One moment you fall in love with the colour of the Post-It notes on your desk, and you’re now committed to a pastel yellow theme. Later that day, you stop in for lunch at your favourite Moroccan bistro and convince yourself an Arabian Nights ball is the way to go. The next day, you walk by a stunning display of plumes in the window of a department store on your way home and it’s final – you’re going with a peacock motif.

If the theme of your wedding is changing by the hour and you can’t make up your mind, here are some clues to pick the perfect theme for your personality. We promise the only going back you’ll be doing is to that Moroccan place for some more couscous.

Moods

The atmosphere you want to establish at your wedding is one of the most important elements of choosing a theme and should be confirmed before the planning process even begins. Do you want guests to feel like they’ve fallen down the rabbit hole into a whimsical abyss? Like they’re James Bonds and the Bond girls? The mood should reflect the couple’s personalities and inspire the date, location, décor and colours for your big day.

Location

The venue should accentuate your theme instead of holding it captive, so before booking a reception hall you must have an idea of what your motif is. If not, your guests might feel a little lost in a surfboard decorated, gothic cathedral. When scoping out venues envision the space all decorated, if you have to cover every square inch of the country club’s floor with sand to recreate a beach, it’s time for a new setting. Over-compensating with too many decorations will take away from your theme, not to mention your budget.

Personalize

Weddings aren’t supposed to be cookie cutter events, but rather parties that reflect all your favourite things, quirks and obsessions. If you’re both baseball buffs, host a wedding that features the colours of your favourite teams (we hear that Red Sox and White Sox complement each other quite nicely). Maybe you met while sailing across the seven seas, in which we would suggest a nautical theme. Are you one of those couples that can actually agree on a radio station? Have your wedding dedicated to your fave music genre! We could go on, but a theme should be unique to the bride and groom, and not copy and pasted out of a wedding magazine.

The atmosphere you want to establish at your wedding is one of the most important elements of choosing a theme.

Seasons

The time of year you plan on tying the knot can be a huge influence on your wedding theme. Holiday events are always a hit, including a colourful fiesta wedding for Cinco De Mayo; a sequenced everything New Years ball; a Halloween inspired masquerade ball or maybe a poinsettia packed Christmas celebration. If you’re not one for festive occasions, you can play up the elements of a particular season. Planning to wed in July? Bring the Oceanside to your reception hall with monogrammed beach balls and seashell filled fishbowl centrepieces. With January nuptials, create a winter wonderland for your guests, or, if you love autumn, winter, spring and summer all the same – go all out with a four seasons wedding. At the Four Seasons, of course.

Colours

The pairing of deep gold and pale lemon may be more of a colour scheme than a theme, but if you can’t part from those shades (and if your fiancé isn’t offended by yellow), it may be a good place to start. A wedding theme is supposed to tie in to an overall idea, so look for other components that you can incorporate which will compliment your love for all things hued in sunshine. Maybe the bride and groom’s favourite vaycay spot is Hawaii, so they’ll have a yellow luau ceremony and reception. Or, perhaps your wedding is going to revolve around sunflowers and gerber daisies. If you’d rather ditch this whole “theme” thing, and just stick with your favourite shades – that’s fine too! Can’t settle on two or three colours? Have a rainbow themed wedding. Hello 1983.