Piping Hot Drinks, Cool Styling, and Zero Cliches: How to Create an Iconic Winter Wedding

Winter weddings get so much shade. While spring and summer weddings are usually romanticized, weddings in the winter months often get downgraded to last choice. But there is such overlooked magic in winter; the season when nostalgia, whimsy, and wonder are already built in. If you want to tap into the Yuletide atmosphere without veering into a tacky Christmas party vibe, we’ve got you! From chic and cozy bridal styling to romantic and cool color palettes and how to take your spiked cocoa bar to the max, we’re here to help you plan a warm and original winter wedding that leaves you and your guests all toasty inside.

Keeping Warm While Staying Chic:

A major concern with winter weddings is how to dress the bride and bridal party in a way that keeps you warm without sacrificing style. While most of the event will likely take place inside, transitioning locations and taking outdoor photos without turning into a bride-sicle can be a challenge. That’s why we’re loving layered looks that keep you both toasty and on-trend. Faux fur wraps are a gorgeous way to go–whether you pick a wrap in a pop of color or stay strikingly all-white (and the bride in a white faux fur while the rest of the bridal party is all wrapped up in the wedding colors? Adorable!) Velvet capes are another option to embrace the whimsy of the season in a way that’s still upscale and lovely. For the groom and groomsmen? A sharply tailored peacoat will enhance their winter look in a sophisticated way. And give you the opportunity for a photo of the groom sweetly enveloping you in his coat out there in the snow. Cute, cute, cute!

Go For Broke with Cocoa:

Move over fruity, summer cocktails! Winter drink stations are seriously kicking it up a notch and we are obsessed! Probably the fastest way to set the mood for a cozy celebration is by getting a hot drink in everyone’s hands. And what drink options there are! Mulled wine, booze-infused ciders, hot buttered rum, a coffee-cocktail combo, and hot-toddies. Or! To get real wacky, consider an eggnog margarita! But the real show-stopper can be your hot cocoa bar. We’re not talking your mama’s hot cocoa bar with a bowl of marshmallows. We’re talking a hot cocoa bar that will enchant everyone. Create a candy-crazed kid station where they can add everything to their cocoa from peppermint sticks to chocolate truffles perfect for melting and a mountain of whipped cream. And for the adults? Supply all the mix-ins for a delicious spiked cocoa: Baileys Irish Cream, Kahlúa, RumChata for that dash of cinnamon and vanilla, and Godiva Chocolate Liqueur. Not only will these hot cocoas be wonderfully filling to keep your guests full and content, it will also provide a playful and enchanting element that will imbue the whole event with that homey, sentimental feeling we all get with our hands around a warm mug of hot chocolate. Cue the smiles!

Get Scandinavian with it!

If you want a wedding that’s the height of elegance while still feeling wintry, consider adopting a minimalist, Scandinavian Christmas aesthetic. Countries like Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden are known for their minimalist yet cozy style of holiday decor. This comes from seamlessly fusing a base of neutral tones with natural elements in a style that’s simplistically elegant. As a theme for holiday decor, this streamlined style is meant to promote an uncluttered sophistication. As the theme for a winter wedding, it will curate an atmosphere of natural beauty and unhurried enjoyment. Master this look by beginning with a color palette of soft neutrals (white, eggshell, and cashmere creams), then layer very intentional decor pieces taken from nature (evergreen wreaths and table runners on raw wood tables, pine cone place settings and branches of muted berries). The more natural, the better. But keep it minimal for maximum impact. Then watch your guests curl up by the fire and never want to leave.  

Embrace Moody Color Palettes:

A great thing about winter is the ability to go super moody and romantic with your color palette. Shade combinations that might feel heavy in warmer months translate as deep and wonderfully dramatic on the frosty side of the calendar. This doesn’t necessarily mean using dark colors only, but rather pairing a heavy hue with something more traditionally bridal. Consider a fathomless emerald coupled with wistful champagne. Or silver anchored by deepest navy. Are you a blush lover? Don’t ditch it just because it’s December! Just let it sidle up to a nice slate or charcoal. And never underestimate the transformative power of burgundy as a modern alternative to red. It gives you all the seasonal pop of red with a much moodier, intimate feel. You can never go wrong with the richly romantic duo of burgundy and plum—and all the delicious, edible centerpiece options that come with it!

Don’t Be Afraid to Elope!:

Winter is a vastly underrated season for an evergreen elopement. Usually when we hear the word “elope” we picture you and only your nearest and dearest on a cliff somewhere at sunset in the balmy summer breeze. And while that’s great, winter elopements can be downright stunning. Imagine standing with your husband-to-be on a mountainside, surrounded by a lush panorama of winter wonderland, with the snow gently falling on you as you say your vows. Swoon! If you’ve got your heart set on an intimate, elopement-style ceremony set in nature, don’t let the weather stop you! Will it be a cold ceremony? Yes. But if you plan for it, you can make it happen. Layer up with those warm add-on options we talked about. Prepare for your post-ceremony transition by arranging for blankets and hot drinks to be waiting for you back at the hotel. Or better yet! Pile faux furs in a horse-drawn carriage to escort you and your new husband from the mountainside back to the venue where your guests are waiting for your grand entrance with spiked cocoa in hand and a warm fire crackling. Now that’s an elopement so magical, no one will forget it! 

CONCLUSION: Don’t let the winter season dampen your bid day dreams. You can have a gorgeous, timeless wedding in the winter months that will rival anything the spring or summer have to offer. The key is to lean into all the nostalgic vibes and natural beauty that make winter so enchanting. And hot chocolate. Chocolate is always the key!

Utah Destination Weddings!

INTRO:

Okay, okay, we get it. When you hear the words “destination wedding” you may not instantly think of Utah. But the Beehive State is fast becoming a hit location for destination weddings. Why? In a word: scenery. Utah boasts an impressive range of landscapes that make for enchanting backdrops on your big day. From hauntingly atmospheric red rocks to stunning lake and mountain duos and off-grid wonders like the Salt Flats, Utah just might have that dash of natural spectacle you’re looking for!

RED ROCKS & DESERT:

The red rocks are one of Utah’s most iconic geographical features. Prevalent to southern Utah, there are actually eight major locations that boast these environmental wonders, six of them national parks: Arches National Park (with more than 2,000 stunning sandstone arches), Canyonlands National Park (including the epic Needles Overlook), Zion National Park (slot canyons, anyone?), Capitol Reef National Park (more remote, less tourists), Snow Canyon State Park (with its lava flow formations), and the grandaddy of gorgeous—Escalante National Monument with its legendary Grand Staircase. Any of these renowned locales provides a backdrop for the most jaw-dropping wedding photos of all time. A white wedding dress posed against that vibrant red and orange stone? LOVE IT! A couple framed by towering structures as breathtaking and timeless as your love? SWOON! Including a red rock insert in your wedding bands to carry a literal piece of your wedding setting around on your finger? OBSESSED! Plus the dessert setting provides the perfect palette for a sand and stone wedding with rust, terracotta, and adobe clay tones taken from the landscape itself.

Venues include: Sorrel River Ranch, Red Earth Venue, Hoodoo Moab, The Ledges, Entrada at Snow Canyon, The White Shanty, and the ultra luxurious celebrity spot Amangiri.

MOUNTAIN & SNOWY RETREAT:

From the South, let us speed North to an opposite but equally opulent wedding location: the mountains. Utah is known for its mountains, offering a dizzying array of options for a nuptial celebration. From the star-studded Park City slopes to quieter peak retreats, if you love a mountain view, Utah’s got you! If you go with any of the ski resort options, you can pepper your celebration with charming ski touches; guests signing beautiful wooden skis in lieu of a guest book or posing for couple’s photos on the chair of a ski lift—so cute! Once again, we have Zion National Park with its exquisite glamping resorts. There’s the lavish ski town of Park City and all the Alpine charm that goes with it. Or, if you’re looking for smaller crowds, Snowbasin or Powder Mountain in Ogden Valley are great alternatives to Park City. And, of course, Sundance Mountain Resort. This upscale rustic retreat originally dreamed up by Robert Redford, Sundance is now the home to a major film festival and proudly hosts countless celebrities each year. But when it’s not welcoming the rich and famous, Sundance Resort is still a simply stunning place to hold a wedding.

Venues include: Zion Red Rock Oasis, Zion Canyon Lodge, Under Canvas, Stein Eriksen Lodge, High West Distillery, Montage Deer Valley, Snowbasin Lodge, Hidden Lake Lodge, and The Barn at Wolf Creek.

LAKESIDE AND FOREST:

Can’t afford the Caribbean for your destination wedding? How about the “Caribbean of the Rockies?” Bear Lake has been named exactly that. It’s a refraction of light off the limestone particles in the water that gives the lake its radiant turquoise-blue color; similar to the jewel-tone waters you’d find in a Caribbean setting. Whatever the science-y reason for such gorgeous visuals, we’re loving this locale! Pose in a flower-bedecked rowboat with your new hubby for swooningly romantic portraits or snap a pic of your wedding party dangling their feet off the end of a dock. How nostalgic and adorable is that?! If you’ve dreamed of a lake-forest duo for your “I do,” Utah just might have that winning combo. Although you can’t throw a rock in the Beehive state without hitting a forest or mountain (not quite, but close) some of the best options are Flaming Gorge or Red Canyon Lodge (secluded and stunning—another winning combo), and Mirror Lake Highway in the Uinta Mountains (for the adventurous couple that wants to frolic through a meadow on their big day).

Venues include: Conestoga Ranch, Lakeside Retreats, and anywhere else you can toss up a tent and say, “Glamping!”

OFF-GRID ELOPEMENT:

The term “elope” used to mean that a couple, for whatever reason, needed to run off and marry immediately. We imagine court house weddings with no one in attendance, no real celebration, nothing special about the event. No longer! Today “elopement” has a much richer definition. Elopements are now considered very intentional celebrations that are either private (the couple and witnesses only) or very intimate (a small gathering of the closest friends and family). The exclusivity of the occasion allows an elopement to be focused on the marriage itself, rather than the embellishments surrounding the wedding. The selective guest list also makes it possible for the wedding to take place in a more remote setting, like the Bonneville Salt Flats. The stark and surreal, almost unearthly beauty of the landscape will make you feel you’ve been transported to another world. Though we’ve already discussed it, we can’t talk off-grid elopements without again mentioning Capitol Reef or Escalante with its timeless red rocks. And, of course, there’s Dead Horse Point State Park. Ignoring the scary name, this state park near Moab boasts unsurpassed, cliffside panoramas over the Colorado River that have been compared to similar views of the Grand Canyon. Who doesn’t want that as a wedding backdrop? Utah also features a plethora (if you know, you know) of caves and waterfalls, including the famed Bridal Veil Falls—a favorite for engagement and wedding photos.

Venues include: Cougar Ridge, Escalante Yurts, and Yonder Escalante.

CONCLUSION:

Worried there won’t be enough amenities to make your remote romance a reality? Utah also boasts wonderfully adaptive vendors to provide luxury bathroom accommodations or anything else you require to make a rustic location possible. Whether you dream of posing with your future husband on the dramatic expanse of the Salt Flats or being silhouetted in an embrace against the red rocks, Utah has whatever visually arresting backdrop you could desire to say, “I do.”

Hot Wedding Colors: 2025-2026

INTRO: Real talk, bestie. Picking wedding colors sounds fun, but that initial joy of comparing blush to bashful (if you know, you know) quickly dissipates when you start to realize how much a cornerstone of your celebration the colors actually are. They anchor style and decor, set the tone—literally—and live forever in your pictures. No wonder committing to a color scheme can feel more daunting than saying yes to your forever person ever did! Suddenly you’re suffering from a Pinterest hangover, wondering what color smalt is, and despairing at ever finding a palette pair as perfect as you and your boo. Fret not, gorgeous! We’re here with all the hottest wedding colors of the season, and ways to implement them in your perfect day!

MOCHA MOUSSE: Gotta admit, when we first heard Pantone announce Mocha Mousse as the 2025 color of the year, we thought to ourselves, "Like...brown?" But to think of this creamy, dreamy shade as "just brown" is to underestimate it. It's a soft and sophisticated take on a neutral. It's the color that begs to be honored in a whole range of desserts as delicious as their shade is appetizing (Sure, serving mocha mousse at a Mocha Mousse themed wedding is a little on the nose, but we doubt anyone would complain—their mouths would be too full). As a rich neutral, it's also a lovely partner for everything from pastels to dark, earthy tones. That's really the beauty of Mocha Mouse—how well it plays with others. Just try it against any other color and see.

VERONA SUNSET: While Pantone went with a soft brown, “Brides” and “Minted Weddings” got together and announced what feels like the anti-brown wedding color of the year: Verona Sunset. These two tones may look different at first glance, but they share a common element—the ability to transform any color palette they're put into. But Verona Sunset does more than just add depth or balance. It enlivens, in a striking and totally unexpected way, whatever colors it's paired with. Add Verona Sunset to swatches of blush and sage and suddenly a common color palette is brighter, fun, playfully romantic. Slide it next to reds and oranges and suddenly you have exactly what the name entails: a blazing sunset so bold it will not be forgotten. After all, it’s named for the setting of a romantic classic. Romeo and Juliet may not have had this exquisitely citrus shade at their own wedding. But with it, the stage is set for a romantic evening against a sunset backdrop.

CHAMBRAY: Don’t underestimate this cool blue. It's a staple of the Nautical theme that's sailed back in (sorry, had to) for 2025. Not only is this icy shade classic all by itself, it pairs beautifully with so many other colors; a perfect balance to Verona sunset or blush, an organic match for sage or cool-based earth tones, even a bold and unexpected base to a pop of cherry or a slice of lemon yellow. What’s more, this color is so easy to casual-down or class-up. Want a bit of a backyard BBQ theme for your summer shindig? What’s more beautifully chill than this dreamy denim blue? Curating a luxe, bougie bash in the Swiss Alps? Chambray on ice, please! Any theme, any budget, chambray will look gorgeous and timeless no matter your style. So you can anchor a vintage Regency celebration with floaty chambray draping, or go organic with cloudy chambray cocktails and barefoot bridesmaids in chambray shifts. Either way, chambray will work for you and remain evergreen–but blue, of course.  

CHARTREUSE: Don't think we ever would've picked this color as the cornerstone for a wedding. But the way these 2025 brides are running with chartreuse is the perfect mix of groovy and gorgeous. What might be an otherwise overwhelming color is crazy cool against bridal whites or paired with a grounding shade like navy blue. Chartreuse is actually one hue in a peacock palette—so leaning into this bright green gradient can be a way to liven up an arrangement of jewel tones. Or lean in, all the way in, to a 70s themed love bash by letting chartreuse run wild against burnt orange and mustard. Yeah, baby!

SILVER: Silver's been sashaying onto the scene more and more these last few wedding seasons. While gold is always a classic wedding staple, silver has something special. Its cool undertones allow it to bring greater depth to any color scheme. But it also brightens without warming in a truly sophisticated way. It can even turn a famously casual dessert like donuts into some shockingly classy bites with edible silver leafing. On the other hand, silver is fun and wonderfully nostalgic when it's romping in throwback themes like vintage 1970s and retro 1990s. Can't go full disco nuptials without those silver disco balls that have been just eeeeeverywhere in weddings of late. And silver slip dresses on bridesmaids just bring our little 90s hearts so much joy.

LEMON YELLOW: Fun, fun, fun! That’s what lemon yellow brings to a wedding palette! While a more buttery hue is great for brightening things up while keeping it classy, lemon is irreverently and unapologetically lively. You gotta really love this color to commit to it for your nuptials. But if you happen to love it, then own it! Get citrus-tastic with your decor. Aren’t those actual lemons as calligraphied place cards the cutest things you’ve ever seen?! Splash this shade over everything from the arch to the attire, and watch your wedding become the most epically quirky event of all time!

TERRACOTTA AND BLACK: Terracotta has been a big bridal boss for several seasons now and it’s no wonder. This dusty, rust-resonant hue—once merely a supporting character in an earth-tone palette—has now become the star of the wedding. It gets lusher and more complex the more boldly it’s implemented; whether it’s paired with warm metals like brass and copper or juxtaposed against a heavier base, as it is here with black. Like you and your betrothed, terracotta and black are a perfectly balanced couple. Together they’re elegant and earthy, rustic and rich. They enhance a bohemian staple to organic opulence. Want to kick that luxury up another notch? Consider bridesmaid dresses of terracotta velvet and, if you’re really a ballin’ bride', a bridal gown of sumptuous black. Whaaaaat?

BURGUNDY: We tend to think of burgundy as an exclusively winter wedding color. And no one can argue that it is stunning in the frosty months, especially against the wondrous white of snow. But to restrict this deep, passionate hue to any time of the year is to limit its ability to enhance a color scheme in any season. You doubt? In spring and summer you can pair it with any shade of pink from softest blush to brightest bubble gum, and the rosiness against the burgundy says instant romance. In the fall couple it with russets, golds, and rusts for an elegantly autumnal vibe. And don’t let winter dictate a burgundy-and-white palette only. Begin with burgundy, then go darker with gaudy plum cooled by touches of black or charcoal. Whatever the season of your special day, you can’t go wrong with any shade from crimson to merlot.

CHERRY RED: If you're having a summer wedding then please, we beg of you, consider cherry red for your color theme! Here's why this is perfect for summer. You might see this fearless shade of red and think Christmas and holly berries. And yes, it's absolutely gorgeous with winter white. But this bright shade also plays perfectly into one of 2025's freshest trends: edible decor. Fruits and vegetables are taking over centerpieces in the most beautiful and deliciously unexpected way. Instead of going the classic florals route for your tabletops, consider combining summer fruits in shades of brilliant rouge. Maraschino cherries, strawberries, watermelon, even tomatoes can be stunning if styled right. Not to mention building your menu from this fiery fare. Elevate watermelon slices with tiny flowers. Tempt your guests with bouquets of sculpted strawberries. Dominate the vintage cake game by topping a lambeth-piped creation with the cherry edging that perfectly harkens back to the era in which these beauties were born. However you implement it, bringing cherry red into your big day is a fresh and funky way to say "I do."

EARTH TONES: You hear “Earth tones” and you may scoff, “Just another hippie-dippy wedding.” We’re not denying that Earth tones are the heart and soul of any boho bridal bash, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that! In fact, we’re not advocating a departure from hippie-chic, although bohemian can be as upscale as any other theme. Rather, we’re suggesting you embrace the Earth in color, texture, and material in the most fearless way. Replace conventional centerpieces with artfully stacked stones. Forgo traditional tables and seat your guests at giant rocks strewn with gauzy tablecloths and plated with raw wood chargers. Ditch the floral bouquet and opt for a handful of gorgeous, earth-tone feathers and bundled branches. Let nature be your venue, and let the wild itself dictate your palette; diving into a world of dove grays, sage greens, and burnt browns as timeless as the world itself.

BRIGHTS: On the flipside of everything we just said about Earth tones, let’s talk brights! One of the hottest color trends exploding on the scene is BRIGHT COLORS! Which bright color, you ask? How about all of them! More and more brides are shattering the idea that weddings need to be overly serious affairs in both vibe and vibrancy. You want to combine electric blue with neon green and magenta madness, you go right ahead, Queen! Far from clashing, the result is invariably and outrageously playful. And why do the big wedding day if you’re not having fun?! So step into that tangerine dream of a bridal gown or let your groom get crazy with a suit of contrasting florals in every imaginable shade. Some say joy is the secret to lasting love. So get joyful with your colors to stay joyful with your romance.

CONCLUSION: Maybe you’ve seen a color here that just felt right for your wedding, and maybe you didn’t. But if you take anything from this list of wedding color inspiration, we hope you realize there are no limits to the colors you choose; no rules, no need to hold back. When it comes to picking your wedding colors, it’s all up to hue. Sorry, not sorry. ;)