Three things to remember when planning your wedding reception

Now that you’ve got your venue booked, and your dress and bouquet design chosen, it’s time to think about decorations. Whether you choose to DIY the decorations or engage a vendor to do it for you, developing a vision for your setting is important.

The key things to consider when decorating your venue

One location or two?

If your ceremony and reception will be at different locations, or all in the same place, this will influence your decorating style. Having two locations means you can simply separate the ceremony and reception areas, in style and space. Opting for one location over two, you can eliminate travel time and expenses, but might want to consider using decorations to separate the ceremony and reception areas. Think about colours lighting or strategic pieces of furniture to set the scene.

Outdoors or indoors?

Selecting a venue will, of course, have a huge influence over your decorating style. If the venue is an established location, with a distinct charm about it, you may need little or no decorations at all. If on the other hand, your wedding is an outdoor one, or in a marquee, you have a blank canvass, ready to bring your vision to life.

Hot Tip! If you want the best of both worlds, consider having a marquee. You can choose a full or partial clear ceiling and walls to make the most of the outdoors while staying protected. Don’t forget you can bring the space to life with elegant ceiling drapes, fairy lights and coloured accents.

Space to move around?

One of the most important things to think about for your wedding is the seating plan. Not only do you need to consider who knows who, and who might get along with who - think about yourselves. We don’t mean where you will be seated, but will you have room to move around and say hello to everyone at your wedding? As the newlyweds, you will need to at least say hello to everyone at your wedding, and if you’re planning to do this at the reception, leaving enough space to do so is important.

Hot Tip! Don’t forget to think about your elderly guests and children. It’s usually best to position elderly guests close to the door, where it’s easy for them to get in and out. And try to place children where there’s some extra space for them to play. Even including a little activities box to keep them happy is a great idea.