Barn wedding decoration ideas to dress up your venue

Barns are more than simply an agricultural structure; they have a long history of serving as community and celebration hubs, making them ideal for wedding settings. How do you decorate a barn for a wedding with its high ceilings and seemingly unlimited space for eating, drinking, and dancing?

Large, gorgeous barns are empty canvases that you can embellish with unique and decorative elements to commemorate your marriage. We're here to provide you with all the necessary barn wedding décor ideas so you can get creative with your wedding day styling.

How to decorate a barn for a wedding

Barns are distinctive venues that benefit from a little extra decorative flare for your wedding day, whether it's a stripped-down barn or a place upgraded for gatherings. Here are our suggestions for turning a plain barn into a dream wedding venue:

Do a pre-wedding walkthrough.

The first thing you should do when organizing a barn wedding is take a tour of the location to learn about the floor plans, configuration, and infrastructure already in place. Your decorating needs should be guided by traffic flow, table and bar layouts, outlet positions, and general utility, such as exits and outlets.

Choose a color palette.

To establish a unified theme for your wedding day, choose a color scheme before you start to narrow down the specifics of your decor. Having a color strategy makes decor design and choosing easier, whether crafting a romantic color story with your partner's favorite hues or taking inspiration from the surrounding nature.

Embrace the grandness of the space.

Barns can seem monumental at times, but that's a positive thing. You have a ton of room to work with and many customization options. Start at eye level and work your way up to the rafters when you're picturing the decor. Think of anything from wrapped pillars and dangling chandeliers to structural floral displays and fabric hung from the ceiling. Verticality and height provide visual intrigue and elevate beauty.

Light up the room

In contrast to a party hall, your barn might need more lighting installed from the beginning. Even though mood lighting and shadows are lovely, you'll still need enough brightness to showcase your stunning outfit and décor. While exploring the facility, make note of any dim areas that would benefit from some lighting and suitable locations for overhead lighting fixtures.

After you've determined where needs lighting, take into account these brilliant barn wedding décor ideas to make your big day shine:

  • Large, exquisite chandeliers can be installed in spaces with high ceilings. Glam the area with sparkling crystals, or go rustic and vintage with vintage wagon wheels.
  • A simple method to soften the lighting and create ambiance in shadowy areas is using fairy lights. To honor the fireflies in the fields outside, try string-lighting windows and doors, or include them in your table arrangements.
  • With so much usable space, you may include candles in several ways, from hanging lanterns and tea lights on the cake table to centerpiece pillar candles and hurricane lamps to light paths. Flickering candle flames create warm romanticism.

Highlight historic details

Try incorporating some of the most intriguing features of the historic barn, if your wedding is fortunate enough to take place there, into your design and décor. Certain barns retain charming features from their time as a functioning farm, such as horse stalls, exposed timbers, and vintage hardware. For example, old hayloft windows make the ideal setting for your sweetheart's table if you want to enjoy the scenery and the breeze while you celebrate.

The same concepts of expansive beams and spectacular spaces are found in more contemporary barn-style venues, featuring updated painted wood or glass walls and ceilings reminiscent of greenhouses. Use the things you adore to enhance your day and your photo opportunities.

Fill it with flowers.

In addition to adding natural beauty to your reception area, flowers, greenery, and branches pay homage to the building's former usage as a harvest house. Flowers add a splash of color, texture, and dimension to your wedding décor, and they also aid in interpreting your theme as a whole.

Here are a few simple ways to add flowers to your barn wedding décor:

  • banners welcoming guests
  • Decor for chair aisles
  • Arch of ceremony
  • Rosebuds
  • Centerpieces for reception tables
  • Decorations for gift tables
  • Garlands of flowers and greenery

Whether you want to exchange vows indoors or have the barn serve as the background for your outdoor wedding, make sure the ceremony area is personal and filled with flowers that complement each other, from the bridal bouquet to the reception décor. For example, a wedding arch might serve as an installation and a feature piece for the celebration. You can never have too many flowers for a barn wedding, so let your wedding's color scheme and style influence your floral arrangements!

Make it personal

Add unique touches to the room that reflect your shared identity as a pair. A few ideas to make your barn wedding seem like home are family treasures, photos on the gift table, initials on the fireplace mantle, and your favorite dishes.

Elevate your day with these barn wedding decoration ideas.

Now that you know what to look for while organizing your barn wedding décor, think about a few alternative themes for your special day. All it takes is a little imagination to make your vision for barn wedding décor come to life, whether for modern elegance or rustic vintage.

Rustic barn wedding ideas

Nowadays, rustic weddings are trendy, and for good reason. Rustic barn wedding ideas, which draw inspiration from natural materials and minimalist styling, are highly customizable and offer an enjoyable means of showcasing your individual preferences. Bring a rustic flavor to your barn wedding by emphasizing aspects of the local environment, farming, and community:

  • To bring back memories of large Sunday dinners, arrange long tables in the family style and create a cozy BBQ meal to go with it. Use vintage lamps, exposed wood, and garlands of greenery to create a basic table setting.
  • Hay bales can be arranged indoors and outdoors for relaxed seating and spontaneous photo opportunities. Wooden harvest crates, wine barrels, and antique baskets are excellent alternatives for tables, chairs, and flower arrangements.
  • Use burlap as the primary material for bunting, flower ribbons, table runners, and favor tags.
  • Consider decorating your ceremony arch with macrame cording and flowers rather than flowing materials for an artistic flair.

Modern and elegant barn wedding reception ideas

Barns may be used for more than just rustic, vintage weddings; you can customize the space to match your style and vision with modern styling options.

Consider using draped textiles, sophisticated colors, and added sparkle to bring an elegant touch to your modern barn wedding. Regardless of the setting, a color combination of white and sage is always classic. Alternatively, try dusty blue and navy for a clean, contemporary look.

The choice of hardware further lends a modern feel to the design. Choose linear designs with clean lines, such as rose gold metal pedestals for your flower arrangements and square glass candlesticks.

Barn wedding ideas for fall (and spring, summer, and winter)

Every season, from the freshness of spring to the abundance of autumnal harvests, has distinctive characteristics that signify the unique time of year. Add seasonal and regional references to your barn wedding decor to make organic connections.

Winter barn wedding ideas

Decorate your barn for a winter wonderland wedding with evergreens, red and white flowers, and abundant shimmering icicle lights if you're fortunate enough to have an insulated location or live in a warmer climate.

Spring barn wedding ideas

A barn wedding in the springtime brings out the most beautiful aspects of rural beauty as you exchange vows with the fresh air and vibrant green foliage. Rustic barn weddings may be more romantic during springtime, using pastel colors and airy greenery. Some creative design ideas include draping linens, garlands, Edison bulbs scattered across the ceiling beams, and a maypole decorated in delicate spring blossoms.

SUMMER BARN WEDDING IDEAS

Bright, striking colors go well with the summer's heat; consider pinks, oranges, and yellows contrasted with blue and green tones. Summer barn weddings are exciting, with big, vibrant blooms like dahlias and sunflowers displayed in mason jars and a sparkler send-off as you make a dramatic exit through the enormous barn doors.

Fall barn wedding ideas

Like apple cider and donuts, autumn and barn weddings complement each other well and produce something extraordinary together. Fall weddings are the ideal occasion to go all out with harvest-inspired décor that highlights the most exquisite fall foliage, tastes, and floral arrangements. For all the coziness and warmth of fall, play up orange and rust color palettes with pumpkins, autumn foliage, and textured grasses.

DIY your way into the perfect barn wedding decorations

Barn weddings are an excellent alternative for do-it-yourself brides because of the countless styling possibilities. Big barns sometimes require a more extensive design budget to add wedding charm, but if you do some of the décor yourself, you'll save money and give the space a unique, customized touch.