Choosing your wedding décor can be a difficult task but it is one of the most exciting aspects of planning a wedding. Creating a stunning, cohesive and unique look for your wedding is the goal but getting there can be quite the challenge.
When playing around with ideas of décor, we recommend having some images of the venue(s) you’ll be using; without any décor. This is so you can use them later to remind yourself what you have to work with and/or around.
We recommend starting to look at your décor and décor suppliers around 8 – 6 months before your wedding. Here are some of the things you need to consider and some tips for choosing your décor:
A good starting point for your décor is the look and feel (theme) you are going for. Vintage? Modern? Rustic? Glamorous? This gives you an end game to work towards and ultimately a ‘filter’ to use when making your wedding décor decisions.
“Do these AMAZING bright pink flamingo statues go well with my beige minimalistic theme? The answer: No” so don’t buy the [admittedly] amazing bright pink flamingo statues (savvy?).
Save yourself some time and money by not focusing on inspiration images that don’t match yours…that could lead to some unnecessary purchases of pretty things we don’t need but we do want…
If you are having a rustic wedding with lots of brown tones, don’t look at pastel pink wedding ideas. It can be hard to not get caught up in how magical everything looks (we know) but Pinterest will be there after you are married. Here are our suggestions to help you pick your wedding theme and style.
Your wedding colour palette also plays an important role in your theme and aesthetic. Your colour palette should be a guide for your décor and not a rule. You don’t have to have everything matching exactly (unless you want it to). Keep an open-mind in your choices.
For example, instead of just a grey and white palette, create a palette with a few focus colours (grey and white) and some similar hues (charcoal, ivory, beige, and other grey-undertone colours).
Once you have a vision in mind you can start saving your inspiration pictures on your Happly vision board.
We've created a decor checklist for you to use as a cornerstone in your decorating! It is a long list but it may not have everything you need or want on it. Decor is always a subjective and creative process and these are some of the bigger must-haves or 'to considers'.
Now that you have an idea of what you want to achieve aesthetically for your wedding, you need to see what you have to work with to get there.
You can still do wonders on a smaller budget but you will have to make budget friendly decisions in your décor choices. If you are on a tighter budget, we recommend focusing on one type of decoration (E.G.: table centrepieces) so that they will have a larger impact then spending lots of money of lots of little items that may be lost to the eye in your venue.
Look at the style and visual elements to your wedding venue in making your décor choices as well. If you have hired a venue that is already elaborately decorated then you can opt to purchase simpler décor items or match the energy.
You can also use the visual elements of your venue to enhance your theme. See what you can use as a focal point to add to your wedding and hopefully also reduce costs.
One of the easiest ways to begin your décor journey is to ask your wedding planner or coordinator about ideas and any stock they have.
Given they have planned and overseen numerous events in the past, they are likely to have a good idea of what might work and what won’t. They are also likely to have had to think outside a few boxes for some of those events and might be able to give you good direction and hacks for your décor.
Chat to them about what stock they have, and what they charge to hire these items out. If they don’t carry any décor items, do they have some recommended suppliers.
Hiring may prove to be a much more cost-effective method of decorating than buying everything (how many credit cards are sighing from relief right now)– and it will save you loads of time.
If you have a friend or family member who has gotten married within the last year or so, they may still have some of their wedding décor.
If you have a similar theme, you could ask them to use the items they bought for their wedding. Approach the subject in a nice manner and don’t get offended if they say no. These are items from their wedding day after all.
Always offer to compensate a friend or family member for the use of their decorations. And even though they are likely to decline it, it is still courteous, nonetheless. You do NOT want to end up in an entitled bride’s reaction video.
While you don’t want it to look cheap, you will save money by checking out the local markets, charity and second-hand stores.
This is not only loads of fun, but also a fabulous way to find unusual and unique items to pull your wedding theme together and create that ‘oh, wow, that’s so lovely - and clever’ factor.
The wedding industry is immense, even in South Africa. You’ll find quite a lot of wedding-related décor stores scattered about, both online and in physical locations. Some places hire out items, some sell items, and some do both.
Don’t forget to look into their work, reviews, and ask for examples of previous or similar weddings to what you want to do.
If you want something to do with your bride tribe that doubles as a way to get inspo – go to an expo. You can get contacts for stuff you didn’t know was available as well as other suppliers you need, such as caterers, wedding bands, accessory suppliers, and more. It can also be an easy way to find some direction.
Happly is coming soon, be the first to sign up when we launch!
