Last Minute Wedding Decorations Ideas - Don't Forget Your Umbrella!

Large sized umbrellas are often used at outdoor wedding receptions to help shade your guests from the sun. Don’t forget to decorate the umbrella! Here’s just a few ideas for you, and feel free to add your own ideas to coordinate with the theme of your wedding.

Decorate the edges with silk flowers and beads. Use a hot glue gun and carefully put a large dollop of hot glue at the end of each rib and attach a flower. With long strings of beads, allow a slight swag and string the beads from flower to flower, adding an elegant touch to an otherwise plain umbrella. Just be sure to test the fabric in an inconspicuous place with the hot glue to make sure it doesn’t melt. The best type of umbrella for this will be a canvas type of fabric. If you do have a problem, use super glue.

Don’t forget the pole. Wind a long length of wide ribbon that matches your bridesmaids dresses all the way down the center pole and attach small flowers to the ribbon. You could also use long floral garland, or attach seashells if you have a beach theme. There's nothing worst than adding what could be a beautiful focal object to your table, then forgetting all about it!

Another fun thing you can do is to put small alligator clips with pieces of paper and allow your guests to write good wishes to the bridge and groom and attach them to the umbrella fabric – or better yet let them write on the umbrella and you’ll have it as a wonderful souvenir!A couple of warnings: just be sure not to weigh down the umbrella with too much frou frou – first it’ll look overdone and you run the risk of it overshadowing your tables and second, you might damage the umbrella for future use.

Don't forget umbrella lights to run on the underside of your umbrella if your wedding is going to go past sundown. They add beautiful ambient light and help add to the romantic mood. J(ust be sure to get the kind that have batteries, as you certainly don't want your guests tripping over long electrical cords)

Our umbrella recommendation is a wood umbrella with an outdoor polyester fabric. This umbrella comes in many different colors to match just about any wedding, including white. The price is affordable enough that you can buy quite a few and the really good news is that it’s one of the very few wedding decorations that won’t end up cluttering up a closet. You’ll bring your umbrella out year after year and remember how special your wedding day was.

Keep in mind one thing - budget. If you are considering renting a large tent, purchasing a number of umbrellas might be more cost effective and add a unique touch making your wedding your own. And remember to keep your cake out of the sun! It just might need an umbrella of it's own!

If you decide to take any ideas, or decorate an umbrella with your own ideas, please be sure to email a photo or two. We would love to highlight your special day on our website. For this and more tips, contact an Odyssey Homestore® umbrella specialist to help you find just the right umbrella for your wedding.