The holiday season—when hearts are warm and filled with love—is the perfect time for a wedding.
Perhaps you want to honor the time of year that you got engaged, or maybe you just love the sights and sounds of the season. It might just be easier for family and friends to get together when they have time off from work or are home for the holidays.
Whatever your reasons might be for considering a holiday wedding, we believe that every couple deserves to have an event filled with light, laughter, and love. With these winter wedding ideas, Christmas wedding planning couldn’t be easier!
1. Pick a Festive Color Palette
Choosing Christmas wedding colors is just as much fun as choosing colors for any other wedding date! While you certainly can go with the traditional red, green, ivory, or gold, there are a host of other options to choose from.
Morgan and Ryan’s Christmas Wedding at the Lightner Museum | Photo by Jenn Guthrie Photography
Silver and navy blue are a subtle nod to snowy winds. If you or any of your family are of the Jewish faith, these colors can also represent Hanukkah. If you prefer a more neutral color scheme, ivory and gold are subtle, classy winter wedding colors.
Do you want to evoke the feeling of a cozy, rustic cabin? Consider incorporating a plaid pattern into your Christmas wedding colors. Just make sure it’s a fairly simple pattern (such as red and black buffalo check) and use it sparingly so it doesn’t become overwhelming.
Looking for more guidance on picking your color palette? Read How to Choose Your Wedding Colors.
2. Stay Warm in Seasonal Attire
We’re lucky here in Florida that we don’t experience the same frigid temps that plague the rest of the country during December. However, the occasional cold snap provides a great opportunity to add some fun touches to your wedding attire.
Brides, this is your chance to accessorize your wedding dress with long sleeves, capes, fur muffs, and other items that would be too warm in any other season. Grooms look extra dapper in festive sweater vests or patterned socks. For the holidays, we also love touches of velvet incorporated into the wedding party attire.
Francesca and Michael got married just a few days before Christmas at the Lightner Museum | Photo by Imagery by Sarah Hapner
3. Deck the Halls With Christmas Greenery
Move over, florals! A Christmas wedding is the perfect opportunity for pine boughs, pine cones, and berry sprigs to shine.
For your wedding bouquet, there are plenty of gorgeous winter flowers to choose from. Aside from the obvious choice (poinsettias), consider peonies, amaryllis, camellias, and anemones.
Morgan and Ryan’s Christmas Wedding at the Lightner Museum | Photo by Jenn Guthrie Photography
4. Set the Scene With a Christmas Tree Backdrop
Give your ceremony some extra yuletide spirit with a backdrop of twinkling Christmas trees!
A selection of trees (real or artificial) in varying heights will create the ambiance of a snowy winter woodland wonderland. Keep the ornaments simple (or leave them off altogether), and pile on the lights for even more awe.
Morgan and Ryan’s Christmas Wedding at the Lightner Museum | Photo by Jenn Guthrie Photography
5. Create an Amazing Tablescape
Christmas decorations can range from minimal to over-the-top, so you have plenty of leeway when it comes to your centerpieces.
Consider elements like birch bark, pine cones, candles, ornaments, and abundant greenery for your wedding reception centerpieces. Go for a more minimalistic vibe with tall vases filled with floating candles, orange slices, and cranberries, or make a dramatic statement with sparkling white branches adorned with lights.
Morgan and Ryan’s Christmas Wedding at the Lightner Museum | Photo by Jenn Guthrie Photography
6. Serve Festive Food & Drinks
A Christmas wedding is the best time to celebrate all the flavors of the season.
Find a caterer to warm your guests’ hearts (and bellies!) with delicious soups, roasts, and other comfort foods. Meanwhile, let peppermint, gingerbread, and cranberry take center stage at the dessert table.
Kimmie and Tyler’s holiday wedding at the Lightner Museum | Photo by Monarch Studios
Talk to the bar staff at your venue about customizing a special holiday cocktail or mulled wine as the signature drink for your wedding day. For a non-alcoholic option, try eggnog, cider, or hot cocoa (with marshmallows, of course!).
Looking for something unexpected for your winter wedding cake? Swap it out for an amazing, one-of-a-kind gingerbread house!
7. Exchange Gifts With Guests
Some say wedding favors are going out of style…we beg to differ!
Christmas is the season of giving, so what goes better at a Christmas wedding than a beautiful favor to thank your guests for celebrating the day with you?
Ornaments, gingerbread cookies, cozy blankets, Christmas-themed koozies and even pine tree seedlings will be universally appealing.
Grace and Michael’s Christmas Wedding | Photo by Appleseed Photography
8. Let It Snow
It may be Florida, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t have snow at your wedding…with the help of a little Christmas magic! Consider renting a snow machine for your grand exit. You’ll have all of the beauty of a fresh snowfall without any of the cold: it’s the best of both worlds! This magical moment will feel like a scene straight out of the classic holiday film White Christmas!
‘Tis the Season To Be…Married!
Whether you opt for a casual, cozy Christmas wedding, or an opulent winter wonderland affair, there are a million ways to make your big day merry and bright.
At the Lightner Museum, our towering ceilings and historic luxury will make your yuletide nuptials come to life, but it’s our dedicated team of wedding professionals who will make the whole day special. Our experience with real weddings gives us plenty of inspiration for planning the ultimate winter wedding for you.
Whether you’re looking to choose your own vendors, or want to be more “hands-off”, we have a package that fits your needs.
Schedule an in-person or virtual tour so we can show you around and share how we can make your holiday wedding magical.
