Decorating with ribbon is a relatively easy way to add lots of pizzazz to your wedding ceremony and reception. In this post I will share some ideas you may not have seen before. I won’t be talking about using ribbon on bouquets, aisle markers or on little boxes for your wedding favors … you probably know about that already!

I will focus on five fresh ideas for using ribbon streamers for:

• Ceremony Backdrop
• Ceremony and/or Reception Chairs
• Reception Ceiling Décor
• Reception Table Runners
  
• Wedding Balloons

Ceremony Backdrop. If you are having your wedding ceremony outside, chances are you will need a backdrop for the area where you and your groom will stand for your wedding vows. This will be the spot where important wedding photos will be taken as you exchange rings, share your first kiss as husband and wife, etc. So, you want it to be beautiful! Using ribbon is less expensive than flowers and doesn’t require a professional to set up. This is something you can do by yourself … with a little assistance from a few friends and/or family.

The backdrop below is very simple and understated. Notice that the aisle markers coordinate with it.

This photos shows how the ribbons are attached. As you can see, your backdrop can be as elaborate as you want it to be!

This backdrop  uses several types of ribbon which gives it a lot of visual interest.

Ceremony and/or Reception Chairs. Decorating chairs can be a bit labor intensive and if you don’t have help, instead of decorating all of the chairs, you can just do the bride’s and groom’s chairs or the head table’s chairs.

All three of the ribbon designs below make great use of coordinating the wedding colors. Here is a link to show you how to do these techniques:
How to Decorate Chairs with Ribbon

Reception Ceiling Décor. Here are some examples of how to decorate your reception site’s ceiling with ribbons.

If your reception site has chandeliers you can coordinate your wedding colors by simply adding ribbons to the chandelier.

Not every venue can handle the ceiling detail that is shown below but for those that can, you can add a lot of interest and color with ribbon.

Reception Table Runners. If you are on a budget and don’t want to have elaborate centerpieces, you can use ribbon streamers to add color and interest to your tables.

Ribbon is great for substituting for a tablecloth and often it is a lot more festive!

Wedding Balloons. When it comes to balloons there are “degrees” of “fabulousness”! Yes, you can get the pear-shaped ones and tie some “curling” ribbon on them but why not take it up a notch and use round balloons with shimmery,satin ribbon!

Balloons are great for photos and the ribbon “pom-poms” take things from average to spectacular! The last photo shows more detail of the colorful ribbon pom-poms in this photo.

Resources:

It’s best to cut your ribbons at a slant or “V” at the ends. Here are instructions for doing that: The Right Way to Cut Ribbon Ends

100-Yard Rolls of Ribbon at Exclusively Weddings – 24 Color Choices for Satin and 9 for Sheer Organza:
7/8″ Satin Ribbon 
7/8″ Sheer Organza Ribbon 
5/8″ Satin Ribbon
3/8″ Satin Ribbon

Photo Sources: Lizzie Photo, Stripling Photography, Anne Robert Photography, Alyssa Vincent, Wedding Chicks, Anushe Low, Keely Thorne Events, She-n-He.com, Style Me Pretty, A Little Polkadot, Keely Thorne Events/Craig Davis Photography [last two photos]

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