Planning a Woodland or Forest themed wedding? Fantastic!
I want to help you infuse passion into your special day.
To make your research easier, I have gathered and created over 100 practical ideas (from details to big decisions) covering:
- Forest themed wedding invitations,
- colors, decors and centerpieces,
- Forest themed favors,
- ceremony and clothes,
- party details, cake toppers,
- and much more!
All you need to create an unforgettable Forest wedding / woodland wedding!
This article contains affiliate Links (see Disclosure page). If you purchase using my link, I receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Theme, venue and colors
Theme
You can enjoy different approach to the theme do forest
- elegant forest,
- forest and autumn
- enchanted forest (if you already know this is what you want, check out my enchanted forest wedding article)
- rainforest,
- forest and mountains / outdoor / hiking - see dedicated article
- ...
Whatever your vision, the nature will make the experience magical!
Special venue ideas
You can have a forest themed wedding anywhere. It is all in the decor.
However, you can consider venues that fit best with your theme, such as:
- Of course, forested venues will be idea
- With lake? some forest venues might even have a lake or a pond which can be very romantic. However remember that mosquitoes love water! Being bitten during the entire wedding party might not be enjoyable - check out some forest suggestions in this article
- If you choose and indoor version, opt for a location with a lot of natural tones or material - a barn with wood for example. This starts you off great to add the decor.
- Or you can just organize the wedding in a garden with a few very old trees
Colors
One of the first decision to make it the color scheme since stationery, flowers, decors and all will be relating to that decision.
If you don't have any ideas, I recommend you look at invitations in the next section and see what appeals to you most.
Consider:
- Gradient of greens, of course - leaves, grass, moss...
- Browns for the trunks and branches
- Natural colors and beige
- Accents of gold
- and then you can add a touch of one colors - For a more natural forest theme the color should be too sparky for example Bronze or Rust for the oranges or Peacock of Spruce for the Blues.
Careful: I list a lot of ideas, but don't go overboard with your theme!
Forest themed wedding invitations
The invitations and the stationery are some of the most important ways to convey the woodland or forest theme of your wedding and how special it will be.
Design Elements to take into consideration to be in accordance with your theme are:
- The drawings or pictures -
Woodlands of course
Trees, leaves, moss, mushrooms,
Deers, birds and other animals - The font -
All types of fonts can work with this theme. - The shape -
The invitation will already have a lot of design element, there is no need to add a special shape. - Special forest theme related words -
Follow the trail
Surrounded by nature and our close ones
Join us in our Forest Church
Come see us plant our roots
Here are some inspiring examples.
Most have complete suites of forest wedding stationery.
Once opened, click on personalize to add your wedding's information :
Elegant forest / outdoor
Let's start with the more obvious and elegant choices with watercolors of forest and gradients of greens.
Bark and Tree style invitations
Or you can focus on the tree barks and woods that also represent the forest.
Colors focus on brown and natural.
autumn forest
What is more magical than a forest in Autumn! If you are looking for brighter colors, consider these orange - rust variations:
enchanted forest
You can also choose for an enchanted forest theme.
For more specific ideas related to Enchanted forest (invitation, decors, favors etc), head to my specific article.
Rainforest
I will write a separate article for rainforest themed weddings. The decors below will focus on other types of forests.
Forest colors or animals
Or you can choose less obvious stationery with a simple elegant forest green background or focusing on wild forest animals.
Or you can opt for themed but classic stationery options with your picture in the forest.
Here are some beautiful examples :
Don't forget to consider, as applicable, the:
- Save the date
- Wedding invitations
- RSVP cards
- Bridal shower invitations
- Rehearsal dinner invitations
Stickers for the enveloppes
The details can also be important.
When the person received the invitation, seeing a special themed sticker or a wax sealed at the back of the envelope can already trigger excitement!
Here are some examples:
Other formal invitations
You can also have fun in relation to your proposal to be groomsmen, bridesmaids, best man, maid of honour, ring bearer, flower girl...
Here are some examples:
Forest wedding decors
Woodland / Forest themed centerpieces ideas
It is with centerpieces that you can have a lot of fun around your theme.
I have tried to collect ideas that you can order, personalize or make yourself.
Consider:
- A miniature tree
- Moss laid out on the center of the table, with added decors
- Pieces of cut wood
- A terrarium filled with moss
- Mushrooms
- Forest animals
- Vintage lanterns
- Pine cones
- Candles (see next section)
Candles & holders
You can also set up candles to add to the ambiance.
You can consider 3 types of candles to decorate your wedding:
- Candles with forest theme drawings, and your wedding date
- Candles with a picture of you inside a forest, and your wedding date
- Simple candles just for lighting and mood
And if you don't want to risk of fire, but do want the ambiance, consider some flameless candles:
Table decor elements
The rest of the elements on the table can also be chosen around your theme.
But don't go overboard.
Always remember to remove one accessory when you are finished.
Consider choosing themed:
- Napkins in accordance with you stationary, or green / brown with wooden rings or theme related rings
- Pieces of wood as Name card holders
- Table numbers or names with your theme - or wooden versions
- Table runners in forest green or natural colors and fibers
- ...
Decors for the rest of the rooms / venues
The table is not the only place where you can have fun with the decor.
All around the events, you can include small touches of woodland decors such as:
- garlands of fairy lights
- chinese lanterns (green if indoor party or white, if outside hanging from trees)
- Vintage looking lanterns
- tree branches
- moss
- ferns hanging from the walls and ceilings
- Ivy garlands to decorate a wall
Greet your guests with a themed welcome sign: or banner
And consider adding a backdrops to a wall, that an also be a place for cool pictures of the guest:
Flowers
You don't really need flowers.
But if you want to add a touch of colors, consider wild flowers
Ceremony and clothes
Officiant & program
If you are not going the traditional religious route, you can have fun with the officiant and the ceremony program.
Here are some ideas:
- The officiant may be wearing brown to represent an old wise tree
- Create wedding programs in the same theme as your stationery
- If it takes place on a hot summer day, why not print you wedding programs on hand-fans!
Dress and clothes
BRIDE'S DRESS
Choose the dress you really want. This should not be about the theme, but about you. Wear what makes you happy!
- white or beige colors
- leaf-like lace or embroidery on the top
- flowy or layered in the bottom
- for a more vintage style, go with a high waist gown and covered arms
Bridesmaid's dresses
- If you have chosen an accent color, use it for the dresses.Rust and peacock blue are beautiful don't distract from the surrounded nature
- Otherwise consider light colors (again, not to conflict with the vibrant nature): eucalyptus or dusty pink.
- A simple long flowy dress with thin straps would work well.
Groom and Groomsmen
Grey or natural color suits will fit write in and not clash with anything.
However, if your accent color is a blue, then a blue suit would be beautiful.
Accessories
You can keep the clothes simple so that everyone feels comfortable and beautiful, but go a little wilder with accessories.
For the women, consider:
- Hairpieces with leaves - combs, pins, or headband
- Beautiful vine to mix with your hair do
- A crown of leaves or branches
- Green tone jewels
For the men, consider:
- Leafy boutonnière
- Butterfly brooch
- Forest themed socks - for a fun discreet nod
- ...
Bouquet
Considering how much nature you plan to have around you, I think the bouquet can remain simple. However, there is no rule and if you want something big and colorful, you can too.
I also think that you should stay away from "pretentious" flowers and go with wild flowers or more common ones, with greenery.
It could look like you just went into the woods, to create it!
Ring
No special suggestions for the ring itself.
But for the ring bearer to carry the rings, you can have fun:
Forest themed vows ideas
If you are writing your own vows, you can include some xx related words or sentences, to make the audience smile and your partner swoon.
Here are some ideas:
- I will follow up into the darkest part of the forest, through the rivers and up the mountains
- I want to run on the moss with you, I want to climb trees with you, I want to sit by the rivers with you...
- Let's plant our roots together
- Like a forest, our relationship will be forever changing, some moments may be more difficult with strong winds or droughts, but beauty and harmony will always be there.
- See quotes to inspire you or this other list
Fun forest wedding photo ideas
Now, it's time to take pictures of the couple and the wedding party.
You will, of course, start with the classic pictures, but then you can also have fun.
Here are some ideas:
- with baskets collecting mushrooms
- with the wedding party holding branches creating a guard of honor
- climbing on trees
- In front of the backgrounds listed in the decor section
Woodland wedding ideas for the party
Seating chart
Creating a fun seating chart is one of the easiest way to include your theme in your wedding.
Here are some ideas for xx themed seating charts:
- name the table after types of trees
- name the tables after forest animals
- name the table after the word forest in various languages ("forêt" in French, "Wald" in German, "bosque" in Spanish, "floresta" in Portuguese...)
- write on pieces of wood and hang them on a board
- or simply add themed decorations to your seating chart:
Or you can keep a traditional-looking seating chart:
Cake shapes and forest cake toppers
With the cake, you can also have a lot of fun around your theme:
Option 1 - Traditional cake with decor
You can have traditional cakes but with:
- a few forest related decors such as trees, wild animals, mushrooms..
- a fun cake toppers with bride and groom and trees!
- wooden cake toppers
- a cake topper made of branches (and maybe shaped as a heart)
- Or you can personalize a traditional cake topper with your photo, names or forest themed designs
Option 2 - Theme-shaped cake
You can have a cake in a fun shape but with a much simpler topper so that it is not overwhelming:
- in the shape of a tree
- with intricate edible design as forest
- a tree of macarons
- ...
Food / Menu
No specific suggestions in terms of food.
The menu can be printed on beautiful themed stationery:
Speech jokes
If you are a bridesmaid, groomsman, or a parent of the happy couple, you may have to give a speech.
A great wedding speech makes people say ohhhhhh and laugh.
The ohhhh part will come from personal stories about the couple.
But to make the audience laugh, the theme can be very useful.
Here are some jokes you could include:
- As the saying goes, "good things come in trees", so in this forest, your wedding is off to a good start!
- Wooden you think?
- We are looking forward to hearing about your tales of adventure in forests around the world
- Like the forest, you union inspires peace and unison. Everything works together to create a magical home.
- See quotes to inspire you or this other list
Guest book
Don't forget to have a guest book for people to write you special message you will enjoy reading and re-reading later in life.
You can go with a traditional guest book or you can imagine something more unique and creative.
- guests can write wooden cards than can be hanged on a cord or placed in a glass vase
- guests can write on a personalized guest book with forest decor
- guests can sign on small heart and place them in a wooden box
- guests can write on leave sticky notes and then place them on a board creating a wall of leaves you can hang in your home
- ...
Activities - Entertainment - Music
And finally, to keep everyone entertain, you can plan for fun activities during the wedding.
Not all of them have to be related to your theme, but a few could be.
Here are some examples:
- A trivia challenge around the forest theme
- Station to learn about forest animal tracks
- Themed photo booth with the backdrops I listed earlier
- Get one or several boards (chalk or white) to create forest related word search games
- Henna station to get temporary forest-themed tattoos
- Find the leaf / tree bingo - where each box on the card includes a type of leaf / tree they can find in the decors (with a red dot on it, under a lantern...)
- Get bliss advice from guests - leave a card at their seating place for them to write pieces of advice
Registry / wedding gift ideas
A registry is a curated list of gifts that a couple creates to make the wedding gift experience easier and more guided for their guests.
It is rarely related to the wedding theme and is more focused on building a home together.
You can create a traditional registry, including:
- tableware
- cookware
- bakeware
- appliances
- entertaining furniture or tools (bar cart, wine decanter...)
- linen
- home decor
- garden and outdoor cooking supply
- luggages
- ...
These can be created at:
- traditional shops
- on Amazon - see their Wedding registry system (which allows you to list from everything on the store!)
- online registries with cash options
- honeymoon registries
Don't forget to select products with various price points.
Or you can register for cash.
Or you can ask for a few gifts specific to your passion / theme:
- money towards a charity that protects forest or plant trees
Favors for Forest wedding theme
Forest or woodland themed favors
It can be really fun to create favors that are products related to your xx theme or at least decorated with your themed designs or pictures.
Consider:
Classic personalized favors
Or you can opt for the more traditional favors but that you personalize around the theme or just with pictures of you and the date of the wedding.
For example:
- stickers
- mug
- keychain
- magnet
- glass
- match box (the perfect match)
- photo block
- hand sanitizer (spread love not germs)
- candy box
- mint box (mint to be)
- liquor bottle
- chocolate bar
- ...
Favor boxes and tags
Once again, you can personalize with a picture of your (themed or not) and find a box with decors related to your theme.
Here are some examples:
Other wedding events
Bridal showers and Bachelor Parties
The showers and parties don't have to be related to your theme.
But if you want to carry out the theme, you could consider:
- Scavenger hunt
- Hike or outdoor trip
- Wood carving class
Rehearsal Dinner
The rehearsal dinner doesn't have to be related to your theme.
But if you want to apply for it as well, you can use all the ideas already listed in this article.
Honeymoon
Once again, the honeymoon doesn't have to be related to your theme.
But you can keep enjoying your passion.
Some of the most beautiful forest in the World include:
- Monteverde cloud forest in Costa Rica
- Daintree rainforest in Australia
- The Amazon rainforest
- Bwindi impenetrable forest in Uganda (with primates)
- Arashiyama Bamboo Grove in Japan