How to Decorate Wedding Reception Tables

Wedding reception table decorations should be cohesive with the overall theme and feel. Incorporate personality and creativity into centerpieces for the reception with help from a professional event coordinator in this free video on wedding decorations.

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Wedding Table Linens and Reception Theme

By: Janet Ireland

From choosing wedding table linens to decorating for your reception to gifts for the guests, all this and more can often be as exciting as the ceremony itself! Because your guests spend a good deal of time at the reception, sitting at their tables, here is where you can really let your creativity flow and create a spectacular event for your friends and family to remember for all time. Do you want the party of a lifetime? Do you want a deeply romantic affair with a dreamy feel? Do you want something completely original that wows the crowd? Now is your chance.

There are endless creative ideas to use in designing your wedding reception. Start by thinking about your wedding table linens and how they will support your overall theme, so that all of the bells and whistles match the feeling you want guests to have coming in, as they mingle, and as they say goodbye. Your theme can be a time period like the sleek retro 1940's, a season-based spring lawn event, or a color-driven design where everything reflects your favorite palette. Get more information on how you can make your upcoming event more unique here.

It's the big things at your reception (tables, chairs, buffet, walls and ceiling) that will really bring your theme to life, and the detailed decor and subtle touches that will delight your guests as they sit and mingle or move around.

Wedding Table Linens and Table Decor

Think about your reception tables from a distance and then up close from the perspective of a guest sitting down to dinner. From a distance, will your tables have a look of splendor and extravagance, or simple beauty? Will they fill the room with visual delight, or serve as a neutral backdrop for something else you would rather feature at the reception, like the bride and groom's table, or the stage, or the banquet?

What About Lighting?

Lighting your wedding tables makes all the difference in your guests' experience. Beautiful, low light makes everyone glow, look his or her best and feel part of something intimate and special. Candles provide the best possible light for a reception, so consider decorating your table with regal stylish candle pillars or glimmering candelabra. You can also float candles in shallow vases of water, or perch them in topiary. Find out how you can incorporate custom linen rentals into your wedding reception design here.

What About Color?

The tables set the theme of your reception from a distance and inspire your guests when they are seated. Use color carefully. Less is more. Use a wedding table linen of basic white or ivory and accent the table with the naturally elegant colors of wedding flowers or the refinement of ribbon or decorative fabric. Or, use a colored or patterned wedding table linen and choose one thematic color for your table decor, with sharp, bright accents to catch the eye. No matter what color palette you choose, remember that candlelight will show it off best.

And the Details?

Your guests will spend quite a bit of time at their tables, so then is your time to wow and delight them by adding small details that bring smiles, appreciation and good impressions. Choose small gifts to have at their place settings that warm their hearts (like sweet sayings about love and marriage), dazzle their eyes (like bejeweled keepsakes that they can remember you by) or tempt their taste buds (like rich chocolate truffles). Also pay attention the detail of the centerpiece and place settings, in addition to wedding table linens, adding special touches where you can to communicate to your guests how special they are to you. You won't have much time during the wedding to say Thank You for Being Here, so let your table decor do it for you.

Wedding Table Linens as a Starting Point

You can't fail if you begin with the colors you love, the lighting that feels right, and the detail that lets your guests know how much you value them. Work your way to those small details by picking wedding table linens that reflect your taste preferences and the overall vision for the reception that you want your guests to experience. The sky is the limit! Any color of linen will work, as long as you stay focused on your theme and consistent with your palette.

Once you have a color and style, you are ready to add the finishing touches to your one-of-a-kind design.

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