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How to decorate a wedding venue

Are you stuck for where to start with your wedding venue decor? Wondering how far to go or how much decoration you need? I've created a little introduction into how to decorate your wedding venue, whatever it may be. Read on to find out more.

How little or much decoration you add to your chosen venue really depends on what your venue looks like. If you chose the perfect wedding venue because of its rustic charm or elegant classical architecture, it makes no sense to then cover it up with lots of drapery, etc. You want people to fall as in love with the venue as you are. If, however you chose your venue based on location, price or because it would be a fantastic blank canvas, then the chances are it will need a bit of polishing to make it look finished.

A grand dining room with just a tweak of table centres and coloured sashes will look fantastic, with very little effort, so no need to go over-board. If you want to mix up the look and feel of a popular space, you might want to consider changing where they put the top table or have a centre table rather than a top one. You could add a back drop if one's not been used before or have a sweetheart table instead.

The more utilitarian/plain the space, the more you can do to put your own stamp/personality on it. A boring room in a lovely venue can be transformed using back drops and lighting, chair covers with sashes, or even hiring in different chairs altogether, and doesn't have to break the bank if thought about carefully. A marquee is a great blank canvas, full of possibilities, and unlike hotels you can chose the flooring you want. With these spaces decoration is key, to add colour and light, drama or elegance.

I usually recommend starting with a theme; a colour scheme or favourite book, film or hobby can give you hints of elements you might want to include. A single theme usually works best in terms of bringing things together, but you might want to do something like 'favourite films' and use that as inspiration for table names, or work with complimentary colours. I love Pinterest for getting ideas around themes and colour schemes, just try not to get too carried away!

The amazing Add A Little Sparkle (see supplier links below) offer a variety of venue decorating options to suit most themes from rustic to elegant and everything in between. To make a statement with your decoration you might want to consider something like a Bella Occasions flower wall in your chosen colours. Drapery like the ones offered by Add A Little Sparkle can transform any room to look like the classic interior of a marquee but a flower wall makes an awesome back drop to a top table/sweetheart table and can double up as a 'photobooth' back drop. You may have seen gorgeous flower walls at this years Ascot or premieres, they're becoming very popular. A really quick and easy (and cost effective) way to add drama and colour to your wedding venue is balloons, and no they don't have to look like you're throwing a kids party instead of a wedding (unless you want it to look that way, of course). The fabulous Creative Decorations have created some stunning displays using huge confetti filled balloons or swaddled in tulle, or even balloon archways. There are amazing things you can do with balloons, just check out one of my Pinterest boards for inspiration.

Of course, flowers are a traditional decorative wedding element, what with bouquets and buttonholes etc but there's so much to cover here so I'll talk more specifically on flowers another time. And there are some amazing real flower alternatives, if just the idea of all those allergens stirs up your hayfever.

The key with any decorating project is to know when to stop and that can be hard. If you've got a small space or not much time to set up, I always believe in the 'less is more' approach, but if you're going for heavily themed or over the top, now is not the time to be subtle. Work with any venue restrictions rather than against them and speak to your suppliers who should be able to estimate how much time they need for setting up. General thought on decoration: If it feels like it's too much it probably is and you need to step back, otherwise have fun with it. X