You've set your wedding date right in the middle of the winter.  Now the planning process begins.  Many engaged couples set their wedding dates during the winter months for various reasons.  If you are one of those couples, you may want to consider going with a true winter wedding theme, which is where this article is focused.  

As you begin planning your winter wedding, the first thing you will want to do is to pin down exactly what your vision of a winter wedding is.  It your vision all snowy and white?  Maybe your winter wedding decor will centered around Christmas and include reds, greens and gold.  You might even want your winter wedding to be an exceptionally festive event and plan it for New Year's Eve!  No matter the actual theme or exact date, there are a few things you will want to consider when planning a winter wedding.

Venue - Depending on the actual geographical location of your wedding, an outdoor venue may or may not be a viable option.  However, unless the climate is particularly harsh or unsafe, an outdoor wedding in the middle of the winter can be spectacularly beautiful if you and your guests can brave the cold temperatures.  Saying your I do's against the backdrop of snow covered landscape can be wonderful.  If the weather is a bit too cold in your area or you just don't want to subject your guests to the extreme temperatures, there are many venues that are mostly glass and offer amazing views of the outdoors.  This type of venues gives you the best of both worlds.  You are inside and toasty warm, but with the feeling of actually being in outdoors.  Some venue options to consider would be a botanical garden with a glass house or conservatory that offers a spectacular view of the outdoors or maybe a more modern venue with walls of glass that can bring the outdoor feeling indoors.  There are also a good number of venues that are specifically geared toward indoors/out events.  These are usually venues that are mostly made of glass or offer large expanses of glass that give you the feeling of actually standing in the indoors while still being snugly housed indoors away from the extreme elements.  

Attire - Choosing the attire you and your wedding party will be wearing may very likely be dependent upon your venue of choice.  The theme of your wedding will also likely impact your choice of wedding attire.  If you will be having your ceremony outdoors, you will want to browse through wedding gowns that are made of heavier fabrics and/or offer a bit more coverage.  Another good choice would be a wedding gown that has a coordinating jacket or for a more dramatic effect, hooded cape.  By choosing a gown such as this, you can have the best of both worlds...a wedding gown that is warm while you are outdoors, but can be worn indoors comfortably by removing the jacket, cape or other outer garment.  The same will hold true for your bridesmaids dresses as well.  

Decor - Your decor will be dependent upon what theme you have chosen.  If you are going with a white winter theme, you will most likely want to choose decor that is white and silver with touches of blue and and possibly accented by crystals.  However, if you are going with a Christmas theme, you may want to choose the traditional Christmas colors of red and green accented by gold.  You might also consider using an abundance of Christmas trees with multi-colored lights throughout your entire venue to give it that whimsical Christmas feel.  Let's not forget the New Year's Eve bash.  If this is the route you will be taking, you will most likely want to take it over the top.  Good choices for colors would be black, silver and gold.  Balloons can add to the overall festive feel and be sure to provide lots of party favors such as poppers, noisemakers, hats and tiaras, blowers and confetti.  What a way to start off the new year and your new life!!