Summer Wedding theme

In planning your summer wedding, whether or not you choose a beach theme, the world really is your oyster! With the beautiful colors of summer and the availability of a wide variety of flowers, you can have your pick of just about anything your heart desires. Summer themes can incorporate the garden, the seashore, the tropics – or even a harvest theme can be built around the ease of acquiring fresh fruits and vegetables.

Since so many bridal gowns and bridesmaids’ dresses come in strapless and sleeveless styles, you are certain to find a gown to suit your theme. Consider a simple slip dress for a beach wedding, with short, beach color dresses for your bridesmaids. Corals, sea foam green, even sand color dresses in a more casual style will be the perfect compliment to a beach theme. Add straw hats and replace floral bouquets with floral decorated parasols for your bridesmaids for a garden theme. Would you like to celebrate your special day with a big Fourth of July party? Find a dress that sparkles and lights up the night time sky like the fireworks, and consider rich, sparkly jewel tone gowns for your attendants so they will shine on the dance floor all evening long.

Don’t forget the men in dressing for a summer wedding. Consider lightweight suit options in lighter colors, or perhaps mix linen pants with Hawaiian shirts, adding a pair of flip flops or Birkenstocks for that casual summer feel. For a more traditional summer look, white pants, white shirt, with a bold tie and a navy blue blazer dresses up your groomsmen without the formality of a tuxedo. If you are looking for formal attire, you can add splashes of summer with floral print accessories like vests and ties, or choose elegant satin accessories from a light, summery palate of colors.

Your choice of flowers for a summer wedding is limited only by your imagination. Beautiful roses, gerbera daisies, dendrobium orchids, even sunflowers and brightly colored mums will make gorgeous bouquets. You could use all of your favorite summer colors and flowers in bright, multicolored bouquets, rich with lovely summer flowers. Or perhaps you would like to focus on one flower that you favor, or a color that you are especially fond of. A bouquet of all peach or all purple calla lilies is both elegant and summery. If all white is the look for you, you can make it more formal with a bouquet of tightly packed stephanotis or white roses, or keep with a more casual garden party type of theme with white daisies, mums and carnations.

The reception setting and the food you serve will really set the theme of your wedding for your guests. Enjoy an elegant outdoor setting, surrounded by lush landscaping and twinkle lights. Serve a more decadent meal, with filet mignon or lobster, but enjoy a light, summer salad to start with or a delicious watermelon sorbet for dessert. Celebrate family style with a barbecue at a favorite park or in your backyard. Set up tables and pass bowls of your mom’s potato salad or the secret family recipe fried chicken. You can have a garden brunch with beautiful bright white linen table covers, chairs, and china, and make it pop with bursts of yellow and green everywhere. You could set up an omelet station for your guests, and set each table with sweetly decorated petit fours and other bite sized pastries. For the couple seeking casual fun, plan a clambake on the beach with an evening bonfire and ‘smores desserts for everyone!

Don’t forget to carry your theme out with a memorable favor! When choosing favors for your wedding, remember that you are not limited to a gift that will last a lifetime. You can thank your guests with something special and memorable, even if it isn’t something that will last forever. Take advantage of the bountiful summer fruits with an unblemished peach or pear, celebrating a “Peach of a Couple” or “The Perfect Pair”. For 4th of July brides, sparklers for all of your guests are the perfect favor and a great alternative to rice or birdseed as your guests bid you a fond farewell. Consider gourmet teas or a small selection of delicious cookies to celebrate a garden party. Longer lasting options for favors might include beautifully decorated fans for all of the ladies, or a blooming plant to remind your guests of your blossoming love.

The sky is the limit for your summer wedding. Incorporate the things you loved from the summers when you were children. Maybe you’ve taken a great summer vacation together as a couple, and you want to recreate that as part of your special day. Just use your imagination to make your day part of a summer to remember for all who attend.