Like many other details in your wedding, the decorations are a detail you want to make sure is absolutely perfect! Often, what you want your decorations to look like is something that gets thought of later on while you plan your wedding. Unless of course you follow a strict theme then, naturally decorations become top priority. However, if you did the visualization exercise in the article “How to Start Planning a Wedding”, you're sure to have seen the details or your decorations in your picture perfect wedding, and have written them down on your to do list.

      Decorations are generally accepted as one of the more complicated aspects of a wedding, especially if the decorations are going to be following a theme. A lot of stress is involved with intricate or very specific decorations, and this can be a big hassle too! However, there are ways you can get and plan your wedding decorations for cheap, and still have that picture perfect look to your wedding.

      Keep in mind that decorations usually need to be up before the tables and chairs are placed, and well before the flowers arrive.

Decorating the Ceremony Venue

      Depending on where you will be having your ceremony, you may or may not be allowed to decorate the venue. Some religious venues do not allow outside decorations, and actually have their own traditional decorations for weddings. If this is the case, the venue usually provides the workers or people who will put up the decorations.

      If you are allowed to put up your own unique decorations, you will have to coordinate with your ceremony venue. Ask them if you may use their workers to set up the decorations. This may or may not come with an extra fee. Usually, however, religious venues prefer that their workers be the one to put up your decorations, so that they are sure the important aspects of their ceremony hall are taken care of.

      If you are having your ceremony in a non-religious venue, ask the establishment whether or not you are allowed to put up decorations. You usually will be allowed. Again, you will have to see if the venue provides workers to help you or if you will need to get outside help. In some cases of non religious venues (say at an estate), you will usually have to create an aisle for yourself somewhere in the venue and put up an arc where you and your fiancée can stand under.

      Some people choose to have their ceremony and reception in the same place. This can definitely cut costs both in terms of renting out the venues and in terms of decorating the area. For example, if you rented out an estate, you can have the wedding in the garden and the reception indoors. If your ceremony and reception are in the same place, you can use the chairs you used for the wedding itself as the chairs for your reception. Just have the waiters or workers move them out of the ceremony area and into the reception hall soon after the wedding.

      As mentioned earlier, non-religious venues or places in which you can have a ceremony and reception may or may not provide workers to put up your decorations. If they provide workers, see if there is any extra cost to this. If there is no extra charge, then great! However, if there is extra charge, you may want to consider getting outside help for cheaper.

      Ideally, your ceremony venue should be decorated and ready at least two hours to an hour and a half before the ceremony begins. This means it should already be complete with flowers. Check with the venue on how early you can set up decorations. The earlier your team can start, the better. It also gives them time to troubleshoot, organize, and make adjustments to your décor.

Page 2: Plan Your Wedding Decorations: The Ceremony & Venue