Planning a mountain themed wedding or hiking 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:
- mountain themed wedding invitations,
- colors, decors and centerpieces,
- mountain and hiking themed favors,
- ceremony and clothes,
- party details, cake toppers,
- and much more!
All you need to create an unforgettable mountain 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
The mountains can steal your heart: they are majestic, beautiful, ever-changing, giant, yet delicate... They keep challenging you, inspiring you and allowing you to connect with Nature.
This is an excellent theme for a wedding.
This article does not cover only wedding at a mountainous location, but weddings around the theme of mountains with connections to related themes and sub-themes such as:
- camping,
- hiking themed wedding, (but not covering hiking elopement)
- adventurous
- outdoors
- climbing
- ...
However, if you want a themed more related to a Winter experience in the mountains, head to my article about Winter Wonderland themed wedding ideas.
And you can also consider a forest themed wedding - see my article.
Special venue ideas
You can have a mountain themed wedding anywhere. It is all in the decor.
However, you can consider venues that fit best with your theme, such as:
- outdoor venues in the mountains,
- a barn in the valley with mountainous backdrop,
- ...
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:
- As a base, white or earth colors such as beige, Prairie Dusk, Forest floor
- the natural colors of dark green for the forest, brown or a grey for the rock of the mountains
- However, you can go any colors. Think of the pink hills of Sedona for example.
- Since your theme is around nature, more natural colors are also appropriate for something more simple, less obvious and elegant.
- And for an accent colors, you can stay with earthy tones with raspberry, chestnut brown, burnt orange, beet red - and you can think of lakes with blue lagoon or turtle lake - see earthy colors
- Tones of blues work well, if you think of the blue mountains e.g. "mountain lake":
Careful: I list a lot of ideas, but don't go overboard with your theme!
Mountain themed wedding invitations
The invitations and the stationery are some of the most important ways to convey the mountain or 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 -
Mountain peaks, of course
Forest, lakes...
Mountain animals: deers, bears, elks...
Mountain related activity: hiking, climbing, camping...
Tools such as compass, hiking poles... - The font -
Most fonts will work with the theme. You can choose if you want something more romantic or something straighter to look like trail signs. - The shape -
I recommend to stay classic with a rectangular invitation. - Special mountain theme related words -
Adventure awaits
Join us in our happy place
Let's be wild
Here are some inspiring examples.
Most have complete suites of wedding stationery.
Once opened, click on personalize to add your wedding's information :
Mountain themed wedding invitation
Let's start with the more designs that include obvious elements of mountains.
Tri-fold mountain and hiking themed wedding invitation
You can have similar designs with 3 fold invitations that include everything.
simple & modern
Or you can go with more stylized version of mountain drawings without the classic forest colors.
Rustic mountain theme
And you can opt for a rustic version of a mountain themed wedding, with more neutral colors.
with photos
Or you can opt for themed but classic stationery options with your picture in the mountains.
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 envelopes
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:
Mountain wedding decors
Mountain 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:
- Centerpieces around woods: branches, slices of trunks, leaves, moss...
- Shelves in the shape of mountains can be placed in the middle of the table and small decorative items can be added inside them
- For something low, you can choose a wooden bowl and place decorative items such as pine cones, flower petals, leaves, crystals for colors...
- And for something taller, you can pick a small fake tree or a tall vase with thin branches installed like a bouquet.
- Small statues of mountain animals: bears, deers, elks...
- 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 mountain theme drawings and your wedding date
- Candles with a picture of you in the mountains, 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 your stationary, or with simple mountain drawings
- Name card holders made of wood
- Table numbers or names with mountains or animal drawings
- Table runners in natural fabric
- Special napkin rings
- Metal mugs
- wooden benches instead of chairs
- ...
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 mountain / hiking decors such as:
- stuffed animals of mountain species,
- binoculars,
- hiking poles,
- compass related decors
- Hiking backpacks in corners of the room
- ...
Greet your guests with a themed welcome sign:
And consider adding a backdrops to a wall, that an also be a place for cool pictures of the guest:
Flowers
No specific suggestions in terms of flowers.
You need lots of greenery with tones of green - most, leaves...
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:
- Mountain guide as officiant
- Create wedding programs in the same theme as your stationery
- If it takes place on a hot summer day, why not print your 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!
Things to consider:
- The dress should look comfortable
- Consider long sleeve dresses
- In Summer, consider airy fabrics such as chiffon or tull
- If you are doing the ceremony in the special place in the mountains, you need to be able to walk there
- If the wedding is outdoor, plan layers to keep warm - cover up if the day is gonna be cold: cardigan, fur wrap, scarf, a trendy cape or a leather jacket
Bridesmaid's dresses
Dark green or dark blue simple dresses will blend perfectly with a mountain themed decor or with the mountains.
Groom and groomsmen
Groom and groomsmen can wear three-piece woolen suits for cold days.
Otherwise, a tweed suit is a comfy option.
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:
- a hat - woolen for a cold wedding or wide brim hat in Summer
- mountain shape jewelry
- nature inspired hair accessories
- faux fur coverup
- boots instead of traditional shoes
For the men, consider:
- mountain decorated tie clip
- hiking pole boutonniere
- socks with mountain decors
- wide brim hat or camp
Bouquet
Consider lots of greenery and maybe a few wildflowers to brighten it.
A cascading bouquet can work well with the mountain theme.
Ring
No special suggestions for the ring itself.
But for the ring bearer to carry the rings, you can have fun:
Mountain 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 you up the mountains and deep in the valleys
- I trust you with all my heart and all my carabiners
- I am happy to be roping together
- Love you to the mountains and back
- Like the mountains, our life together is calling and I must go
- Life is better with you, and in hiking boots
- See mountain quotes to inspire you or hiking quotes
Fun mountain 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:
- Have the wedding party carry hiking poles to create a guard of honor
- Fun pictures carrying hiking backpack with the wedding dress and suit
- Holding binoculars, looking at each other
- In front of the backgrounds listed in the decor section
- ...
Hiking / Mountain 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 mountain themed seating charts:
- name the tables after famous mountain peaks in the World or in the US (Everest, Kilimanjaro, Matterhorn, Mont Blanc, Aoraki, Denali...)
- name the tables after mountain animals (bears, chamois, foxes, eagles, ibex, wolves...)
- or simply add themed decorations to your seating chart:
Or you can keep a traditional-looking seating chart:
Cake shapes and hiking / mountain 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 mountain related decors such as mountain animals, trees, wood..
- a fun cake toppers with bride and groom and the mountains!
- add berries, wildflower or greenery
- Or you can personalize a traditional cake topper with your photo, names or mountain 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:
- Mountain shaped cake
- Hiking boot shaped cake
- a creative shard wedding cake showing off a mountain with trees, deers, bears...
- Mostly white layers with shapes of mountains on the side of each one
Food / Menu
No specific suggestions in terms of food.
But you can make people believe they are going to eat hiking rations. LOL.
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:
- Marie Davis says "To walk in nature is to witness a thousand miracles". And I want to add "To be around your union is to witness a thousand miracles".
- I wish you so much adventure around in the mountains around the World.
- In your wedding as in your life don't forget that adventure may be dangerous, but routine is lethal
- It is very obvious: the mountains, and together, is where you feel most alive
- Your life is better together and in hiking boots
- Or get inspired by this article with mountains jokes and puns or this one about hiking
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 on themed guest books
- guests can write on wooden cards and attach them to a rope
- guests can write on adventure card and place theme in a map box
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 mountains of the World
- Themed photo booth with hiking props and the backdrop I listed earlier
- Henna station to get temporary mountain tattoos
- Find the tree / mountain bingo - where each box on the card includes a type of tree . mountain they can find in the decors (with a broken branch, with a red dot on it...)
- Get one or several boards (chalk or white) to create mountain related word search games
- Get bliss advice from guests - leave a card at their seating place for them to write pieces of advice
- Station to learn about mountain animal prints and how to track them
- Station to learn about plants in the mountains
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:
- Donation to protect reserve / mountainous areas / animals
- camping / climbing / hiking gear
Favors for mountain wedding theme (or hiking)
Mountain 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 hiking 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:
- a hike
- a camping trip
- another outdoor adventure
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.
You could consider:
- Multi-day hiking adventures
- Amazing mountainous destinations: Nepal, Kilimanjaro, Patagonia, Banff, Zermatt, South New Zealand...