July 4th Wedding Ideas

I remember, back in 2014, Jessica Simpson was planning a July 4th wedding to Eric Johnson, and it got me thinking: What do you think about couples who schedule a wedding on a holiday?

Jessica Simpson said something along the lines of (I'm paraphrasing here): "I used to hate them when I was younger but now I realized it's an extra day to spend with family." My brother translated that to, "I hated them until I decided to do one."

Honestly, there are a lot of 4th of July wedding pros and cons. It really all depends on how you look at it.

Personally, I think it's hard on your guests. Travel costs around holidays skyrocket, so anyone flying will have to pay a premium. Those same guests get hit again if they're staying in hotels because holiday rates are generally higher than regular rates. And sure, your guests don't have to travel. They can RSVP no. But for the people who want to be there, you need to take them into consideration when you're planning.

I'll be honest. Weddings on holiday weekends are one of my five wedding pet peeves. But holiday-centered weddings lend to some really easy, beautiful, and unique wedding themes.

When we were selecting our colors, I picked eggplant, lilac, and silver because purple is my favorite color and lilac and silver are good complements. A fourth of July wedding is ready made. You already know your colors will be red, white, and blue, so you might as well have some fun with it.

July 4th Wedding Inspiration

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July 4th Wedding Stationery 

Your save the dates are the introduction to your wedding, and, in this case, the introduction to your July 4th wedding theme.

So start your wedding theme off right by letting your guests know that you consciously picked Independence Day to declare your independence from single life and marry your best friend. You don't want people to think you picked the day to save money. Have them think you picked it with purpose (even if the purpose was to save money).

When you send your save the dates or invitations, be sure to incorporate red, white, and blue into them. You don't have to go over the top with your stationery, like skip the fireworks all over the invites, but a little pop of the colors is great.

A few of our favorite July 4th Wedding Stationery ideas are:

• Red, White & I Do Invitation
• Red, White & I Do Save the Date
• Floral Red, White & Blue Wedding Invitation

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July 4th Wedding Attire

For your July 4th wedding, you still want to wear your traditional white wedding dress. But, add a pop of color with something like blue high heels.

You can have your bridesmaids in blue with a bouquet of red roses. If you want something subtle, you can always add a little red, white, and blue to your garter.

Then, for your groom, he and his groomsmen can wear traditional suits or tuxedos. But then they can add something like red, white, and blue suspenders or patriotic flag socks to go with the theme.

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July 4th Wedding Venues

As far as venues, look for something rustic and very Americana. Think old barns, fields, and farmhouses.

A venue with a clear outdoor area with a view of a downtown area would be incredible if said downtown area was setting off fireworks that night. That way, you could have fireworks at your wedding without actually having to purchase explosives.

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July 4th Wedding Decorations

When you decorate, you can go as minimal or over the top as you want. I mean, it's America. No one's gonna say you went too far.

Consider red, white, and blue paper lanterns, red chairs along white tablecloths, white chairs among red and blue tablecloths, blue napkins, this Red, White & I Do banner ... you definitely have a lot of options for décor.

You'll want to create some beautiful July 4th wedding centerpieces as well.

You could go a little Americana with mirrored plates with apples and vases with carnations, or just skip the apples and go with red, white, and blue flowers in vases on various sizes.

What you could do, too, is paint vases white and then just go with blue and red flowers (since white flowers are generally associated with death here in the US).

Finish your décor with a guest book that lends to your theme. This Firework Red and Blue 3D wedding guestbook is perfect. Leave a pen by the print and have each guest sign a firework piece. This is really cute to display in your home after your wedding.

Our guest book was a book and I had intentions of it sitting on our coffee table, but it's sitting in a box somewhere -- and I honestly have no idea where that somewhere is right now. I should have gone with something to hang. That way, you can enjoy it often.

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July 4th Wedding Desserts

I love cake. Absolutely love it. When I heard the suggestion to pick your favorite thing and don't compromise on it in your wedding budget, mine was cake (Pete's, if you're wondering, was food and music). I had to have a top tier cake. It worked out. Everyone loved our wedding cake. Everyone I talked to admitted to having multiple pieces of it. That's the kind of compliment that makes me happy.

So personally, I wouldn't mess with cake. But if you wanted to incorporate your theme, a tiered cake covered in white buttercream icing with sliced strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries on each tier is on the top of my list of 4th of July wedding cakes. Just make sure the fruit is fresh and local to give it an extra kick.

If you wanted a traditional cake, you could make our red, white, and blue chocolate stars, then have a pair of them added to the cake plates. That way, you have your regular cake but also a bit of your theme as well.

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July 4th Wedding Sparkler Send Off

And, of course, no 4th of July wedding would be complete without a sparkler send off. The photo above is my absolute favorite sparkler photo of all time. I actually chose our photographers because they had sparkler photos in their example books and I wanted to find a photographer who could do this.

And then, at the end of the night, it was nearly impossible to grab people for a sparkler send off because they were having too much fun on the dance floor and enjoying the band (good thing music was one of Pete's priorities because we nailed it). So, it didn't work out for me. But if you are having a July 4th wedding, you absolutely need sparklers.

And, to let your guests know that you are having sparklers, you might want to set them up at the front of your venue or at each guest's seat with a small When Sparks Fly sign on them.

  

BRIDAL BABBLE: What would you add to a July 4th wedding?