MY TOP 5 FREESTANDING WEDDING BACKDROPS
Wedding ceremony backdrops, wedding decorations, venue styling - for when you can’t attach to walls!
What do you do when you’ve found your perfect UK wedding venue but they tell you you can’t attach anything to the walls or ceiling - when you’ve had your heart set on adding a few decorative touches that will put your stamp on the day and make some joyous photos to keep forever. No hanging, no existing fixtures to use? You go freestanding!
Often a lot of wedding venues might be historical listed buildings, so of course the venue managers want to protect it, that’s their job…But this doesn’t have to come at the price of shattering the vision of your dream day, a vision that has your personality all over it, meaning your wedding doesn’t look like every other wedding that’s happened in that venue!
Let’s have a look at my top tips for freestanding wedding decorations that won’t have venue managers freaking out…
CURVED SHAPE WEDDING CEREMONY BACKDROP
These curved screen shapes have been everywhere in 22/23 and I can see them being around for a good few years yet. They’re just so damn flexible and create such a cool backdrop! They can be painted and re-painted to match a colour scheme (so they’re great for a stylist like me who HATES waste and single-use items!) My preference would be to get them in plywood which contains less chemicals than MDF, especially if you’re cutting them to shape.
HOW TO STYLE: set the screens in different positions (further forward/further back etc) to create perspective and shadows. Position floral arrangements at the base of the shapes and at different heights but make sure any attaching points are covered with foliage and flowers!
2. Plinths and florals - a modern wedding design idea
Plinths come in all shapes and sizes - above you can see contemporary geometric metal plinths, and below, solid wooden box structures. The great thing about using plinths in your wedding backdrop is that you can use the flat top to place or secure your florals, so it can be easier to arrange than the flat freestanding shapes.
Lots of prop and wedding hire companies supply plinths, so you can use for wedding day and then have them collected, so you don’t have to store afterwards! IF you have some spare wood needing to be re-used, and have a purpose for them afterwards around your home, you could attempt a Plinth DIY.
HOW TO STYLE: Different heights and positions for perspective. Colour blocky florals (keeping similar colours together) and neon strip lights.
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/22729173113148176/
3. Fold out screen wedding backdrop
Often at weddings you might need to gently screen off something you don’t want in your wedding photos, or a door you don’t want people going through! To do this you might need something tall, light and easy to transport - which is where fold out screens come into their own.
You can get some great modern grid screens like the one above, which keep the light coming through whilst gently creating a new focal point - here they’ve used for their order of the day sign.
HOW TO STYLE: All one colour (I’m personally still into black grids!) Lots of fresh or dried flowers and foliage, simple text signs
4. Wedding table clamp frames
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/815573814140959451/
Depending on what type of meal you’re going for, you might not have a lot of room on your wedding table for styling and decor. Large sharing platters might mean you need to keep the table free of stuff for your food. A way of keeping your wedding tables and the dining room itself looking incredible is to go up ☝🏼
Normally the clamps fix directly to each table end so you even if you’ve got one long table you can just attach a clamp frame to each table and still have them running in one long line.
HOW TO STYLE: hanging florals (I love some dead twiggy wood on these to create a wilder feel) , hanging mini glass bubbles with real tealights (venue permitting) fabric draping - there’s a lot of possibilities with this one! Keep minimalist and simple or maximalist, depending on your vibe as a couple!
5. Metal wedding arch with florals
I’m in love with these floral wedding ceremony arches from Soil and Stem. Using a metal arbour arch structure as a base, it’s almost fully invisible, covered with organic, flowing florals in really simple but effective colour palettes. The image below is another seemingly floating floral and foliage focal point for the ceremony.
A lot of florists do this type of work for weddings but I’ve also created bespoke freestanding structures for florists to dress for weddings too - check with your supplier if you’re keen on having something like this. A key consideration is making it sturdy enough so it won’t flop down on the two of you during your vows 😂
HOW TO STYLE: Florals, florals and more florals! You can echo the florals down the aisle too, just make sure people can get to their seats without kicking anything over!
BEST OF THE REST: FREESTANDING WEDDING DECOR OPTIONS
Head to my dedicated Pinterest board for FREESTANDING WEDDING DECORATIONS where you can find all the links to the images below, plus new finds will be added here over the coming months/years - however long I’m obsessed with everything freestanding!
If you’d like any help putting together a design plan for your wedding check out my Power Hour consultation and for one step further, let me style your whole wedding! Full wedding decor packages are available for Summer 23 and beyond.
If you’re doing your own wedding but would like some help coming up with a comprehensive, creative wedding design plan to follow - PLUS bespoke ideas for YOUR venue and budget, check out the packages below which are a fraction of the price of my Full Styling Packages…