If you are searching for a romantic and whimsical wedding theme, consider a butterfly wedding. Here are a few ideas to incorporate the flight of the butterfly into your wedding.

There are many kinds of butterflies, and just as many looks your butterfly wedding can take on. First you'll want to decide if you prefer a colorful wedding (for which you might use ideas from many kinds of butterflies), or a more simple, monochromatic color scheme for which you might just use white or pink butterflies, for instance.

Your wedding invitations and save-the-date cards are the first place to implement butterflies. Choose clip art with butterflies and complementary graphics such as wildflowers and leaves. Think light and airy when it comes to paper selection --- vellum and hand-made paper work well. You could even have the entire invitation cut in the shape of a butterfly, perhaps mounted on another sheet of cardstock. Glitter applied to the tips of the butterflies' wings would add an air of magic to the invitations.

When it comes to choosing a location for your butterfly theme wedding, outdoor venues will of course fit the theme best. If you have a local zoo, it's possible they have a butterfly sanctuary that would make the ideal location. A park with an elaborate garden would be the next best choice. If you're staging the wedding in your backyard garden, plan ahead by planting flowers and plants that attract butterflies, such as lilac, honeysuckle, phlox, impatiens, aster and some daisies. Butterfly-attracting plants differ from region to region, so check with your local gardener for specifics.

Attire can easily be transformed to suit. Purchase a variety of butterfly appliqués at a fabric store or online. These can easily be sewn onto everything from the bride's dress, headdress and garter to ribbons that can be tied around bouquets. For the groom and groomsmen, butterfly cufflinks or lapel pins would be a nice touch.

Flower arrangements should match the color theme you have chosen. If you're going with the monochromatic, white butterfly approach, consider white flowers such as white roses, sweet peas, lilies of the valley, gardenia and orchids. If a multi-color scheme is your idea, consider a bright bouquet made of wildflowers. Your florist can add butterfly picks to any bouquet.

For your wedding ceremony program and dinner menu, implement the same ideas you did for invitations, focusing on wildflower and garden designs, and light, airy fonts and paper. Scrapbooking and card stores may carry hole punchers in the shape of a butterfly. Use this tool to make butterfly confetti that could be scattered on tables at the reception.

Decorate place cards with confetti and glitter, and place them in a place-card holder in the shape of a butterfly. Top the wedding cake with natural wildflowers, and consider a butterfly-shaped ice sculpture. For added whimsy, couples may choose to designate each table at the reception to be dedicated to a different butterfly. This is an alternative to numbering the tables, and makes it easy for the guests to find their seat when they enter the reception.

If you're planning a live butterfly release, make sure your wedding day is expected to be at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Butterflies cannot be released in any cooler temperatures, or under rainy skies. And make sure the butterfly supplier only provides butterflies indigenous to your area. If foreign butterflies are released, they are likely not to survive, or become disoriented.

Incorporating a butterfly theme to your wedding day will leave you with memories of romance, flight and magic.