Polka Dot Wedding

Are you a playful sort of gal? Polka dots are whimsical, from the polka dot shoes to a golden bangle bedecked with dots. Both are perfectly fun for a wedding theme. Birmingham, being a fun city known for its festivals – we’re thinking the ever-crazy TILT festival and Summer in Southside, both Birmingham events that mean a good time!

If you’re planning your nuptials in this terrific city, wedding reception venues in Birmingham are the ideal place to let whimsy run wild. Take your polka dot wedding theme and build upon it. We’ll tell you how.

Details for a Polka Dot Wedding

Polka dot wedding themes are fun, eventful, and extremely cheerful. However, they can also be elegant and gorgeous, with classic colours that fit the overall invitations, venue, food, bouquets, and budget. Having a wedding theme does not mean that you need to run the pocketbook ragged.

Instead, it means you get to have specific choices about how to create the magic in your wedding without having to get overwhelmed by all the options around you. Most couples who choose a polka dot wedding theme usually do so to keep the colour schemes to a minimum yet make their big day fun for everyone.

What to Look for in Venue for a Polka Dot Wedding

Polka dot wedding-themed venues can be indoors or outside, depending on your vision of the big day. If you've always dreamed of a church or chapel wedding with a small reception, then you should consider the décor and arrangements accordingly. If you've dreamed of saying 'I Do' under a blanket of stars or gorgeous sun-kissed clouds, then an outdoor option is your best choice.

Themed weddings allow flexibility when choosing the space, with enough room to decide the guest list, catering requirements, photography and videography, and any major décor installations or unique fixtures. The polka dot theme will quickly shine through with tastefully arranged table settings, floral arrangements, and dress codes for the wedding guests.

Colour Palettes for a Polka Dot Wedding

With a wedding theme like polka dots, there is a lot of scope for selecting some gorgeous colour palettes. Couples can choose bold colours with subtle, complimenting shades in lighter colours or opt for lighter pastel shades that add to the overall romance of the wedding

Popular polka dot wedding colours are blush pink, gray, and gold. Others are gold, black, and mauve, while still more are lilac, sea green, and black. Winter polka dot wedding colours could be icy blue, beige, or white, and bold colours like purple, red, and orange. Berry colours with dark green and cheerful pops of random shades can also make the day big and bold.

Food for a Polka Dot Wedding

While the wedding food will probably not have as many polka dots as you'd like, the fun actually lies in a variety of desserts. Dessert buffets are the best parts about themed weddings – everyone knows that! Suppose you have a polka dot wedding theme. In that case, you should get a baker specialising in unique hand-crafted desserts like spotted cupcakes, odd-shaped cookies with mismatched chocolate dots, chocolate drinks with dotted sprinkles, and more.

The wedding food can be according to taste and preference with a slight twist. You could think of naming the dishes according to the theme of ensuring that the buffet stations' serving plates, napkins, and other crockery and cutlery fit right alongside the polka dot theme.

Ceremony Decor for a Polka Dot Wedding

If you're opting for a colourful, fun, and quirky wedding with lots of laughter and good vibes, you're in for a treat with the polka dot theme. Polka dots are usually associated with colourful balls, bubbles, contrasting or similar shades in colours, and more. The ceremony decor can be decorated elegantly using polka dots of the same colour in different shades to make the design cohesive.

It is possible to incorporate polka dots even in traditional ceremony decor. Some ideas are hanging single-tone lanterns with tiny polka dots by the aisle, having polka-dotted confetti instead of regular streamers, tastefully arranging flowers in a circular clump (as an arch) at the altar, and more.

Wedding Cake Ideas for a Polka Dot Wedding

Themed weddings are extremely helpful when it comes to selecting the best cake. Since the options are narrowed down, there is less confusion. For polka dot weddings, the cake can be a colourful, playful one – think white fondant with colourful dotted icing, blush pink cake with tiny edible silver balls, or a multi-tiered cake with thin bands of polka dots in gold and silver.

Cake patterns and styles like the Swiss Dot cake (piped polka dots) are quite beautiful to look at and are a showstopper at weddings. It is also possible to make a gorgeous polka dot wedding cake with confetti-style edible sprinkles in a single tone to create an optical illusion of depth.

Wedding Invitations for a Polka Dot Wedding

Wedding stationery becomes a lot easier to customise with a theme in mind. The polka dot theme should always be easily identifiable in the invites to guests since this will set the tone for the wedding and reception. If you plan a themed party, the invitations should also have all the information for guests neatly laid out.

While it is necessary to be overly obvious with the invites, you can incorporate the polka dots by making circular Save The Date invites, wedding cards that pop out from behind circular sideways-opening envelopes, and more. The font and lettering should also be in dots in a darker colour than the background of the invitation. If you are planning to go paperless and send e-vites to all the wedding guests, you can incorporate these design enhancements digitally too.

Favours & Gifts for a Polka Dot Wedding

Wedding favours and gifts should also be in the polka dot theme. This does not mean having all the gifts circular or round. Instead, it means finding or ordering wrapping paper in the wedding colour scheme and ensuring all the wedding favours are wrapped in your polka dot wrapping paper. Adding a single-tone ribbon or a beautiful bow to each gift will also make them look gorgeous.

The wedding favours can also be in small polka-dotted metal boats or paper boats that guests can reuse later. This idea is especially significant if you plan a seaside or beach wedding since it serves as a polka dot theme and beach reminder.  

Portrait Props for a Polka Dot Wedding

Portrait props for polka dot weddings should come full circle with some classy polka-dotted fans, wedding lanterns, circular labels, and more. These props should be in your chosen wedding colours to stick with the theme and make for some fantastic photographs.

If you have a selfie corner set up for the wedding, you can have a photo booth-style polka dot background with removable wallpaper, floral patterns and designs, and hanging sequined faux crystals. These selfie corners can also be set up at different spots throughout the venue. If you have a photo shoot set up with your pets, ensure you also get them some cute polka dot collars!

Table Setting Style for a Polka Dot Wedding

Table setting for a polka dot theme needs to be done with caution. It is easy to get excited and have all the tables looking like dalmatians! Some restraint is necessary. For instance, having a dotted table cloth with round tables will work excellently with single-tone plates and beautiful floral centrepieces.

The paper napkins can have a smattering of dots (in the wedding colours) towards the edge, with the rest of the napkin a single tone. You could also have some customised glasses with tiny polka dots in a colour of your choice for the toasts. Blending solid colours with bold but tiny polka dots for the tables will make the tables look classy yet fit with the overall wedding theme.

Polka Dot Wedding Ideas

I’ve had this polka dot wedding inspiration board cued up for a while now and then Sara Lucero shared this amazing bridesmaids breakfast styled shoot with me! Isn’t it stunning? I think it is one of my favourite inspiration shoots thus far. Polka dots are joyous and playful and I love the idea of doing something special with your best friends to celebrate them – they play such an important role in your life!

Credits: photo credits for inspiration board: polka dot blusher veil from SIBO Designs on Etsy // polka sot BHLDN shoes via One Wed, previously sold here // tablescape from 100 Layer Cake, photographed by Edyta Szyszlo, styled by The Collection Event Studio, china, confetti garlands, and linen // Ida Sjostedt polka dot dress available here // polka dot ring from Satomi Kawakita // poppy seed cake from Bake at 350.

styled shoot photo credits: photography:  Sara Lucero // dress: Handmade by Chantelle of Jac and Moigrad // brides ring: Chantelle Watson // brides shoes: Jeffrey Campbell // food: Debonair Desserts // flowers: Brier Rose Design // succulent box: Brier Rose Design // hair & makeup: Martha Does Make Up // styling: Sara Lucero // models: Chantelle Watson, Taylor Beardsley, and Kayla Caffey // watches: Fossil // table runner: A Fabulous Fete // paper straws: Katie Did Desgins // first published on 100 Layer Cake