Expert Guidance for Styling Your Dream Wedding

If you have a million exciting wedding styling ideas bouncing around your head or Pinterest board than this guide written by Melanie Helen from Cranberry Blue is for you! Your choice of wedding venue will undoubtedly set the tone and feel for your special day, but how you decide to decorate the space can be quite a daunting task. With so many resources available to help with this process, from the wonders of Pinterest to wedding magazines and blogs to name a few, the options available can be over-whelming and sometimes confusing. But not to worry! Below are Melanie’s top tips to make sure that your chosen look is kept harmonious throughout your wedding. 

The Venue

• What overall feel would you like for your big day? Are you looking for a formal or more casual affair? Some venues naturally have a grander feel than others and I’m sure you will have chosen your venue with this in mind, however it will also have a big impact on the styling.
• Consider the size of the room and existing style, colour scheme and furnishings of the event space itself, as whatever look you have in mind it needs to compliment the interior.   All things are possible but to completely transform a room comes at a cost, and I personally prefer to work with the room and enhance the beautiful details that no doubt contributed towards you choosing the venue to begin with.

• Find out what the venue has available to you – see the crockery, glassware, furniture and table linen so you can decide if there is anything there you really don’t like and may wish to hire in.
• If the venue is very plain, it can be used as a ‘blank’ canvas to work from which provides wonderful scope to do almost anything; it will however you will need a lot more decoration to give the wow factor, whereas a venue which is very opulent will require a lot less. 

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The Details

• Always ensure the height of the table decorations doesn’t interfere with people’s view across the table as it will be difficult for your guests to talk to one another. If you’re having some tall arrangements then be sure they are tall enough to avoid this.  Also vary the height and size of them to create dimension and it keeps the eye moving throughout the room.
• Think about lighting which can dramatically change the appearance and mood of a room.  The difference between a good event and an incredible event can often be the use of clever lighting and it’s often over-looked.  It can change as the day progresses, there by altering the mood and atmosphere and keeping things interesting.
• Consider the furniture available – having stylish chairs for example makes a big difference to how a room looks believe it or not.  If the venue’s chairs are unattractive then change the seat pad if you can to match your colour scheme or hire in a completely different chairs altogether.  
• To really add that finer touch, you may wish to hire special crockery or glassware that ties in with the look and feel for your day, even by using a pretty water glass for example or using a charger plate can transform how your tables look.

• Linen – again something that is so often over-looked.  The venue or caterer may provide standard white linen, but there are so many other options available that may work better with the space and your desired look.  Ensure the table cloths actually touch the floor and hide the table legs as this never looks very nice and lastly, ensure the cloths are pressed on the day once they’re laid to avoid the unsightly creases!
• Candles – I’d say that in pretty much every venue, candles work well on every level.  Even if you’re having a summer wedding and it will still be daylight during your meal, they still add a pretty twinkle to the tables, then as the light changes they really come into their own and create a warm, romantic look to the room.  If you’re venue doesn’t allow real candles then there are some surprisingly good battery operated ones available too.

Be Smart

• Think about your budget and what you wish to allocate to the different decorative elements.  Flowers for example always cost more than you might think so it’s best to focus on the areas where you and your guests will spend the most amount of time, such as your wedding breakfast.  For the ceremony, make a couple of big statements and then aim to move the arrangements elsewhere to re-use them but without your guests knowing.
• The time of year is very important as the season will contribute towards the look of the day as it’s advisable to use flowers that are in season.  The styling also isn’t just focused on how your ceremony and wedding breakfast looks, but extends to how your canapés and drinks are presented and even what you decide to choose.
• Having the right colour palette to work with is key to successful styling. You don’t need to have lots of colours together; you can often create a stronger looks with varying tones of one colour alongside a highlight colour.

Be Yourself

• What is most important to you?  If you’re having a grand celebration in a country house and you feel strongly about spending a lot on the flowers, then you may want to have large flower-heavy displays which could suit the venue, alternatively having a marquee wedding with a pretty, country look could involve using smaller and looser arrangements with English country garden flowers.
• Don’t be seduced by trends – a lot of couples are keen to know what the latest trends are.  While we do of course keep an eye on these, I always like to stress that it shouldn’t really matter if something’s on trend or not, it’s whether you both like and if they reflect your personal style as a couple.
• Know when to stop – sometimes ‘more is more’ but often ‘less is more’!  If you’ve decided on the look at all the elements that are required to bring it to life, then stop looking at Pinterest and adding things in just because as this often ends up spoiling the original vision.

Love Cranberry Blue’s gorgeous styling? You can book them as your wedding planners in just a couple of clicks with Bridebook – check out their profile today!

Happy Planning!

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