How to hang tulle for the reception cieling with xmas lights?

TheVincentes

Hi guys,

I REALLY want my reception to look like this,



any ideas how to do this? I have looked at you tube tutorials but wanted to see if anyone has done this personally and what worked/didn't work. I wont know until the day before my wedding while setting up what may go wrong!

This second image may be cheaper and easier and is also an option I am looking at, does anyone know the required tools and how to hang the tulle itself?



Thanks for any feedback!

WhatawagSBNy

You should check with your venue.

Most inexpensive tulle is extremely flammable, and it is against the law to hang any long expanses of non-fire retardant material from the ceiling or walls, or near any type of light bulbs, including minis.

There is a fire retardant netting but it is extremely expensive. Usually only theatres and very high budget decorating firms that will re use it can afford it.
You do not want to spend time and money on something you can't put up.

TheVincentes

It will be flame retardant tulle and unheated icicle lights I am using then.. any ideas on what to use to hang it or have you done this in the past??

WhatawagSBNy

An Inn where I used to work as baking/ kitchen staff for events had a couple of bad trials where seemingly light swags fell ( trial on days inn closed) because the ceiling and walls were sheetrock in one room and plaster ceil with wood paneling in the other. Finally a carpenter did what they should have to begin with. He located a beam close enough to center ceiling, drilled 2 holes about 10 inches apart, then 2 on the cross been. He set in the molded nylon shafts for molly screws, which spread out metal wings under the sheetrock or plaster. He then used an eyebolt which is a screw shaft a couple of inches long to go through the nylon shaft with wings to the beam, which left the one inch loop of the eye bolt the only thing showing. Four eyebolts and molly shafts, under 10 dollars. He used sturdy picture hanging wire to attach a 1 foot circular ring from a crafts store floral section to the eye bolts. The top ends of the swag stitched to heavyweight clear nylon fishing line by hand, and tied to the ring. The swag ends where they met the walls were pulled out so that they gently draped down, then pulled up about 6 inches to two to three inch clear plastic suction cups with a hook on them, from the picture hanging section of the hardware store.

One critical thing: First time he tried to loop the swag down and to the wall, the suction cup just kept pulling off the wall. But when he thought about it, he moved the suction cup up a ways, maybe eight inches, it meant that where the swag curved up again the downward force from lifting the end was enough to push the suction cup in toward the wall.

The swags stayed up for the full week before valentines day, and for years now they use the same eyebolts in place, just putting up and taking down the ring and wire and swags and suction cups.
You can buy white or silver metal eyebolts. Do not use anything with a shorter shaft of screw threads like a cup holder loop for hanging coffee cups or utensils. It pulls out. If you will use this once and never again, the nylon shafts you installed to hold the screw shafts can be left in place, they are3/8 inch circles way up at ceiling height. They can be spackled and painted over, or not, next time the venue paints.

I am glad you checked out the fire retardancy of your material. Sometimes people invest in pretty shiny fabrics that are synthetics made partly with petroleum and find out too late. Hope this made sense.