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To arch or not to arch?        

Criteria for choosing a wedding arch

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Making memories and establishing the tone for your special day are essential for weddings, and wedding arches help to amplify this. A wedding arch is one of the most essential elements of any wedding ceremony, serving as a focal point and a backdrop for couples as they exchange their vows.  

After reading this guide that will lead you through all of criteria for choosing a wedding arch, you will easily decide if you really want one. But since you are already here, you are probably prone toward “yes” direction.

Getting a wedding arch is an excellent way to create a charming ambiance on wedding day. With its unique shape and details, an arch makes a gorgeous frame in photographs and makes those photos even more special.

Even if you go simply, from white wedding arch with many flower fantasies or you have some rustic wedding arch ideas — you don’t have to worry, these arches will instantly change your wedding celebration.

5 Tips for perfect wedding arch

The wedding arch is the centerpiece of your wedding ceremony. It is conspicuously displayed in photographs of your special day. As a result, it’s natural to be anxious about selecting the ideal wedding arch to make sure that it truly offers a picturesque view for the pair and a focus point for the event.

Here is the criteria for choosing a wedding arch.

1. Design for your venue

The first thing you should think about is where you want your arch to be put at the wedding location. A wedding arch specifies your ceremony space, which is particularly important if you plan a wedding outdoors or an interior wedding.

The arch height should be maintained to proportion in its positioning to provide the greatest visual effect. This helps to ensure that it does not have an overwhelming visual effect or gets forgotten. It should complement your wedding decor.

2. Ease of setup

It’s policy for a majority of wedding venues that they aren’t responsible for setting up or taking down any decorations that outside vendors bring in, including your arch. To be on the safe side, look for an arch that you can quickly set up and take down.

Working with your partner, make sure that your bridal party or your wedding planner choose an option that’s easy to set up and take down once the event is over without causing any extreme stress.

3. Match it with your wedding decor

The style of your bridal arch should complement the general motifs of your wedding décor. For example, if your bridal décor is simple and contemporary, a flower-filled arch will appear out of place. If your wedding is flower-themed, go for a fresh blossom arch in a comparable design and color scheme. However, wedding arches with greenery, ferns, and eucalyptus look stunning in any bridal location.

4. Be creative with the frame

The form and substance of the frame are some of criteria for choosing a wedding arch that can help you in creating a one-of-a-kind and eye-catching focal point for your wedding celebration. The traditional white wedding arch is less common these days, as wedding artists have created modern arches.

Arch frameworks made of bamboo, natural branches, or metal are more fashionable and help distinguish your arch from conventional arches. Choose the arch shape that best complements your particular style and location.

5. It’s not always about flowers

To complete a charming appearance, a beautiful arch design will frequently include components other than flowers alone. Incorporating gracefully draped fabric, bows, greenery, and/or lights expands your options for achieving the desired effect.

Diverse materials can create tropical wedding arch and can also allow you to contrast various textures for added visual appeal.

Why Get a Wedding Arch?

Wedding ceremonies are mostly about creating memories and setting a good tone for what should be special day. And as briefly mentioned earlier, a perfect wedding arch can do exactly that! But why should you get a wedding arch? Here are a few reasons on why you need to get a wedding arch:

A wedding arch creates an excellent backdrop

Getting a wedding arch is the best way of creating a charming atmosphere on your big day. An arch helps in making for a gorgeous frame in photos, making your wedding photos taken in front of the arch look more special with intricate details craftsmanship, alongside a unique silhouette.

When it comes to wedding arches, the possibility of creating some stunning backdrop are endless, from intricate metallic designs to classic white floral arrangements.

A wedding arch also allows you to come up with a custom look you prefer to make your day even more memorable years later. With a wedding arch, you can choose to design it the way you want, taking advantage of different sizes, shapes, materials, decorative patterns, and materials as long as its end result matches your wedding theme.

The best-designed wedding arch will provide you an amazing focal point to turn your special day into something memorable, if not extraordinary.

It offers a wonderful focal point

When designed in the right way, a wedding arch will help in tying the entire decorations together. For this reason, it will immediately become a breathtaking nucleus or centerpiece of your wedding. As the centerpiece in your wedding, the arch has the ability to draw the eye in addition to setting the tone of your big day.

With your wedding arch on display, it means that any emotion you wish to transport to your invites as they witness your wedding vows can be properly manifested – whether playful energy or romantic feelings.

A wedding arch is affordable/cost effective

Purchasing or renting a decorated wedding arch is more cost-effective compared to designing a custom structure or arranging floral decorations on your own. You may want to consider this fact as you make plans for your big day.

Even better, your wedding arch must not include everything in your wedding ensemble. While it offers style and elegance, remember that it doesn’t take away any meaning from your wedding in case it’s absent.

For the above reason, if you don’t have any plans of having a wedding arch, you shouldn’t let other people make you thinks and feel as if you’re sacrificing a big piece of your wedding experience.

What if couples choose not to arch?

To arch or not to arch is one of the biggest questions couples ask themselves as they make plans for their big day. But are you aware that you can actually choose not to arch? You don’t have to take our word for it as we have more than sufficient evidence to prove this point.

Below are a few scenarios where you can choose to go without an arch, while still ensuring your wedding day is memorable:

Beach weddings

Arches, primarily ethereal arches that are portable and consisting of flowing fabric are very popular for beach weddings. These type of arches frame the sea/ocean in a beautiful manner, sort of pulling the entire wedding to look together as you can see from the above photo.

However, they aren’t essential by a long shot as such. Should you want a free alternative, you should try drawing the shape of a heart in the sand, or use seashells or candles to create one.

Outdoor weddings

In the same manner as beaches, arches also create a gorgeous focal point for outdoor weddings. But again, you can be sure to find hundreds of alternatives. For instance, you can use several colorful colors to create a border. All you need to do is to around your wedding venue (or yard or garden) to see if you can find something perfect. And the best part about this is that it’s totally free!

Indoor weddings

With indoor weddings, you can actually do without an arch! Regardless of whether you’re hosting your wedding ceremony in a ballroom or at a church, you’ll be pleased to learn that you can easily get away with no arch. Even better, most of these venue either provide one for couples or already have their built-in “focal point” that’s ready and waiting.

Destination weddings

destination wedding

If there’s a perfect situation where you can easily skip the arch, it has to be a destination wedding at somewhere far. But again, why waste too much time and resources looking for an arch to rent, and a person to set it up when you can easily use your destination itself as the backdrop?

When it comes to destination weddings, a gorgeous bridge, an amazing building (such as the Coliseum), or a natural arch can act as your backdrop.

Wedding Arch Shapes

Wedding arches are both classic and fashionable, and they play an important part on your wedding day. Whatever your wedding motifs are, you can always discover one that you like best. Meanwhile, wedding arches come in a variety of forms, and any shape can be decorated however you like.

1. Circle shape wedding arch

Couples love round wedding arches after just one look at its gorgeously symmetrical circle. A circle can symbolize eternity, completion, and purity. It actually circles the two of you while you repeat your vows, creating for very visually appealing pictures.

A simple circle wedding arch is the way to go if you want something straightforward and sweet!

2. Triangle wedding arch

A triangle can symbolize a variety of concepts, ranging from expression and awareness to union and chance. Depending on your flower, its triangle wedding arch plans can be as simple or as complex as you wish.

Above all, it is important to locate a wedding arch that suits your personal style. If you like this style, this could be the bridal trellis for you!

3. Square wedding arch

This beautiful bridal arch design has become increasingly popular in recent years. We’ve seen heptagons, octagons, hexagons, and all the other ‘gons’! These can have important meaning depending on how many sides they have.

The hexagon wedding arch, for example, can symbolize harmony and balance. Not to mention how beautiful they are when they are in position!

Balloon arches for weddings

Balloon arches for weddings

You’ve seen them in wedding magazines, so why not have your own wedding balloon show on your special day?

Wedding balloon arches are an excellent touch to almost any celebration or occasion. They appear complex and impressive, but they are actually quite straightforward to create. A simple wedding balloon arch can be made with normal balloons or a floating one with helium balloons.

You can even opt for a wedding on a budget idea item such as a chicken wire to hang a bridge on your wall. Whichever structure you choose; you will undoubtedly amaze your visitors!

Besides balloon arches for wedding you have a wide range of balloon options to customize your day, including large balloons filled with white feathers and confetti to keep it classic looking, trendy rose gold confetti filled balloons, and smaller balloons filled with colored confetti if you want bright colors to match your theme.

If your wedding is anything but conventional, we also have pink ’til death do us part’ celebration balloons with tassels.

Beach wedding arch ideas

We all know perfect wedding scenes from the movies where you only need is a beach, a spouse and a ring for eternity. Beach weddings are naturally beautiful — so how do you elevate your coastline ceremony? The simple try is acquiring romantic beach wedding arch.

Choosing a beach wedding arch that matches your gorgeous seaside ceremony location is a difficult task, so here you can read about some ideas that can help you with decision.

Natural Foliage

What better way to complement your beaches wedding than with a stunning show of Palm or Monstera leaves? An arch like this lends a splash of color to a blue ocean background while also breaking up the scenery.

If you’re thinking of using natural foliage for your arch, you need to consider the following important factors:

  • Ensure to purchase or gather all the foliage and flowers at least the last day before the wedding. Also, make sure you condition them well prior to arranging them.
  • If the weather conditions are predicted to be too hot and/ or windy, you may want to design the arch as late as possible.
  • Using floral foam is ideal as it will allow the flowers in the arch to last long, meaning you can decorate your arch early in the day.
  • To keep everything looking fresh, a free foam arrangement will requires well-conditioned flowers and foliage and completed as late as possible before the ceremony begins to keep them looking fresh.

Driftwood wedding arch

Driftwood arches are currently popular in the wedding business, and for good cause. These arches are made entirely of recycled materials and are ideal for enhancing the natural beauty of the water and sand dunes in the background.

Couples who want to create a rural, laid-back atmosphere for their wedding often use driftwood or other natural materials to create tropical wedding arches and arch ornamentation. Because of its natural condition, driftwood wedding arch can be readily adorned with greenery, flowers, or fabric drapes.

Couples who wish to create a cozy and warm atmosphere reflecting their love for the outdoors and nature will find a driftwood-wedding arch ideal for them. A driftwood-wedding arch also add a pleasing and romantic touch to wedding ceremonies.

You may want to choose a driftwood-wedding arch for several important reasons. First, a driftwood-wedding arch adds some unique touch to your wedding décor, making your wedding stand out from the rest.

Besides the above, a driftwood-wedding arch is versatile, meaning you can decorate it in various ways to ensure it matches the theme of your wedding. You are free to use foliage, flowers, and several other rustic elements decorate your arch to match the wedding theme.

Lastly, a driftwood-wedding arch is ideal if you desire an amazing backdrop for your wedding photographs.

Wrap Up

You need to carefully select everything on your special wedding day since it resonates with you. All the aspects of your wedding, including the arch function as a collage of things to represent who you are. Remember that it’s your wedding, and anything goes as long as it makes you happy. Whether it means the presence of a wedding arch or not, make sure that you do something that both of you are happy with on your special day.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What are the best rustic wedding arch ideas?

Many brides want a beautiful and customized background for their wedding service, because it is in front of this arch that many magical and moving moments occur, as well as many unforgettable photographs are taken. Building a basic, stylish rustic arch yourself isn’t difficult with seasonal florals, textiles, and various builds.

What is a purpose of a wedding arch?

The arch itself represents the future house in which the bride and couple will raise their family. Many societies associate arch symbolism with initiation and renewal rituals. Walking through an arch symbolizes abandoning the old and entering a new era of existence.

What is the criteria for choosing a wedding arch?

Main criteria for choosing a wedding arch should be what fits your taste and location best. Asymmetrical styling, both in terms of the form of your arch and the arrangement of flowers and other decorations on it, can add visual appeal. The ideal is to have an arch that appears symmetrical generally, but this does not necessitate strict symmetry.

Is driftwood wedding arch a good idea?

Absolutely! They break the norm, and create one-of-a-kind wedding scenery.

I am Megan Nova, a wedding planner and Author based in New York City. My vast exposure in the wedding planning trade and my passion for storytelling has inspired me to share expert advice and creativity on this blog.

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