30 of the Best New Year's Eve Wedding Ideas

If you love celebrations full of grandeur, sparkle, Champagne, and fireworks, then New Year’s Eve could be a great date to tie the knot. New Year’s Eve weddings fall on one of the most festive days of the year, so it’s a great date for an even more special celebration. However, there are misconceptions that the decor will already be included at your venue. If you’re looking for inspiration for planning an NYE wedding, Zola has you covered. Here are 30 New Year’s Eve Wedding ideas to get you started.

30 New Year's Eve Wedding Ideas

1. Themed Invites

New Year’s Eve is a time for dressing up and celebrating, so make sure you get your guests in the mood with themed wedding invitations. Lean on an element of the holiday, whether that be a bottle of Champagne overlay or a clock on a classic black, white, and gold invitation or an invite. You can also opt for one that has lots of confetti-inspired shine to represent a celebration.

2. Table Decor

Spray paint centerpiece arrangements with metallic paint for some extra shine. Then add colorful tinsel or ornaments for a holiday look. For table numbers, use glitter to bring some sparkle to the reception. If you use candles, create a DIY centerpiece by painting candles and dipping them in glitter for some extra stylish table decor.

3. Themed Wedding Favors

If you decide to give guests favors, incorporate a theme, whether clock-shaped cookies, party horns, NYE crowns, or Hershey’s midnight kisses. Guests might also like a mini bottle of Champagne with your wedding date and names on them. Noisemakers with escort cards are another option to add to the party fun. If you throw a masquerade-themed wedding, place a fun mask at each guest’s seat for them to wear.

4. Signature Champagne

At midnight, you’ll want to toast to both the new year and your new marriage. With that in mind, select a a signature Champagne for you and your beloved guests to toast with. You can also opt for a Champagne cocktail that combines your favorite flavors, whether you’re going for a mimosa style drink or even something that has a splash of color (or edible glitter).

Pro Tip: On your anniversary each year, you can continue to toast in the new year and another year of marriage with your signature drink.

5. Confetti Sparkler Bar

Instead of (or in addition to) a dessert bar, you can also create a station for confetti, streamers, beads, and sparklers. Guests can pick and choose what they want to use to ring in the new year once the countdown begins. Whatever choices you make available, make sure they either sparkle or have a lot of colors to grab their attention.

6. Glam Wedding Cake

New Year’s Eve is the perfect time to have a cake that’s full of drama and glamour. Consider a black wedding cake with gold and white balloons, with each tier curving towards the cake topper. If a black cake is too dramatic or simply not your style, consider a silver- or gold-dusted cake design that matches your theme.

7. Dancing Shoes

Since everyone will be dancing the night away, you’ll want to make sure your guests are comfortable. Keep the blisters at bay by providing flip flops, fold-up flats, or even socks for your dancing and mingling guests. Choose styles that match your wedding colors and display them on a shoe rack or table, accompanied by a cute sign that matches the rest of your wedding decor.

8. Photo Booth

Photo booths remain a popular must-have at weddings—no matter what day they take place. Make your NYE photo booth stand out with a sequin backdrop or streamers and include NYE-themed props for guests to take their snapshots with. It’s a lot of fun—plus, the latter into the night it gets, the sillier the photos will be.

Pro Tip: Add your wedding hashtag to the bottom of the photos or place a sign with it near your booth. That way guests will remember to tag it when they post it to their social media.

9. Disco Balls

If you’re leaning into the New Year’s Eve theme, we recommend taking advantage of the disco ball aesthetic. You can incorporate these into your decor in various ways, be it hanging from the ceiling, included in your centerpieces, or propped up in different corners of your wedding venue.

10. Champagne Wall

What better way to welcome your guests into your wedding reception and New Year’s Eve party than with a glass of bubbly? Champagne walls are glamorous, convenient, and immediately help set the tone for your celebration. Have pre-filled glasses set on shelves along your wall (or hedge) or, if you’re goin full glam, hire servers to hand guests a glass through a hole in it.

11. Champagne Tower

Comparable to slicing your wedding cake, a champagne tower moment is stunning and iconic. Take advantage of the glitz of the night by having one pre-set at your reception. Pro tip: You don’t need a glass for every guest! Create a small “tower” with enough glasses to serve 15-30 people. That way, you can pour champagne into them and then immediately hand them out—or ask someone else to hand them out—to the people nearest to you.

12. Ceremony Confetti Toss

Many couples like to end their wedding ceremony with toss petals (AKA flower petals guests can throw into the air as they walk back down the aisle). Put a New Year’s twist on the idea by, instead, opting for confetti. This is easy to DIY—simply purchase or create cardboard cones and fill them with confetti (we love biodegradable options). Then, place a cone on each ceremony chair. Finally, your officiant can instruct guests to toss it as you descend back down the aisle.

13. Neon Signage

Something to keep in mind when choosing decor is whether or not you’d put something in your home. If cool lighting and personalization is your style, neon signage is ideal. A lot of couples like to get their newly shared last name as a custom neon sign, but you can also get smaller signs that indicate where your bar, guestbook, and photo booth are. What’s more, you can put them up in your home after the fact!

14. Classic Black and White Decor

If you’re wanting to keep things classic and chic, consider an all black and white color palette. This can extend from your wedding invitations, to decor, to wedding party attire, and even to your food. Black and white is reminiscent of black tie affairs and classy events, bringing a level of formality and chicness to your wedding day.

15. Metallic Details

Regardless of color palette, you can incorporate metallics into many areas of your NYE wedding decor. Metallic flower vases, dinnerware, drinkware, and even streamers and confetti can add a large dose of fun to your celebration. If you’re going all out, you can even create a color scheme out of neutrals and metallics—or metallics entirely. An all silver or gold affaire is the epitome of glamour, after all.

16. Sequins

It may seem like a given, but NYE party weddings are the ideal circumstance to break out some—or many—sequins. If sequins or sequin appliques on your wedding attire isn’t your thing, consider asking your bridesmaids, groomsmen, or other members of your wedding party to dress in sequins. What’s fun about a New Year’s wedding is that you don’t need to stick to silver or gold, either, but can do both.

17. Themed Escort Cards

Escort cards are a small detail that can have a large impact on your guests. Moreover, there are plenty of fun and creative ways you can go about them. For a NYE theme, consider cards slotted onto Champagne glasses, attached to wine corks, or coupled with noisemakers.

18. Resolutions Guest Book

Rather than (or alongside) having your guests sign a traditional guest book, provide them with a blank book or piece of paper and envelope that they can express their New Year’s resolutions in. Collect them and gather all of your loved ones the following year, so everyone can reflect and celebrate.

19. Glitter Bar

This idea doubles as interactive entertainment and an accessory. Similar to how many parties and events will hire face painters, provide glitter (and, perhaps, a makeup artist) for guests to adorn themselves with during your reception. Think body spray, face glitter, and even stick-on gems.

20. Balloon Arch

Utilize a stunning color palette and draw your guests’ eyes by having a balloon arch installed at your wedding reception. This can be placed at your entrance, behind your couple’s table (or head table), and even be incorporated into your photo booth.

21. Balloon Covered Ceiling

Take hanging installations to a whole new level—that is, make it float. If your venue and budget allow, consider covering your reception space’s ceiling entirely with balloons. The visual is incredibly celebratory and can take your wedding color scheme to new heights (pun intended).

22. Ornaments

Christmas-style ornaments can be easily transitioned into a stunning New Year’s Eve display, be it for centerpieces and hanging installations. Simply select or DIY ornaments that fit into your color scheme (say, black, white, and gold) and style them into your decor. A collection dainty bobbles are a unique way to dress up just about any space.

23. Large Letter or Number Cutouts

If large, eye-catching pieces of decor excite you, you might love the look of large letters of numbers. You can use these to spell out your first names, shared last names, initials, or a fun phrase. Likewise, you can use numbers to spell out the date or 3...2...1!

24. Fireworks

How could we talk about New Year’s Eve weddings and not mention fireworks? The celebratory mainstay is a spectacular form of entertainment. Just make sure they’re legal in your location, you get the okay from your venue, and that there are no animals nearby that will be negatively effected by them or the loud noise.

25. Clock Decor

Lean into the New Year’s countdown theme by bringing some clock imagery into your wedding decor. Small vintage clocks can be included in centerpieces, while larger ones can be set near your guest book and used in your photo booth.

26. Snowy Ceremony

If your ideal wedding has elements of the snowy outdoors, there’s no reason a New Year’s date should get in the way of that. A NYE wedding is a winter wedding, after all. If possible, hold your ceremony in an intimate and snowy outdoor setting. Then, once you’ve said “I do,” head inside to celebrate and anticipate the new year.

27. Entertainment

While your standard wedding reception will have a DJ or live band—which we love—an all-out New Year’s Eve wedding is an opportunity to branch into other areas of entertainment. Consider dancers, various styles of musician, painters, and even magicians when brainstorming and sorting through your options.

28. Countdown to the New Year

The countdown to midnight is sure to be one of the highlights of the night. You’ll want to make sure the dance floor is lit, a Champagne toast is brought out, and everyone is ready as the ball drops. Surprise everyone with a balloon drop or confetti at midnight—it makes for a great photo opportunity. Just be sure to double-check with the venue to see what kind of confetti they allow. Some venues require that you clean up after the fact, whether it’s biodegradable or not.

29. Midnight Snacks

Once the countdown has happened and everyone has rung in the new year, delight them with a delicious late-night snack. Pizza, french fries, ice cream sundaes, popcorn—whatever your favorite snack food is, have it on hand. You’ll thank us later.

30. Sparkler Send-Off

You’re married and the new year has arrived, so it’s time to head off into your new lives together. You and your brand new spouse can make a glamorous exit by having a firework or sparkler send-off, depending on your location. If the venue doesn’t allow for fireworks, you can rent cold sparkler fountains that are non-flammable or gather your guests outside as they create a sparkler tunnel for you to walk through. Sparklers are festive, exciting, and always make for dazzling photographs.

There are so many ways to create a New Year’s Eve wedding to remember, and Zola is here to help make it an effortless experience as you wedding plan.