Winter Weddings

Reds and greens certainly reflect the season, but overdo this color combo, and your wedding may seem more holiday-oriented than you intended.

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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.

Holly motifs spell out the season pretty clearly, but they might not dazzle your guests.

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Red roses, calla lilies, and amaryllis are decidedly winter wedding flowers, but if you step outside the flower box, and you’ll find a variety of options for winter blooms.

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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.

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Since winter weddings are usually held indoors (it’s an ideal time for ballroom receptions), they often call for a more formal invitations.

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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.

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Go beyond glowing candles to add both warmth and romance to your reception site.

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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.