If you're planning a winter wedding, a good place to start is by choosing a theme. Basic winter wedding themes are ice, snow, night, stars, and white.
The colors vary from white and silver, to black, rich forest greens, ice blues, dark blues and deep reds.
Make your winter wedding as cozy and intimate as fall themes, or cool, crisp and modern.
Winter Wedding Ideas
Black and White Ball. One of the most creative and elegant winter wedding themes is the black and white ball.
A black and white ball revolves around the colors black, white, and any mix of the two. Add touches of silver or gold to keep the look from being too flat.
This winter theme is usually a masque ball, so offer black, white or silver masks at the entrance to the reception venue for guests.
Make the event "black tie optional" so guests are not obligated to rent tuxedos.
Want to liven it up a bit? Make the event "costume optional."
There are issues that come with costume winter wedding themes. Check with your venue about costume events before printing and posting info, security may freak out if guests arrive in costume with toy weapons.
White on white magical night. This is one of the most elegant winter wedding themes, and perhaps the easiest to pull off if the venue is right.
Choose a venue with white or off white walls and light decor.
Make all your linens white, and for decorations use white and touches of silver or gold.
Use indirect light (no overhead), and place strings of white lights everywhere.
And finally, add plenty of white, silver or gold candles to table decorations (fire safety!).
Fire and ice (red & white). The colors for this winter wedding theme are white, silver and red.
You may also wish to introduce ice blues with lighting, and a venue with a fireplace is a nice touch.
Ask the caterer to use ice bowls on the buffet, ice bowls or ice sculptures as centerpieces, or keep it simple with silver and white centerpieces.
Unless you're getting married in an old world style dark wood paneled room, be careful not to overuse the color red at your wedding (red bridesmaid dresses, red tablecloths, red centerpieces, red bouquets...).
Instead, add touches of color like a small red border on the invitations, red ribbon sashes to the bridal gown or bridal party dresses, small touches of red in the white floral arrangements, or add red tulle or ribbon sashes to white chair covers.
If red is your predominant wedding color, use more than one shade of red.
For example, make the bridesmaid dresses a deeper, darker shade of red than the reception tablecloths (but still the same tone- meaning a warm red or a cool red).
You may also choose to eliminate metallics like gold or silver and add natural elements such as sprigs of greenery with red berries to the reception decor. More below...
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Starry night. Midnight blue, white silver, stars (choose a stylized star design over the classic). Silver, candlelight and white lights, silver and white centerpieces and white or dark blur linens and chair covers (again, the bridesmaid dresses should not match exactly the linens, make them darker, lighter, a print or a contrasting color).
Use only indirect light (not overhead) and have a lighting designer throw blue lights on the ceiling, or see if the designer can project a starry night sky similar to what you see at a planetarium.
Indoor-outdoor winter wedding reception. Hold the main event indoors, and have a bonfire, fireworks, or both, outdoors (always practice fire safety).
Place a bar serving hot drinks by the exit door, or arrange for a small heated tent to serve drinks outside.
This is my favorite of all the winter wedding ideas. Unexpected touches like fireworks in winter are what you and your guests will remember long after the night is over.
I interviewed a former bride who held her reception in a state park on a night with a full moon. Her favorite memory of that night is shutting all the lights off and dancing under the moon and stars with her new husband.
Another winter bride rented a horse drawn sleigh to give rides during the reception.
Tips for Planning a Winter Wedding
Is there a chance the weather will be an issue for guests on your wedding day? Will driving to your venue be dangerous? Will older guests be able to walk safely from designated parking to the entrance or will valet service be available?
Does your timing conflict with any annual winter charity events (often late November and early December)? If you're having a large wedding, this may affect venue availability, as well as the availability of some of your guests.
Many venues decorate for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day. Find out what the decorations are, when they go up and come down and if the venue decorations clash with your own.
Venue decorations can complicate or simplify planning a winter wedding.
Try to work with the venue's decorations if you can.
If not, spell out in your contract that the holiday decorations are to come down or be altered for your event and who is responsible for the changes.
Tip: Winter wedding themes can be wonderful, but unless you're throwing a costume event, be subtle with theme related printables, props and decorations or you run the risk of your reception looking like a high school prom or a charity fund raising event.
For example, for a starry night theme, do not put stars on everything -- the invitations, wall decorations, centerpieces, hanging from the ceiling, in the flower arrangements...
Choose a few places to use your theme's design motif (if there is one) and then work your winter wedding theme with color, lighting and by creating the appropriate mood.
A black and white ball revolves around the colors black, white, and any mix of the two. Add touches of silver or gold to keep the look from being too flat. 
White on white magical night. This is one of the most elegant winter wedding themes, and perhaps the easiest to pull off if the venue is right.
Fire and ice (red & white). The colors for this winter wedding theme are white, silver and red. 
Unless you're getting married in an old world style dark wood paneled room, be careful not to overuse the color red at your wedding (red bridesmaid dresses, red tablecloths, red centerpieces, red bouquets...). 
Indoor-outdoor winter wedding reception. Hold the main event indoors, and have a bonfire, fireworks, or both, 
