October 2014 bride- Help with theme!

rdweinm · August 2013

Hi everyone,

I am getting married October 17th, 2014 on a golf course in Carmel, CA. We are having our engagement pictures taken this October and I really want to do themed engagement pics to match the theme of the wedding. The only problem is I cannot come up with a theme!

Our colors are sangria purple, yellow, and some orange. I am so in love with the color palette and there are so many options. I would love to tie in an 'Autumn-y' feel to the theme but I don't think I want to go with a full-fledged autumn theme. My fiance thinks we should tie the theme in with the venue which is a golf course. Golfing itself just isn't my thing (or his) so I don't really want to go in that direction either.

I would love to hear the themes some of you October 2013 brides are going with for some inspiration!

Thanks

[Deleted User] · August 2013

I don't really want to speak for all the Oct 13 brides but.... I'm pretty sure none of us are having a theme. (Please, correct me if I'm wrong, ladies.)

IMO: your theme should be marriage. That's it. You don't need to have anything related to golfing - even if you are having your reception/ceremony at a golf course. Heck. You don't even have to do the "normal fall" colors if you don't want to. We're not having any browns or reds or oranges or purples at our wedding. And absolutely no pumpkins for us. IMO, the best "themes" for weddings are subtle ones. Like, say you want to have a fairytale/princess day. Do a princess dress. Maybe wear a small tiara. Do a waltz for your first dance. But, avoid setting up decorations that could pass for a prom.

jessyk1065 · August 2013

I second all of the above! I love fall but we are not doing any kind of theme, or using traditional fall colors (our color scheme is navy and silver). For our engagement photos we didn't do a theme either, just let the natural scenery shine! Our photographer did bring some cut-out hearts that made for some cute pics (hung them in trees, on a brick wall, etc)

schellzinator · August 2013

We don't have a theme either. For our engagement pictures we had our puppy join us! Our colors are orange and purple and decor is combining pumpkins and starfish (October wedding on the beach)!

thejucheidea · August 2013

No theme either, unless you count marriage as a theme.

shannyb41 · August 2013

I don't have a theme for my wedding. The decor will will be rustic with fall colors and things...but not a theme. It just matches the venue and the fact that we are getting married Oct 19th.

I don't really understand themes for a wedding. Frat party, yes.

schellzinator · August 2013

I don't think I've ever been to a themed wedding...

Do you think when people say "theme" they actually mean decor? Like "whimsical", "rustic", "fall beachy" or "peacock colors" - or do you think they actually mean "Disney Fairy Tale", "Barn Party", "Luau," or "Great Gatsby"...

I guess I just get confused between decor and themes...

thejucheidea · August 2013

One of the three weddings I've been to had a theme, and it was way overdone and tacky. I don't like themes for anything but children's birthday parties or college drinking clusters.

[Deleted User] · August 2013

thejucheidea said:

One of the three weddings I've been to had a theme, and it was way overdone and tacky. I don't like themes for anything but children's birthday parties or college drinking clusters.

I love the bolded. I think I'm going to borrow this phrasing from you.

SewInLoveWithDMB · August 2013

I actually do have a theme...however, I never considered it a theme, but more of an inspiration.

I was an art history major in undergrad, and decided to find a painting where I liked all of the colors, as well as what was depicted in the painting. The work is "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat.

I used the painting as a loose interpretation of color palette, as well as some "things" that will be there (nature, branches, birds, water/boats, parasols, etc.) Obviously, our event is not 100% this painting, but I tried to choose things that one could see at a park on a nice day. (We have a photo booth, for instance. Again, LOOSE interpretation.) Our venue in decor also fits the time period of the painting (even though the photo booth doesn't) with mahogany walls, china sets on display in the room, large stained glass sliding doors, exposed brick, etc. Our wedding is a Saturday morning, with the reception taking place on Saturday afternoon. Obviously, this theme would not have worked for an evening event. This kept us away from chevron, argyle, black, mod, cyrstals, etc. It's not an overpowering ridiculous theme, but it keeps all decor together.

We are doing a lavender toss as we leave the church, table setting cards have butterflies attached to them, favors are birdseed patties for birds from a seller on etsy, our invites were letterpress with a floral motif, centerpieces are glass bubble vases with roses, hydrangea and gerber daisies (mostly pink, light pink, white and greens). To fit with the painting aspect, we will have an event painter who will paint the space as the event unfolds - depicting family members, us and the bridal party, and we will have the painting to hang in our home after the event. Guests can watch the artist as the painting comes together. We had 2 rounds of engagement photos by different photographers (one wasn't an engagement session actually, but my entire family getting photos taken, but we did take some really neat shots of just the two of us together since we had just gotten engaged.) Both were in natural areas (park, lake, etc) with us drinking lemonade, riding a vespa, picnic set up, on a dock, with a parasol...that sort of thing, so they also fit with the overall look and feel of the entire event.

So, without it being an obnoxious theme, it kept us on the right track for making decisions. I have been to many, many weddings where it is very much "insert bride here." I think that is partly because I live in NJ, where there are tons and tons of wedding halls. Each event has a "color scheme" but no personal details, and it has really gotten to the point where I can't remember what one bride did vs. another.

Look at pinterest - see what ideas you like. Burlap with lace? Black and white? Diamonds? And try to make all decisions based on your overall idea, rather than a modge-podge of random wedding related items.

amaryann210 · August 2013

We're not doing a theme, but there is a Mardi Gras influence to our wedding, since that's where we got engaged. It's subtle and is limited to using beads (in ivory, plum and peacock blue only) as napkin rings, peacock feathers incorporated into the centerpieces, and my BMs are getting masks from New Orleans as part of their gift. I want to do some photos with the masks, but that's all. I agree with PPs, any kind of theme needs to be subtle and appropriate.

chellekel · August 2013

I don't know if this is a theme or more of an inspiration like sewinlove mentioned, but both my FI and I are from the metro Detroit area. I currently work in Detroit and we hope to buy a home in Detroit very soon. We love our city and wanted to celebrate the positive things in Detroit. So we are getting married in Detroit, our invitation suite used the GM logo because our initials are G & M, our colors are blue and white, the same as the logo and because blue is mine and my mom's favorite color, we will have food stations based on the ethnicities of the different areas of the city (Hamtramck (polish), Greektown, Mexicantown, and Corktown), we will be serving Faygo pop, which is manufactured in Detroit, the names of our tables will be differnt GM cars, and our escort cards will be on car repair tags with real GM car keys.

rdweinm · August 2013

I totally agree that themed weddings can be tacky. I meant more like a theme for decor like rustic or vintage, for example...

I've always loved bows and my initial thought was to do a "tying the knot theme" but I do realize that bows can very easily give a childish feel, which I obviously do not want. I've spent hours here and on Pinterest looking at pictures of things having to do with tying the knot but the vast majority of it is nautical-themed and that's not what I want either.

We've been engaged for almost three months and have had our venue booked for two months, so at this point I have so many ideas going on in my head it's crazy. It would be so much easier to categorize my decor into one nice neat little theme but that's hard to do because I really want the wedding to reflect us of course. I'm starting to think that we won't really have a theme...

It makes me feel much better that most of you will not have a theme, either. Looking at pictures online makes it seem like not having a theme is like a cardinal sin!

Thanks, ladies for taking the time out of what I'm sure are hectic schedules to help me out! It's very much appreciated!!

mrsb53 · September 2013

Maybe take pictures on some grassy hills to kind of tie in with a hilly golf course, without it actually being a golf course. That "High on a Mountain of Love" song pops in my mind...

joellennitsche · September 2013

we didnt really do a "theme" per-say but i LOVE fall and LOVE the rustic/vintage look. so i basically based my wedding around those two things as well as having the changing color of the leaves in my pictures!

rdweinm · September 2013

Those are both really good ideas, rachelsea53 and joellennitsche. I think I will probably keep the engagement pictures fairly generic but definitely tie in some fall elements. (=

October 2014 bride- Help with theme!

Re: October 2014 bride- Help with theme!

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