Winter weddings don’t have to be cold, they can be warm and cozy, or they can be elegantly cool. Focusing on your tablescapes will allow you to introduce colour or theming in a classy way. Winter weddings work well with both warm or icy tones, the beauty of neutral surroundings lend an elegance and sophistication to the ceremony and reception. In short, planning a winter wedding should be little different from the planning required for a celebration in any other season.
While winter wedding tablescapes may not be any more important at winter weddings than during any other season, there is a tendency to go bigger and bolder with centerpieces, and to add more candles and sparkle during the cooler months. It may be an unconscious way to add warmth to the design, or an acknowledgement that snow-covered landscapes are lacking in colour.
You may have heard other brides-to-be and wedding planners mention tablescapes when discussing wedding decor. What exactly is it? This is the art of creative table-setting and involves decorating and style a table with well-thought out decor, centerpieces and table dressings. Tablescapes are often designed to reflect a theme, season or a special occasion.
Although the perfect opportunity to go all out with table settings, tablescapes aren’t just limited to weddings. We’ve seen the interiors trend take social media by storm in recent years as more and more people are getting creative with table displays for parties, dinners and styled shoots. Some people have even started entering tablescaping competitions!
Pine cones, foliage and logs are a great way to decorate your venue at a low cost. You can also try candles and hanging lanterns for a warm and cosy feel, or spray-painted twigs, fairy lights and silver ribbon to give the whole wedding a winter wonderland feel.
Boho Wedding Tablescapes
Boho brides and those craving a country or tipi can get really playful with wedding table styling. Why not use what nature gave us and incorporate wild flowers into your table displays. Then let your wedding table styling spill onto your seating for a cohesive look. These wooden cross-back chairs blend beautifully with rustic and bohemian schemes.
Fairytale Lighting
When it comes to amping up the romance and creating a super stylish display fairy lights are always a lovely little wedding detail. Emulate the star-speckled skies with a canopy to add some atmosphere to your wedding tables.
When the lights come on, be it an indoor or outdoor wedding reception, lights can set the tone and mood for your wedding. Therefore, it’s no surprise that one of the top wedding trends of the year is fairytale lighting. We’ll see all sorts of dreamy, unique statement lighting options in 2021, including exposed bulbs, festoon and string light installations to mix-and-match vintage chandeliers and classic fairy lights.
Antique / Vintage / Rustic
Dust off your granny’s wedding china and grab those embroidered floral napkins from the attic, because vintage is back, but in a whole new way. You can spot tables showcasing granny-chic-chintz-meets-English-country-garden vibes. Think chintz china, ditsy floral tablecloths, embroidered ribbons, and vintage glassware – anything that rebels against the sleek, modern-look wedding. This unique wedding style also has no fear of colour whatsoever.
The Warm Appeal of Golds and Greens
No matter what the weather is like outside, warm up your winter decor with heavier materials, sturdy shapes, glowing golden accents, and a bit of bright color. Oversized, extravagant clusters of greenery and natural accents, even bare branches, bits of bark or pine garlands are the perfect accents. Use floral displays with abandon, and be sure to include lots of candles for their warm rich glow.
Saturated tones for table linen are perfect for winter weddings, but you don’t have to stick with traditional Christmas reds or greens. The golden hues of burlap are appropriate for that outdoorsy feeling. Cobalt blue or navy combined with white could be either edgy or sophisticated, and charcoal fading to silvery grey would be a welcome departure from the familiar. Use your imagination to create other marvelous schemes.
Grey Is the New Neutral for Winter Wedding Reception Decorations
Grey has become quite popular, from a new focus on silvery grey for attendants’ gowns and tuxedos to grey velvet and damask for table linen. Silver is trending as well for china and accent pieces. Combined in various ways, with or without additional color, this is a new direction for winter weddings, and one that will be around for a while.
Grey has a lot of different personalities that range from innocent and barely there to dark and stormy. It holds its own with other hues, including palest beige and ivory for a cultured and expensive look, complements the whole range of blues, pops when paired with bright yellow or peony pink, and softens the effect of red or orange. There’s nothing you will not love about it. Even though wintry winds may blow outside, a mixture of grey with gold and sequins, and highlighted by greenery, the tone forms a warm cocoon for this high-rise wedding reception.
Gothic Tablescapes
Speaking of opulence, gothic weddings are all about drama and romance; and that makes for some seriously stunning wedding tablescapes. Create a truly enchanting tablescape with deep jewel tones, warm lighting and ornate detailing.
If you’re planning a winter wedding, rather than stripping things back and opting for a minimalist approach, you can really have some fun with the above wedding table décor inspiration – it is party season after all, have fun with it too.
