Have a Beautiful Wedding in an Ugly Venue

Every year brides across the country face the same problem: Trying to stage a beautiful and elegant wedding in a facility that's not. Of course, the obvious solution is to find another wedding location.

For many couples, however, that's not a solution at all. For some, the cost is too great. For others, there is a sentimental attachment to their own church. Other's find themselves in a situation where their just isn't any facilities available that are attractive (either in fact or for their theme). And the list goes on...

So what do you do if your wedding planning finds you in such a predicament? You do what one couple I worked with did:

Left with no options but a gymnasium for their wedding ceremony and reception this young couple (I'll call them John & Jessica) was undeterred. No amount of wedding decor within the budget of any but the richest young couple was going to make the room look like anything but a gym so rather than trying to fight it they reached for an ally - light.

Or maybe it would be more accurate to say - dark. And it was elegant.

What they did was to control all of the light in the room. They totally blacked out all of the windows (fortunately there were few in this building) and kept the lights off so the room started out totally dark (except for the exit signs that the state says have to be left on for safety purposes). Then John & Jessica went out and rented stage lights so that they could control the lighting totally. With those lights they created a pool of light where the bridal party would stand. The light that bled off of that pool was enough for the guests to be able to find their seats.

That's it.

The darkness cloaked the ugly room while the focused light drew the congregation's attention to the beauty of the bride and groom sharing their vows of love and commitment. The bridal flowers, the dress and tux, the beautiful music and all of their personal touches added to the wedding parties ability to forget about their physical location and focus on the beauty of the moment.

For the reception they had candles accenting the area and someone repositioned the lights to focus on the head table and the dance floor - once again leaving the perimeter in shadow. It was simple and very effective in creating a beautiful wedding event in an ugly building.