All About Wedding Arches

If you choose to use a weeding arch for your wedding ceremony, it can cost very little but the end result can be elegant if done tastefully. Basic wedding arches can be found at major craft stores for under $40. For something with elaborate detail, you may try a rental shop or even construct your own. For someone who has basic woodshop skills, a wedding arch can be simple to build.

There are nine basic styles for arches: Classic, Gothic, Asian, Autumn, Floral, Woodsy, Beachy, Tropical, and Christmas (if your wedding happens to be during the holiday season), or an alternative to classic and wooden arches is balloon arches.

The Classic Arch

Many brides want to soften an arch by using a gauzy base of tulle or organza. Take a prefabricated arch and long, narrow rolls of tulle, then drape the tulle down the top of the front and in U-shapes. Next, pin every rung or two, and leave a little extra fabric at each rung to create pools of fabric. Or, if your fabric is almost as wide as the arch, cover the entire thing, again pinning at every one or two rungs. Now, you have a classic style wedding arch.

The Gothic Arch

For this style, use a simple, dark-colored arch that rises to a point. Leave the lines clean and don’t decorate with any fabrics. What makes it dramatic is a huge floral kissing ball in pale white or another pale hanging from the apex.

The Asian Arch

Create a simple, square arch with bamboo poles. At the corners and the base of the bamboo, use bright red anthuriums, red heliconias, dendrobium orchid sprays - to coordinate with your wedding color scheme, and plenty of tropical foliage.

Autumn Arch

Anchor a traditional arch in big vintage milk jugs or urns. Fill the urns with cattails, and trail strands of faux maple leaves over the sides. Adorn the arch with more faux leaves, like red lobelia, salvia and Lavender Lady. Tuck some bright red apples into the foliage. Accent the base with potted millet grass and bright mums for the classic autumn look.

The Floral Arch

Covered from top to bottom with flowers, the floral arch says that this is an important occasion. The greenery and blooms and on this arch appear to be floating in air, with the flowers appearing immensely heavy and the arch becomes almost unnoticeable. The floral arch is a job for a professional designer and has a hefty price tag to match.

The Woodsy Arch

You can add some flair and depth to a regular arch by strapping birch branches (available at craft stores) or grapevines to the sides. In place of other synthetic flowers or fabric, you can attach garlands of ferns, making it totally natural.

The Beachy Arch

Beach wedding arches often are similar to classic, but a beautiful alternative for a beach wedding is to attach organza in a simple, free-flowing style, and dangle large seashells and starfish from the apex (the bigger, the better).

The Tropical Arch

Made entirely of palm tree fronds, the tropical arch can create a sharp, dramatic and somewhat more masculine style.

The Christmas Arch

If you’re having a December wedding and wish to bring the spirit of the holidays to your wedding, an option is to incorporate pine or fir branches Make sure you cut and arrange your branches the day before the wedding and not sooner. Wrap white lights around the arch , and then a silk poinsetta kissing ball from the top.

The Balloon Arch

Balloon arches and using balloons in general, are an extremely inexpensive alternative to other types of wedding décor. The most basic arch can be made festive with helium-filled balloons matching your color scheme, and done by you and your wedding party.

If you aren’t crafty or don’t have time to create your own arch, you can rent them in almost any city.

Image Credit: Daquella manera, Flickr