How to Make a Bland Room Turn Into an Elegant Wedding Reception Room

Use an otherwise plain room as the canvas for an inspiring transformation fit for a story book wedding. Your medium is a wide variety of flowers used in almost every element of the decor. From the moment the bridal party and guests enter the reception room they are greeted by fragrant roses and treated to an indoor fairy tale garden. Enlist the help of several friends to help you put together a truly elegant wedding reception room.

Things You'll Need

• Round reception tables and chairs
• Linen tablecloths
• Organza bows
• Single stemmed roses
• Water picks
• Card stock
• Hot glue gun
• Hot glue sticks
• Feather boas
• Hole punch
• Ribbon
• Sandwich baggies
• Floral foam
• Fresh flowers
• 6-inch pillar candles
• Fresh flower garland
• Helium balloons
• 2 foil wrapped water balloons
• Satin aisle runner
• Clear string lights
• Extension cords
• Plastic cord covers
• Portable dance floor
• Rope lights
• Topiary trees
• Carnations
• Raffia ribbon
• Wine bottles
• Gerbera daisies
• 12-inch polystyrene foam balls
• Crepe paper roses
• Silk roses
• 2-inch wide ribbon
• Straight pins

Instructions

The Reception Tables

1. Set up round reception tables. Arrange them on each side of the entrance, filling one half of the room. Leave the other half of the room for dancing and mingling. Drape the tables with linen tablecloths.

2. Tie organza bows around each chair. Use organza that matches the overall color scheme.

3. Place single stem roses in water picks. Insert each rose into the center of a the bow.

4. Fashion a paper cone, also called a tussy mussy, for each table using decorative card stock. Draw a 9-inch long cone on the card stock with a 6-inch arc at the top. Cut out the pattern, fold over to form a cone and hot glue together.

5. Hot glue a section of feather boa around the top of each tussy mussy. With a hole punch, make holes in the tops of each side and thread a ribbon through each, tying a bow at the top to form the handle.

6. Tuck a plastic sandwich baggie into the bottom of each tussy mussy. Insert a 2-inch block of pre-soaked piece of floral foam into the plastic. Fill the cones with small bouquets of fresh flowers.

7. Lay the bouquets on their sides in the center of each table. Place a single 6-inch pillar candle next to the flowers. Light the candles just before guests arrive.

The Entrance and Dance Floor

1. Affix a garland of fresh roses and greenery over the entrance of the reception room. Flank the entrance with a bouquet of helium balloons, weighted with foil wrapped water balloons.

2. Run a satin aisle runner from the entrance to the dance floor. Line each side of the aisle runner with clear string lights. Plug the lights into wall outlets located close to the entrance. Use extension cords if necessary, camouflaging them with plastic cord covers.

3. Construct the portable dance floor, rented from your local event supply store. Add a soft glow to the dance floor by lining the edges with rope lights. Prevent trips and falls by tucking the cords safely under plastic cord covers.

The Walls, Windows and Ceilings

1. Line the walls with topiary trees, allowing 4-feet of space between each tree. Decorate each one with dozens of carnations.

2. Tie 3-feet of raffia ribbon around the necks of several wine bottles, leaving roughly 18-inches of ribbon on each side. Fill the bottles half full of water. Insert a brightly colored gerbera daisy in each wine bottle.

3. Tie each end of the ribbon to the outer edges of the curtain rods or brackets above the windows so the wine bottle vases hang in the center of each window.

4. Cover 12-inch polystyrene foam balls in crepe paper or silk roses, creating lightweight pomanders. Pin 2-inch wide ribbon, cut in varying lengths to the pomanders. Pin the other end of the ribbon to the reception room ceiling, effectively completing your elegant room transformation.