Anybody with creative ideas to decorate this venue?
Ok..so I’ve already put my deposit down for my venue for my November wedding. I cant get a refund so I’m stuck in the contract which I guess is ok but for some reason I’m not feeling so excited about it anymore. Here’s the thing, I’m renting a beach house for a November wedding. Why?..you may ask.. so that my out of town family has a place to stay, and so we can just do the whole wedding/reception in one place which saves money as well.
Looking at the pictures, you’ll notice it’s on the bay which I picked on purpose for the ceremony. I imagined getting married on the dock during sunset which I understand it’s going to be a little chilly so I’ll make it short & sweet 
Inside, on the second floor is a game room/small bar which I intend to use for the adult beverages and as a place for people to hang out, and on the third floor where the kitchen is, is where the food will be (obviously) and I was thinking about moving the furniture to the side and making it a dance floor when people are done eating. I also enjoy the numerous balcony’s for a romantic evening reception.
My problem is I don’t know how to decorate it to make it look more like a wedding and less like a beach house. I’m trying my best to try to steer it away from looking beachy b/c it’s not a "beach wedding". I bought those light up lanterns that are really trendy right now and was thinking about hanging them on the balconys..but what else can I do? Any ideas for the deck by the water? I’m thinking of getting an arch but should I try to hang something to try to hide the pool in the back? Any ideas of what to do inside? I know I’m asking alot but I need as much help as I can get.
http://www.siebert-realty.com/cgi-bin/previews10.pl?id=BB313&unitfile=units2010&hdr=BC9Nc
Thanks in advance and sorry for the run-on sentences..I had so much to say
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I think that is a great place for you to get married. And don’t worry too much about the cold weather. There is something romantic about being cozy in a lake house.
As for decorations, my suggestions would be (I assume you are having a small wedding?):
1) Kitchen area: Move all of the furniture in the kitchen area (except the table) into the garage. Rent an extra table for a seated dinner if you need it (long banquet tables will be easy to move to the side when you want to dance). You can’t fight the yellow in the room so I would either a) go with fall colors or b) pair it with dove gray. Dove gray will look sleek and modern and help tone down the yellow. It will also keep the surrounding nature in the forefront. As for decorations, I would light a fire in the fireplace and use candles on the tables and bar. Also, put a slide show of you and your fiance on the tv or a video of something the two of you like (maybe just make it look like a painting).
2) Ceremony area: While the pool is behind you, it will be covered by that point and some pool covers are just gross. You don’t want anyone thinking "Eww" as they go to your wedding. I suggest blocking the view with an evergreen or box hedge. Unlike a screen or lattice, it will blend in with your natural surroundings. You can also plant the bushes later (eco-friendly!). On the end of the dock, put two LARGE flower arrangements, an archway or a canopy at the end. This way you’ll be framed up in your pictures instead of dwarfed by the vastness of the setting.
3) Balconies: I really like your idea about the lanterns on the balconies. They’ll provide a nice ethereal quality outside. Unless you know people will be outside, I wouldn’t spend too much money decorating the balconies since it is unlikely too much time will be spent out there since it will be chilly.
4) Game Room: I wouldn’t do much in this room, but keep try to keep it cohesive with the other decorations you use. Get a matching linen and cover the coffee table. Put a small cocktail sized floral arrangement on the table. Put the same slideshow/video on the computers/tv. Put candles on the bar. Take down the umbrella artwork (put in the garage) and hang an engagement photo instead.
I hope these suggestions help. Congrats on your upcoming wedding!
First, congratulations! It looks like a nice place!
Potlights. I mean the kind that you push on and push off and they usually have a peel and stick back on them. You can place them almost anywhere, outside around the dock, inside in a palm or ficus tree or under a stairway. These are at discount and dollar stores and very affordable. Same with rope lights or the small white light strands.
You don’t have to "over-beach" it. You can grab some silk orchid garlands and place them around the food as trim and to add a pop of color. Or just ivy, if you prefer. It will look nice with the green sofa, which I agree you will want to move aside.
Wow!!! Can I come? I need a vacation and that looks beautiful!
Okay, decorating, first, you didn’t say what your color theme is for the event or your budget, so I’m just going to wing it here. Keep in mind that a lot of this stuff might be able to be done by hand to save even more money, but check out discount stores and Oriental Trading (orientaltrading.com) for cheap deals too.
The arbor (arch) can easily be decorated and if you want to hide the pool for photo ops, simply buy a some white material or even white mesh and drape it across the back of the arbor to create a solid white backdrop. And if you go to any number of Dollar Store type places, you can get a lot of silk florals and greens to drape around the front of the arbor.
You might also want to think about a white runner that you and you your attendants walk on to get to the deck. And maybe you can rent some kind of a portable railing to place around the outside of the deck that would give it a fancier look?
For the entrances, drape some tulle around the top and sides and add some of those paper wedding bells to the tulle.
You can get some streamers in your wedding colors to drape around the stair rails and put chair covers on the chairs in white with your color accents.
On the balconies, again, draping tulle with big paper wedding bells will do the trick there by adding color without making it look like a beach wedding theme.
For favors, table centerpieces and other accents, just don’t have anything "beachy;’ stick with white and your other wedding colors as accents.
In the rest rooms, place some special little soaps or hand towels to make it comfortable for your guests and to add a little "wedding" touch to the decor also.
I hope this helps get you started! Have fun with it – and a Big Congratulations!
I think the place is great! I don’t know what your budget is, but I can definitely picture a very nice decor. In the kitchen, I would get rid of the chairs (hide them or move them from the area) this would give better traffic room. I would have a large flower centerpiece in the middle of the table and if the lighting can be turned down I would turn it down and light as many areas as I could with candles (you can even use the battery kind for safety) and little white lights. White light strands wrapped in gossamer (nice and costs less than toulle and available from shindigz.com) make for a very wedding feel. I would also use it on the staircase and balconies. Then I would place fake flowers in as many places as I think people will gather in groups.
On the outside tables I would place bowls with floating candles; simple but nice at night.
I would concentrate more on where the ceremony will be, but I would keep it simple and let the beauty of the water and the grounds do the work for you. Check out www. planningyourweddingforless.com for some outdoor wedding ideas and some money saving tips.
The beach house is lovely. I noticed there is a lot of yellow. Since it is in the fall, you could go with this and add fall colors and decorations. It could be a casual wedding. You could use a rustic arch and decorate with grapevines or honeysuckle vines, mums, berries and fall leaves and use yellow ribbon. Scatter artificial fall leaves on the ground (be sure to rake them after). Or you could go with a more glitzy look and spray paint the vines gold, add gold accents or ribbon and crystals. If you plan to make it real short, your guests could stand during the wedding then back to the beach house like you said. It sounds like it will be a fun and intimate place to have your wedding.
I don’t think the pool will be a problem. The guests will be facing the dock with their backs to it. If you really want it hidden, you could have a large 3 section screen made of lattice and decorate it. Lattice comes in 4 x 8 ft. panels and can be put together with some boards and hinges. Ask some of your male relatives or friends if they could do this.
If you don’t like the fall colors, go with hot pink or another color that will contrast nicely with the yellow walls. The decor inside depends on your taste. Do you like tulle, satin and bows with pearls or less frilly? Do you want a theme? Whatever you do on the arch should be carried over to the inside.
That is such a creative idea, to rent a house and have the reception there! Kudos to you, I’ve never heard of that being done, and I think it’s fabulous!
I’m picturing a lot of low lighting (candles, table lamps, and/or paper lanterns) with flowers everywhere. Pick up some pretty white flowers on clearance at a craft store, and go to the Dollar Tree to get a bunch of clear vases at a reasonable price.
I would also put ribbon bows on any stairs/ handrails. Lots of candles, everywhere (in very safe candleholders so the place doesn’t burn down!)
You can also get (at the Christmas tree shop, roughly $12.99) white plaster plant stands (they look like greek pillars), you could purchase two, put flowers on them, and place them on the dock where you are getting married, the two of you and the officiant would stand between them.
I would stay away from streamers and "paper bells" and all of those hoakey party decorations, they take away any elegance. Stick with ribbon and tulle and glass.
Have fun!
I liked Froufrous idea with the orchids around the food displays. I think you will want to create wonderful food displays that make an impression. Foods at different heights, flowers, and all proper serving utensils and little touches are a must. Look at catering websites for ideas on how to create beautiful displays.
I also like your idea of paper lanterns. Hang them in a place where they can be in clusters, not in a straight line.
It will be too cold to hang out at the pool, but does any of the rooms offer a good view of the pool? In that case, you could float lights in the pool.
As for the inside, remove the chairs around the bar in the kitchen because that would be a perfect place to display your food. You dont say how many guests, but you could also remove some of those sofas to make more room. Cover every other table you can use in white linen, and put a tiny flower on each table, all the same. This creates a uniform look without being too flashy. You could either do an orchid in a tiny clear glass vase, or simply lay a flower down with tea lights in glass holders.
Thats it. I wouldnt do anything else. No tulle on the walls, no ribbons from the ceiling. You want to draw peoples eye toward the middle of the room, that means the food and the tables. And, you want to create a uniform look throughout the entire place.
Also, are you renting proper dishes and glasses too? Believe it or not, that is a very important part of your "decor" because they are things that people see, touch, and use. It looks really nice and feels really nice when you have proper dishes and linens. So dont go cheap with paper and plastic.