Well, duh: weddings are supposed to be romantic. But knowing and doing are two separate things. If you want to ensure your special day absolutely oozes romance, you need to know the right tricks. Everyone knows you should get a beautiful cake and feed it to one another gently (no cake-smashing, people!), make room in the budget for a lovely location and an abundance of flowers, and hire caterers to serve the most delicious food. But beyond that, how do you ensure your special day is as romantic as it can possibly be?
Well, great question. Here are a few ideas that will take your wedding from cute and cuddly to all-out amorous.
Include Elements that Recall Your Proposal:
One of the most darling ideas we’ve seen recently is when couples use elements of their proposal to inspire their wedding theme. If, for instance, he proposed on a night cruise, the couple might hold their wedding at the same time and on the same lake or river. Or if the happy couple were on a hardcore hike together, they might decorate their guestbook table with carabiners and climbing gear.
Other ideas include playing a video of the proposal on a screen (assuming someone captured it) or the groom incorporating the words he spoke during the proposal into his vows. Some couples choose to write out the story of their proposal and put it on little cards scattered across dining tables or lying on chairs before the altar, so guests have something to entertain them while waiting and to place in photo albums later.
Set the Stage with the Right Lighting:
Romance is all about lighting. Think about it: is your beloved more likely to look beautiful in harsh neon light, or in the soft glow of candles and low-wattage bulbs? The right wedding lighting is crucial, which is why you should spend some time thinking about the tone you want to strike.
If you’re going for the fairytale effect, candles are always a win. Combine tea lights and pillar candles with real lanterns for beautiful effect. To get that retro look, string old-fashioned bulbs across the ceiling in a zig-zag pattern and hang more in the windows. To give your wedding a lovely Eastern feel, suspend lanterns of different sizes over the dining tables.
Write Your Own Vows:
This is not a new idea, of course. Writing your own vows is an idea that’s been around almost as long as modern weddings have. It’s the way you choose to do it that makes it truly romantic. For instance, you might:
• Read a few lines from an early love letter aloud.
• Share an adorable story from early in your relationship that made you realize you loved the other person. (This becomes even better when your significant other hasn’t heard how much the story means to you before.)
• As mentioned above, include a few lines from the actual proposal in your vows if you were the one who proposed, or reflect back those lines if you received the proposal.
And don’t think that writing your own vows doesn’t mean you can’t also have the traditional wedding vows read too. There’s nothing wrong with including some of your own language and then turning it over to the officiant for the tried-and-true “till death do us part” … part.
Use White Liberally … with Pastel Touches:
White, pink and red are the colors synonymous with romance. While red can make a real statement, white is the obvious color of choice for most weddings. However, if your goal is to up the romance level, nothing gets the job done like small touches of pink or baby blue, or even a pale lilac. You can incorporate these hues within the flowers, in garlands at the altar or along guest chairs, and in the linens and paper products (programs, guestbook, etc.)
Gold and silver are also excellent complements to white. They’re less fairytale and more royalty, but are nevertheless very romantic. Silver will automatically be an element at your wedding due to utensils, but you can also include it in sparkly table settings, garlands, spray-painted stems of berries or twigs among your flowers, and for décor (place cards, small figurines, favors).
Gold and white, along with small touches of black, is a classic Art Deco combination that never fails to up the levels of romance at least a notch or two. If you want to put a Great Gatsby-esque twist on your wedding, weave gold throughout white flower arrangements. Put candles in golden holders, use golden napkin rings and hang basket bulbs with gold outsides. Then hang white twinkle lights, which when lit up, appear gold as well. Black table runners and napkins can accent the whole thing.
Let Guests Add to the Romance:
Guests love romance as much as anyone, and your guests will be delighted to have their contributions increase the overall cutesiness of the proceedings. There are several ways you can do this:
• Set out postcards with an address and date written in that guests can pick up. They can then send you the postcards on that date.
• Place a large bonsai or jade plant on a table, where guests can hang tags with their well-wishes.
• Invite guests to stand up during toasts and share a favorite memory.
• Ask guests to send you photos they love before the wedding so you can make them into a slide show, then add your own photos of your relationship blossoming.
• Set up a sweetheart photo booth that celebrates the romance between other couples at your wedding.
These are just a few ideas, of course, but will be sure to please your guests … they’re there to celebrate your love, after all, as well as the idea of romance in general.
Incorporate a Sunset:
You should also consider the effect of timing on romance. Different parts of the day have different significance. While late afternoon is a common time to get married, some couples opt to do it earlier in the day and enjoy drinking and dancing until the early evening, then jet off on their honeymoon. Others prefer to set the wedding later and party well into the night. Whatever your choice, make sure to take the beauty of sunset into account.
For a true fairytale ending, try planning a significant moment for when the sun sets, such as when you say I do, when you raise your toasts or when you cut the cake. And make sure the photographers are primed to capture this moment in all its glory, to keep the romance alive for years to come!
Hold Your Wedding on the Water:
Water symbolizes many things, but perhaps it’s strongest symbolic tie is with life itself. Rivers usually signify the fact that life keeps moving, while lakes are emblematic of the permanence of things like life and love. If you’re a poet at heart, you might choose to take advantage of these symbols and put them to use in your wedding. Moving water can be a very romantic backdrop to a kick-up-your-heels hoedown, while lakes are more serene, and therefore a better setting to an old-fashioned, classical wedding. Whatever your idea of romance, you’ll get it on the water.
Sunset on the water is perhaps the most romantic option of all, as it doubles the magnificence of the sun hitting the water and reflects it back. If you’re already planning to charter a boat on a river or lake, why not make it a slam dunk and plan sunset into your schedule?
What Are You Waiting For?
So there you go: if you’ve been wondering about the romance factor of your wedding, you no longer have an excuse not to take it to the next level. One of these ideas is sure to strike a chord with you or your honey, so get started with the planning today. If you opt to hold your wedding on the water, for instance, you’ll need to get in touch with the charter company and ensure you make the reservation, as spots fill up fast.
If you have other ideas for romantic weddings that we haven’t covered, do be sure to let us know. We’re always looking to up the love factor here at Paradise Charter Cruises, and would love to hear your ideas any time you want to share them.