Planning Your Wedding Reception Decor: The Details

Once you have addressed the big issues involved in planning your wedding reception decor - issues that build the foundation for your decor such as how your venue will help your decor, first impressions, and your focal point - it is time to turn your attention to the details. Do not make the mistake of thinking the details are not important, in most cases you have to address both the big issues and the details to make a reception decor come alive.

Tables: Your choice of tables is not limited to round tables with eight occupants. Long tables can be elegant - especially if they fit the layout of the room. Likewise, smaller round tables might fit a coffee shop or French sidewalk cafe wedding reception decor much better than the standard ‘family sized’ round tables do.

Choose your Centerpieces: The focal point of your individual table decorations for your wedding is your centerpieces.  Make it appropriate and do not hesitate to think beyond flowers and candles. For example, a wonderful winter wedding center piece can be made by your crafty friends and relatives with star shaped cookies of descending sizes stacked to form a Christmas tree and glued into place with a touch of royal icing. Color the icing to add accents in your wedding colors.

Lighting: There is nothing like the right lighting to make a wedding party decor come off just right. No one wants to eat or converse under lights as bright as an operating room. Neither does anyone care to sit in the dark or strain to see adequately.

Battery operated tea lights in luminaries lining a path are an inexpensive, reliable way to take care of part of the problem, as can a lit candle worked into the centerpiece (that is part of why candles in centerpieces are so popular).

In some situations you might want to invest in a lighting professional to insure that your wedding reception decor is just right. Determine whether this is likely to be necessary by spending some time in your venue when the lighting (time of day, etc.) is as close to what it will be during your celebration as possible and ask yourself if the ambiance is right or not.

Remember the Accents: A tasteful assortment of accent pieces will do much to complete your wedding decorations for your reception. In many cases this can come in the form of place card holders that specifically match your theme while serving a practical use as well. In other cases it comes in the form of crystal wedding cake jewelry making your monogram prominent. For still other’s it might take the form of autumn leaf shaped bookmark wedding favors positioned by each place setting.

To test out your decor choices, set up a table at home as much like your reception tables will be set as possible. Include your centerpiece, and accents. Approximate the lighting. Imagine the placement and design of your focal point. Does it all come together? Enjoy. This is the fun part of planning your wedding reception decor.

Planning Wedding Reception Decor