One of the hardest things to work out about a wedding is the budget. Unfortunately one of the first things that tends to get cut due to budget is the location. A high class place can end up costing up to tens of thousands of dollars that you just can't always afford. So instead of going incredibly into debt for a nice location or sinking into despair due to the basketball hoops or ugly walls of your unwanted location just think about what you can do to fix it!
There is always the option of doing an outside wedding but the you have to worry about the weather. Will it rain, snow, be too windy? For those of you who don't want to risk it here are a few ideas as to how to spruce up a place inside inexpensively and easily.
Walls
There are so many things that you can do to help cover your walls. It all depends on your budget. If you have enough cash you could always do an inside tent or drape fabric but that can still become too expensive and some places don't allow you to hang things from their walls. A great way around that is to only to some areas and to put up supports. For instance you could use a trellis as a support for certain areas and hang fabric from those areas. When thinking about fabric think about price. Don't spend $6 a yard when you can go to the sale areas and pay only $1 or $2 a yard for something very similar.
You can also use mirrors. Strategically placed full length mirrors tilted against walls can really add some class and can make a small room seem bigger or a poorly lit room seem brighter. Pictures of the couple or even of relatives on their wedding day can also help create a beautiful space that will also give guests something to do. Either hanging them up on walls or on the trellis give it a gallery sort of feel while having it displayed on a table can make it have a more casual feel. If you don't feel like showing pictures of yourself choosing ones that you enjoy or even other forms of art to display can help make the place feel a lot more personable and help guests get a peek into both of you as a couple.
If you are desiring more of a garden feel you can keep the trellis up or even just bring in fake or real trees and bushes. Borrowing or renting a fountain is a great idea for this sort of wedding. The running water and general splendor of a fountain give it a secret or upscale garden feel without much clean up. Outside benches and tall light posts also are great!
Ceiling
Basketball hoops or typical gym ceilings can make a classy wedding seem impersonal and distract from your other decorations. To avoid that you don't need to cover all of the ceiling, you just need to give something to draw the eye to. One great way is with renting or buying used chandeliers. They are very upscale and great for lighting! If you want the same idea but more casual you can also find at craft stores wicker balls of various sizes with lights already strung into them for relatively cheap.
If you want something a bit more casual you can also hang strips of fabric across the top with a rope tied from one end to another. The pieces of fabric don't even need to touch. If lighting is a worry you can also run strands of clear lights up as well.
If that is too much fabric to deal with a great way to make it even more affordable is to get a white parachute and hang it from the ceiling. You don't have to get a real one. Even making a large circle of any color and hanging it from the center of the room can really make a huge difference. Hanging icicle lights around it is also a great idea for making it even more special.
Just remember that what you do is a description of both of you as a couple. It doesn't matter if you want it casual or if you want it formal. You can make it into your dream with a budget you can afford if you put forth a little effort. A great website for decorating ideas for a cultural hall or odd venues is http://weddingsunique.wordpress.com/ They specialize in this sort of stuff and have beautiful pictures of some weddings they have done. Have fun and go crazy!
