We love everything about the holidays here at Calliope Designs and one of our favorite holiday events are holiday weddings! What better time of year to take advantage of then one brightened by tiny Christmas lights, gold and silver decorations and beautiful, deep reds and greens. We became interested in weddings at this time of year because so many brides and mothers of brides came to us to solve their Christmas wedding favor dilemma. Our personalized wedding ornaments became the perfect centerpiece accent, wedding favor and commemorative wedding gift for many holiday brides and we’ve since developed even more perfect Christmas wedding items!

Here are some great tips from Calliope Designs on planning your Christmas wedding and some great holiday gift ideas as well!

Holiday Wedding Scheduling and Planning:

If you decide to be a holiday bride and you know where you want to have your Christmas dream wedding, make sure you book well in advance. Remember that hotels, inns, restaurants and other festive locations will be booked for holiday parties as well, so make sure you secure your Christmas wedding location as soon as possible. If you decide to have a holiday destination wedding, the same planning tips apply – and it will be especially important to give your family and guests the information about your venue, whether you choose a cruise, a ski resort or a cozy Vermont Inn.

Once you book your wedding site make sure you send out your Save the Date cards. Choose a holiday theme and send them out six to eight months in advance since people make Christmas plans very early. By sending out your save the date cards, you’ll make it possible for more people to come and celebrate with you! If you’re having a destination wedding, this is even more important and you may want to include hotel and other information about the wedding destination to help facilitate the planning of your guests. The same early planning goes for your Christmas wedding invitations – don’t go by the usual four to six weeks prior, send them out a bit further in advance so people can plan.

Christmas Destination Weddings:

Many brides and grooms love to plan a holiday wedding at a specific location that makes the theme so much more festive. When you host a destination wedding you’ll need to plan additional parties, activities and events and Christmas is a wonderful time of year to offer themes and ideas for your events. Imagine your guests enjoying a festive sleigh ride, Christmas caroling, snow shoeing, sledding or skiing, snowball fights and snowman making. Plan a festive cocktail reception in a fire lit, decorated room with mulled cider, egg nog and wassail!

Don’t forget, when you have a destination wedding it’s always nice to provide your guests with a thematic gift bag on arrival. Include directions and any special instructions related to the wedding and venue, a list of activities and events, restaurant recommendations and maybe even a small token to thank them for their travel, like a personalized holiday ornament related to the destination. Calliope has several festive regional ornaments that could be perfect!

Decorating for Your Holiday Wedding:

When it comes time to decorate for your December weddings, use Christmas colors and decorations that are on hand everywhere, and look online to find the right theme for you. Here are some typical thematic decorating ideas:

Holiday Themes:

Angels
Snowflakes
Snow Globes
Colored Glass Balls
Clear Glass Balls
Simple Traditional Christmas Colors

Color Schemes:

Silver and White
Silver and Light Blue
Burgundy
Forest Green and Gold
Gold and Cream

Flowers:

Sprigs of Holly
Poinsettias
Spruce
Eucalyptus
Ivy
Deep Red Roses
White Roses
Lilies
Mistletoe Accents
Pine Boughs and Garlands

Centerpieces

Flowers with deep red velvet or burgundy bows
Large pillar candles with garlands and flowers
Christmas ornament accents, like personalized christmas ornaments by Calliope Designs nestled in greenery to add a festive look
Candles and Snow globes surrounded by garlands and holly

Cake:

You can use a traditional wedding cake design, decorated with the same flowers you’ve used in bouquets and centerpieces. Don’t forget to look at our special personalized wedding ornaments and wedding cake toppers to add some creative flare to your cake. You can also choose a cake that has the look of a Christmas gift or a traditional Buche de Noel. Use marzipan to create sugar plums and candy holly berries like the traditional Christmas cakes.

Wedding Gown and Attendant Dresses:

When you are choosing your wedding gown, think about winter white and deep cream because either will work beautifully with the deep reds, greens, blues and purples usually associated with the holidays. Add velvet accents like a long red hooded cape or a deep green velvet sash to your dress, depending on which color scheme and flower colors you choose. If you decide on silver and white, work with a snow and ice theme choosing delicate, sparkly beading. For your attendants, look at dresses of deep red, deep green, deep purple, light or royal blue or metallic colors depending on your choice of color scheme and don’t be afraid to choose a group of colors and have your attendants in different colors. This can often ensure that you choose a color that works with their individual skin tone and it also helps them to feel like individuals.

Wedding Favors:

Choose something really special for your Christmas wedding favors, like a personalized Christmas ornament from Calliope Designs . We have a variety of styles featuring brides and grooms, Santa Claus’ and Angels and they can be personalized with the names of the bride and the groom and the date of the wedding.

Thank You Gifts:

Using personalized wedding ornaments as wedding related thank you gifts are an especially thoughtful gesture. Choose a theme and personalize ornaments for the wedding party as small mementos for the bridesmaids and groomsmen. Be sure and give both sets of parents a special ornament to remember this special day when two families come together. Make sure you also choose a special First Christmas together ornament as well to commemorate your new family in the same theme as your wedding. You can also use holiday ornaments to thank the service providers for your wedding like the caterer, the hostess or wedding planner at the venue, your bridal gown designer and your florist.