An 80’s Theme Wedding Makes Everyone Smile

For just about everyone, the 1980’s were a delightfully free-spirited, prosperous and fun decade. It was a decade that shed the 70’s and was embodied by loud music, poufy spiked hair and an economy that was roaring; which is why for those old enough to remember, an 80’s theme wedding has been making a comeback big time! The 80’s as a theme also works because it is rife with possibilities; the entire decade was “big” and virtually everything about it mirrored that mindset.

For most people aged 38 to 50, the 80’s was the closest thing to the free spirited 50’s any of us will ever experience. It encompassed so many aspects of life and affected everything from music to culture to sports to food that it was virtually impossible to ignore or not be influenced by in some way. If you choose this theme for your wedding or wedding party, a lack of ideas will not be a problem for anyone involved.

The music had something for just about everyone. It ranged from Duran-Duran and Madonna to Def Leppard and Ozzie to Bryan Adams and Bruce Springstein. Tina Turner, Journey, the Rolling Stones and Genesis were still going strong. Boy George, and Cindy Lauper made their big-time debuts while groups like Heart, Journey, the Rolling Stones and Aerosmith enjoyed a comeback. By the end of the decade a two new genres of music, Rap and “grunge rock” were making inroads into popular culture and introducing us to Run DMC and Nirvana respectively. Somewhere in the middle of all that was MC Hammer and the first inklings of Pearl Jam. If you opt to have a wedding reception with an 80’s theme, the music will never be a problem.

Dress was equally diverse. Seventies style-atrocities were still popular in the early part of the decade, but mercifully, they gave way to stone-washed jeans, jean jackets and casual Fridays at work. The movie Flashdance made leg warmers popular and the skinny ties for guys were back in style. For more formal dress, Wall Street helped set the bar for style as power ties, starched shirts and double breasted suits for men and pantsuits for women were all the rage. Your choices in terms of dress, should you opt to outfit your wedding party “eighties-style” are literally limitless and can cross over between events with flair.

80’s theme weddings can also call on the decade of big in terms of colors. No 80’s theme wedding or reception would be replete without a hot pink or neon green undercurrent, two colors that regained popularity towards the end of the decade. In some circles, earth tones, such as muted brown, grey or smoked black were also popular. The message with 80’s colors, as with most from the decade is that more, bolder and brighter always says more and says it louder.

If you do not want to style your entire wedding around an 80’s theme, keep it to just the music at the reception. Or you could use centerpieces that evoke the 80’s, such as a water pearls with colored green marbles. Another idea, if you have involved your guests in the theme, is to include a disposable wedding camera on every table so that guests can build a CD or scrapbook that commemorates the day and reminds us all of how diverse the 80’s was. Make sure, however, that you have receptacles to collect the cameras as guests leave so that you can provide them with a memorable CD of the pictures they took and so that you can capture the day in your own scrapbook.

An 80’s theme wedding or 80’s wedding party theme is a great way to allow guests to remember the good things about the decade while celebrating your good fortune. If done correctly, your event can capture the elegance of the 80’s without reveling in some of the more tacky aspects. Mostly, the event will provide fun and levity for all involved and will remind everyone that while it was a fun decade, it is best left being a theme for a wonderful evening or event.