By Maria Immaculate Owechi
Hiring a big wedding venue means you intend to host a big number of guests. This decision can be influenced by the fact that both of you come from huge families with lots of family, relatives and friends and would not feel comfortable leaving anyone out.
At times this may be an influence from parents who would not want to that their son or daughter may want a simple ceremony. The opportunity to gain the prestige that comes from having their friends and relatives witnessing their child being joined in holy matrimony overrides any factor.
Maureen Muhindo shares that on her wedding day two years ago, her family and her husband were okay with their decision to have a small intimate wedding.
“But my husband’s family and relatives were offended that I was implying they could not afford a grand wedding,” Muhindo reveals.
“Since they were willingly contributing during the meetings, we compromised for their sake and even decided to have our wedding in Kasese where both our families were based,” she explains.
According to Renzioni Hills a wedding planner with Renzioni Events, big wedding venues such as in gardens and halls are interesting to decorate because you have enough space to play around with different details.
The following are the tips shared for couples to focus on while putting décor together for a grand wedding venue;
The entrance to the hall way
“For the entrance not to appear blank, we mostly place a long red carpet all the way to the front. This carpet not only fills the entrance a bit but also highlights the walkway to the high table,” Renzioni says.
He adds that along the hall way, bouquets of flowers or petals are sprinkled to add a distinct look to the reception.
The bridal stage
Winnie Kirabo, a florist with Luxury florists on Kampala road says that one thing to consider in planning out how to decorate a large hall for a wedding is to avoid putting the bridal table being far away from the guests.
“The couple wants to able to easily look around and see if all their loved ones honoured their invitation,” she explains. ”Even their guests will want to clearly see and appreciate the bridal party’s dress code. “
However, since a large space is at times required for dancing, she says most decorators have adopted the alternative of using high tables or gazebos that raise the couple’s table high so that they are easily seen.
The seating arrangement
With a large reception place, there is ample space to get creative with different table settings. Like the most popular is the round table seating and it is easy to leave spaces in between for the guests to easily move.
Renzioni says that for a big garden or hall venue, the bus seating’ sort of arrangement to avoid placing tables leaves unnecessary space.
In fact, he says it is lack of etiquette for you to invite guests to your function only for them to have to place the plate of food on their laps because you cut off tables on your budget to save costs.
In regards to décor, Kirabo explains that just like they cover the tables with beautiful cloths, also the chairs equally will look plain and boring if not covered at all.
“So, we usually either cover the chairs with brightly coloured silk material or just add a pop of colour, where we just tie a fabric around the chair and fascinate it with a flower or a leafy accent,” she adds.
Center pieces
After the seating arrangement is properly set, visible center pieces are an icing on the cake that should never be under looked. There are many elegant designs that are now available on the market which you can experiment with your decorator.
But Renzioni warns that the centerpieces should not be so crowded on the table that a guest does not have space to place their clutch bag or hand.
“At times some couples place a big or long bouquet of flowers on tables where the guests have to stretch their neck in order to speak to someone across or even looking at the bridal table,” he explains.
Lighting
Lights should be used to enhance your wedding theme and the possibilities are endless when you incorporate them into your decorations. For large wedding spaces like in a hall, making use of chandelier lights across the room is advised by décor experts for that elegant touch.
Division of the rooms
Renzioni explains that dividing a large hall using cloths or satin curtains is another décor technique. For instance dividing the room into the dinner area, cocktail area, dance floor, and photo shoot area.
