DIY Ribbon Wedding Ceremony Arch

Create a lush wedding arch by tying long ribbons around a wire base.

Embellished arches are at their best in nontraditional wedding locations, like a restaurant or backyard. They immediately draw guests' attention to the focal point of the setting, like a pulpit in a church. That focus makes the location appear ordered and appropriate for a wedding. Though you could rent an arch for your ceremony, the feature is surprisingly easy to create. Making your own arch allows you to fashion the ribbon-bedecked arch of your dreams, down to the last detail.

Things You'll Need

• Wire arch frame
• Hot glue
• 4 spools ribbon, 3-inch width
• Scissors
• Tape measure
• Spools ribbon, 1- to 2-inch width
• Heated ribbon cutter or wood burning tool

Instructions

1. Stand a wire arch frame right side up.

2. Apply a narrow line of hot glue along the loose end of a 3-inch-wide spool of ribbon. Press the glued ribbon to the top of a vertical wire on the side of the arch. Press the ribbon in place beneath the end of the arched section, where the wire is straight.

3. Wrap the ribbon around the glued end to obscure it. Wrap the ribbon in a downward spiral to the bottom of the vertical wire. Trim the ribbon from the spool with scissors. Apply a line of hot glue to the trimmed end. Press it to the interior side of the wire.

4. Repeat the wrapping process to cover the three remaining bare wires. Wrap any horizontal wires that connect the front and back vertical wires.

5. Measure how far you want the ribbon to hang from the arch with a tape measure. For example, for full length streamers, measure from the top of the arch to the ground. Double the length and add 2 inches to find your streamer length measurement.

6. Cut a piece of 1- to 2-inch-wide ribbon to your streamer length. Cut the ribbon with a heated ribbon cutter or wood burning tool to prevent fraying. Drag the hot tool across the ribbon at a diagonal angle or in an inverted V-shape to make the spiked end common on ribbon embellishments.

7. Drape the ribbon over the front arched wire. Center the ribbon so that both sides of it fall to the same length.

8. Cross the sides of the ribbon under the wire. Pull one side of the ribbon around the other and through the loop to tie a knot. Pull the ribbon tight to secure the knot.

9. Repeat the process to cover the front and back arched wires in knotted ribbon.

10. Divide the streamers on the front side in half. Pull one half of the ribbons to the side. Pull the ends of the streamers between the vertical wires on the side, above one of the short, horizontal wires. They should run from the interior side of the arch to the exterior. Allow the top of the gathered section to hang loose, in a draped swag. The loose ends can hang around the front vertical wire or down the side of the arch.

11. Repeat the process with the other half of the front streamers.

Tips & Warnings

• The amount of ribbon you need for the streamers depends on the size of your arch, how much you want to cover it and how long you want the streamers to be. Work on this well ahead of the wedding so that you have plenty of time to purchase more ribbon, if needed.

• Paint the arch with spray paint before adding the ribbon, if you want the arch to be a different color.

• Wrap any vertical portion of the arch base that you do not want visible during the wedding with ribbon. Leave the base unwrapped if you want it to remain visible.