49 decorating tips

49 wedding decoration tips

Stuck for ideas when it comes to decorating your wedding reception? Bröllopsguiden has the tips to make the decorations at your reception feel both well thought-out and imaginative!

01. Napkin folding: Water lily

A beautiful napkin fold is the finishing touch to a perfect table setting. Here’s how to fold a romantic water lily:
1. Place two unfolded napkins on top of each other and fold them like an accordion.
2. Cut off a narrow strip.
3. Tie the accordion in the middle using the strip.
4. Spread out the napkin like a butterfly. Separate the thin layers and fold them up towards the centre on both sides. Done!

02. Personalised decorations

Make your party decorations feel personal by using items that reflect your shared interests. If you’re nature lovers, for example, you could decorate with twigs, moss, pine cones, leaves and stones. Do you enjoy travelling? Use address labels for the place settings, create programmes with passport-style covers and attach tiny suitcases to the napkin rings.

03. Letters

A quote, a name or a message? Use a letter board to write exactly what you want, placing it on every table or where the bride and groom are seated.

04. A unifying theme

Having a unifying theme running through the whole wedding gives an impression of extra thoughtfulness. This could mean, for example, that a colour, a monogram or a symbol is repeated on everything from the invitation cards to the decorations in the church and the reception venue.

05. Helium balloons

Does the ceiling in the reception venue feel bare and dull? Fill it with helium balloons in beautiful colours!

06. Beaded napkin rings

A napkin ring can enhance the look of a table setting. Make your own and it will be all the more personal. These pretty napkin rings are made from steel wire and beads.

07. Napkin rings made from flowers and greenery

A budget-friendly option for anyone wanting to make their own napkin rings is to create them from, for example, flowers, long blades of grass and leaves. A long blade of grass can easily be tied into a bow around the napkin. A tip for achieving neat shapes is to tie them around steel wire or a pipe cleaner.

08. Wine glass candle holders

Turn wine glasses upside down. Place flowers or small figurines in the bowl, and put a tea light – preferably in a matching colour – on the base of the glass. In no time at all, you’ll have beautiful and unusual candle holders!

09. Wine and champagne corks

Save wine and champagne corks from upcoming dinners and parties! They can be used as place card holders or to hold signs for buffet food. Cut a slit in the cork, either lying flat (first split it in half lengthways) or standing upright, and insert a sign.

10. Cutlery pouches

Here’s how to do it:
1. Take a sheet of A4 paper and fold it in half, long side to long side.
2. Fold down one corner.
3. Place the cutlery inside so that you can just see it peeking out.
4. Cut off a bit of the bottom edge of the bag if it’s too long. Once you’ve got the right length, fold the bottom edge back about 1 cm.
5. To secure the edges, glue, staple or sew them using a standard sewing machine.
If you like, you can also write names on the bags – and suddenly your place cards are ready too!

11. Rice lamps

Wedding reception in a marquee? Don’t forget the lighting and heating! Rice lamps are stylish and relatively cheap. They can also be spray-painted in your chosen colour. Add plenty of fairy lights. These can be attached to the marquee structure itself.

12. Diamond confetti

Scatter sparkling confetti diamonds across the tables. Beautiful and striking!
» bröllopsdekorationer.com

13. For a garden wedding: Photo tree

Frame photos of the bride and groom, from childhood right up to the present day. Alternatively, photos of the bride and groom together with guests in various settings. Hang the pictures on long ribbons from tree branches in the garden.

14. A path of rose petals

Create a path to the reception venue or party marquee in the form of a thick bed of rose petals. Line the path with lanterns.

15. Pennants

Pennants on long strings. Attach one end of the string to a light fitting in the centre of the ceiling and the other to the wall. Works just as well indoors as in a party marquee. Alternatively, they can be attached all round the walls or from tree to tree in the garden.

16. Place cards from nature

A budget tip for simple yet beautiful place cards is to use leaves or stones on which you write the guest’s name.

17. Spray-painted fruit

Colourful fruit can really liven up a table setting, but for those looking for an unusual colour, such as gold or silver, fruit is also excellent for spray-painting and then using as decorative items.

18. Directional signs

Make signs showing the way to the loo, the bar, the dance floor and so on, and place them in strategic locations.

19. Stone table runner

A beautiful alternative to a standard fabric table runner is to create your own using small stones
. Here’s how: See the Ladylox blog

20. Colour scheme

It’s very common to have a colour theme at a wedding. For every colour, there are a variety of items that can be used for decoration. Some examples of items that come in many different colours and can be adapted to your chosen colour scheme include candles, fruit, beads, Christmas baubles, balloons, rose petals, flowers, confetti, feathers, napkins and tablecloths/runners.

21. Ocean theme

Is your wedding themed around the sea? If so, you can decorate the venue by hanging fishing nets on the walls and scattering seashells across the tables. Attach seashells, mussels and starfish to the net. On the tables, you can arrange seashells, starfish, stones and small wooden boats. Empty bottles can be filled with sand or rolled-up pieces of paper containing messages for the guests (messages in a bottle).

22. Candle decorations with coarse salt

Fill martini glasses with coarse salt, place a tea light in the centre and decorate the rim of the glass with, for example, holly leaves. An elegant, budget-friendly tip!

23. Flower wreaths with candles

Make your own chandeliers from flower wreaths and fairy lights. Tie large flower wreaths, similar to Midsummer wreaths, using steel wire, for example. Hang the wreaths above the tables and light them up with fairy lights.

24. Decorated chairs

Make a venue with plain chairs look elegant and cosy by tying a ribbon bow around the back of each chair! For those who want to take it a step further: chair covers! The fabric makes the venue feel warm and cosy.

25. Floating candles

Fill zinc tubs with water and light floating candles in the water, or place them in small transparent bowls on the tables. For extra effect, scatter flower petals in the water.

26. Wall stickers and photo wallpaper

Decorate empty walls in a function room with large wall stickers – or why not cover an entire wall with a photo wallpaper featuring the wedding couple!

27. Photo wall

Create a photo wall with pictures that, for example, tell the story of the couple’s time together. One tip is to set up the photo wall on a folding screen. Print the photos as Polaroids and hang them on the screen using clothes pegs on strings.

28. Lanterns & candles

Light up a staircase, path, wedding venue or table with lanterns or candle holders to create a lovely atmosphere. It doesn’t matter if they’re all different styles – it’s the sheer number that creates the effect.

29. Flower vase

Fill a cylindrical vase with water and, for example, flowers, ivy, stones, candles or whatever takes your fancy.

30. Napkin folding: Rose

Here’s how to do it:
1. Start with a standard paper napkin.
2. Carefully peel away one of the thinner layers of the napkin and overlap the two sections as shown in the picture.
3. Roll the two parts together and flatten the roll slightly.
4. Roll up the long roll and tuck in the last bit.

31. Winter wedding

Winter theme? Line the path to the venue with sparkling snow lanterns, burning torches or marshall lights. Decorate the tables with snowflakes, glittering stones and ivy. A budget-friendly option is to decorate with pine twigs and pine cones.

32. Place cards with holders

Make your own place card holders out of modelling clay! It’s easy!
See how to do it on the Pyssel & Papp blog

33. Origami

It’s not just napkins that can be folded into beautiful shapes. Fold paper into beautiful origami shapes and use them to decorate the table or hang them on strings in selected spots around the venue. Templates for birds, wedding bells, butterflies and all sorts of other shapes can be found online, e.g. www.scarygami.net

34. Ceiling and wall decorations

Give the venue a cosy and extra elegant feel by hanging beautiful fabrics from the ceiling or along the walls.

35. Asian theme

For an Asian-themed wedding, you can decorate the tables with lots of black, shiny stones mixed with pink lilies and white block candles on platters. Decorate the walls with fans in matching colours.

36. Decorative plastic

Print out your chosen pattern on the computer. Trace the pattern onto decorative plastic (available from most paint shops). Then simply cut it out and attach it to the backs of chairs, for example.

37. Apple lanterns

Hollow out the top of the apples (measure the size using a tea light) and place tea lights in the holes. And just like that, you’ve got lovely candle holders!

38. Floral garlands

Hang floral garlands (real or silk) along the tables, walls or from the ceiling. Secure the garlands with silk ribbons so that they hang in waves.

39. Unusual coasters

A tip for original coasters for glasses and bowls, for example, is to use old vinyl records or CDs. Another tip for lovely coasters and glass markers is to use round mirrors.

40. Wall decoration

Decorate the wall behind the bride and groom’s seats with a beautiful, large-scale text, such as the couple’s names.

41. Table numbering

When arranging your seating plan, it can be handy to number or name the tables. Help guests find their seats with photos of the bride and groom. Take photos of the two of you holding signs with table numbers; you could strike a different pose for each number. One tip is to have the photos developed or printed in black and white so that the colours don’t clash with the table decorations.

42. String of lights with seashells

Put those beach finds from your various holidays to good use! Buy a string of fairy lights with very small bulbs so there’s no risk of them getting too hot. Then get out the hot glue gun and glue small shells over the bulbs. Attach the shells to the cord, not directly to the bulbs.

43. Table runner made from wallpaper

Can’t find a table runner in the right colour or pattern? Cut a runner from a strip of wallpaper and lay it over the white tablecloth, either along the entire length of the table or across where the plates are placed opposite each other (for rectangular tables).

44. Place card holders with photos

Instead of name tags as place cards, put photos of the guests in a cute little white clip with a heart. Clip the heart onto, for example, a glass or a napkin.

45. Guest book tree

Create a guest book tree with slips of paper where guests can write personal messages to the bride and groom. Hang the slips, for example, from the branches of a tree, on a bush, or on loose twigs placed in a pot or vase. Capture the well-wishes from the day and keep them as a memento of your wedding day.

46. Table numbers with balloons

Attach each table number to a ribbon and tie the ribbon to a helium balloon! Secure the long ribbon to a small weight (e.g. rice in a small organza bag) on each table.

47. Rose petals or rosebuds

Roses are always a good choice at a wedding, and scattering rose petals or small rosebuds across the tables as decoration adds a beautiful and romantic touch.

48. Don’t forget the toilets!

It’s easy to focus entirely on decorating the reception venue – but don’t forget the toilets! Your guests are sure to appreciate it if you spend a little time sprucing up the toilets by decorating them with, for example, scented candles, a soft mat, lovely soaps, potpourri in a pretty dish, fresh towels and some music from a CD player.

49. Pom-poms to hang up

Here’s how to do it:
1. Use tissue paper and cut out a number of pieces like the one in the picture. Cut the edges more sharply for a spikier look on the finished ball.
2. Apply glue to the bottom edge of each piece of paper.
3. Fold the shapes together with the glued sides facing each other and stick them onto a polystyrene ball of your choice.
4. When the polystyrene ball is almost completely covered, attach the nylon thread using a stapler. The thread is for hanging up the finished ball, so measure carefully how long you want the string to be. Attach the thread as a long loop if you want to be able to hang up the ball without having to tie it off.
5. Glue the final pieces of tissue paper in place so that they cover the whole ball. Ready to hang up!