How To Decorate for Your Barn Wedding

It’s that time of year! Holidays are on the mind, which always makes us think of celebrating with friends and family, along with decorating the dinner table, lighting for ambiance, and all those perfect little details. Well, it just so happens, these are the same thoughts that come to mind with wedding planning! That’s why we felt inspired to share some ideas on how to decorate for a barn wedding. 

These ideas are not to limit you to a certain look. On the contrary, we just want to share what has worked here in the past, styles that made guests say “ooh” and “ahh” as they walked into the barn, and most of all, share our best piece of advice which is: Keep your wedding style true to YOU. What we mean is just because your wedding is at a barn, doesn’t mean it has to look like EVERY. OTHER. BARN. WEDDING. 

By the way, if you are new around here… We are the Preston Barn at Old Drovers Inn, a Hudson Valley wedding venue that provides ample indoor and outdoor event space, cozy accommodations, and modern amenities. We specialize in weekend weddings as we host only one per weekend and can host all of your pre and post-wedding events. We would love to connect with you about your wedding day so contact us here if you already know we are the venue for you. You can read more about our wedding packages here.

Okay, now... Are you ready to get inspired?? Let’s go!

Lighting

Here at the Preston Barn, we take a lot of pride in our natural lighting during the daytime hours and beautiful light fixtures with dimmers for ambient lighting at night time. Last year we added the option to have string globe lights draped across the ceiling. These look STUNNING in a barn setting. 

We love the look of “fairy lights” as well, which can be used to make a wall of lights for a ceremony or sweetheart table backdrop, hung up with drapes or greenery, or put into table decor. Gives the room or area a twinkly effect (sadly, we don’t have any photos to share of that).

Candles are ideal for adding a beautiful glow to tables, bars, and windowsills. If candlelight is part of the look you desire, check with the rules at your barn venue because… well, it’s obvious. Barns are at pretty high risk when it comes to open flames. We allow candles but with some limitations. If your venue will not allow candles at all, there are some realistic-looking LED candles that may give you the glow you are looking for. 

Drapery

Draping light-colored fabrics is great for barns. It softens the overall look of the barn, contrasting with wood walls and beams. Add some lights, greenery, and/or florals for the extra wow factor.  

Florals

Your floral options will depend on the overall look and design you are going for. This may be better left to a professional florist, but we can say we love both light palettes that lighten up the space, as well as bold palettes that really pop!

Here are some of our favorites:

Non-Floral Decor

Consider pieces that are NOT wooden (wood color). At least not too much of it and be sure to combine with other items or florals that will present some contrast from the wood of the walls and tables. We love a good cupcake stand made of tree trunk slices, and other wooden details, but too much of it can just blend in with the barn and not stand out. Consider something that pops more! 

Here are some examples:

Vintage Rentals

We provide a good amount of furniture and everything necessary to cater to your guests. However, we LOVE it when vintage rentals are brought in. From little details to full lounge setups, they really add a certain flair to the event. 

Here are some fun vintage looks we have seen at The Preston Barn:

We hope this helps inspire you with your barn wedding! We know that there are so many options out there for wedding decor, so searching for and choosing ideas can be really overwhelming. If you want more inspiration and planning advice, check out our other helpful blog posts and our Pinterest!

If you are in need of a perfect barn wedding venue, we would be honored to be considered. You can read more about our services here or contact us here for pricing and to book a tour!