5 Wedding Venue Styling Tips for Large Venues
One of the biggest trends I’m expecting to see post-pandemic is in maxi-weddings. These are glorious, extravagant, larger-than-life weddings coming from couples that have waited so long for their big day.
Big weddings with a lot of guests means you’re likely to be styling a larger venue. You can be faced with challenges of empty space to fill, high ceilings and not a lot of inspiration for styling them. To help, we’ve provided 5 expert tips that will help you perfect the styling of your dream venue.
Vanessa & Steven @ Healey Barn
Image Credit - Nigel John
1. Don’t ditch the detail
Take a step back. You’ve chosen your dream venue and there’s a lot of space to fill – but that doesn’t mean you should cut back on the details. After a turbulent year, you deserve to make your day a reflection of you as a couple. Incorporate what you both enjoy and embrace what embodies you both as a duo.
If you’re a couple of music buffs, consider a festival theme with flower crowns for guests, oversized signage, bunting and festival flags. If you’re both avid travel fans, plan each table as a different location, with flowers to reflect the appropriate destinations. The ideas are endless!
Rachel & Kyle @ Barn on the Bay
Image Credit - Chocolate Chip Photography
2. Plan it like a pro
Think of your wedding as a story – each part of your day is a different chapter: the welcome, the vows, speeches and first dance, Working closely with your stylist means you can communicate how you would like each of these chapters to play out in your venue.
Creating mood boards are a great way to convey to your stylist how you would like each chapter of your wedding to look. Use a mood board to bring all of your ideas and things you like together in one place and then your stylist can streamline this into one overall story.
Katie & Kelly @ Wylam Brewery
3. Utilise lighting to create ambience
Although you’re working with a big venue, that doesn’t mean the feeling of intimacy has to be compromised. Using lighting to your advantage enhances the atmosphere and ambience you’ve worked so hard with your stylist to create.
Lighting can accentuate your floral pieces, compliment photography or bring additional intimacy to a large room for the evening do as well as creating atmosphere on the dancefloor. Festoon lighting and fairy lights can also bring interest to outdoor spaces.
Frances & Chris @ Healey Barn
Image Credit - The Twins
4. Statement Florals
One of the best ways to fill up empty space is through using statement flower arrangements. You can use bouquets to line your aisle, decorate tables with cascading wildflower arrangements or use floral ceremony arches for guest photoshoots.
If you’re in a high ceiling venue, flower balls fill up the empty vertical space above and carry your theme through elegantly. Think about statement arrangements that can be moved around the venue as you move through the day like a pair of arrangements on plinths that can frame the aisle during the ceremony, then the top table during the wedding breakfast and finally a doorway into a chillout space in the evening.
Michael & Ross @ Healey Barn
5. Utilise empty spaces instead of covering them up
It’s commonplace to close off empty spaces at weddings, but you don’t have to. Making use of this extra space turns your wedding into an experience for your guests. Can you create a lounge area where guests can take their drinks without sitting at formal tables? Decorate it with couches and large pillows for additional comfort? Or how about a grown up games area? Think air hockey and retro skittles.
You could even create a secret bar area with a horsebox cocktail bar or a gin and whisky bar with a prohibition feel.
Rachel & Kyle @ Barn on the Bay
Image Credit - Chocolate Chip Photography
No matter the size of your wedding, you’ll have a wonderful time styling it so that it’s one to remember. Wedding styling is about creating all of the design elements, making sure they work synonymously together to create a beautiful, stylish look that wows your guests and tells your story as a couple.
If you would like to have a chat about styling your wedding, get in touch via our contact page. For wedding inspiration, dive into our galleries to see Karen Alexander Weddings signature styling.