Tasteful Wedding Decorations for the Church Altar

Church altar decorations for your wedding can be as elegant or simple as fits your taste. If you are designing the wedding decorations yourself, there are just a few things you need to keep in mind to make sure everything goes smoothly and you get the effect that you want.

The first thing that you need to keep in mind is that you have to have respect for the church as a center of worship. Make sure to ask someone in a leadership position in the church if there are any rules regarding decorating the altar, and follow them completely. Once that is settled, you can plan whatever you want. But for best results, keep the following elements in mind:

Color

Limit the number of colors of your church altar flowers to no more than three that complement the bridal party dresses and bouquet. With just two flower colors, green foliage, and ribbon, you can create a simple yet stunning display for the wedding guests. This is one place where if you’re looking to save money, you can. Guests aren’t nearly as impressed with expensive church altar flowers as they are with vibrant color and size, which get noticed from a distance. Also, lighter and brighter colors will work much better in photographs than dark ones.

Size

With church altar decorations it is tasteful to go big. Arrangements that seem appropriate at home or in the catalog can get lost in the front of a large church. Standing altar sprays need to be over five feet tall, with the actual arrangements about three feet tall by three feet wide. With this in mind, wedding altar arrangements don’t have to be all floral. Greenery can dress up a church altar and look very attractive. Large ferns dressed with ribbon can fill up a large church front effectively and compliment the floral design.

Placement

For placement on the altar, the largest displays should be kept to the sides in order to keep the focus on the couple. You want the altar decorations to frame the wedding scene, not dominate it. However, you need to make sure that flowers are near enough to the center to appear in photographs.

Modest decorations can often be added along the altar, but make sure they aren’t too spread out. Get perspective from the back of the church after placing them. Stand in the middle of the aisle and imagine the photography shots. Will the flowers show up? Are they blocking any view? Sprays in the front should be down low enough to be able to see over. Arrangements in the back can be tall.

To lift flowers up so that the guests can see them better, use pedestals made from plaster of paris. They can be found in craft or home furnishing stores and aren’t expensive. Sometimes the church will have stands available for the purpose of holding altar arrangements, and with permission you can use them for your wedding decorations.

Keeping in mind these three elements of color, size, and placement, you can design an attractive church altar that will delight the wedding guests. With proper planning, the church altar can compliment any color scheme or wedding theme, as well as create a beautiful frame for wedding photographs.