How to Decorate a Gazebo for a Wedding: Ideas to Glam it Up!

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Updated:8/12/2021

Traditional, fairytale or vintage wedding theme? If you’re planning a wedding party with a gazebo and looking for ideas and inspiration to create a memorable and beautiful setting, read on!

Gazebos or marquees are popular choices for outdoor wedding venues.  Easily transformed from plain structures into elegant features, they can provide cover and protection from the elements.  Gazebos differ from marquees in that they’re usually smaller so are ideal for hosting the wedding ceremony, for covering food and drink, for shelter, or when used as part of a larger scheme.  With a simple structure, gazebos are a blank canvas, crying out to be decorated.

Wedding Gazebo Decoration Ideas

Whether you’re planning a traditional wedding or have a more bohemian or seasonal theme in mind, here are some creative ideas to decorate a dream-worthy wedding gazebo.

1. Wrap it up

When you imagine a wedding gazebo, swathes of delicate white fabric and flowers probably spring to mind. Because gazebos have simple, linear structures, they are easy to decorate, with plenty of space for hanging lights, fabric and other decorations.

Adding fabric to a gazebo instantly softens it, creating a dreamy, romantic setting that’s perfect for weddings. There are a few ways you can dress your gazebo:

Curtains

Curtains can be hung on a gazebo in much the same way as you’d hang them in your home. You can tie them back with ribbon and use flowers and other decorations to style them (and hide any imperfections!).

Drapes

Start by attaching fabric to the ceiling of the gazebo, you can then drape fabric along the outer edges and down the supporting pillars. Sheer or light fabric such as tulle or cotton is ideal for draping.  Just be sure that it doesn’t hang down in the way of your guests!

2. Lights and candles

The ultimate decoration for any celebration, lights and candles provide elegance, are incredibly easy to set up and will add a touch of magic to your setting. Try hanging string lights from the centre of the gazebo, outwards, creating a net of twinkly stars.

You can twist lights around the supporting pillars and light entrances with larger lantern lights.  To make a beautiful statement centre-piece, grouping different sized lantern lights together is a real show-stopper.

Glass jars can be dressed up by tying ribbon or twine around them. You can suspend jars from the ceiling of the gazebo or pop tea-lights in assorted jars and place them on the tables.  They also double up as cute wedding favours for your guests.

3. Flowers and foliage

Fresh flowers are always an important part of a wedding.  From bouquets to table decorations, there is such a huge variety of types and colours to choose from. Try hanging planters filled with blooms to match your colour theme.  Hydrangea, petunias and geraniums are star plants for maximum impact.

If your gazebo is a permanent structure and you already have a vine growing over it, you can easily incorporate this into your decor and thread additional flowers or foliage into the greenery.  Hanging glass terrariums filled with air plants or trailing plants like ivy and string of hearts is an easy way to decorate your wedding gazebo. You can thread coloured ribbons through them and add tiny fairy lights for extra sparkle.

Potted plants are a quick way to dress a gazebo. Think topiary box hedges, standard olive and bay trees and flowering shrubs like hydrangea and roses.  You can place them by the entrance to your gazebo or strategically position them inside for instant impact. The beauty of using real, potted foliage for decor is that it will live on and provide lasting memories.

4. DIY Decorations 

If you’re feeling crafty and have the time, making your own decorations is incredibly satisfying and can be done on a shoestring budget.

DIY rose table decorations are easy to make using tin tea-light holders as makeshift vases, (you could also use clean tin cans and carefully punch a pattern of holes in it).  Carefully cut the fresh roses to the desired length, tie 3 or 4 roses together and wrap some damp kitchen roll around the cut stems to stop them from drying out.  Cover this with tin foil to keep the kitchen roll in place and the moisture in and place in the holder.

Tie a ribbon around the tin and hang or place wherever you like. The decorations pictured below are from my wedding! They doubled up as hanging pew ends in the church and table decorations at the reception venue.

How to Decorate a Gazebo for a Wedding: Ideas to Glam it Up! 5

Image credit: James McMillan

DIY dried and fresh flower rings are a beautiful way to decorate a wedding gazebo. You can feature flowers from the bouquet or for an autumn wedding, use beautiful dried summer flowers which can last for years.  You can find a tutorial for making your own flower ring here.

How to Decorate a Gazebo for a Wedding: Ideas to Glam it Up! 6

Image credit: Bloompost

5. Photo wall

Displaying photos of loved ones and photos of the couple through time has become a popular way to personalise and decorate gazebos. From photos pegged to ribbon and strung across the walls, to photos displayed in floral hoops and even bicycle wheels, it’s an inexpensive and beautiful way to decorate your wedding gazebo.

How to Decorate a Gazebo for a Wedding: Ideas to Glam it Up! 7

Image credit: @bridesprojects

6. Bunting

Bunting has been hung at celebrations for centuries.  Allegedly made from the start of the seventeenth century, it’s as at home gracing stylish wedding venues as it is at country fairs.

Inexpensive to buy and super easy to make, adding bunting is a great way to add visual interest to your gazebo. You can also make simple ribbon walls by fastening lengths of ribbon to the gazebo struts or hang beautiful handmade origami birds or hearts on strings.

How to Decorate a Gazebo for a Wedding: Ideas to Glam it Up! 8

Image credit: Shutterstock

7. Think differently

Something as simple as including a piece of cord and some pegs for hanging hats adds a quirky touch to your gazebo and instant decor!

How to Decorate a Gazebo for a Wedding: Ideas to Glam it Up! 9

Image credit: James McMillan

Whether you’re decorating your gazebo for the wedding ceremony, or as a reception area it’s a great idea to flick through wedding sites and magazines and make notes of the colours and ideas that you like.

Often, you can DIY many of your decorations, taking inspiration from ideas you’ve curated along the way.

HOW TO DECORATE A GAZEBO FOR A WEDDING IDEAS TO GLAM IT UP!-min

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Article by Liz Berry

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