Fall/Winter Wedding Ideas

Wedding Colors

What's Hot Now: Consider a less-is-more approach to your color palette: Silver and white with crystal accents can add some serious glamour to your winter wedding. For your ceremony, try a white velvet aisle runner trimmed with white satin ribbon, or decorate the altar with a crystal curtain backdrop adorned with hanging strands of elegant white phalaenopsis orchids. If you're exchanging vows outdoors, get your guests in on creating the ambience by giving out clear umbrellas to friends and family members as they arrive.

The Flowers

What's Hot Now: Consider fuller flowers, such as white hydrangeas and soft ranunculuses. White boutonnieres can be handsome when they're accented with greenery, but they also look great with a simple white ribbon. Add sparkle to your bouquet by wrapping the stems in ribbon embellished with crystals.

Invitations

What's Hot Now: A black-tie event is nicely conveyed by heavy cardstock and a navy blue, chocolate-brown, or even eggplant font with hand calligraphy. For a fresh way to achieve a formal tone for your winter wedding, use thick, frosted Plexiglas invitations in white scripted ink. Send the sturdy invites out to all your guests tucked into silver envelope liners.

Centerpieces

What's Hot Now: If you want to heighten the drama, bring in the icy outdoors with ice-carved vases on your reception tables. Have your florist fill the vases with tall winter-white branches and hanging crystals to reflect the light from the tables. Surround the centerpieces with votive candles, and top your tables with white dupioni table linens and frosted glass china.

Escort Cards

What's Hot Now: Leave everyone awestruck as they retrieve their escort cards by making the entire table sparkle. Have the cards hand-calligraphed in silver ink and attach them to individual crystals with a ribbon. Hang each from an oversized crystal candelabra centerpiece for a new take on the popular escort card tree.

The Music

What's Hot Now: For a twist on the tunes, consider hiring an a capella quartet to sing background as you walk down the aisle. Have the group sing your favorite jazz and pop songs to set a welcoming and festive tone for the evening. If you're into a more classical sound, hire a cellist and ask that Vivaldi's "Winter" be included in the repertoire.

Cocktail Hour

What's Hot Now: Serve up white hot chocolate in small espresso cups and eggnog in small punch glasses for your guests as they arrive. At the bar, offer saketinis (Japanese rice wine and sweet-flavored vodka) in glasses rimmed with sugar crystals.

The Cake

What's Hot Now: Play up the season with a white, vintage-style cake, dusted with edible silver powder. For accents, have your baker add a white sugar ribbon and crystal drops cascading down one side of the cake.

Favors

What's Hot Now: Give out small packages of chocolate-covered cranberries or roasted chestnuts. An over-the-top idea that will undoubtedly impress: Have your caterer set up a hot chocolate and churros station to top off the evening.

Honeymoons

What's Hot Now: Embrace the season and rent a cozy log cabin for a week in Lake Placid, or join the jet-setters at a luxurious hotel in Aspen for some serious skiing, wining, dining, and snuggling.