Choosing Decorations For Your Wedding

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Your wedding decorations are very important because it is the first thing your guests notice when they arrive at the wedding or reception venue. This is the reason why every Bride and Groom wants the best decorations possible. It is important that your wedding decorations suit your personality and the theme of your wedding.

The bride is usually the person that takes control of the arrangements for the decorations. As a rule the bride will also consult the groom as it is his wedding as well. A more modern trend is that the bride and the groom take care of all the wedding arrangements, including the wedding decorations together.

The following can serve as general pointers for deciding on your wedding decorations:

How formal is the wedding:

For a formal wedding the wedding decorations will be more structured and elaborate. You’ll probably use formal floral decorations and table centerpieces for a formal wedding. For an informal wedding the decorations can be far more eclectic.

Mood:

Is the mood or “feel” of your wedding traditional or is it contemporary. Once again this will play an important role when you decide on your wedding decorations. For a very formal wedding you’ll probably have the traditional main wedding table for the bridal party plus formally laid tables for the guests.

Once again, under these circumstances you’ll probably go with your formal flower arrangements as the main decorations. To the flowers you can add candles and even chocolate truffles to personalize the decorations. For a traditional wedding you’ll probably have a formal wedding cake as well and that has to be kept in mind when you decide on a color scheme. Especially for a traditional wedding the color scheme will probably be soft pastel colors with a few darker colors here and there to serve as accents.

For a modern wedding you’ll probably have a specific theme and then your wedding decorations will be decided by your theme. When deciding on a theme you have to keep your guests in mind. In the winter or around Halloween, a gothic theme can be very stunning, but if your older guests may find it offensive, it will be better to choose another theme. Another theme that can be very stunning, provided it will not give offence, is a black and white wedding. The colors of the theme can even be taken through to the clothes with the bride wearing a black and white wedding dress and the groom dressed in a black suit with a white shirt. If you have a very courageous groom, he can be dressed in a white suit with black shirt etc.

The ideas for a theme are endless and depend on your interests. Here are a few ideas to set your mind going, it is not meant to be a comprehensive list but only to set you thinking:

Your theme will then decide your wedding decorations. For a golf themed party even the chocolates can be in the form of a golf ball. You’ll use lots of green with golf clubs, hats etc. setting the atmosphere.

Your color scheme:

When you consider the main color you want to use for your wedding decorations, keep your theme and mood in mind.  This can of course simply be the couple's favorite color, especially in the case of the more formal kind of wedding. Otherwise it can be a color that can be associated with their hobby or the color that is preferred during the season.  Make sure that the color of the wedding decorations will go well with what the members of the entourage and the guests will be wearing.

The venue:

Take pictures of the wedding venue as early as possible so that you can check the pictures while considering a wedding decorating idea. Also take the time of day into considerations. Certain decorations look better during the day while others need to be seen in soft romantic lighting.

Keep the time frame in mind:

Remember that most of your wedding decorations will probably have to be put up on the day of the wedding. Make sure that mounting the decorations can be done with ease in the time available. Always make sure there is ample time available to allow for “Murphy’s Law.”

The size of your venue and the number of guests:

Consider how many will be attending the wedding reception and size of your venue.  Be very sure that the venue will not be overcrowded when you “add” your guests to your wedding decorations. Also make sure that you do not have wedding decorations that can easily become unattached or fall over. You do not want your guests hurting themselves with your decorations. This is a very important factor to keep in mind if there is going to be little children.

If you have a very big wedding party it may best to stick to your table decorations and then have all the other decorations in front and around the dance flour. Tasteful table decorations is often all that is needed to create a festive atmosphere, so do not overdo your decorations. That said, if you are a very outgoing person that normally wears big jewelry and bold colors, it will suit your personality to have bolder decorations and that will be fine as that is what your guest will expect of you. This is where your personality, that I mentioned earlier, plays a very important role. Your decorations must be “you.”

The budget available for your decorations:

Always keep your budget in mind when deciding on your decorations. On a small budget it is better to choose a few well designed and considered decorations than using lots of cheap decorations. Again, your theme plays an important part here. If you are having a “hippy” party lots of artificial flowers in bold colors with draping of tie-dyed materials will be perfect as it suits the theme.

If you have to do your decorations on a budget it is always good to choose a theme where you can make most of the decorations yourself as in the example of the hippy party I’ve given you.

One last warning, make very sure of how long before your wedding the venue will be available for you to do the decorations. Do not plan to do most yourself if the venue only becomes available on the day of the wedding. In such circumstances, make sure you choose decorations that can be done by others, as you’ll have more than enough to do just getting yourself ready.