas touch to your table settings. 

Another traditional Christmas look to use is candy canes! Give your guests a candy cane with their name and table number and it can double as an escort card and a sweet treat. 

25. Christmas Wedding Cake

christmas wedding cake

Go all out with a Christmas wedding cake! For a winter wedding look, you can go with a classic all white cake with icy decor to look like a snow-covered delicacy, or you can use traditional Christmas colors like red and green, or silver and gold. 

Decorate your cake with pinecones, holly, or other winter wedding decor!

26. Getaway Ride

Christmas wedding ideas

A getaway car can make the end of your wedding night a fun memory. For a Christmas wedding, use a carriage to make a snowy exit from your reception.

Why Have a Christmas Themed Wedding?

Christmas wedding ideas

If you love the holidays, why not just have a Christmas themed wedding. It’s the most wonderful time of the year for a wedding if you are a holiday enthusiast. With lots of decor to choose from, and holiday spirits being at an all time high, a Christmas wedding is a great idea!

Christmas weddings can be magical. The spirit of the holiday season is extremely romantic and a wonderful time to have a celebration. It’s important to realize that the holiday season is extremely busy for most people, with lots of family gatherings and holiday parties around that time of year. 

Pros of a Christmas Wedding

Christmas wedding ideas

Christmas weddings can be the best present ever. Imagine getting a wedding ring and a new husband for Christmas this year! It is a super exciting time of the year, and it is also off-season for most weddings. Due to this, wedding venues may offer discounts or lower prices than other times of the year. 

Another positive to a Christmas wedding is that you will be able to take your honeymoon in the best time to get away. January is the coldest month of the year in most areas of the United States, so a vacation during this time of the year is perfect.

Christmas is the best time of year because you get to reunite with your family members. There is no better time to get married than when your family is already getting together for the holidays!

Cons of a Christmas Wedding

Christmas wedding ideas

One of the cons of getting married during Christmas is that it is the busiest time of the year. Many people already have plans for the weekends leading up to Christmas for months beforehand. This may make some people not be allowed to come to your wedding due to previous engagements that they are going to. 

This may not be the best time of year to get married because many people have lots of expenses this time of year. With Christmas shopping, many will not be able to afford to travel to come to your wedding. Keep this in mind for your registry also. 

The weather during Christmas is unpredictable. With snow storms or other winter weather conditions, some of your winter wedding plans may be changed. Keep this in mind when booking your venue, as if it is far away, guests may have trouble driving there in icy conditions. 

When to Have a Christmas Wedding

Christmas wedding ideas

Christmas weddings typically occur in the month of December. Some brides may choose to have their Christmas wedding in the end of November if the holiday season is too busy for your guests.

You can’t really have a Christmas wedding after Christmas because by that point the spirit of the holidays is over. Use the holiday anticipation to make people even more excited about your wedding. 

Some brides decide to have a Christmas Eve wedding and choose this date. Make sure that everyone you invite to your wedding is available on Christmas Eve, because a lot of people want to spend that holiday with family. 

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Caroline Kinsley

Caroline Kinsley is a recent graduate from the University of Delaware. With a degree in media communications, Caroline’s passions are marketing and journalism. Caroline has always loved the wedding planning process, being the daughter of an event planner. In addition to contributions to Yeah Weddings, Caroline Kinsley has published articles in Delaware Today Magazine, Her Campus, and YOUR Magazine.

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