Decorating Arches for a Wedding

Wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime occasion and making it the most memorable day in your life is the cherished dream of all brides. Many brides like to have a traditional, all-white wedding. For the wedding day to be perfect, it has to well coordinated and planned to the last detail. Imagine taking your wedding vows under a bridal arch. Wedding decorations like bridal arches can lend a magical aura to your wedding.

You can use one or multiple bridal arches as wedding decorations. Beautifully decorated arches can turn the most traditional looking wedding into a style statement. The decorated, inverted U-shape of an arch will provide a mystical or fairytale feel to your wedding celebrations. Once you have decided that you are going to use arches as part of the wedding decorations, you need to sit down and plan on how you would like to decorate them.

Decorating Arches for a Wedding

Decorating arches for a wedding can be time-consuming and problematic, if you don’t know where to start. Your budget of course, will be the deciding factor. Zeroing down to the design for the arches at the start can be helpful. Before you embark on the job, here’s a piece of advice: it is better to take the help of friends and relatives, if you are not planning to take professional help.

To buy the bare arches, you can head to a well-stocked, local craft store or any garden store. Arches are available in a wide variety of materials like wood, vinyl, gas filled, brass metal or fancy lattice designs. If you’re working on a tight budget, you can still be the talk of the town… for the right reasons, of course. Here are a few options to decorate aches for a wedding.

Bridal Arches

Bridal arches can be used indoors and outdoors. The first thing to do once you’ve made up your mind about using arches as your wedding decorations is to decide whether you need only one or more. Again, deciding on the number of arches you will need, would depend on whether you want to cover the whole venue or only the area where you will be taking wedding vows. You can even plan an arched passageway with the help of multiple arches from the wedding ceremony to the wedding reception.

Bridal arches and arch decorations can be bought or hired. Decorative accessories can be used to turn the plain bridal arch into a stunning art piece. Some decorative accessories that can be used are tulle, festive balloons, tinny garlands, strings of twinkling, fairy lights (in case you’re having an evening wedding), etc. You can select them as per the wedding theme, if you have chosen one. These adornments are available in different colors and styles, so you can exercise your creativity.

You can choose from an all-out floral or wood detailed designs, classic, Gothic or retro, or the beach/tropical themes. Another option is to decorate the arch using simple, color sequenced balloons. Air-filled bridal arches are quite a rage for indoor weddings. If your wedding day coincides with a festival, you can use ornamentation or decorations specific to it. Look up these trendy themes for bridal arches that may help you decide what best suits you.

Flowers are perhaps the most popular choice for decorations for bridal arches. For a coordinated wedding, you can even extend the choice of flowers to match your flower bouquet. There are of course traditional wedding flowers like roses, lilies, orchids, tulips, daisies that are available all year round. You can also opt for the seasonal or exotic flower variety. For example, if you are planning a fall wedding, you can use autumn leaves with cattails, chrysanthemums, yarrow, amaryllis, fuchsia, zinnia and fake leaves. Additions like seasonal accents (gourds and squashes), textures (rye and wheat), foliage (copper beech and ivy) and greenery (ivy and hemlock) can be added as per choice. What you finally choose may depend on availability and your budget. You can even procure the flowers of your choice from abroad, if you wish. It is practical to consult a florist in your locality before making the final decision.

For a floral theme, you can decorate the bridal arch with garlands of colorful, seasonal flowers and greenery. With the help of wire or floral netting, cover the bridal arch fully to achieve the perfect look. If you are afraid that the flowers will not stay fresh for long and still want to use them, you can try dried or silk flowers and faux ivy. Decorating with the latter can be arduous, and it is better to get a professional to handle it.

Another option is the wood theme which can be effectively achieved with birch branches or grapevines used along the sides of the arch. The center can be interlaced with garlands of ferns and red apples. You can use all natural decorations, except flowers for this theme.

For a beach theme, loosely drape the bridal arch with gauzy materials, for a flowing effect so it will move to and fro with the wind. Ornamentation from the sea like seashells, starfish, sand (when not on a real beach) etc. can be added to recreate the effect. For a Hawaiian theme, palm tree fronds and tulle with tropical flowers like lilies make a perfect arrangement for your bridal arch. A perfect add-on design can be white, helium balloons used with tulle. A balloon artist’s help can be used to enhance the total look.

For a retro theme, you need to do a little research on the period and creatively use elements that were popular at that time. Fresh or silken greenery (ivy, grapevines) with sheer material like tulle or organza as base material to cover the framework will make the classic look bridal arch. Floral arrangement at the top and center (on two sides) or a single, tall arrangement at the bottom will complete the look.

There’s nothing like taking your wedding vows under a Victorian bridal arch. To get the right effect, make use of a wrought-iron garden arch and fresh English roses. For a fancier look, add toile, pearl strands and colorful rose buds. Another option is the non-traditional bridal arch which is generally left stark, except for dried willow branches and a floral pomander adorning its apex.

There are many other ways of decorating arches for a wedding, if you are willing to use your creative skills. Just remember to be resourceful and innovative, and don’t forget to personalize your wedding decorations.