DIY Wedding Arches

It is true that the DIY couple is blessed with the freedom of choice and the flexibility to bring their personality through in every aspect of the wedding day. However with the sheer magnitude of decisions you make leading up to the big day, you are bound to end up completely blank on a few things and DIY arches are a big stumbling block. Sure, you’ve seen some great ideas and inspiration on Pinterest but where do you even start building your own DIY wedding arch? We’ve got your back! Here is a quick guide to choosing a DIY arch for your wedding day.

Consider Different Arch Shapes

This may seem like a simple step but the shape of your archway will determine the material, construction, decorating and transportation of your archway for your big day. Rectangle, triangle, circle, oval, hexagon and the traditional round edge archway are some of the most common archway shapes. Choose one that suits your wedding style best.

Determine Material Costs

Your DIY budget will play a big role in what materials you can use for your archway. Solid wood from a hardware store, such as pine, may be more expensive than using PVC or branches collected from around your neighborhood. The shape of your archway will also come into play here, for example, if you have chosen to build a round archway, wood might not be the best material as it may crack and split under the pressure of bending. You would rather use plastic or even metal if you had the right tools to manipulate its shape. Consider whether you will be using PVC, wood, branches, metal, foam or polystyrene (among the many others) and start your construction.

Find a Handyman or Builder

You may need someone with the necessary tools and expertise to assist in constructing your DIY arch. Of course you can do it yourself, however, to avoid any injuries on your wedding day, you should consult a handy family member before you begin your build. At the very least, let your handy family member do a once over check to make sure that the archway will in fact stay together long enough for the I dos.

Dress to impress

This is probably the most exciting part! Creatively dressing and decorating your arch is a genuine way to let your personalities and style come out. Everything from traditional flowers, macrame, lights and draping to origami birds and pampas grass (which is really trendy for 2019). Consider that the “less-is-more” approach can be more striking than overloading your archway with unnecessary decor.

Transportation

You have spent months planning, building and decorating your DIY archway, now what! How do you get it to your wedding venue? Eek!

There are three ways to go about this; first, build your archway in segments that can easily be transported and constructed on the day at the venue.

Second, you could arrange with the venue to build your archway on the premises. You will need to think of undercover storage (depending on the material) so that it will not become tatty prior to your wedding. Venues may have an issue with having the archway on their property for an extended period of time so you may need to build you archway only a few weeks before the wedding.

The third solution is to hire a flatbed truck or a very large trailer to transport your archway to the venue. Please check your local road rules on transporting large items like this.

Staging

Make sure your archway is stage correctly on the wedding day. It would be such a pity for a beautiful feature to be placed in front of a building where you have a bricked wall behind your archway. Ensure that your archway has a backdrop worth photographing and ties your whole wedding ceremony together. Think mountains, lakes, forests, cliffs and beaches in the background.

Two Birds, One Stone

Try get the most out of your wedding arch by transforming it into a photography prop. Have an impromptu “photo booth” where guests can snap a few pictures for their own memories or have a more staged setup where your photographer can take professional group photos with your archway as a backdrop.

Have you built your own DIY arch? Leave your tips and ticks in the comments.

Don’t forget to view the beautiful Backyard Wedding venues, waiting to host you, your guests and your stunning wedding arch!