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Creating a Birthstone Wedding Theme
There’s more to a birthstone wedding than choosing a set of complementary gems for your engagement band. Combine his-and-hers birthstones to make a personally meaningful set of wedding colors for any season.
If Your Birthday is in January:
Your gemstone is garnet, a deep red color that adds dignity and festivity to any celebration. Traditional Chinese wedding gowns are entirely red, but even if you’re wearing a traditional American (white) gown, you can still brighten it with red accents on the lacing or trim. Use red accents like shoes, gloves, or hair ornaments. Red roses bestow garnet elegance on bouquets, boutonnieres, and floral arrangements.
Have your flower girl scatter red rose petals down the aisle. You can brighten tables with red candles and red candy hearts. For the daring bride, a red velvet wedding cake makes a vivid impression when sliced, or opt for a more traditional white cake using strawberries, raspberries, or candied rose petals for colorful accents.
If Your Birthday is in February:
Your gemstone is amethyst, a purple color traditionally associated with royalty, wealth, and magic. A wide range of purple flowers awaits your choice, including lilacs, violets, asters, irises, and purple phlox. Lavender is not only a beautiful flower choice (and does not wilt easily), but also lends a lovely scent when worn near the face or hair.
Read more about wedding flowers here: Wedding Flower Glossary
You can drape your venue in lush purple table dressings and chair bows, or you can accent with the color sparingly. Float plums in vases of water for striking centerpieces. If you want your wedding party in purple, you can; just stay firm and remind the best man that the groomsmen will all be wearing lavender ties too.
If Your Birthday is in March:
Your gemstone is aquamarine, a pale blue color that’s perfect for spring and afternoon weddings. Consider having an outdoor wedding so you can match your bridesmaids’ dresses to the color of the sky. Delicate aquamarine accents go well with a white base color on the cake, place settings, and invitations. Compliment the ethereal color with graceful touches of your own, like woven wicker arches and handwritten calligraphy. Some flowers, like hydrangeas, can be easily tinted the exact color of aquamarine stones; ask your florist to show you some options.
If Your Birthday is in April:
Your gemstone is a diamond, the symbol of everlasting love. Don’t worry about overdoing it; you were clearly born for this day. Fully embrace your birth gem with a dazzling necklace, earrings, and a tiara. Decorate with sheer, shimmering fabrics and white, regal flowers like roses and calla lilies. If you’re feeling extravagant, you can embellish your gown with diamonds (or faux-diamonds) that catch the light when you walk down the aisle. Don’t forget to serve your guests the same sparkle with flutes of champagne.
If Your Birthday is in May:
Your gemstone is emerald, the deep green of summer foliage. Have your wedding in a park or garden and let nature help with decoration. Even if you’re holding an indoor wedding, you can have fun with deep greens in the form of wheatgrass seating name-tag holders, moss-and-ivy centerpieces, and green succulents for the boutonnieres and bouquet.
Many flowers also come in elegant shades of green, such as orchids, hellebore (aka Christmas Rose), as well as non-florals like shamrocks and ferns. Make your celebration environmentally-friendly for an extra dose of “green.”
If Your Birthday is in June:
Your “gemstone” is a pearl. While not a traditional “stone,” pearls are special because they have been created by a living creature. Pearls also represent innocence, elegance, and peace. Evening weddings can incorporate hanging lanterns as glowing “pearls.” You can use strands of pearls (whether decorative or edible) to add luster to your cake.
Pearlescent seashells can be used in table settings and centerpieces, and as ornaments in your bouquet and hair. You can wear pearl jewelry while your mother wears mother-of-pearl. Look for pearl-inlaid vases, goblets, and silverware. You can also use pearlescent or crushed-pearl makeup for a special glow.
If Your Birthday is in July:
Your gemstone is ruby. A brighter red than January’s garnet, brides born in July can express themselves through radiant camellias, “ruby roses,” and red sunflowers. Gift your bridesmaid’s ruby-red pedicures and red lipstick. Decorate your venue with strings of red gems that catch the candlelight. Have fun with flamboyant red feathers and bright red heels. Use a bright red balloon bouquet (perhaps 99 of them) to spice up your engagement photos. With glossy red apples, peppers, pomegranates and berries at your fingertips, ruby brides can adorn their tables with a natural bounty as radiant as any gemstone.
If Your Birthday is in August:
Your gemstone is peridot. Pale green and delicate, this color goes well with spring and summer celebrations. Use a light green at the table settings to complement offerings of mint chocolate chip ice cream to cool your guests, and mint or lemongrass tea to warm them. Bouquets and floral arrangements can make use of the limelight hydrangea, a dramatic flower matching the gem’s hue almost exactly.
Key lime tarts are sure to please your sweet tooth, while whole limes add color to table decorations. If you hold your wedding on a grassy lawn, you’ll have peridot reflected in your eyes.
If Your Birthday is in September:
Your gemstone is sapphire. Vivid blue, sapphires represent loyalty and make a beautiful “something blue” for a bride wearing her birth gem. Use dark blue trim or embroidery for a tasteful accent to your wedding gown. You can splurge for rare blue orchids to compliment your bridesmaids’ dresses, or ask your florist about more easily available dyed alternatives.
Sapphire blue glassware makes a vibrant statement at table settings, while deep blue aisle runners echo the color in your décor. For a twist on the classic, consider a sapphire-blue wedding cake with white filigrees.
If Your Birthday is in October:
Your gemstone is opal. Reflecting all the colors of the spectrum, this stone looks great under any light. Try combining an opalescent veil, train, and shoes with your wedding gown. The good news is: whether you wear white or any color dress, opal accessories are sure to match. Anything that shimmers is yours to enjoy.
Use opalescent glass ornaments to decorate your venue and your cake. Opalescent makeup and nail polish compliments every skin tone. You can even decorate yourself and your bridesmaids with opalescent henna designs.
If Your Birthday is in November:
Your gemstone is topaz. A warm, sunny color, topaz weddings can incorporate a range of golden elements from richly colored marigolds and sunflowers to fresh oranges and lemons. Host a release of golden butterflies, or use butterfly ornaments to decorate your cake or hair. Use citrus to your advantage with tangy cupcakes and tarts. Vibrant autumn leaves make great additions to golden bouquets. If you hold a sunset wedding, the entire sky will reflect your chosen color theme.
If Your Birthday is in December:
Your gemstone is turquoise. Reflecting brilliant blues and greens, turquoise weddings fit in well at the seashore. Have fun with a Tiffany-blue wedding cake and bridesmaid dresses. Turquoise heels add flash under a white dress, as well as “something blue.” Use peacock feathers to incorporate turquoise brilliance into your decoration scheme. Blue poppies are naturally bright turquoise, but many flowers can be dyed the exact hue of your birthstone, as well. Consider using eucalyptus sprigs, blue-green succulents, and other non-florals to compliment your turquoise bouquet.
A note about birthstones: There are many “alternate” stones for each month. For example, in addition to pearl, June birthdays can also claim moonstone and alexandrite. If your color happens to clash with your beloved’s, don’t despair until you’ve researched all of your options. You can try different combinations until your gemstones make as beautiful a couple as you do.