With the rise of Micro Weddings, more and more couples are getting married at home. Not only does this arrangement allow you to get ready in the most relaxed environment imaginable, it also lets you control the pace of your big day. Afterall, in the comfort of your own home, no one is going to charge you extra fees if your guests aren’t out by midnight!
We love at-home weddings because they always feel intimate, graceful, and entirely one-of-a-kind, allowing the emphasis of the day to stay entirely on you. No matter what size or style your home is, we are sure there is a wall or window just begging to be your perfect wedding backdrop...
Here are fourteen of our favorite ways to turn your everyday space into a wedding-worthy backdrop.
Repurpose an Antique Scrim or Screen
These can easily be found at antique shops. Add a little chalk paint in one of your wedding colors, and you'll instantly have an eye-catching backdrop that is guaranteed to look great in your ceremony pictures!
Hang Décor from a Favorite Tree
Use what your yard offers, such as a favorite tree, to create a stunning, unexpected wedding display. Candles, floral arrangements, eco-friendly paper lanterns, fabric ribbons, framed family pictures, fairy lights, and geometric works of metal or macrame, all look amazing, hanging at varying heights.
Make Use of your Garden Gate
Whether your garden gate is metal, or wood, tall or low, it can absolutely be made into a gorgeous and memorable altar. There's just something about garden gates that seem to tell a story. We love how timeless this look is.
Magic Carpet + Potted Foliage
Potted plants, flom flowers and topiaries to succulents and cacti, are always on-trend at a backyard wedding, but adding a rug to that arrangement takes the display to new levels. We love mixing high and low plant decor with an eye-catching rug in persian or braided styles. The rug is key to this look, because while it is subtle, it creates a precise "platform" on which to display the bride and groom.
Decorate your Pergola
Pergolas are absolutely beautiful in their own right, and they offer some protection from the elements. Even on sunny days, you'll be glad to be wide eyed, rather than squinting in your wedding photos. If you don't have a pergola, consider building one. Not only will the the cost of materials and construction still be less than most wedding venues, but a pergola can actually add value to your home! A simple drape of fabric, fairy lights, or flowers are all you need to complete the look.
Use Macrame
This boho trend is a low-cost style that packs a big impact. We especially love it with lace and beaded wedding dresses, or uniquely colored suits. Forest greens, oxblood, wine tones, and deep mustard-like ambers all look perfectly at home with macrame.
Light All the Candles
Whether or not you have a fireplace, unscented candles make the perfect flickering display for your big day. This is an ideal way to turn an existing area of your own home into the focal point for a micro wedding ceremony.
Go for Contrast with a Chalkboard Wall
This idea works just as well indoors as it does outdoors. Find a local chalk artist (hint: restaurants often have incredible chalkboards... ask them for the contact details of whoever does their work), and design a one-of-a-kind wedding backdrop. Whatever your style: calligraphy, lush florals, tropical, or even cartoon, you can render it in chalk. Added bonus: your dress is sure to pop against the black background.
Make Use of your Floor to Ceiling Shelving
This couple chose to have their wedding dinner in front of their statement shelves, but we can just as easily see moving the table, and filling those shelves with a few more wedding-like details for a perfect at-home altar. Think candles, green vining plants, cut glass, stacks of books, and any other continuation of your theme...
Embrace Simplicity
More than likely, there's a space in your home--one that you walk past every single day--that would actually be perfect for your wedding backdrop. We love this use of a banister and stairs for a wedding altar. It has plenty of visual interest, and we can just imagine the bride appearing before us, as she makes her way down these stairs.
Make Your Point with Neon
A simple neon sign can definitely get the message across. We also love these signs for how well they can transition to home decor after the big day. Whether as part of a breakfast nook family photo display, or hanging above a home bar, these neon signs are sure to please for years to come.
Get Dreamy
This dreamcatcher-inspired macrame creates a stunning boho backdrop that will look amazing in your backyard. Once the wedding is over, hang these pieces in guest rooms throughout your home so visitors are always sure to feel the love.
Say it all with Books
Even small, urban yards can be made into perfect micro-wedding venues. This book wall (which can be made on the cheap by sourcing books from a used bookstore) has plenty of texture to create a stunning wedding altar. And when the wind blows, the whispers from those old pages are pure magic.
OMG Flowers
Since by getting married at home you are saving money on the venue, splurge on an absolutely extraordinary flower display. We are loving 2021's geometric floral designs, such as this one. A single flower wall can be placed anywhere... in a yard, or against a blank wall, and it is really all you need to create an insta-worthy wedding moment.
