Setting your wedding tables for the glorious celebration that is your big day is an important aspect of venue decoration. The average wedding place setting has become so much more than an assortment of precisely placed cutlery and glassware as Ambience Venue Styling explains:
“A wedding place setting is not just somewhere for your guests to eat. It’s a styling opportunity… couples have realised that table settings are a way of showing the wow factor as soon as the guests arrive at their places, a way of welcoming people and a way of showcasing the style of the wedding and the personality of the couple marrying.”
With one of the following DIY place setting ideas, you can express your style in the most wonderful way, cement your wider wedding theme and stay bang on budget.
Infuse a touch of class
Sometimes the simplest place settings are the best. Instead of going OTT with your place setting décor, a simple gold hoop adorned with fresh or dried foliage from your floral scheme is a classy, elegant option for framing your handwritten place cards. For an added touch of boho charm, lay white plates on natural, woven placemats and add gold cutlery to either side.
If bling isn’t your thing, you can use flowers to craft delightful floral crowns to frame your place settings to perfection and add colour and texture tastefully.
Channel those honeymoon vibes
Let your honeymoon inspire your place setting theme by using colours and textures synonymous with your chosen destination to personalise your wedding tables.
For those honeymooning in the Mediterranean, a pared back scheme of whites and blues is the perfect way to infuse those holiday vibes. Those staying on home turf on their honeymoon can take inspiration from the great British outdoors utilising foraged forest greenery to frame their plates, cutlery, glassware and place cards.
Just add watercolours
For a more colourful but equally elegant place setting, add a hint of colour and romance to your tables. Watercolour detailed menus and place cards look super chic against clear, gold-rimmed plates and gold cutlery, and provide a tasteful hint of colour to pure white wedding schemes.
Go coastal with your theme
Boasting amazing views of the coast and countryside with both the Quantock Hills and Somerset shoreline in sight, St Audries is the perfect setting for a nautical theme. Go coastal with your DIY place settings by combining neutral and blue shades to captivate the spirit of the sea.
Layering your place settings adds depth, texture and interest to coastal inspired themes. Whilst natural touches (like rocks, driftwood, shells and even sand) can be foraged for free and incorporated to consolidate this timeless look. You’ll find more ideas for a coastal inspired wedding in our essential guide.
Keep things simple
A white plate on a white tablecloth with silver cutlery may seem pretty basic, especially when compared to the place setting ideas detailed above, but there is elegance in simplicity. Add a touch of natural colour by laying a sprig of seasonal foliage on each plate and go back to basics with the most beautiful results.