When setting the style of your wedding, consider when you'd like to get married (season), where you'd like to get married (both location and site), the approximate number of guests and of course, your personal tastes and interests.
There are four general ceremony styles, each of which has plenty of room for personal expression.
- © Traditional: A traditional ceremony is performed in a church, synagogue, or temple by a religious leader. (A military ceremony is also considered traditional.)
- © Contemporary: This ceremony is most often in a historical building, museum, garden, or along a shoreline. There generally still are seats, an aisle, and a religious officiant.
- © Unique: These "extreme" ceremonies are held underwater, on mountaintops, in the air, or wherever your fantasy leads you. It takes a lot of courage to select this style, and you can expect more than the average number of regrets. If it's your dream, though, go for it!
- © Private: Reserved women fall in love and get married, too -- they just don't want to be on center stage. For these people, a private ceremony at city hall or a small religious site is perfect. They can then have a large party, with lots of mingling and no spotlights, at another time.
In addition, each of these styles may be formal, casual or themed.
- © A formal wedding theme is your classic fairy tale wedding: a traditional church ceremony, a lavishly decorated reception at a hotel or country club, three-course dinner, four-tier wedding cake and a snow white wedding dress. a formal wedding almost always takes place in the afternoon, with dinner held in the early evening and dancing long into the night. The music is provided by a band or small orchestra. The men dress in tuxedos and the women in evening dresses. The guest list for a formal wedding can number in the hundreds and, therefore, this wedding style can be quite expensive. There are also more details to worry about. However, a formal wedding style has an enchanting, magical quality you're not likely to experience again, except in your fondest memories!
- © A casual wedding theme, while lacking the extravagance or number of guests of a formal wedding, makes it up in elegance, intimacy and a lighthearted atmosphere. Whether it's a morning ceremony in the garden followed by brunch in a gazebo, or a sunset cruise ceremony followed by cocktails on the lake, a casual wedding allows for easy conversation and the enjoyment of good company. The advantages of a more intimate wedding are the endless possibilities of where to host it: at the beach or in your backyard, in a wildflower-filled meadow or at a local National Park.
- © A themed wedding is better suited to a casual wedding; think costumed guests and spooky decorations during a Halloween wedding and a backyard barbeque and fireworks during a wedding on the Fourth of July.
Regardless of the style you choose, keep in mind the time of year. Most weddings occur during the spring or summer to take advantage of the warm weather and the peak of nature's beauty. However, an autumn wedding can be set against a stunning color backdrop, while a winter wedding has the crystalline purity of snow. In addition, there are many holidays during the colder months that make popular wedding themes: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve and the most romantic days of the year, Valentine's Day and Sweetest Day.
Whatever you decide, your wedding style and theme should be a reflection of your tastes and interests. If you're a country girl at heart who has wonderful childhood memories of your grandparents' farm, a casual country-themed wedding may be your dream come true. On the other hand, if you and your intended are avid scuba divers, perhaps an underwater wedding is for you. We've even heard of a couple who got married while sky diving.
If nothing else, your wedding style should be something that you will remember fondly, for the rest of your life.
