Winter Wedding Ideas for a Cozy, Festive Party

Every wedding has a theme that pulls together the venue and the decor. Brides love to decorate seaside venues with seashells or mountain venues with overflowing garlands. Sometimes they even decorate according to the season.

Seasonally themed weddings can be gorgeous, depending on the decor you use. Winter weddings especially work out well since most people love feeling wrapped up in a cozy and welcoming venue.

If you’re planning a winter wedding, try these ideas for a cozy, festive party. You’ll wow your guests with your perfectly planned decor and enjoy a romantic winter evening with the people you love.

1. Hang Fairy Lights

When it’s time to decorate for Christmas, it’s exciting to pull out all of your decorations. People hang commemorative ornaments, wash their holiday mugs and prepare to transform the front of their house with lights.

Fairy lights provide a warm glow that sets a cozy mood over whatever room they light up. They’re the perfect addition to a winter wedding when you want guests to feel cozy without lighting a fireplace or baking fresh cookies.

Hang fairy lights around your ceremony altar and your reception to keep the festive mood in both locations. Choose from white lights to multicolored bulbs to match however you want your wedding to look.

2. Make Evergreen Wreaths

Wreaths are a classic holiday decoration that a winter wedding would sorely miss. Brides sometimes struggle to find room for wreaths in their budget, since they can be expensive during the limited-time holiday season.

Instead, you can make your own evergreen wreaths if you have an evergreen tree in your yard. It only takes a half-hour and you can personalize each wreath with colorful ribbons that match your wedding colors or have your monogrammed initials.

3. Set Up Napkin Displays

After your ceremony ends, your guests will spend most of their time at their reception table. What you put on that table is what they’ll remember about your big day, so go big and set up napkin displays that will impress every guest as they wait for their meal. You’re already paying to rent the linen napkins, so do something fun with them for no extra charge.

4. Light Up the Room

Winter brings to mind the image of a roaring fire, which you may not have access to at your venue. Invoke that same cozy image by using candles to light up any room at your wedding. Line your ceremony aisle with extra-large, tall candles of varying sizes for a stunning visual. Scatter the candles around your reception to warm every corner in addition to the lighting already in the room.

5. Assemble a Hot Chocolate Bar

There’s nothing quite as satisfying as sipping from a mug of hot chocolate on a cold night. Give your guests that feeling and enjoy it yourself when you assemble a hot chocolate bar at your wedding venue or your reception. Guests will love sipping their hot drink while they wait for the ceremony to start and in between dinner and dessert.

Go crazy with the add-ins and toppings you offer your guests, like crushed graham crackers, peppermint syrup and cinnamon sticks. If you’re working with a tight budget, rent a hot water dispenser and leave out hot chocolate packs for a quick and easy drink everyone will enjoy.

Consider What Makes You Cozy

When the temperatures begin to drop at the end of fall, what makes you feel cozy? A warm mug of hot chocolate, lighted candles and twinkling lights are all great wedding decor options for winter brides. Choose what you love most about winter fun and you’ll fall in love with planning your wedding all over again.