Polka-Dot Wedding Ideas

To whip up these tiny treats for your reception, bridal shower, or engagement party, simply slice a sheet cake using variously sized biscuit cutters. Level the tops of the cut circles with a serrated knife and decorate with fondant dots and pearl dragées (secured with royal icing). Or, sprinkle on nonpareils by lightly brushing cake top with water and using a piece of vellum with circles punched out as a stencil.

West Elm

gold flatware.

Want to make your head table sparkle? Create this impressive chandelier from budget-friendly metal sheets, then use them to elevate glass vases as well. Enlist your bridesmaids to help with this mixed-metal fixture, and you'll be admiring your collective brilliance all night. We used K&S metal rolls in copper and brass (createforless.com), and mirrored the look with simple vases—just measure sheets to round glass vessels, cut to fit, and attach with foil tape.

Ted Muehling for Nymphenburg "White Coral" plates (erbutler.com

).

We collaborated with Los Angeles–based stationer Sugar Paper to design this "XO Marks the Spot" suite. A round save-the-date card asks recipients to "Circle the Date," while a letterpressed invite on blush paper pops out from behind a rose-gold-and-pink overlay.

Let the night come full circle with sugary, chic party favors that flaunt circular labels and fun spotted details.

Put the polka-dot theme on display via a custom ceremony marker or photo-booth backdrop from Pickawall, a handy create-your-own removable-wallpaper site. Choose our circles design at pickawall.com, or upload any photo or graphic you'd like, and they'll print it supersize on vinyl fabric.

If your dog is playing a part in your big day, make sure they fit the theme by outfitting them in this tulle polka-dot collar.

It's easy and economical to embellish your envelopes with a great polka-dot paper. Even if the invitation is classic, the liner can be colorful.

The cocktail hour is a good place to have fun with pattern, even if the wedding is more formal. Have your bartenders wear colorful aprons, or set out stacks of striped cocktail napkins. Tie it all together by matching them to the colors you're using elsewhere.

Ensure a cheerful end to the evening with confections. You can package them in endless ways. Polka dot paper cones keep the candy a surprise.

How do I love thee? Let me count the dots. In this 1950s-style bouquet, chocolate cosmos pop out of a dome of blushing roses framed with polka dots and tied with a lavender ribbon.

This polka-dotted box makes a sweet package for favors.

Your guests will fill the sky on your wedding day with a shower of paper confetti. Playful polka-dot bags will hold confetti until guests are ready to release it. Premade fabric bags are decorated with ink from a circular pad. These make perfectly round impressions. Slip a piece of card stock into the bag to prevent the ink from bleeding through; fabric needs more drying time than paper does.

To ensure that they would have unique keepsake photographs of their guests, one couple set up an outdoor portrait studio made up of lengths of bright floral fabric draped over a clothesline. The photographer chose the background best suited to each subject's outfit, mixing unlike but complementary patterns to create a jubilant, richly textured collection of pictures.

Who knew cork and ink could be such a pretty pair? Use them to stamp a charming polka-dot pattern onto every last detail of your day, including place cards, drink stirrers, and toys for the children's table.

Circles cut from metallic contact paper add a playful touch to an otherwise empty space. Recruit friends to stick them up before the party starts and peel them away after the night winds down.

Con-Tact Brand "Metal FX" contact paper in copper (amazon.com

). Martha Stewart Crafts Simple Circle Cutter (

michaels.com

).