Decorating Wedding Tents: Everything You Need to Know About Wedding Tent Decoration

So how to turn some canvas and a few aluminium poles into the wedding reception of your dreams?

One of the best way to get ideas is to look how others do it. Here are some pictures of stylish yet very different tented weddings with details of how the decor was acheived. Click on any photo to see a larger view on flickr.

Traditional white wedding tent: simple and elegant with tan carpet, chiavari chairs and traditional pretty floral table centrepieces with candles of varying sizes. See this photo for a more traditional twist on the simple and elegant look using unusual green coloured wine glasses for the accent colour.


Simple and effective: nothing too fancy yet the lanterns strung across the roof and open sides of the tent (with heaters to protect against the weather) create a satisfyingly natural and celebratory look. For another simple, natural look, see this photo of a plain tent with vines and little paper lanterns informally strewn across the tent roof.

Shabby chic: another very fashionable look, maybe because it enables a bit of money saving: here the style comes with traditional bunting strung across the roof, a chill out area with sofas and vintage style accessories. You can't really see these, but all the little details are on show at UK wedding blog, Rock and Roll Bride

Blackout: Blackout walls or ceilings with starlight lighting make for a very popular look in the UK right now. Here, a single blacked out wall with starlights is combined with more traditional ivory lining and fabulous red rose floral centrepieces to stunning effect.


Themed: This dining tent is classically lit and decorated for a night time tent. What adds interest is the Venetian theme, created in the dramatic giant Carnevale masks hanging from the roof and the Venus de Milo table centerpieces


Something really special: Lit all in red with light stencilling and raised table centrepieces with white ball lights, this tent really stands out.



Modern and minimalist: this huge tent has little decoration apart from unusual white draped columns around the poles. A smart wood floor completes the effect. Maybe the decor is a little cold for a wedding?

There are different types of tents, and the sort you choose will impact on the final wedding decor.

For standard tents, the key difference is with poles or without.

Clearspan frame tents without poles are good if you want a nice clear space uninterrupted by poles - essential for tents that double up as reception and ceremony location when an uninterrupted view is required.

They have a number of practical advantages:

• they don't absolutely have to be pegged to the ground so they can sit on hard surfaces like patios
• they can be configured into L-shapes or other shapes to fit into awkward areas

Pole tents are more traditional. There are two sorts:

• Tension tents have high center poles and striking sculpted roofs both outside and in. They feel very roomy inside and are good for grand wedding receptions. Not a budget option.
• Simple pole tents are less expansive and more affordable, with poles around the edge and in the middle.

Both sorts work well for classic weddings, or those with a romantic or fairtytale theme.

Then, there are other sorts of tents.

Eastern style wedding tents: mandaps are the canopy under which an Indian wedding ceremony takes place. They are typically elaborate and colourful and have spawned an Indian style of tent decoration with printed linings, floating drapery, metal lanterns and so on.

Bedouin or Moroccan style tents are similar, with a more Arabic flavor.

Moroccan or Indian wedding tents with associated decoration, as in the photo (by UK event decor firm Jay & I Events - who have lots more lovely Eastern tent looks on their website), are well worth a look if you are after unusual decor.

Canopies, pop-up or not, are smaller and cheaper. They serve well for weather protection, or for a chill out area away from the main tent.


Other ethnic tents: suppliers of yurts, tipis and the like have started popping up recently. Definitely not for everyone, yurts are good if you would like an unconventional wedding.

Often, they are informally laid out with brightly colored and/or ethnically appropriate decorations. The photo shows several giant hat tipis joined together into a single tent that creates a very dramatic spectacle lit up at night.

Big tops, stripey... Big tops are suitable for large fun events; stripey tents like this one on a beach suit relaxed laid back parties. For these and other more unusual tent types, you will have to see what your local supplier has in stock.

If you want more information on different types of tents, see Marquee Hire - How To Choose A Party Tent. Or simply look at local tent vendors sites to see what they have on offer.

Lining: traditionally decorated wedding tents are lined - the walls are draped with a silky fabric for a sensuous and luxurious look. Linings can be plain or striped, smooth or ruched, and white or colored. Vendors will vary in the linings they have available. White or off white are most common. Flat linings are currently fashionable.

Lining works well if you want classic tent decor. It can go well with romantic or traditional themes (princess, victorian for example) as well.

Lining is not essential though. Unlined tents are cheaper, and look plainer and more functional, which can work well with a modern or informal style of decoration. The photo shows a simple unlined tent, white lanterns and dangling mobiles combining to create a light, informal atmosphere. This is an affordable way to decorate.

Flooring: you get to choose the floor too. There are a number of options:

• Carpet: can warm things up or make an event more formal depending on the overal decor
• Sisal or matting: the mid-range option. Works well with contemporary style wedding receptions
• Astro-turf: cheap and fun
• Hardwood floor: expensive and smart. A wise move if the weather might be poor and the ground wet
• Nothing at all: can be nice for informal wedding receptions. But only really practical if the ground beneath is nice and smooth

Not all tents have supporting poles. And if they do, they dont have to be decorated. Unadorned metal poles work well with contemporary or minimalist styles, or with informal events with open sides.

But for canvas with poles, the poles need to be considered as they can look too functional alongside classic or themed decor.

Winding leaves or leaves with flowers around the poles is a common tactic. So is draped fabric.

But how about colored gauze? or stripes of material? beads? tinsel? In the photo alongside, floaty fabric and brightly-coloured flowers do the job with flair for this canopy on the beach.

There are no rules so experiment and see what works.

One of the key differences between wedding tent receptions and indoor parties is that you can use the surrounding landscape in your decor.

Weather allowing, you can leave the walls open. If it's cold, you can have lots of windows, though they can push up the cost of a tent.

By letting the outside in, you are immediately stamping your event with a natural outdoors style. And even better, you don't really need much additional decor to do it!

You can see how this works in the first photo alongside. With the garden outside showing through open walls, simple table centerpieces and matting suffice as a decorative statement.

Another option is a transparent roof. Not all suppliers will have these, and they can be expensive. But the effect can be dramatic.

The clear roof of the tent in the photo alongside allows the event to feel right ouside and lets the beauty of the Florida sunset wash over the reception. Yet the roof protects the event from the elements.

Another option here which can look spectacular is to combine twinkle lights with a clear roof. For an example, see this amazing looking combination of festooned twinkle lights with a transparent roof.

So if the season and your location allow, opening the walls and/or showing the sky through a clear roof of a tent are good ways to make a statement. Depending on your approach, taking either of these options can also keep down the costs of tent decoration.

The big question here is where to put the dancefloor - in the middle of the tent or up one end. There are advantages and disadvantages either way.

Put a dancefloor in the middle of things and the dining experience can feel a bit cold with tables a long way from each other. See the first video below for an idea of what this can feel like.

When a dancefloor is placed at one end of the wedding tent, guests eat close together which can help to unify an event.

Later on though, when guests are shaking their booty, a central dancefloor comes into its own. Everybody is part of the rave up, even if they are sitting down. (And if you want to know more about dance floors, here are some quite useful dance floor FAQs.)

Choosing table shape is another consideration. Round or rectangular are the common options.

Round are best for more formal events; rectangular tables in lines can feel fun and informal and also make most efficient use of space. Some feel (me included) that it can be harder for guests to socialize when tables are laid out like this.

Online tent planners can help with this and other layout issues.

The best we found comes from the UK where vendors purvey marquee hire instead of tent rental. See County Marquees' party tent planning tool for help deciding where to put your tables and dancefloors. This vendor also has a useful page on marquee decoration and some nice advice on wedding marquees.

Not especially for tent layouts but useful anyway is Toptableplanner, an ipad-compatible online tool for planning the seating at weddings and events. You add the guests and the tables and then work out where everybody is going to go.

The tool isn't free but starting at $20 for 5 plans and six months access, it's reasonable value for what is often one of the most difficult and inflammatory aspects of planning a wedding.

Swags of material can decorate any sort of wedding. But they seem to fit best with wedding tents - maybe because it is usually so easy to attach things to the tent structure.

Chiffon, tulle, cheesecloth or whatever fabric takes your fancy can all be strung across or hung from the roof or wound around the the top of the walls.

The photo shows swags hanging from the roof at a colorful tent wedding. Pretty chinese lanterns in matching pastel colors are also dotted across the roof. But really, the only limit is your imagination...

For practical ideas, you could ask your tent supplier. Or you could try this very good page, not specifically about tents, which has some helpful suggestions about how to attach fabric to a ceiling in different styles. Or this inspirational page of ribbon decorating ideas.

Bunting

Another fabric option is bunting or strings of flags draped across the tent roof or strung along the walls, as in the photo alongside. These have become insanely popular in the UK in 2011 as part of an overall shabby chic look. Are they as popular in the US? Let us know in the comments.

The shabby chic look can also help with money saving. Typically, simple jars or jugs filled with equally simple sprays of flowers serve as table centerpieces, and other accessories tend to be vintage. If you are interested, see the Shabby chic photo above for another example with links to a wedding blog showing all the little details of how to do it.

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