Are you somebody that doesn’t half do anything? Have you been dreaming of hosting the perfect elegant wedding – frills and all? Here’s everything you need to include to create the ultimate elegant wedding.
The elegant wedding theme
An elegant wedding focuses on the luxurious elements that bring it all together and make it feel like a five-star event. It’s all about extravagance and beauty, and often little consideration is given to the cost. The elegant theme is up there in the top 10 most popular wedding themes, among rustic, classic/traditional, romantic, garden/outdoors, vintage, contemporary and glamorous, beach, vineyard, and boho chic.
The vision
Couples who embark on planning the quintessential elegant wedding want to create something truly luxurious and ‘expensive looking’. These couples often enjoy the more luxurious aspects of life, and see their wedding as the pinnacle event in their lives. Because of this, everything must be picture perfect in a stylish, expensive, and modern way.
Ceremony venue
The typical elegant wedding usually begins at an indoor wedding ceremony venue. These venues include churches and ceremony locations with an impeccable and spectacular view.
The ceremony often takes a traditional approach, with the usual flower girls and page boys, bridesmaids, and the bride and her father processional. The groom will be waiting at the altar with his groomsmen.
Reception venue
At the typical elegant wedding, the party will kick on in a ballroom, hired historic houses and mansions, or a five-star restaurant or hotel function room with a spectacular view. The function space is equally as luxurious as the ceremony venue. The emphasis here is on sheer luxury and elegance, and the reception venue is often one of the man elements that creates the ‘expensive’ atmosphere at an elegant wedding.
The venue, the decorations, the catering, the cake – all chosen elements will come together at the reception of an elegant wedding, so there will be no question of what the wedding theme is.
Invitations
A couple who has chosen to hold an elegant wedding will often choose traditional but expensive invitations to summon their guests. Invitations that suit the quintessential elegant wedding include those made with lace, letterpress, ribbons, or spectacular cursive font detailing. Couples who choose to hold an elegant wedding often create a ‘wedding logo’ with their initials. They use this to tie their wedding website, invitations, cake topper or the cake itself, and the decor together.
We suggest shopping around for your invitations before putting all your eggs in one basket. With so many options to choose for, you’re spoiled for choice!
Decor
When it comes to decor at the quintessential elegant wedding there’s a large emphasis on white, which is where the term ‘white wedding’ comes from. The decor is very clean, crisp, and luxurious, and no penny is wasted when it comes to the little decor details.
Some of the more traditional elegant weddings will feature large chandeliers and a lot of glitz and glamour. As of late however, elegant weddings will feature metallics in their decor. This lends itself to the ‘expensive’ element that weddings of this theme often feature.
DIY
The quintessential elegant wedding focuses on expensive elements and creating that ‘five-star feel’, so often this discounts any DIY elements. However, if you were to incorporate DIY in your elegant wedding, this could be done through collected glassware or vintage china teacups and crockery. Anything that appears expensive doesn’t have to actually be expensive – you can use things collected over the years to give your wedding that exclusive luxurious edge.
For those who are sentimental, this could even mean creating a table dedicated to passed family members and friends, as seen below.
Flowers
The quintessential elegant wedding usually features neat, one-colour bouquets and flower arrangements. Popular flowers for elegant weddings include lilies and roses – often both in white to match the ‘white wedding’ aesthetic most elegant weddings crave.
Elegant weddings often feature some kind of floral extravagance – whether that be embodied in a flower wall, a large hanging floral installation, or simply large floral centrepieces on each of the tables.
Photography
Wedding photography at elegant weddings usually focuses on the grand expanse or beauty of the venue, the elements of detail within the decor, and the couple themselves. The photography aims to showcase the ‘expensiveness’ and ‘richness’ of the wedding as a whole.
The photography locations chosen often depend on what gives their wedding that five-star aesthetic. For instance, a photographer at an elegant wedding may choose to take photos in a luxurious bridal suite, in their ballroom reception, or in the grounds of their historic mansion (if that’s what the couple has chosen for their venue).
Bridesmaids
Bridesmaids at elegant weddings are usually dressed in uniformed bridesmaid dresses – sometimes even evening gowns. Typically they are matched with one another, and often there’s quite a few of them enlisted by the bride. They carry bouquets slightly smaller than the bride’s, and often a different colour of the same flowers.
Usually the bridesmaids will wear a soft colour, such as blush, or cream. Sometimes however, they’ll be dressed in a ‘royal’ colour such as royal blue to add to the five-star appeal of an elegant wedding.
Dress code
It’s important to note that elegant weddings usually have a dress code of formal and above. This dress code is typically specified on their invitations, so guests know prior to the event to dress in their finery.
Still unsure what certain dress codes mean? Find out here!
Wedding dress
The typical elegant wedding dress is slim-line, fitted, and features expensive lace often imported from overseas. As their wedding usually occurs indoors (both ceremony and reception), the typical elegant bride will have no restrictions based on terrain. This means if they want a ‘monarch’ train (a train that can only be described as Royal-length), they don’t have to worry about it snagging on a tree or dirtying – as brides hosting a rustic or garden wedding might need to consider when choosing their dream gown.
An elegant wedding dress often goes well with a floor-length veil for extra drama, or an equally elegant hair piece or comb.
Formal wear
Grooms at an elegant wedding will typically wear a tuxedo or a crisp black suit. A lot of the time, they’ll also opt for a black bow tie over the usual neck tie to complete their look. Their groomsmen often look much of the same, though their suits may not be as expensive as the groom’s, or perhaps will wear an actual neck tie rather than match the groom’s bow tie.
Catering
The catering at an elegant wedding is usually very traditional. Elegant weddings will have a strict seating plan, and will have alternate plate drop catering – meaning the couple will choose two menu options, and every second plate will receive one of the two and vice versa.
The food itself is usually impeccable and delicious, and served by well-dressed waiters and waitresses.
Cake
When it comes to elegant weddings, the bigger cake the better! You’ll often see couples at their elegant wedding cutting into an extravagant five-tiered cake, designed specifically to suit their wedding theme colours.
The cake itself is usually decorated with pearls, diamantes, and sometimes flowers. If you do choose to have a naked cake, it’s usually decorated with metallic icing or gold foil to tie in with the five-star appeal of an elegant wedding.
While traditional bride and groom cake toppers are perhaps considered ‘tacky’ by the typical elegant wedding couple, they often instead choose a topper with their initials or customised wedding logo.
Bomboniere
An elegant wedding will always have bomboniere of some kind to thank their guests for attending. While most will choose something traditional like a candle or sugared almonds, some couples will instead choose to donate to a charity with the money they otherwise would have used on their bomboniere.
If donating to charity in lieu of bomboniere is something you’d be interested in, check out our bomboniere vendors here!
Transport
When it comes to wedding transport, it really depends on your personal preference. However, elegant weddings typically include a classic style vehicle to complement the ‘Royal’ nature of the day. For instance, a bright yellow Hummer may stick out like a sore thumb at an otherwise white wedding.
Cars we suggest for elegant weddings include Bentleys, Rolls Royces, and Chevrolets. However, in saying that, as the typical elegant wedding has a large bridal party, perhaps a classic limousine would be more suited.
Browse reputable wedding transport providers here!
Music
Due to the ‘Royal’ feel of an elegant wedding, what better event to have a live musician perform? There’s something truly special and atmospheric about having a live band. Elegant weddings may have a violin ensemble playing as the bride walks down the aisle, or a single harp player providing the ceremony background music.
At the reception, however, couples will typically have both types of wedding music. They’ll have a live musician play at the beginning of the night and throughout dinner, and a DJ to fill the dancefloor later.
