DIY Wedding Ideas

10 Wedding Reception Decoration Ideas to Suit an Upwaltham Barns Wedding

One of the most exciting elements of wedding planning has to be deciding on all the decorations that will make your big day extra special. At Upwaltham Barns, we LOVE seeing the entire venue come to life and there are just so many ideas that we could share with you for your barn wedding. However, today we’re sharing our ten favourite wedding reception decorations that are perfectly suited to a wedding at Upwaltham Barns.

1. Bunting is just the most perfect accessory for a rustic or country inspired wedding. Assorted vintage fabrics work particularly well in the barns to create a relaxed English style wedding atmosphere. You could choose fabrics to compliment the colour scheme of your flowers or bridesmaid’s dresses. Bunting is a great option to express your creativity and adds a boho feel to the barns, which is easy to create when you can hire beautiful handmade bunting from companies such as Quirky Covers.

2. Lanterns and pompoms are incredibly popular at Upwaltham Barns and it’s easy to see why. They bring pops of colour to your reception and they also look amazing during the evening celebrations adding a touch of dreamy fairy-tale to your wedding day. Fun and frivolous, lanterns and pompoms come in a huge range of hues and can work with any colour palette. If you’re feeling crafty, you’ll find plenty of tutorials online to help you make your own and we must say that lanterns hung on strings of fairy lights look so pretty at night.

3. LOVE letters are a dramatic focal point to your decorations and are great for making a statement at your reception. There’s also a huge variety of style of letters out there too so you’ll be able to find the one that works with your day. It’s also worth remembering that you can choose different coloured bulbs or hire letters to reflect the bride and groom’s initials. Lastly, these letters make the best props for photos!

4. Floral hearts are a really romantic and elegant decoration and the fresh flowers bring a real touch of luxury to your day. They look wonderful when hung at the entrance to the barns. Lavender hearts give a really gorgeous rustic look while gypsophilia creates a clean, white decoration. Of course, using flowers that match the bride’s bouquet is always popular and we’re seeing more and more foliage hearts as well.

5. Drapes are great decorations for a barn wedding. They add drama to barn doors or windows so work really well as an addition to the ceremony barn. You can create so many different looks with drapes – make an elegant statement by framing them with greenery or create a stylish decoration by combining with props such as hurricane lamps.

6. Vintage fabric chair covers are just such a clever way of adding some shabby-chic styling to the barns and whether you use them for your ceremony or wedding breakfast, they really accentuate a country theme. If you’re planning a pretty vintage afternoon tea, definitely consider using these chair covers which can be hired through Quirky Covers and why not choose the fabric to compliment the season?

7. Candelabras are the ultimate elegant wedding decoration. They’re so simple yet sophisticated and, when lit, they create a beautiful, intimate atmosphere, particularly at winter weddings. The overhead candelabras in the South Barn look amazing when decorated with ivy or hanging jars of flowers and candelabras as centre pieces to the dining tables are stunning when dressed with flowers.

8. Herb table plans bring a real outdoors feel to the barns and they are one of the best ways we know to include the beauty of the garden in your country wedding. Place your table plan in the Stable Bar so guests can find their seats before the wedding breakfast and let the herby aroma whet their appetites for dinner! A perfect statement decoration for spring and summer weddings that’s inexpensive and easy to create yourself. Why not name each table after a herb or use potted herbs or seeds as place markers that double as wedding favours?

9. Crates and milk churns of flowers create instant country style and are a brilliant way to add large-scale floral decorations to the venue at any time of year. Place them outside the ceremony barn to frame the doors and create a striking entrance. Using old crates gives a vintage spin whilst giant milk churns adds an extra country element to the décor.

10. Bikes, ladder and creative props give a real pop of personality to your decorations and you can be sure that your guests will notice these unique decorative ideas. A bike with a basket filled with flowers can be a pretty welcome feature or place it in the courtyard for maximum impact. We’ve also seen wellies, watering cans, bookshelves and more turned into floral decorations and they’ve all looked wonderful!

We could talk about wedding reception decorations all day so if you’d like any ideas or recommendations for suppliers, just ask! Alternatively, if this feature has inspired you to plan your own Upwaltham Barns wedding, do get in touch and come and visit us soon.