Wedding Ceremony Decorations for Plain Rooms
Hotel ballrooms are very popular venues for wedding receptions, and they are often quite grand. However, the adjoining conference room in which the ceremony will be held is often completely plain and lacking in personality – not to mention an altar! These are some great ideas on how to use the right decorations and decor to transform a plain room into a gorgeous space for your wedding ceremony.
If you are having your wedding ceremony in a hotel conference room, a lodge, or other multi-purpose setting, the chances are that it is not much more than an empty square room. It can seem daunting at first to transform that open space into a magical setting fit for a fairy tale wedding. The great news is that even the most boring hotel room can be turned into a beautiful ceremony space, if you know how to do it. The key is to start with the biggest elements first and work down to the small details.
The biggest transformations will come in the form of furniture. The typical conference room will not have an altar, so your first task is to create a defined space for the exchange of vows. A very easy way to do this can be to rent an arbor. The bride and groom will look very picturesque framed by the arbor, and it also looks lovely in the wedding photographs. A variation on this would be the traditional Chuppah for a Jewish bride and groom.
Choose decorations for the arbor or Chuppah which tie in with your overall wedding theme. Flowers are always beautiful, and they can be used in small quantities with plenty of greenery to keep costs under control. Another idea is to swag pretty fabric like draperies on the arbor. Sheer organza will look airy and romantic, while a heavy dupioni or velvet will be rich and luxurious. If you are wearing crystal bridal jewelry, you can even add some crystal beads along the edge of the draperies for a stunning effect. Going in a completely different direction, large paper pom poms hung from the top of the arbor would be fantastic for a modern DIY bride.
With the altar area fully decorated, the next step is to create an aisle for your wedding ceremony. Every bride deserves to walk down an aisle, beaming in her wedding gown and sparkling bridal jewelry, so really give careful consideration to the walkway. Arranging chairs in rows is a natural way to define an aisle. The standard chairs provided by most hotels are not particularly attractive and tend to look like something you would sit in for a conference, not a wedding. If this is the case, you can either cover the hotel chairs with slipcovers, or rent pretty gold chiavari chairs for your ceremony. Hint: slipcovered chairs look larger, so they are good if you have a lot of space to fill. When space is at a premium, dainty chiavari chairs will make the room feel less crowded.
Once you have the big pieces of furniture in place, you can turn your attention to the smaller details which will put your personal stamp on the ceremony site. You might want vases or baskets of flowers at the altar area, candles in lanterns lining the aisle, or potted trees to soften the corners of the room. With all of the final touches in place, the generic hotel conference room will be transformed into a dreamy and magical space in which to have your wedding ceremony.
Bridget Mora writes for Silverland Jewelry about wedding decor, etiquette, bridal jewelry and fashion, and all the other dream wedding details.