Incorporate Natural Details to Create a Winter Wonderland

From ceremony arches to centerpieces, see how you can add a wintry element to décor.

Incorporate Natural Details to Create a Winter Wonderland

winter-wedding-ideas-using-birch-bark-and-tree-branch-decorations
Photo: Ira Lippke Studios

When couples think of winter wedding décor, they often imagine a white color palette, shimmering crystals, and frosty décor. However, one of the best ways to invoke a wintry feel during your wedding ceremony or reception is to use branches or birch bark as a design element. Natural birch has a beautiful ivory color with accents of grey and light brown, which beautifully tie into a rustic wedding theme. Manzanita branches, curly willow, and other varieties of branches can add an even more nature-inspired design to aisle decorations or reception centerpieces.

Create a ceremony structure with birch tree trunks and adorn the corners – or bases – with your desired wedding flowers, or embellish aisle markers with birch bark for a subtle rustic style. Arrange branches into a tunnel for guests to walk through before finding their table numbers suspended from a striking tree branch arrangement. During the reception, swap towering crystal-cut vases filled with wintry blooms for centerpieces composed of branches decorated with candle votives or enveloped in wedding flowers.

Winter wedding décor can also be achieved by using sparkling crystals, metallic details, and flickering candlelight – all of which can be added to birch or branch details in order to provide additional embellishment. Take a look at the images from real weddings, below, and be inspired to incorporate natural elements of birch and bark into your wedding décor to create a winter wonderland.

Birch branch wedding ceremony arch

Photo by Braedon Photography; Consulting by Mindy Weiss Party Consultants

Birch bark around aisle marker

Photo by Mi Belle Photographers

Birch tree bark around yarmulke display

Photo by Cooper Carras Photography; Consulting by Levine Fox Events

White winter wedding with birch tree arch

Photo by Aaron Delesie Photographer

Ice sculpture and branch escort card display

Photo by Aaron Delesie Photographer

Branch archway wedding reception entrance

Photo by Aaron Delesie Photographer

Icy tree branch winter wedding centerpiece

Photo by Maring Lifestyle Photography

Birch tree bark wrapped around low centerpiece

Photo by Jose Villa Photography

White tree branch with Moroccan lanterns

Photo by Heather Kincaid; Consulting by Alex Events, Inc.

White tree branch centerpiece with crystals

Photo by Jared Platt Photography

White winter wedding reception with branch decor

Photo by Bob & Dawn Davis Photography; Entertainment by Larry King Orchestra; Floral Design by HMR Designs

White winter wedding after party decorations

Photo by Cooper Carras Photography; Consulting by Levine Fox Events

For more winter wedding ideas, take a look at these real weddings that took place in the dead of winter, discover 10 tips for hosting a wintry celebration, and explore 27 inspiring winter wedding ideas.