Wine weddings are popping up across America. Why? Well, the reasons are many. First of all, the theme chosen for a wedding should be easy to implement. Wine has been a part of virtually all weddings for many years, so planners already have one easy way to incorporate wine: serve it up. Another reason is that themes for weddings should have some sort of symbolic value that can be expounded on, either in writing or in a well-timed toast. This means, perhaps, that someone will talk about how wine, like love, matures and refines itself over time, only growing more and more valuable.

This theme of ‘wine wedding’ goes beyond the first theme weddings, with themes such as butterflies or seashells. While these theme weddings offered a colorful background motif, their symbolic value was impossible to interpret. Wine weddings have nothing even resembling this problem.

Wine weddings might start out with an icon of a wine class, or two being clinked together in a bottom corner of the invitation to the reception. This is also where a butterfly, a sailboat, or any other icon could go, depending on what theme has been chosen. As for the actual day itself, the wine theme explodes onto the scene.

Perhaps during the ceremony the couple will drink from a cup of wine. This is a good point to insert a reading into the ceremony that reminds the guests of the symbolic properties of wine as a general rule. Planning a wedding takes several months, and if you tell a close relative that you’d like it if they prepared a reading about wine, they will have more than enough time to come up with an appropriately long text to be read during the ceremony.

Of course, the cocktail hour will be imbued with wine and other spirits, and here’s where some party favors can come in. Napkins could have an icon of a corkscrew or an icon of grapes, anything your heart desires. Tablecloths can be a deep burgundy color.

In the actual reception is where you will see an explosion of the wine theme. Most receptions nowadays feature favors for the guests, placecards, and numerous decorations on each table. For the wine weddings, here’s what is conceivable.

As a centerpiece, instead of flowers, a crystal ice bucket would grace the center of the table, filled with glowing ice and one or two chilling bottles of white wine. At each place setting, a namecard with some sort of wine reference on it is placed---again either an icon of wine, grapes, or corkscrew.

Tables usually have names, so your table names could be various wine names like shiraz, zinfandel, etc. If you want to go all within one region, you could use different wine regions in France: Vouvray, Côtes-du-Rhône, etc. The possibilities are endless with a little research, which planning a wedding certainly involves.

Now imagine the individual favors for each guest. It could be a corkscrew with the bride and groom’s name and the date of the wedding embossed or engraved onto it. It could be a coaster with the same. It could be wine glass charms with a wedding motif. Again, the possibilities are endless. Don’t forget table chocolates, preferably molded into the shape of wine bottles or grapes to complete your picture-perfect wine wedding.