How to Decorate a Wedding Arbor With Photographs

Many brides choose to use arbors when decorating either their wedding ceremonies or reception locations. Arbors are typically adorned with lush flowers and yards of sumptuous fabrics, but there is a way to decorate a wedding arbor in a special, out-of-the-ordinary way using personal photographs. It's a nice touch to start with pictures of you and your significant other as children and arch your way around the arbor as you both grew up, met and became a couple. Creating this one-of-a-kind wedding arbor allows guests to see your life together as a couple in pictures, which gives your event a personal touch.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Wedding arbor Fabric White miniature lights Clothespins, small binder clips or other fasteners Flowers Photographs Floral wire

1. Purchase two to three yards of fabric for your wedding arbor--such as airy gauze, soft tulle or silk organza.

2. Wrap your chosen fabric around the various rungs and arches of the arbor. Most arches provide natural openings for looping fabric in an up-and-down pattern, but you can also use floral wire to secure fabric to the arbor. As you are wrapping your fabric around the arbor, decide where you would like to "nest" photographs within the fabric folds. At these locations, loosely bunch your fabric into small pools or nests; secure them to the arbor with floral wire.

3. Entwine miniature white lights around the arbor, being careful to loosely place them behind your fabric to create a twinkling effect. Do not place lights inside the fabric nests where you will hang photographs. Make sure to leave the plug end of the light strand near an electrical outlet.

4. Now it is time to add your photographs. Starting at one end of the arbor, secure your first photograph to one of the fabric nests that you created using a clothespin, binder clip or other fastener. Simply slide the photograph and a small piece of the nested fabric into the fastener. (For a more casual look, use wooden clothespins. For a more contemporary feel, metal binder clips add an industrial look.)

5. Continue to fasten photographs to your fabric nests as you work your way around the wedding arbor. Embellish the arbor with flowers for a gentle touch. Once complete, you will have an arch of photographs for guests to enjoy throughout the wedding.

Tips & Warnings

• Consider using black and white photographs, especially if your wedding colors are black and white. Adding red flowers can be a striking contrast to the black and white photographs, white lights and sheer fabric on your arbor.
• If you are placing the arbor outside, make sure to provide a protective covering in case of inclement weather.