Let's Talk about Themes

When planning a wedding, people often fall upon a particular theme to unify all of their decorations, colors and stationary. There are beach themed weddings complete with ceremonies on the sand, starfish on the invitations and vibrant blue colors throughout. There are seasonally themed weddings, such as Christmas, complete with snow, ornaments as favors and holly decorating the tables. Now, most people know that I'm the kind of girl who loves a themed party. Parties I've thrown in the past include an 80's party, Halloween costume parties, a retro slumber party and a movie screening party. I love the idea of picking a super fun theme and incorporating into the invitations and decorations. Plus, themes are just awesome. Anyone can throw a party, but a theme party is a little something extra.

While I'm not sure Adam and I want to carry over my love for themed parties to our wedding, I thought it'd be fun to at least humor the theme possibilities. Here is what I've come up with:

1. Halloween
• It's no secret that both Adam and I love Halloween. Remember those scary cards you received in the mail last year? We could easily incorporate ghoulish touches into our wedding. The centerpieces would consist of jack-o-lanterns with carved out hearts or the letter "A." Black, wrought-iron lanterns would line the food tables and hang throughout the room. Our archway would be decorated with twisty branches and tiny bats. Each guest would receive a trick-or-treat bag full of candy as they departed. Sounds like a wicked good time to me!
2. Movies
• While you may think this is a theme only for me, the truth is, Adam and I watch all our movies together. I make him sit through hours of 80's films featuring John Cusack and he attempts to explain time travel to me while watching every Terminator movie. This would be an easy wedding theme. We could name the tables after our favorite films. We could screen Casablanca on a large screen (without sound) throughout the reception. We could have a popcorn bar at the end of the night featuring different flavors of toppings. And, our invitations could look like a movie poster or a ticket.
3. UNC
• This is the most obvious of the themes. Adam and I met and fell in love at UNC, so it's only natural to consider a Tarheel wedding. Carolina blue would be everywhere! Guests would get cookies shaped like the UNC logo. Our alma mater song would play as we entered the reception. And maybe we'd throw in something to remind people of our basketball legacy...after all, Adam and I saw 2 National Championships while we were there.
4. Books
• Here's a little detail about Adam and I that you may not know. I have always, always loved to read. I tear through books like they're going out of style. Adam enjoys books, but hates the reading part. So, for the past 6 1/2 years, I have been reading out loud to Adam. Yes, that's right. I read the entire Harry Potter series (books 1-7) out loud to Adam. We also read books like The Hunger Games trilogy, the Twilight Saga, Bridge to Terabithia, and many, many more. This could be a fun, unexpected them. Stacks of books would serve as centerpieces. Tables would be named after our favorite characters. And guests would receive a bookmark as a favor. Readings at the ceremony would be from books. Definitely not something you see at every wedding.

With so many themes to choose from, the possibilities are endless. These are only a few. Which do you like? Can you think of more themes that would fit Adam and I? Or how about this, what about no theme other than "we're getting married"?