07 May 2019

How to Decorate Your Wedding Venue

Updated: September 2023

Planning a wedding is an exciting journey filled with decisions, and one of the most enjoyable aspects is undoubtedly decorating your wedding venue. Whether you’re envisioning a rustic barn or an elegant ballroom, the decor you choose will set the tone for your special day.

Wedding venue decorations can take some planning, but by following our tips on how to decorate your wedding venue, you should be well on your way to creating the wedding you really want. Our wedding venue in Northampton can help bring your vision to life!

How to Decorate a Venue for a Wedding

Define your Wedding Style
Set a Budget
Select your Colour Pallete
Play Around with Lighting
Add a Personalised Touch
Incorporate Eye-catching Centrepieces
Determine What’s Allowed
Use your Food as Decoration
Use the Ceiling to Awe your Guests
Decorate your Wedding Car

Are you unsure how to decorate a venue for a wedding reception? Decorating your wedding venue is of utmost importance, as it transforms a mere space into the enchanting backdrop of your special day. The wedding decor you choose sets the tone, evokes emotions, and reflects your unique style and love story. It’s the details that make your wedding day unique and personal, creating an atmosphere that resonates with you and your guests.

From the choice of colours and lighting to the centrepieces and floral arrangements, each element contributes to the overall ambience and memories of your celebration.

Define your Wedding Style

Defining your wedding style begins with identifying any themes or elements that hold personal significance for you and your partner. This could be as simple as selecting a couple of colours that resonate with you both or drawing inspiration from places you cherish.

Consider incorporating elements from your favourite show or shared hobbies as a theme for your wedding ceremony. By doing so, you can integrate these meaningful aspects into your wedding hall decorations. Focus on blending these elements throughout your decor, including your colour palette, centrepieces, and lighting choices. This personal touch adds visual interest while also infusing your love story with significance, ultimately creating a memorable atmosphere for your special day.

Set a Budget

Whilst you can incorporate DIY wedding reception decor and get some great deals, you need to make sure that you are keeping an eye on what you are spending, as it will soon add up.

Make a priority for the types of decorations that you really want and tackle those first, leaving the ‘nice to haves’ for the end. Anything that you don’t want to keep at the end might be something that you could sell later so bear that in mind.

Select your Colour Palette

Selecting your colour palette when decorating your wedding venue is essential as it establishes the visual foundation for your entire celebration. Your chosen colours will not only influence the aesthetics but also set the mood and ambience of the event.

By carefully curating your colour palette, you can introduce subtle or bold pops of colour through details like wedding table runners, coloured glassware, and centrepieces. These elements not only enhance the overall decor but also help tie together the theme you’ve envisioned for your wedding.

Play Around with Lighting

When decorating your wedding venue, playing around with lighting is a creative and impactful way to set the mood and enhance the overall atmosphere. Tealights, candelabras, and fairy lights can work wonders by adding a warm and inviting glow to the space, making them excellent choices for your centrepieces during the wedding breakfast and for later in the evening.

Consider strategically placing lamps throughout the venue. These lighting elements not only create an enchanting and romantic ambience but also serve as decorative pieces. By incorporating different lighting sources and carefully positioning them, you can transform your wedding venue into a captivating and visually dynamic space.

Add a Personalised Touch

A photo wall or timeline can also be a great way to decorate your venue, without breaking the bank. You can include pictures from important moments in your lives and attach notes to explain to people why that was so important to you as a couple. This will allow your wedding guests to get to know you a little better, as well as being something to entertain them.

Wedding favours, photo booths and guestbooks can be a great way to also add some more personal touches, especially if they are a little more unique to you and your wedding.

Incorporate Eye-catching Centrepieces

Incorporating eye-catching centrepieces into your wedding venue decor offers an opportunity for creativity and personalisation. While floral arrangements are a popular choice, they are by no means the only option. Consider alternatives like elegant paper lanterns, romantic candle displays, vintage books, or rustic crates to make a statement.

You can even use items you already own to save on your budget. By thinking outside the traditional floral box, you can create centrepieces that not only captivate your guests but also reflect your unique style and personality, adding a distinctive touch to your wedding venue that truly stands out.

Determine What’s Allowed

Generally, wedding venues can be flexible but you will need to make sure that what you want to do is possible, whether that is getting someone to hang something from the ceiling or nailing decorations to the walls.

You don’t want to get a nasty surprise after you’ve spent money on decorations – or worse on the big day – and find out that none of your decorations are appropriate for the wedding. You should also take note of the dimensions so that you won’t try to overfill the venue.

You may also find that there are features at the venue that you would like to highlight and there may be some existing decorations that could be used on your special day.

Use your Food as Decoration

Many weddings involve a wedding cake. It is a great opportunity to show your creativity, enhance your wedding theme and – of course – get a slice of delicious cake. Your guests will be interested in what type of cake you have chosen to have so you may as well use the opportunity to get some great decoration from it.

If you then surround the cake with appropriate decorations, such as fresh flowers for a cake or figurines for those that are based on characters or themes, you can make it a great focal point.

Use the Ceiling to Awe your Guests

A popular wedding decoration idea is adding fairy lights to your ceiling (or on exposed beams if you have any) can help your venue resemble the night’s sky. You can also drape long pieces of tulle to add a little interest.

If they are not your style, what about bunting, which could be adapted to suit your colour scheme or theme? You can also hang lanterns, balloons and flowers from the ceiling to make more room at your tables for food, just make sure they can be easily removed or adjusted if you are going to move tables later to create a dance floor.

Decorate your Wedding Car

If you are looking for an unforgettable exit when leaving your wedding venue then why not go the extra mile and decorate your wedding car? It is a fantastic way for your friends and family members to get involved in sending a married couple on a high!

There are many wedding car decoration ideas you can take into account. From bright coloured ribbons, pom poms or even balloons and bunting, or if you would really like to add a special touch why not add some personalised number plates on your getaway car?