Wedding Reception Forum

Themed weddings?

Hi Everyone!
   My FI and I are having a bit of trouble with any theme ideas. We've been engaged for a year and our date won't be for a couple more years. I want to include all our favorite things. Music, Nightmare before Christmas, and The Walking Dead. I really have no idea how to incorporate all those important things. We go to concerts together, which is an important element. Nightmare Before Christmas is our favorite Christmas Halloween movie. The Walking Dead is our Sunday tradition. How can all three be included without seeming too........ Cluttered and all over the place?

Re: Themed weddings?

  • Honestly, I'm not a fan of "themed" weddings. They seem costume-y and like a birthday party. There are small, subtle ways to include things you love without turning it into a free for all. You can have your table names be your favourite films. A favour could be a mix CD of songs from the various gigs you have been to. A cake topper could be a fun way celebrate your favourite film.

    But just because these are your "traditions" doesn't necessarily mean it has a place at a wedding (zombie apocalypse doesn't scream "let's eat drink and be merry" to me). If you try to go OTT on too many incorporations it will look all over the place. Just keep telling yourself the theme of your wedding is "weddings, love and marriage".  It isn't the place to just celebrate everything you like.
  • You could use movie/tv characters or musician names to label your tables. A Nightmare Before Christmas cake topper could work. I love Disney, so my bridesmaids are wearing dresses that corespondent to the color scheme of a Disney girl. They aren't wearing costumes, and no one but they and I may realize what they are doing. To anyone else, they are just wearing cute dresses.
  • My fiance and I have similar interests as you. Though we didn't have to have a theme, we decided on a Gothic, Phantom of the Opera-esque feel, with red and black as our colours. We didn't want to veer into super tacky territory, so we're incorporating our love of horror in subtle ways, such as a horror cake topper and table numbers featuring horror movie icons.

    http://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/162497838/wedding-cake-topper-halloween-wedding
    http://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/106406778/halloween-horror-wedding-table-number
  • I'm not a fan of themed weddings. I'm sorry - it just screams child's birthday to me. I understand that you like that movie and you like that show, but why does it have to be incorporated so much into your wedding? Those two things don't even really go together. The Walking Dead is about zombies, right? How would you even incorporate that? It just doesn't make sense to me. 

    I think Nightmare Before Christmas is a great movie. Maybe you could get a NBC themed cake topper. But honestly, I'd leave it at just that. 
  • I think maybe if you pick one thing, for example Nightmare Before Christmas, you could incorporate little things without appearing 'too themey'.  Maybe your colours could be white and black and you could incorporate a striped pattern to different things; purple could work too.  You could do NBC themed invitations:
    Nightmare Before Christmas Wedding Invitations
    Rings:
    'Nightmare Before Christmas "simply meant to be" rings.
    Cake topper:
    Cake Topper
    Garter:
    Awesome Halloween garter
    Cuff links:
    image
    Ring box:
    Our wedding band box
    Toasting flutes for you and the groom:
    Hand painted Jack & Sally "Nightmare Before Christmas" wedding toasting / wine glasses $30 ea http://katiespaintedglass.storenvy.com/
    Guest book:
    Nightmare before Christmas Wedding GUEST BOOK & by YourCakeTopper
    Boutonnieres:

    Cake serving set:
    serving knife set
    Table names, ie. Zero
    Place cards:
    image
    Shoes:
    image
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  • Another vote for dont have a theme. Do you really think in 20 years when you look back at your wedding pictures you will still love the Walking Dead?
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • I think you should take the things you love and come up with different adjectives that describe why you love them, and use those adjectives to create an overall feel for your wedding. For example, the majority of Pinterest weddings these days I'd describe as rustic, romantic, hipster, lacy, soft, floral, eclectic, vintage, etc. But for a wedding inspired by the Nightmare Before Christmas and Walking Dead, I'm guessing you'll want something that's maybe dark, gothic, etc. You could use deep colors and dim lighting and lots of black in the decor, with glowy lights. It could be beautiful, and no one has to know what precisely it was inspired by. 
  • I just googled "gothic wedding" as a start, and there's a lot of really gorgeous pictures. Not exactly inline with your ideas, but I'm sure you can see the direction something like this could take. 


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  • ElcaBElcaB member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    Instead of putting a label on your wedding, i.e., NBC meets Walking Dead while Music Plays, focus more on adding personal touches instead. 

    For example, FI & I own a lake house and love to go canoeing together. Rather than make our wedding canoe-themed, we are considering using the canoe as a drink cooler. We also love to make chili, so we're using that in our menu. 

    I love personal touches at weddings. For yours, consider including some of your favorite song lyrics with the table numbers. Name a signature drink after NBC characters or songs. I don't know much about the WD except that it's about zombies, but maybe you could play the theme song during a key portion of the evening, like the cake cutting or your reception entrance. 
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  • I dislike themed weddings.  Your wedding is one of the most important events in your life.  It doesn't need a theme.  It is your wedding, not a prom.
    httpiimgurcomTCCjW0wjpg

  • OP - Skip the theme.  Themes should be saved for birthday or Halloween parties.  Or have a Walking Dead party next season premiere.
  • I actually don't mind themed wedding receptions, but they can easily go very wrong. You have a lot of ideas there, but they have in common a certain darkness.

    Gothic, surreal, expressionist, and generally dark decor can be beautiful and in line with your ideas without having rotting corpses on the tables, kwim?

    Another idea would be to work within the color palettes of NBC or TWD. Black, white, and hints of purple, or maybe black and cream with hints of green (to go with the muted vintage palate of TWD opening).

    Cake toppers, drink names/table names, and music selection are all great ways to incorporate direct references to your favorite things without it being too busy.
    Image and video hosting by TinyPic
  • Ditto all the PPs who suggested keeping your touches small and personal. The theme of a wedding should be "wedding;" that really is sufficient. Incorporate your favorite foods, your favorite songs, use old records as the base of your centerpieces with a vase of sheet music roses on top, do a Georgia peach dessert as a nod to Walking Dead, etc. My sister and her husband met working as computer programmers so they had chocolate computers as favors and cake topper, but it wasn't the theme of their wedding. A wedding "themed" after any of those things (individually, or especially collectively) will more than likely look extremely kitschy and silly 20 years from now, if not immediately. And your reception is meant to be a thank you to your guests for attending your wedding, and I would bet that all of your guests don't share all those interests. Plus if your wedding isn't for another several years, Walking Dead will probably not be on the air/your Sunday tradition anymore.

    Please know that nobody is trying to shoot down your idea to be hurtful, but is just trying to be helpful. If your perspective is not shared by the majority of a random sampling of internet strangers, it likely won't be shared by your guests. :)

    This is actually kind of awesome, and as much of a WD reference as you need. 
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  • I agree with PPs who suggest not having a theme.  Your wedding is not a kid's birthday party or a Walking Dead con.
  •     I personally like themed weddings. I'd get married in a white Wonder Woman costume if I could get away with it. Fortunately more sane heads (fiance') over ruled me :-) No one has ever accused me of having good taste!

        We are getting married at Disneyland and are having touches from our favorite Disney movies, rather than a whole theme. Right now we are leaning toward Mary Poppins, Tron or UP or maybe pieces from all three, but these are more personal touches to put our signature on our wedding, not so much a theme. We are having immediate family only so everyone gets us, so we aren't worried about what people outside that group think as only a few people are invited. 

       If you want some nightmare before Christmas inspiration look at the Disney weddings website. There is lots of inspiration there, the cakes are amazing works of art!
       
  • I'm not against themed weddings as a rule- I'm basically having one.  I think that the beautiful photos @mandymost found above could inspire a stunning wedding, with the feel I assume you are going for.  In addition, it would work to incorporate/blend both the movie and the show. 

    This would be much more elegant than plastering Jack Skellington's face on all the invitations, cake, shoes, etc.- THAT's what's going to make it look like a child's birthday party. 

     

    Wedding Countdown Ticker
  • I'm not a fan of theme weddings personally. However, what if you incorporate these movies in your colors then use them for fun table numbers? FI is a huge car enthusiast so we're (probably) going to use pictures of different types of cars instead of numbers. This way, he's getting to include something he loves in the wedding without it being overpowering. Plus, it makes for great conversation starters!
    Daisypath Anniversary tickers
  • To the OP: You may want to peruse the boards at OffbeatBride.com. People are far less judgemental there. =)
  • To the OP: You may want to peruse the boards at OffbeatBride.com. People are far less judgemental there. =)

    I love offbeat bride. Except where they often encourage shitty things like cash bars and making guests stand.

    No one here is being judgmental. The OP asked for opinions and got some opinions and very good ideas.

    To OP, be careful about incorporating a TV show into your wedding. You will gave a lot of favorite TV shows in your life and that show may not even be on the air by the time you get married.

    When you look at your photos in 10 or 20 years, you may hardly even remember that show.

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