How to Decorate a Wedding Reception with Fabric

Accentuating a wedding reception with fabric incorporates color and texture into the wedding design. Decorating with fabric is time consuming, so run through the setup process and premeasure the fabric. This ensures enough fabric was bought for the actual wedding reception. Enlist the help of friends and family. Show them exactly how you want the reception area to look.

Things You'll Need

• Toilet paper rolls
• Fabric
• Scissors
• Craft glue
• Jewels or gems
• Fabric glue
• Staples, tacks or cup hooks
• Greenery
• Flowers
• White Christmas lights
• Fresh flowers
• Fabric pins
• Rubber bands

Instructions

1. Design napkin rings. Use toilet paper rolls and fabric to create napkin rings for the wedding reception. Save toilet paper rolls and cut to desired size. Consider making two or three napkin rings per toilet paper roll. Cover the piece of toilet paper roll with an opaque material. Use craft glue to attach the fabric. Select a fabric that complements the wedding colors and table design. Think about embellishing the napkin rings with jewels or gems.

2. Add fabric to covered chairs. Purchase fabric to match the wedding colors. Cut a piece of fabric 4 to 5 feet in length. Pull the fabric tightly around the chair back. Tie the fabric into a bow. As an alternative, tie with a square knot and add fresh flowers or a swag of flowers. Create a distinctive chair design for the bride and groom using multiple colors of fabric.

3. Decorate the ceiling. Start in the center by the chandelier. Use staples, tacks or cup hooks to attach tulle or gossamer to the ceiling. Create a few swags in the fabric by attaching to the ceiling with staples, tacks or cup hooks. Secure tightly when the material reaches the wall. Repeat the desired number of times starting as close as possible to the others. Add greenery, a bow or flowers to cover the starting position. Consider adding white Christmas lights to the fabric to give it a soft glow.

4. Use fabric on tables. Use fabric to create table runners to match the wedding décor. Purchase fabric from a local store and stitch the ends. If sewing isn't an option, use fabric glue and carefully fold over the edges. Select a color to enhance the wedding reception tables and to add color to the celebration. Drape tulle or other fabric along the edges of a table. This may not be possible for every table, but consider draping tulle on the cake table, serving tables and gift table. Use pins to hold the fabric in place. Consider adding greenery or a bow to hide the pinned area.

5. Accentuate doorways or arches with fabric. Unroll enough fabric to start at the doorway's top left corner. Allow enough fabric to outline the left side of the door with a small gathering. Gather the fabric using a rubber band and attach to the wall using a staple gun or tacks near the gather. Complete the same action for the top right side of the doorway. About halfway down each side of the doorway, gather the fabric with a rubber band and attach to the wall. Use greenery, bows or flowers to cover the gatherings.