If family is really important to you, especially your family members who have passed away, then honoring them with a Day of the Dead wedding would be ideal and special. A Day of the Dead wedding is lively and bursts with color, sugar skulls, and marigold flowers. One simple way to honor this tradition would be to include pictures of deceased family members and decorate their frames with marigolds, different blooms, and candles.
A Colorful Palette
From the dinner tables to the wall accessories to you wedding bouquet, a Day of the Dead wedding calls for a colorful palette with bright, saturated hues that pop.
A bright, almost neon red is perfect for this theme. Choose this color for decor such as flowers, paper crafts, candles, and banners. Hot pink and pale pink sprinkled in with the other colors compliment this theme. Yellow, green and blue – all in bright tones – are also wonderful colors to mix in when planning for the wedding.
The Sweetest Sugar Skulls
Sugar skulls are another staple in Day of the Dead decor, so include them wherever practical and possible on your wedding day. Sugar skulls represent family members who have passed and are crafted to celebrate their life. They are normally placed on ofrendas (alters) to welcome the deceased family back during the Day of the Dead.
A few ways to incorporate them into your decor would be to include smaller sugar skulls right next to each name card for guests to find their seats at their designated table. Larger sugar skulls decorated with colorful paint and jewels with a marigold flower arrangement and candles would make a beautiful center piece for each dinner table, or oferenda. Design your wedding cake with sugar skulls, too. Colorful patterns laced in with traditional skulls would look stunning when on a white tiered cake.Your cake toppers can even follow the theme! A pair of painted skeletons holding a banner is a fun way to finish off the cake. Even having tiny chocolate sugar skulls could also be a sweet treat for guests to eat as dessert or an appetizer.
Colorful Flowers Everywhere
Flowers are such a simple and beautiful way to add color to your theme. The Day of the Dead flower is the marigold. Marigolds are thought to guide the spirits to their altars using their vibrant colors and pungent scent.
Adding marigolds into your flower bouquet, flower arrangements, and oferendas are a wonderful touch to your Day of the Dead wedding. Also, your flower girl can throw marigold petals down the aisle.
Other flowers that will liven up your celebration are big blooms, cacti, and succulents.
Colorful Embellishments
Details make every wedding. Streamers can be used as a colorful curtain or backdrop for photos. Pair them with large tissue paper flowers for an exciting place to take photos at your wedding. Use cut-out paper crafts from your color palette and pair them with lights to hang from the ceiling. Banners draped from each oferenda would look beautiful as well.
Your bouquet can be full of color apart from the flowers. Including ribbon streamers to the base of your bouquet adds a train of color that will look stunning as you carry it down the aisle.
Instead of rice or bubble favors, have each guest shake a maraca as you say ‘I Do’. It’s a fun alternative and can double as a party favor.
This festive alternative to a traditional fall wedding is one for the books and one that each guest from your wedding will remember for years to come.
Sources: 1. Faye and Co. 2. The Perfect Palette 3. The Perfect Palette 4. Nbarrett Photography 5. We Heart Pictures 6. Rock and Roll Bride 7.Rock and Roll Bride 8. Peach Plum Pear Photo 9. My Wedding Favors 10. Mythillogical