Winter officially starts this year on December 22nd and runs through March 20th. However, I believe, most of us consider anything after Thanksgiving as part of winter. A winter wedding can be a challenging, rewarding theme and one so rich with options! The various religious celebrations from Christmas to Kwanzaa to Winter Solstice provide not only spiritual but emotional and sentimental ties to family and home. It’s a beautiful time to start a new life together.

About.com and Favorideas.com have some great ideas for winter weddings. I was especially intrigued by the crystal bouquet mentioned at About.com from Austrian-crystal.net.

“Winter” doesn’t automatically mean “Christmas” weddings, but no one can get away from a discussion of winter without mentioning them. It’s so tempting, getting married during this season with the lights, the decorations, and the whole white Christmas feel. I love the red & white color theme that’s so popular for this time of year.

Just remember the other obligations your guests may have, not to mention the normal stress level when dealing with holidays. Add that to wedding stress and you may believe June brides had the right idea! LOL! If you simply must have a holiday wedding, do try to plan for earlier in the season rather than later as guests may have other traveling and commitments to attend to.

To wrap up winter’s options, New Year’s and Valentine’s Day are also popular themes. If you’re simply a winter lover, consider the middle to the end of January as well.