Wedding decoration, our essential guide

Choosing the wedding decoration is one of the most important steps in organizing a wedding. The decoration will define the style of the wedding and give it a unique personality.

If you don’t know where to start, here is our essential guide to choosing wedding decorations.

We will focus on three aspects:

1. What to decorate
2. Decoration style
3. Budget

Let’s look at each point in detail:

1. What to decorate

The first thing to consider when choosing wedding decorations is knowing what needs to be decorated. The main areas are:

• Ceremony
• Banquet tables
• Possible extras or additional decorations

Ceremony

The part that usually requires the most decoration. It’s important to know if you need to decorate an outdoor ceremony or an indoor ceremony, such as in a church.

In the ceremony, is usually decorated:

• The aisle: with different floral arrangements on the ground or tied to chairs or benches.
• The altar: the space where the couple will be during the ceremony. The couple usually sits on a decorated sofa or armchair with some floral arrangements on the ground in pedestals, baskets, or vases, and a floral arch in the background.
• Officiant’s table or podium: usually decorated with a small floral arrangement on top of the table or a garland.
• Petal corner: This is usually placed next to the ceremony and consists of a piece of furniture or easel with different baskets or containers with the petals to be thrown at the end of the ceremony.

Banquet tables

The banquet tables are another fundamental part of the wedding decoration. This part is not easy to choose because there are many options and combinations.

For the tables, you need to choose: the tableware, floral arrangements, stationery and table numbers.

• Tableware: tablecloth, napkins, charger plates, glasses, cutlery… You will have to choose each item and its placement. For example, in the case of napkins, they can be folded, hanging, knotted, etc.
• Floral arrangements: the floral decorations placed in the center of the table. These usually have a base or vase and the flowers. You can also add some candles, candelabras, or special decorations to the tables.
• Stationery: menus (printed menus placed on each guest’s plate) and place cards (with the name of the guest seated in each place). Usually, the menus and place cards match (same color, typography, paper, etc.). However, place cards can also be wooden markers or some different detail like a keychain or magnet.
• Table numbers: In weddings, tables are numbered or have a name. This will be indicated both on the seating plan and on the table so guests can find their table. We recommend choosing a sign or stand (table numbers) with the table name that matches the style of the table decorations.

When choosing the decoration for the banquet tables, it’s important to visualize the entire set to ensure harmony and coherence. For example, use the same color tone, the same style, or have some repeating element.

On the banquet tables, you also usually place the favors for the guests. The small gifts that the couple gives to their guests to thank them for coming. We recommend they be small and in harmony with the banquet table decorations. If you want to know more about wedding favors for guests, don’t miss our blog article on it.

Extras or additional decoration

Once you have the decoration for the ceremony and banquet tables, it’s time to think about extras and additional decorations. This could be a welcome corner, the seating plan, the cake table, a wedding photocall for the party, decorating the wedding car, additional lamps and lights, decorating a special part of the venue (a staircase, a well, an inner courtyard…).

These last decoration details can give the most special and personal touch to your wedding. We recommend that this decoration matches the ceremony and banquet table decorations and the overall wedding style.

2. Decoration style

After deciding which parts or items need decorating, it’s time to decide on the style you want. You can also decide on the style first and then see what needs decorating.

There are many decoration styles, and it’s important to choose one that you feel identified with, like, and that matches the wedding venue and format.

The main wedding decoration styles are:

• Classic style: The most traditional style where white and neutral tones (ivory, cream, nude, and pastel shades) predominate. It’s often combined with details in gold or silver tones. It’s a very elegant and formal style. The quintessential flower in classic style weddings is the rose, mainly the white rose. The furniture used usually has very elegant lines, neutral and plain tones.

• Romantic style: A style where soft, warm, pinkish, and pastel tones predominate. There are usually many flowers such as roses, peonies, gypsophila, etc. It often includes elements like candles, candelabras, fabrics, and furniture or decorative items with curved and natural shapes.

• Rustic or country style: An ideal style for outdoor ceremonies in nature or rustic venues. This style often combines wildflowers with green leaves and even dried flowers. The rustic style usually combines different colors, with warm tones predominating. The furniture or decorative elements also use natural materials like wicker baskets, logs, fruit crates, or wooden structures.

• Boho chic style: If you want to give your wedding a bohemian touch, this is your style. The boho chic style exudes a hippie and informal vibe but is very elegant and current. It often combines different types of flowers with pampas, fabrics, rugs, or decorative elements like macramé. Ideal for Mediterranean weddings.

Besides these mentioned styles, there are other wedding decoration styles like vintage, urban, minimalist, industrial, shabby chic, themed weddings, etc.

When choosing the decoration style, it’s important to consider the wedding venue and time of year, as they can completely change the style, colors, type of flowers according to the season, etc.

3. Budget

The third aspect to consider when choosing wedding decorations is the budget. Wedding decoration takes up a significant portion of the overall wedding budget. Knowing how much budget you have for it will be crucial in deciding what decorations to do.

A piece of advice is not to stress about the decoration; sometimes less is more, and a simple but well-thought-out and combined decoration can look spectacular.

In our venues, we have a wide catalog of decorations to help shape the wedding of your dreams. Don’t hesitate to contact us for more information about our wedding venues.