Nowhere do people have more passion for their schools than right here in the Triangle. Whether you bleed Carolina blue, live for State, or are a die hard Blue Devil, you know that you are part of a proud tradition. A great way to express your school spirit is with the details that you choose for your wedding. Find out more about how to plan a wedding which showcases your school pride.

Duke University Chapel

One of the easiest ways to show your school spirit is by selecting wedding colors which match your team’s colors. Think Wolfpack red, Carolina blue, or Duke white and blue. Your signature wedding colors are a great way to pay tribute to your alma mater and will also be a fantastic design element for your wedding. Carry your colors throughout your wedding to really make a statement.

Most brides like to use their signature wedding color for their bridesmaid dresses and wedding jewelry. The great thing about the schools around the Triangle is that they have classic colors which will look very pretty for bridesmaids’ dresses (just one more reason to be glad you aren’t a Tennessee fan, right?). The signature sky blue of the Tarheels would be ideal for a summertime wedding. The bold red of State is also a fantastic bridesmaid dress color, and would be especially gorgeous for an evening wedding. Black and white are very popular wedding colors in the Raleigh area this year, so feel free to use some subtle black and white accents to round out the red dresses (hint: custom black and white bridesmaid jewelry is very chic). Duke’s signature shade of blue would be a great bridesmaid dress color at any time of the year, especially trimmed out with a white sash.

Old Well

A marvelous way to show your school pride is to have your wedding on campus. Imagine exchanging your marriage vows in the soaring splendor of the Duke University Chapel, followed by a reception in the gorgeous Sarah Duke Gardens. State fans can host a beautiful wedding amongst the flowers in the Finley-Nottingham Rose Garden at the JC Raulston Arboretum. Tarheel brides and grooms could not do better than to be wed on the gracious lawn surrounding the iconic Old Well. The nearby Carolina Inn makes a wonderful indoor reception option for any wedding on campus. It is expensive, but exquisite.

Another great way to show your school pride on your wedding day is by making your grand entrance to your reception to your school fight song. Most fight songs are a little too high energy to pair with the stately wedding processional, but they are ideal for either the recessional at the end of the ceremony or for the newlyweds’ entrance to the reception. If you are one of those crazy Triangle sports fans who has their school fight song as the ringtone on your cell phone, this wedding detail is a must for you! (It would also make a fun surprise for your future spouse if he or she is a more devoted fan than you.)

UNC wedding cake

Finally, it just wouldn’t be a Triangle wedding without a cake based on your favorite college. You could go subtle, and do a simple cake in your signature colors (sorry, but I have a hard time picturing the Blue Devil on a wedding cake!), or use a college themed cake topper to really bring home your wedding theme. A Carolina blue cake with an Old Well cake topper would be not only spirited, but elegant. Or have some fun with a custom Mr. and Mrs. Wuf caketopper atop your Wolfpack red cake(did you know that 2011 will be their 30^th wedding anniversary?) One thing is for sure: the only thing more obvious than your school pride will be the love that the newlyweds have for each other!