You can learn how to decorate a wedding tent on a budget in four steps. It’s possible to create a gorgeous tent for your wedding without breaking the bank by knowing the type of tent to choose and what decors to use like drapes, lights, and flowers.
If you also have an arch, read how to decorate a wedding arch with fabric. It includes some secrets on measuring the fabric you’ll need to avoid wasting materials and save more with your wedding budget.
How Do You Decorate A Wedding Tent On A Budget?
Step 1. Choose the right tent
The price for wedding tents starts at $300, so make sure to be mindful of the type you’ll choose. A helpful tip is to go for a tent with open sides to take advantage of the location, and you won’t need to overcompensate with the decorations.
There are three best tents that you can consider for your wedding. The frame tent is easy to decorate because there are no center poles, while the pole tent can look more elegant because of the peaking ceiling.
Another option is the marquee tent that combines the characteristic of the frame and pole tent. This will be a great choice if you’re doing a small wedding, and it’s even versatile for various locations.
You can save more with decorating by deciding on the type of tent to rent because you don’t risk buying potentially unnecessary decorations.
Step 2. Drape and wrap fabrics
One of the most affordable ways to decorate a wedding tent is through fabrics. They are easy to attach, and you can select from different colors and textures to match the wedding theme.
Depending on the tent style, you can drape the fabric on the ceiling to change the venue’s ambiance. Another option is to wrap the materials on some tent frameworks parts like the beams.
Some fabrics are easy to tie or braid to create garlands and streamers. You can even treat the materials as tent liners or panels and better utilize the tent space.
If you’re curious about the specific materials to use, read what fabric is used for wedding draping.
Step 3. Add lights
Even though you don’t plan to spend much on decorating your wedding tent, you can still add lights to make it more aesthetically pleasing for the event. An example of an affordable type of light for decorating wedding tents is fairy lights.
What’s great with fairy lights is you can arrange them quickly, and the colors can transform the mood of the tent. You can run the string lights underneath the tent framework and secure them with cable ties.
If you’re having a rustic wedding or want more illumination, you can also use lamps to decorate the wedding tent. Just remember to consider the safety of combining lights with the other decors to avoid the risk of fire.
Step 4. Enhance with flowers
You might assume that flowers will be too expensive for decorating a wedding tent. However, careful planning and selection of the flowers to use can still help you maintain a budget.
Having flowers and greenery can make the tent’s ceiling livelier, or you can combine floral arrangements that follow the wedding color palette and use them as accents on drapes and fabric wraps. Of course, if budget is an issue, you don’t even need to use live flowers for all the decors.
Another affordable way to decorate the wedding tent on a budget with flowers is simply using them on the entrance, similar to how you’ll style a wedding arch. Some examples of low-cost flowers include daisies and carnations, to give you some ideas.
How Do You Hang Curtains For A Wedding Tent?
- Sketch the ceiling design you have for the wedding tent with curtains
- Determine the fabrics you’ll need according to the distance on where you’ll drape them
- Tie a large hoop on the tent pole at the center
- String several fishing lines on the tent poles around the sides
- Insert the curtain through the center hoop and staple it in place
- Adjust the ends of the fabric over the lines you have on the sides and drape them according to the style you want
How Do You Light A Tent For A Wedding Reception?
You can use a chandelier to light a wedding reception tent, but here are some other budget-friendly ideas:
String lights
If you’re decorating the wedding tent, you’ll have an easier time arranging string lights. They are easy to manipulate, hang, or wrap on the tent ceilings and other fixtures.
Bottled lights
You can put LED lights inside bottles and have them as centerpieces inside the wedding tent. Another option is to hang these glass bottles if you want to distribute the illumination better.
Wash lights
From the name itself, there are so-called wash lights that wash the area with soft lighting. These fixtures are ideal for wedding receptions, especially when it’s time to dance since they provide a dramatic ambiance.
Conclusion
And that’s it! We’ve discussed how to decorate a wedding tent on a budget and revealed four steps.
You decide on a tent first to determine what decors are needed and how many you’ll need. Then, drape fabrics or use them as garlands before adding lights and flowers.
Remember that less is more, so there’s no need to use too many decorations.