Ugly Banquet Hall, Huge Deco Restrictions

Do you have pics?

I think pics for us to see what we're working with or even your venues website would be helpful. Often times signage can cover a lot of space, decorative tables like guest book, or card tables can help in covering space or attracting attention away from the ugly, but again I would have to see pics to know what were looking at covering..

If you have some extra money you can look into hiring someone to do pipe and drape. I wouldn't do pipe and drape yourself though.

** I have added photos to the main post**

Do you have to use those chairs? Upgrading those and the linens can help make it look more formal as well.

The pictures don't look terrible. Once you get more tables, linens, and centerpieces in there the walls will fade into the background.

I'd suggest looking into uplighting (usually offered by your DJ) and possibly adding pipe/drape behind your head table/sweetheart table. It just depends on how much you are willing to spend on beautifying the space.

It's actually not as bad as I thought it was going to be. With the lights dimmed, and using some strategic uplighting I think it would be just fine.

You can look into a company to set up Pipe and Drape for you but I think some uplighting would work serious wonders in there.

Is the reception at a different location than the castle? Is it too far away to have the reception at the castle, which is gorgeous? I think you can make it work with some drapes.. Once you put tablecloths and centerpieces, some uplighting and drapes, the room won't be so stark looking. It's not actually ugly, just kind of bare. Think of it as a blank slate!

The walls in the photo look more muted than when you see them in person. The colors are very attention grabbing. Our colors are going to be navy and grey, and the hall owner showed us photos of previous weddings he had, and the color clashes looked awful. Even with drapes and lighting the hall still looked kind of cheap.

The castle is a historical site, so we are not allowed to have the reception there. No food or beverages of any kind, no outside decorations allowed, only 60 people allowed to the ceremony and that includes the wedding party, and a 3 hour max of rental time.

The city where our wedding is in doesn't have a lot of options, and we're trying hard to work with what we have.

Yes, we have to use the items provided by the hall. We cannot use outside linen providers either.

Maybe you can find a DJ that has lighting so he can change the color of the walls.

Wait so the reception hall isn't a part of the castle? Can you find a different hall or host it at a restaurant?

If not, I would say:

-New Chairs

-Pipe and drape with uplighting

-Some type of backdrop behind your table and maybe a second one for a photo station

Setup

Okay. Well, if you think the hall is ugly and cheap and don't like the options available to fix it why did you rent it? I would see if it is too late to cancel the rental and book someplace else that you actually like.

Also, you mentioned that the castle only holds a maximum of 60 guests. How many people are you inviting to your reception? Everyone invited to the reception must be invited to your ceremony at the castle.

I don't think it's all that bad. We, as brides, see the whole room, but your guests' eyes will go to the tables.

Work with the green. Most wedding palettes have some green anyhow because of the greenery in the florals. The green in the reception room looks very similar to the green trim in the ceremony ceiling.

I definitely wouldn't use pipe and drape for the whole room. Besides being expensive, it makes any venue look like the inside of a jewelry box.

I would not order different chairs, even if you were allowed to.They are typical banquet chairs used for the most formal banquets in hotels all over the world. Nor would I cover them with seat covers. White seat covers overwhelm any other decor and you end up with a sea of white. No sashes either- they have wedding stamped all over them.

Does your venue supply floor length linens? If so, what colors are available to you for tablecloths and napkins?

If I had my choice I would do floor length grey cloths with a centerpiece that incorporates gold and lots of greenery. I don't like the spotty look you would get by using navy napkins so I would use pale green. Add a sprig of greenery, or use that as a place to add a bit of navy.

grey and green

gold and greenery

I would definitely try to work with the colors of the venue rather than risk clashing. I have slightly adjusted our decor based on pictures I've seen and realizing what worked/didn't work. I really don't think the venue is as bad as you think.

We have not signed on a contract for the hall yet. My FH is a police officer and his co-workers he wants to invite to the wedding cannot take off, so having the wedding and reception in their jurisdiction is how we can meet everyone in the middle. This is the only hall in the city, so we are incredibly limited.

The ceremony is going to be very intimate, we have a guest list of 125 coming, about 40 of them are his co-workers and their SO. 60 people at the ceremony are those that we know for sure will come. Some of our guests do not want to be at the ceremony.