8.1 Introduction
The wedding theme is one of the most creative and exciting parts of the wedding for a wedding planner.This is where you have a chance to shine compared to other wedding planners.
The couple is what will hold the wedding together, but the theme is what makes the ceremony and party look cohesive. As a wedding planner, it is your job to help a couple establish a theme, plan the theme and execute the theme.
8.2 The Basics of Planning a Theme
The best part about choosing a theme is that it can be as simple or as complicated as you and the couple choose.Some couples will want a simple, classic wedding while others might want to transport their guests into a far-off wonderland without leaving the country.
Many couples will come to you with the idea for a theme, but have no idea how to implement it. In this case, you will have a lot of freedom to come up with ideas to show them.
A wedding theme might be a traditional wedding. It may be a vintage theme, a Harry Potter theme or even a tea party theme. The sky is the limit when it comes to choosing the theme for a wedding. With a little creativity, you can make a lot of things work.
When you’re dealing with a big theme, the best thing to do is to narrow it down as well as you can. The more specific your theme is, the easier it will be to implement.
8.3 How to Choose a Theme
For many couples, choosing the theme can be the hardest part.Some couples will choose a theme that is very trendy for the year. In the last few years, vintage themes have made a huge comeback for weddings. However, these trends change all the times.
If the couple is struggling to choose a theme, you can encourage them to think about their common interests. When the couple can find a more personal theme, they are more likely to enjoy the theme and the wedding. It will help make their wedding special for them.
These personal themes may include incorporating elements of their favourite books, television, movies or memories.
Creating this kind of theme is difficult for some couples, and as a wedding planner, if you’re struggling to help them identify a broader theme, you might encourage them to choose a colour or a season and build their theme around this.
Some of the most common themes that you might see in weddings over the next few years include:
- 1920s themes
- Great Gatsby themes
- 1950s themes
- 1970s themes
- Game of Thrones theme
- Downton Abbey theme
- Shakespeare themes
- Floral themes
- Rustic themes
- Seaside themes
8.4 Turning Your Wedding Theme into a Concept
All of the themes listed above are basic style choices that will help you find a rhythm for the wedding planning.The theme helps you to plan a party that has a cohesive style and label. What you need to do is transform your basic theme into a concept.
A wedding concept is like a theme, but it is more personal. The concept of the theme is the vision that lies underneath the idea. When you want to start planning the theme, you want to think about the kind of feelings and emotions that you want to evoke from both the couple and the guests.
You don’t want people to walk away saying “That was a great seaside theme wedding”. You want them to leave feeling emotional. For example, you might want to evoke a nostalgic feeling that reminds the couple and the guests of beach trips that they took as children with their family.
Only when you have turned the theme into a concept can you move into making the theme personal. Without emotion and vision behind the theme, it remains a boring, cookie-cutter wedding theme that has probably been done before.
8.5 Making the Theme Personal
Many couples are interested in creating the ideal wedding.Many feel the pressure to keep up with their friends and relatives. This can hijack the wedding planning process and actually make planning a theme harder. A wedding theme that is out of touch with who the couple are will often feel impersonal for both the client and their guests.
If your clients are struggling with this, you might encourage them gently to plan a wedding that is personal to them. If you can diplomatically steer them away from re-creating the Royal Wedding and towards a personal wedding, they will usually thank you later.
To start developing a theme with a couple, schedule a meeting with them to discuss the theme. Ask them to bring a few objects or pictures that have a personal meaning to them to the meeting. They may find that their perfect theme is sitting right under their noses!
You will also notice that some clients will not want to create a personal wedding. Their wedding will be a time for them to escape themselves and their lives. This is why you will see so many brides wanting the royal treatment. Your job is not to dissuade them from this. In fact, if this desire is a part of who they are, then you should encourage it. But, these ideas lead to the next, and most difficult of planning a theme – making the theme work.
FACT
Purple (18.9%) is the most popular colour scheme used for weddings closely followed by blue (18.3%), pink (12.3%) and red (10.3%).
Source: storymixmedia.com
8.6 Making the Theme Work
Making the theme work for the wedding is easily the hardest part of planning the theme.There are plenty of reasons why the theme won’t work. It might be out of the budget. The venue may not allow it. You may also not be able to find the essentials you need to put together the central part of the theme.
Your job as the wedding planner is to know when the theme can be salvaged and know when to scrap it entirely. This can be hard for the couple, especially if they have been thinking about their wedding for a very long time.
When you are planning the theme, the ways that it can go wrong will become immediately obvious. As a result, this module won’t go into ways that your theme will not work. Instead, you should turn the problem around and focus on solutions rather than on what has gone wrong.
If your budget is not accommodating the theme, you will need to get creative. If you are trying to plan a million pound wedding on a shoe string, it is obvious that little can be done. However, if you are looking to find ways to cut costs on the theme, you might want to look around in non-traditional places.
For example, if you’re looking for vintage style table settings, you might consider visiting charity shops around town and buying up loads of vintage dinner service sets. At only a pound a piece, or less, in most shops, you will find that this is much cheaper than hiring these sets. It may take more labour to put it together, but you will be able to make it work.
You can do a similar thing when you’re lacking resources. If you’re missing something crucial for the event, you should use your network to ask around. In some cases, traditional vendors will not accommodate strange requests and if they do, they will want extra money for it.
Sometimes it helps to go straight to the source. For example, if you’re looking for a flock of doves to accompany the couple as they leave the church, you may find that many vendors will look at you funny, depending on your market. But, if you network and find a local dove lover who has pet doves, you may be able to strike up a deal.
This kind of creativity can make your theme work. This will not only make your clients happy, but also set you apart as a wedding planner.
8.7 What to Do When the Couple Doesn’t Want a Theme
It might seem strange that a couple may want a wedding planner but not a wedding theme, but it happens.When this happens, it is important to remember that a wedding does not need to have a theme to be a wedding. Although the theme helps you figure out how to plan the details of the party or experience, it is not a necessary part of the wedding planning process.
If a couple approaches you and says that they don’t want a theme wedding, don’t pressure them into choosing one. They don’t need wedding colours to throw a great wedding. They also don’t need to pretend they are on a movie set.
In this case, all you need to do is help them bring together the things that they do want for their wedding. This may begin with basic organisation of the venue and caterer. However, as time goes on, they may decide that there are certain features that they also want their wedding to have. You can plan these without forcing a theme upon the wedding.
Module Summary
Choosing a theme is one of the hardest parts of planning a wedding. But, once you choose and narrow down your theme, things will really start rolling.
The best way to conceive a theme is to start looking at personal desires. Encourage your clients to make sure that the day is about them and their relationship. Once you have that focus, you can begin teasing out the details.
If you want to be a great wedding planner, you will do more than just plan a theme. You will find a way to help make that theme personal and emotional for not only the couple, but all of their guests as well.
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