14 Beautiful Winter Wedding Ideas for Your Big Day
Some people are all about a summer wedding or a fall wedding, but you have your heart set on a gorgeous winter wedding. For you, it’s all about enjoying your special day in your favorite season, surrounded by the warmth and love of your favorite people.
If you’re ready to start your wedding planning journey, here are some of our most-loved winter wedding tips. From wedding colors to fun ideas for your reception, there’s something here for any type of wintertime celebration.
14 Stunning Winter Wedding Ideas for Your Special Day
Excited to start planning your big day? Let’s dive into some of our all-time favorite winter wedding ideas, filled with festive inspiration and cozy cold-weather vibes.
1. Turn Your Favorite Wedding Theme Wintry
Design: Becky Nimoy Stationery
Most of us have a theme that we naturally gravitate toward, whether that’s a boho wedding, glam wedding, traditional wedding, or something else. Choosing a winter wedding doesn’t mean giving up your beloved theme. It actually gives you a fun way to add your own twist on it!
Transform all the greenery in your boho wedding by adding a layer of fake snow, or turn your fairytale wedding into a festive delight by staging it inside your very own ice palace. You can even find invites to match, like this jewel-toned art deco invitation.
2. Find the Right Winter Wedding Color Palette
Once you have a theme in mind, it’s easier to choose your wedding colors. There are so many wonderful options out there, with lots of stunning winter wedding color ideas.
You could opt for rich jewel tones or icy blue mixed with accents of white and gray. Deep navy is another popular color. Or you could choose a festive-themed wedding instead, and pick colors that work well with plaid. Use these colors across every aspect of your big day, from your wedding bouquet to your thank you notes.
3. Choose a Wedding Venue
A special wedding venue will feel magical on the day and give you incredible wedding photos to look back on over the years. Some venues look especially beautiful in the winter months, so search for both indoor and outdoor ceremony and reception spaces that shine at this time of year.
Match your wedding venue to your style or theme. Boho weddings, farm weddings, and rustic weddings all look great inside a big barn — just make sure it’s warm enough in the winter. For a glamorous, modern, or minimalist winter wedding, an art gallery or stylish hotel is a good option.
4. Host a Winter Wonderland Wedding
Design: Jessie Steury
Winter wonderland weddings are popular, and it’s easy to see why. These glitzy events transform the space and atmosphere into a beautiful winter paradise. Say “I do” beneath a glittering snow-covered arch, and invite your loved ones to party the night away on a dance floor styled to look like ice.
If your budget allows for it, go all out and book a destination wedding that truly feels magical — like a traditional winter wedding in New York or a wedding in Lapland. Wherever you choose to host your winter wonderland wedding, use a fun matching invite to share the news — like this stunning snowflake invitation.
5. Dress Your Wedding Party in a Wintry Color Palette
A winter wedding theme gives you plenty of choice when it comes to color palettes for your wedding or bridal party. There’s a wide range of soft pastels, icy tones, and jewel tones to help your bridesmaids stand out or complement your wedding dress or suit.
Choose emerald green, shades of teal, or rich, dark purples to add contrast against your pale wedding attire. If you’re wearing a darker suit or dress, have them match in a similar shade or stand out in soft pastel pinks, blues, and lilacs.
6. Have a Christmas–Themed Wedding
Design: Eve Schultz
For some couples, the ultimate winter celebration is a Christmas wedding. If that’s you, the holiday season is obviously the perfect time of year to host it — although Christmas in July is also a fun look!
Set up your space with a Christmas tree, wreaths, and festive lighting. Add table decorations similar to those you’d feature on your table over the holiday season, and add a themed guest book where people can leave their well wishes for you.
Choose one of our christmas party invitations (like this adorable cross stitch invite) and change the text to create your own festive wedding invite!
7. Choose a Winter Wedding Dress
A winter wedding dress isn’t just a style choice but a practical one too — especially if you’re expecting cold weather or the venue you’re using isn’t that warm.
If you or your partner is wearing a dress, choose one with long sleeves to keep you toasty on your big day or have a second outfit to change into for the reception and the rest of the night. A faux fur scarf or shawl is a lovely thing to wrap around you if it’s chilly.
8. Have a Snowflake Wedding Cake
Who doesn’t love snow? Take inspiration from the amazing shapes of snowflakes by featuring them on your wedding cake.
Find or make a snowflake cake topper and place it on top of a home-baked or store-bought wedding cake, or ask a baker to work their magic and create a multi-tier cake featuring snowflakes in the design.
9. Decorate with Christmas Trees
Christmas trees aren’t just for holiday-themed weddings. These much-loved decorations have a place in any winter-themed wedding.
Hang string lighting on traditional trees and use them to set a cozy, winter atmosphere, or use white or brightly colored trees to add a fun, joyful vibe right next to your dance floor. They also make a great photo backdrop!
10. Create Seasonal Wedding Centerpieces
Design: Jen Montgomery
Style your tables up with a winter-themed centerpiece and other wedding decor. Create your own dreamy tablescape with snow-dusted pine cones, winter greenery, and a mix of candles.
Match your table decorations to your chosen wedding style. Keep things rustic, go ultra modern, or add some woodland animals for a playful, whimsical touch. You can even feature pine cones elsewhere too, like with this invite with pine cone illustrations.
11. Set Up a Hot Chocolate Bar
We’re all familiar with ice cream carts for summer weddings, but our go-to for winter weddings is a hot chocolate bar.
Set up a stand or space in the venue where guests can help themselves to delicious hot chocolate or coffee, along with a selection of syrups and toppings.
12. Host Your Winter Wedding Ceremony Outdoors
It might be a little cold outside, but as long as you and your wedding guests are prepared, having your ceremony outside can be a wonderful idea.
Invite your guests to get cozy with a blanket while they watch your nuptials unfold, then ask them to join you indoors to warm up and toast to your newfound wedded bliss!
13. Hand Out Winter-Themed Wedding Favors
We love when wedding favors match the theme of the big day, and this season gives you plenty of great ideas to work with.
Hand out homemade hot chocolate mixes with mini marshmallows and chocolate chips, or make your own seasonal soap and give them out as favors. Wedding favors don’t have to be expensive. Sometimes the simplest yet sweetest ideas are the best.
14. Send Out Winter Wedding Invitations
Design: Stacey Meacham Design, LLC
For us, there’s no better match for your winter wedding ceremony than invitations that fit your theme. Our collection of digital invitations has something for any type of wedding, including winter-themed celebrations.
Take any one of our winter wedding invitations and customize it to create a bespoke-feel invite at a fraction of the price. Adjust the layout, choose a different font, and decide which colors to use.
Don’t like any of the suggested color combinations? Our designers can work their magic and integrate your chosen wedding colors to make it feel even more “you.”
One option we love is this wintry pine invite that can be fully customized, including the text, background, and envelope.
Plan Your Dreamy Winter Wedding
If an incredible winter wedding is in your sights, this guide will help you plan it. Use these ideas to come up with the perfect day that you’ll remember forever, inspired by all the things you love about the season.
For a fun way to match your wedding stationery to your chosen theme, choose one of our winter wedding invites. You’re sure to find a design that’s as stylish or cozy as your special celebration.
