Post # 1
Member
176 posts
Blushing bee
Hi All!
My ceremony is going to be outside in October, and we are on a very tight budget. Our venue is providing us with tables and chairs at no extra cost, however, the chairs that they have are those metal folding kind (dark brown).
I feel a little anxious about using these for the seating for our ceremony, since it will be the main thing our guests see when they walk up. Does anyone have any ideas on how to make the whole set-up look better without a lot of expense? (Chair covers are probably out of the questions for us because of cost)
Has anyone else dealt with an issue like this, and if so how did to make it look better?
Thanks!
Post # 3
Member
778 posts
Busy bee
This is going to be a tough issue. I would price out all the different options, the ones I can come up with so far are these:
1. Chair covers, rent them
2. Rent new chairs that dont need covers
3. In September patio cushions should go on sale, buy them inexpesively at supermarkets, walmarts, whereever. Or you may even be able to buy or rent outdoor white chairs very inexpensively which you can try to sell.
4. Attach Ribbons and bows to each chair on the aisle, this will make for a pretty walkway.
My last suggestion was going to be spray painting the chairs but I"m sure the location wont allow it.!
Good luck!
Post # 4
Member
196 posts
Blushing bee
I’m having a similar issue. My chairs are like the ones you see at an American Legion or V.F.W. 🙁 But I really don’t want to rent chair covers b/c 1. the money and 2. my family and my fiance’s are not the type that notice that stuff.
One idea that has been brought to my attention is buying tulle and tying bows around the back of the chairs – even putting a flower in the middle. I think maybe someone posted on this website about it? Try doing a search here and I’ll keep looking for it. Good luck! 🙂
Post # 5
Member
179 posts
Blushing bee
I’d concentrate on decorating the backs of the last row of chairs and the aisle way. Maybe you can set a little table in the back to put programs on. Also, I don’t think I’d go with white tulle on brown metal chairs. I think I’d try to use the wedding colors, I just think a blue or pink ribbon would look better with the brown than the white.
Try to make a nice aisle way for people to focus on and don’t worry about the chairs otherwise. People’s eyes will gravitate to the flowers and colors most likely.
Post # 6
Member
1379 posts
Bumble bee
I agree with guadior — Don’t try to cover the charis but rather bring their attention elsewhere! Perhaps and aisle runner or flower petals along the aisle … beautiful flower arrangments along the back and front can distract them from the brown chairs … at the end of the day — chairs will be the last things on everyone’s minds! I know I posted about this a month ago and someone told me the same thing and it didnt really help, but here I am a month later and I’ve moved on from the chairs to a much more beautiful aisle decorations!
Post # 7
Member
176 posts
Blushing bee
Thanks everyone. Fiance keeps telling me that it won’t really matter, but I can’t seem to let go! I think I will just try to distract the guest’s focus to other things. I was thinking maybe shepherd’s hooks with some sort of decoration at the end of each row…
The tulle could help, but truthfully that seems like A LOT of work, and I don’t think I really want to tackle that and worry about it staying on. Thanks for all the ideas.
Let me know if anyone else finds any solutions!
Post # 8
Member
2292 posts
Buzzing bee
I am always surprised how worried everybody gets about chairs. Not that I didn’t worry a little too – but we got married at our country club, where I had eaten dinner and attended banquets for years – and when the banquet coordinator asked me if the existing chairs were going to be okay, I seriously couldn’t remember what they looked like! I mean, I have spent probably weeks (if not months) out of my life sitting in these chairs, and the only thing I knew for sure about them was that I had never noticed them.
Try to think of a restaurant where you eat often, and now remember what the chairs look like… I would be that you can remember the food, the decor, maybe the restrooms, probably what the table settings generally look like – but I bet you don’t remember the chairs.
Brides think about the chairs because of all those photos you see of the empty room, set up for the wedding. That’s really the only time you notice the chairs – when nobody is sitting in them. I agree that if you concentrate on the rest of the decor, very few people will notice the chairs.
