Which Asian Wedding Theme Is Right For You?

Weddings with an Asian theme have been a popular choice with brides for some years. Asian theme weddings blend drama with the ages-old romance and mystery of the East. But referring to 'Asian theme weddings' is simplistic.

There are at least two clearly defined styles of Asian weddings that are popular with American brides - the Chinese wedding theme and the Japanese wedding theme. Chances are if you're considering an Asian theme wedding, you have an image in your mind of what that means to you.

These two Asian-style weddings are as different as night and day, though they can be blended if done with a light hand. After all, it's your day, and it should reflect your personal style.

Japanese Inspired Weddings

A Japanese style Asian themed wedding borrows a great deal from the concepts of Zen. It's all about the elegance of simplicity. You may be attracted to a Japanese style wedding as a statement of your personal beliefs, or simply because the sparseness of the decorations and the ceremonies pares the day down to its essential meaning - two souls joining into one for eternity.

In a Japanese inspired wedding, decorations are usually simple and elegant, favoring cool neutral colors and harmonious shapes. Cool and neutral doesn't have to mean bland, though. Jade green and pearly gray is a great example of a color combination with flair and drama that suits the Japanese wedding theme perfectly.

You might base your Japanese style wedding on the same principles that form the basis of haiku and Japanese flower arranging. Choose a few dramatic accents and keep everything else simple. Instead of a fussy bridal bouquet with yards of lace and ribbons, carry a single stem of gladiolus for a spring wedding, or an armful of calla lilies in the summer.

Follow suit with correct Japanese inspired wedding decorations when decorating wedding venues. Hang paper lanterns - the Japanese beehive style rather than the fringed, colorful Chinese style - on the wall behind the head table. Decorate the tables with floating candles in a glass bowl, mingling with lotus blossoms. Living bamboo shoots decorated with printed ribbon make a perfect wedding favor - a bit of luck for guests to take home with them.

Chinese Theme Weddings

By contrast, a Chinese style Asian theme wedding is a colorful pageant in rich reds and golds and black. Think Chinese New Year - red silk dragons, gold coins and bright, vibrant colors. Take the paper lanterns off the walls for this one - and use a trio to decorate the centers of the tables.

Splashy flowers suit a Chinese themed wedding beautifully. Choose red and yellow poppies, or crimson camellias in baskets rather than bouquets for the bridesmaids. Decorate the hall with lengths of shimmering satin in the wedding colors. Drape it in swags on the walls, caught up with gold bands or tied with bright ribbons.

The popularity of Chinese weddings means that there are many choices for wedding favors. A particularly popular one is Chinese takeout food boxes filled with custom printed fortune cookies.

There are other Asian wedding themes that can be used as well, but these are the two most popular.