Decorating the Reception Hall

Our reception hall was, and we must be completely honest here, an indoor basketball court. The two baskets on opposite walls could not be retracted nor could the large scoreboard be hidden from view. We would’ve needed a cherry picker to hang any decorations from the high ceiling, and the court lines were clearly visible on the floor. Our job was to overlook these liabilities and transform the room into something that resembled an inviting banquet room.

We decided not to decorate the basketball hoops or attempt to cover the scoreboard reasoning that the less we did to them the more likely guests simply would not notice them and, happily, this turned out to be the case. It also meant less work for us at the end of the evening since we would need to take down everything we put up.

Twenty-four tables covered most of the floor. One would have to look hard to find the court lines beneath them. Each table had a snowy white tablecloth and a candle arrangement on a mirror in the center. Once the candles were lit the room glowed with twinkling lights. It was charming!

The candle arrangements were something my daughter had been working on for several weeks. We used two different set-ups for the candles and alternated them between tables. We bought the glass candle holders at a discount store, and used dried lavender and fresh rosemary sprigs from our own garden as a touch of greenery around the base of the candles.

We decided not to use the rocks on the mirror but kept the greenery with a touch of lavender.

The decorated arches created focal points around the room. We used them as backdrops for the bridal table, the cake table, and a photo board corner.

The bridal table was simply decorated: a garland of ivy twined with a string of clear crystals was laid on top of the table in front of the bride and groom. Two candle arrangements were at either end of this garland. If we’d had more time I think we might have added some swags of tulle and garland to the front of the table but…we didn’t.

The cake table was made special by a crocheted tablecloth made by my aunt. The lacey white tablecloth was laid over a hunter green cloth and looked lovely beneath the floating tiers of the cake. We purchased a 3-tiered cake stand and covered the base with tulle then we wound ivy around and through the tier legs. Finally, we positioned the cake “topper” in amongst the ivy and tiers. We put the champagne flutes to one side and it made a very pretty picture.

The photo board was almost an after thought but I was very pleased with the end result. I’d always liked the idea of having some kind of pre-wedding “history” available to guests even if it was just a couple of pictures of the bride and groom on a table. This proves they didn’t just drop out of the sky as a couple but actually had lives before they met. Not everyone may find that interesting but I do and I was happy that, when I suggested a photo board, everyone seemed eager to help make it happen. I especially enjoyed getting together with the groom’s parents to sort through their family photos and pick out a dozen special pictures. We also had several pictures of the couple having fun together at church as children when they were “just friends” and before they were a couple. So, it was very pleasing to me to be able to show the evolution of their relationship – from two strangers to friendship to devotion.

I covered a 2x3 foot white board with different colored construction paper and arranged the pictures on it. Also, the bolts of tulle came on 1x3 foot cardboard pieces. After we used up all the tulle on decorations, I covered these cardboard pieces with construction paper too and attached them to the sides of the white board kind of like wings. I was using what I had on hand but, if I had to do it over again, I might just use a standard science project display board. Anyway, we had the use of an easel at the reception hall and set up the photo board in a corner under one of our lighted arches to create a conversation piece.

Total cost to decorate the reception hall and the sanctuary at church = $555. This cost includes the altar flowers, the wedding arch, 3 bolts of tulle, 14 garlands, numerous artificial flowers, 60 glass candle holders, 60 candles, several pounds of decorative rocks, and fabric for 15 tables cloths.

P.S. Photos of some of the cake table, photo board, one of the table arrangements, and overall room may be viewed here.