How To: Make a Ribbon Wall
| By Laura A. ~ April 22nd, 2011 ~ Wedding Decor | 1 Comment |
At Val & Andy’s Valentine’s Day wedding in NYC, we built this beautiful ribbon wall to serve as a backdrop for the wedding ceremony:
(photo by Kelly Guenther Wedding Photojournalism)
The first step, obviously, is to buy a ton of ribbon. In this case, it would be hanging from a pipe that was 12′ off the ground. We wanted to span a 16′ distance with ribbons that were 2-3″ wide, so we did the math and purchased yards upon yards of satin and grosgrain ribbon:
(all the remaining photos were taken by my cell phone)
Second, be sure you’re also budgeting enough time for the project. I spent approximately 3 hours on top of that ladder, hand-tying every ribbon above my head. You could also buy a PVC pipe or wooden dowel and do this before the event, then just mount the pole and call it a day. In our case we wanted the ribbons to be as wrinkle-free as possible, so we left the spooled until they were ready to hang. Plus we didn’t have an easy way of transporting a 16′ pole:
Next, consider a backdrop to sit behind your ribbons. Did you even notice in the first picture there’s a curtain behind the colors? The ribbons were looking a little sparse on their own:
So as a last-minute fix we dug out some white pipe & drape to create a solid background and fill in the holes:
Here’s the finished product! The bride’s family has a tradition of getting married on that rug, so the colors were designed around it:
Since the curtain will probably be too labor-intensive to remove between the ceremony and reception, consider parting it and tying each side back to open up the room. We did it so the band could set up their equipment before the ceremony and keep it hidden until cocktails. The area where the ceremony chairs were became the dance floor!
A ribbon wall would also be a great backdrop for a sweetheart table, a dessert table, or a photo booth. We always try to reuse decor pieces to get the biggest bang for our buck. Would you consider making a ribbon wall for your wedding?
Blue Canary Blog » Blog Archive » A Ribbon Wall How-to
4/25/11
[...] Here’s a handy how-to if you’re considering one of these beautiful installation pieces for your wedding. Happy crafting! [...]