When it comes to your wedding and the holidays, how far is too far?

A wedding is said to be the happiest, albeit most stressful, time of your life. The same can easily be said about the holidays. With all that cheer, it only makes sense to combine the two. But, in combining the cheer, you might find yourself extra stressed out while planning your momentous occasion.

How much holiday décor is too much holiday décor? Will having a Christmassy theme alienate your non-religious friends? What about your differently aligned religious friends? Not to mention, do you go for one Christmas tree, or twelve? Should your emcee be dressed as Santa?

A lot goes into planning a wedding, even before you get into holiday territory. Because of this, we've decided to create a Winter Wedding Series, where we talk holiday, décor, color schemes, food, and all of those details that will make your wedding the talk of the town. Seriously! It's a small town.

How Much DECOR Is Too Much DECOR?

This question is multi-faceted and will never have one right answer.

To come to the right conclusion for you, make sure to keep the following in mind:

How big is your wedding venue?

A larger wedding venue means more opportunities to shove a tree somewhere. Maybe your venue has room for you and your partner to be married in front of a sea of brightly lit Christmas Trees? Or maybe you really love the look of wreaths and your venue is lined with windows just waiting to be adorned?

If you've already chosen your venue, make sure you keep what's already there in the front of your mind as you select your decorations. If you haven't chosen your venue yet, write out a list of what you would really like your wedding to look like, decorations and all. This will give you a great starting point when looking for a venue, and you'll know all the right questions to ask when it comes to the venue's décor accommodations.

What Is Your Budget?

While this seems like an obvious question, it can be hard to remember to think about your budget when you're caught up in the excitement of planning. Especially when you're planning the fun parts, like décor.

If you're working within a tight budget, consider finding a venue that already meets a good deal of your needs. Maybe you intended to have an outdoor ceremony. Maybe try to find a venue that has an abundance of fir trees that they're happy to let you decorate. But remember, outdoor ceremonies mean cold guests! Does the venue provide outdoor heaters, or will you have to budget for that as well? Budgets can be such tricky little things, can't they?

Do you Prefer An Understated look, or are you going for something with a little more punch?

If you're going for an understated, less is more, kind of approach, then there's a fine line to walk. But if you're going for something that says "hey, I love the holidays and I love my partner, so deal with it," you can go as big as your budget and venue will allow.

Read on for ideas for a more understated holiday-themed wedding.

An Understated Wedding

While there's nothing wrong with buying out the entire holiday aisle in preparation for your wedding (guilty as charged), understated and elegant is very in right now. So if your vibe is less in-your-face, try some of these ideas!

A Very Merry Color Scheme

By design, the holidays have some very extravagant color schemes. Whether you stick to the typical reds and greens, a more modern rose gold, or lean more toward the blues and silvers. The possibilities are truly endless, which can be both overwhelming and exciting.

Once you have your color scheme collected, incorporate it into your flower arrangements, table settings, invitations, etc... A well-placed napkin in just the right color can make all the difference.

Get Creative

Sure, silverware seems like a pretty minimal part of your day. We all use it and pay it no attention. But how stunning is a gold fork? Something we often overlook even as we use them can suddenly become a show-stopper. And that's not just silverware.

A sprig of fir, an ornament on the table, or even a pinecone can amplify the space without beating your guests over the head with the holiday.

Hopefully, this installment of our Winter Wedding Series has got you feeling festive and helped to put you in the right headspace to start thinking about your holiday décor.

If you're not sure a winter wedding is right for you, stay tuned! The week after next we'll be talking about Spring Weddings before diving right back into Winter Weddings next month.