Nontraditional Weddings can be very stunning – By Hannah Brockway
Every bride and groom wants to have a unique and memorable wedding. With so many ideas out there, it can make it hard to choose, especially if you desperately need to decide on what to start planning. If the thought of your ceremony being a traditional service is too plain and you want to add a touch of whimsy and creativity, a themed wedding might be just what you are looking for.
Themed weddings are fun and can offer a more personal touch to your special day as well as set your wedding apart from the rest. However, they can be harder to pull off and may require more work and additional planning than most traditional weddings. With some creativity and a little work, you can have one of the most beautiful weddings ever. So the question is: how do you plan a successful themed wedding?
Finding the perfect theme is the first step to the wedding of your dreams. Planning may take some time and will require some browsing to find exactly what you want. It is easiest to find a theme that reflects a couples’ personality, such as where you first met or an interest you both share. Once you do, you will want to plan everything from invitations to flowers to bridesmaid’s dresses to match. Themes can be as minor as picking a specific color or as extravagant as The Hunger Games or Game of Thrones. Just make sure that your theme is easy to shop for or you might have a hard time finding everything you need.
After you pick a theme, next comes the details. Themed weddings usually move away from the traditional service to a more unique variant. Couples who choose to have their nuptials by the sea tend to have a more bohemian vibe than those who tie the knot indoors. Encourage your guests to go barefoot or have a “shoe valet” where they can check their dress shoes for a pair of slippers or flip-flops. 
If you are having a location or travel themed wedding, send out invitations printed on mock plane tickets or passports. If you have decided a book or movie are more your style, you can mail custom book cover or movie poster invitations where you and your partner pose as the characters.
Drawing inspiration from favorite novels, Harry Potter fans have used the Hogwarts acceptance letter as their invitations. Other ideas include using the sorting hat as a fun way for guests to find their seats and giving out personalized wands with the name and wedding date of the couple. One wedding even had guests gather on Platform Nine and Three Quarters to board the Hogwarts Express, which took riders from the ceremony to the reception.
Classic fairy tales are a popular choice for themes from Snow White to Cinderella. If you like Sleeping Beauty, include Maleficient’s horns as a centerpiece and pink flowers to represent Princess Aurora’s colorful gown in the dancing scene. Being the fairest of them all will come easy in a Snow White themed ceremony if you incorporate mirrors and recite your vows in a forest filled with apples. Using candelabra, a clock, a teapot and a teacup to represent the castle’s servants a Beauty and the Beast style wedding is easy to decorate for.
Transporting guests to the magical Never Land is also a great idea for a fantasy celebration. Have bridesmaids dress in Tinker Bell green and give everyone magical pixie dust to toss up after saying “I do.”
Sports are another perfect theme that both the bride and the groom can appreciate. Football, hockey, baseball, wrestling and many more can be included in a wedding. Ticket stubs with a favorite team can replace typical invitations, pre-reception games can be played, and trophies can serve as centerpieces. A couple on Reddit posed their WWE-themed wedding online, which they dubbed “Wedding Mania: coming together in holy match-rimony,” where the DJ acted as the ring announcer, the groom and groomsmen wore championship belts and the couple had their own theme music as they entered the reception. Other couples have had surprise appearances by their favorite team mascots.
Other creative themes include The Great Gatsby and having all in attendance come in flapper dresses and top hats, superhero-themed where the bridal party looks like they just stepped out of a comic book, or a carnival theme complete with cotton candy, games and prizes, and an old fashioned photo booth.
While sometimes outrageous, themed weddings are becoming more and more popular, allowing couples and their guests to have fun and create a night they will never forget.
