Snow glistening in the sun like tiny diamonds. Warm and cozy flames blazing in the fireplace. Warm cider scenting the air. If these images evoke feelings in you, then you realize that winter can be a truly magical time, and a winter themed wedding may be the perfect choice for you.

Save A Buck

The pun was intended, but it's definitely a valid concern during the holiday season. With careful planning and some forethought, a winter wedding can be planned without breaking the holiday budget. My first suggestion would be to start planning one to two years ahead of time. This will give you a chance to take advantage of sales after the holidays.

It seems that the stores start to sell holiday merchandise earlier and earlier each year. In many cases, they will run special promotions and sales. If you are planning a winter theme wedding this year, you can take advantage of the sales now. If you are planning one next year, I suggest waiting until the after Christmas sales. This will insure that you get the maximum use out of your allocated wedding dollars as merchandise often gets marked down drastically after the holidays.

It's not always possible to take advantage of the sales though. If you are not able to, this year is a great time to wait for the sales that will occur after New Year's is over. If your winter wedding happens to fall in the year 2004, you have a great opportunity to give out memorable favors or create memorable centerpieces. I've noticed that much of the New Year's merchandise is simply marked with 2004 rather than 1-1-2004 or Jan. 1, 2004. Take advantage of it, and save some cash!

All Dressed Up

Though it's certainly not true everywhere, the most common association with wintertime is snow. With its white color and sparkling essence, white and silver would be a perfect color choice for a winter wedding. This can be reflected in the attire of the wedding party as well. Many brides opt for a white gown, but a groom can also choose to wear white. The bridesmaids can be dressed in silver gowns and the groomsmen in white tuxes with silver (or gray) bowties and vests.

Of course, there are other options as well. Platinum is a very similar color to silver, and has become a popular choice. The bride can opt for a gown with platinum or silver threads throughout. She can also opt for faux fur lined gowns complete with muffs in place of a bouquet. Bridesmaids can wear holiday dresses featuring snowflake or star motifs. As mentioned in the saving money section of this article, this is a great year to be planning a winter wedding as the merchandise is varied and will be available for a longer period of time.

All the trimmings

Perhaps one of the nicest aspects of planning a winter wedding is that many of your vendors (depending on who you use) may already have decorated for the season. Many use the colors of red and green, but silver and white are also common colors for the season. When looking for vendors, search a year in advance if possible to see if their decorating fits your needs. If it does, be sure to ask if they use the same decorating year after year. If so, you may be able to save some money on decorating costs. This advice applies to different vendors and services, but the most common are: hotel rooms (banquet, reception, etc.), churches, halls and restaurants.

If it's not possible to have the decorating already done for you, then this theme is one of the simplest to decorate for. Pew bows can be as simple as white ribbon with an ornament hanging from them. Snowflakes or stars are great and easy to find during the holiday season. Simple flower arrangements can include all white flowers in a silver-tone container. Unity candles can be white in regular silver candlesticks with white flowers (or Petals) surrounding the Three Candles. Instead of throwing just flower petals, the flower girl can throw petals mixed with a small amount of glitter. This adds sparkle to the aisle runner, but I should caution that the flower girl should wear a sparkly dress if you want to do this. Glitter gets everywhere!

After the ceremony is over, it's time for the reception. White tablecloths would be perfect for a winter theme wedding. If you are planning on using your own linens, you can dress them up easily using stamps. I recently purchased a large snowflake stamp and silver ink for under $15.00, and can definitely envision it stamped on a tablecloth! Small amounts of glitter or  confetti bells could be tossed on the tables for sparkle. Small Yule logs could be used as centerpieces or you could incorporate 2000 merchandise in your centerpieces. One example is wine glasses filled with floating white flowers or silver streamers and Christmas ornaments. Favors could range from wine glasses (depending on the price you can purchase them for during the after New Year's sales) holding tulle wrapped votive candles to ornaments marked with "Happy Holidays" and the year. Traditional favors (such as potpourri sachets or jordan almonds) could add to theme if wrapped in white tulle and silver ribbon or streamers. Silver ribbons would accent any choice wonderfully.

As for general decorating, there are many choices. One suggestion is to use miniature Christmas trees with snow (faux, of course) laden branches. You can decorate with white and silver ribbon or you could place favors on the branches. One idea takes a bit of planning as it could be rather expensive. It would be absolutely stunning to have a miniature Christmas or holiday village on the cake table or on it's own table. If planning to do this, you might ask for a "mini-house" or "Christmas village" shower, and surprise shower guests with your use of the village at the wedding. Another option is to purchase one house or village piece per month until the wedding to try and keep costs manageable. When the wedding is over, you can use the village every Christmas as decoration. Inexpensive snowflake or star ornaments can be used on walls or hanging from simple white fabric swags. Another option is to place them around the cake table or hanging from tablecloths. Finally, the same suggestion I give for many theme weddings. White Christmas bulbs wrapped in tulle would look wonderful. The same warning as usual too: please make sure to buy "cool-to-the touch" bulbs. I hope that these ideas give you inspiration to create your perfect Winter Wonderland wedding!