how to cover ugly ceiling

unplainjane

i love my venue but i have one problem with it. the ceiling is ugly. the room is on an upper level of a winery inn. and when you first walk in you are faced with one wall that is completely covered in windows and the view overlooks a ravine. so the initial reaction is that it's a gorgeous room. but when you look up the ceiling is ugly. there are vents and boxy white things that go across. below are some pics of someone else's wedding so you can see. is there an inexpensive way i can decorate the ceiling to try to hide it?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sheepybee/2831226432/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sheepybee/2830389815/

2dBride

Guests do not, in general, spend a whole lot of time looking up at the ceiling.  However, if you want to take attention away from it, there are two ways to do it.  One is to cover it with ceiling swags, like the tulle and lights thing the PP referenced.  However, if you want the whole ceiling covered, this is relatively expensive.

The second option  is just to distract from it.  We had our reception in a club that was a converted warehouse.  The ceilings were very high, and had lots of electrical cords and things going across them.  What we did was to string monofilament line (like fishing line) from one wall to the other (above people's heads), and hang paper lanterns from it.  That gave the illusion that the room stopped at the paper lantern level, so people's eyes were drawn away from the ceiling.

mysticl

People don't look up.  The only time I ever did was when the bride had told me about the light fixtures in advance so it was in my head to make a point of checking them out.  If she hadn't said anything I wouldn't have looked and even if I did it wouldn't have registered.

mbcdefg

I don't think there's anything wrong with the ceiling, for what it's worth.

I've never, ever noticed the ceiling at a reception. I'm too busy eating, drinking and talking to people. I'd only be staring at the ceiling if I was bored out of my wits. And no reasonable guest would think that you (as the person who's renting the space) would possibly have control over something like the ceiling or the walls.

Devote your money to offering the best food, drinks and entertainment you can afford ... not to hiding a ceiling that nobody will notice anyway. People aren't going to be saying, "Well, the drinks are watered down, but thank goodness that that cash went to decorating the ceiling instead of the bar!" If you have good stuff for them to eat and you have a fun party, people won't be staring around the room.

Really, the ceiling looks fine. Dim the lights and draw attention to the tables (linens, candles, whatever) if you want, but I really don't think your ceiling is a problem. Don't waste your money on decorating something that isn't a problem in the first place. Do you remember what the ceiling looked like at the last few weddings you attended?

mysticl

PP makes a good point about drawing attention down towards the tables.  If you cover the ceiling you are drawing people's attention to it.  And I doubt you can cover the whole thing because of the lights and air vents up there. 

aerinpegadrak

Even at the worst wedding I've ever attended, I don't think I was bored enough to check out the ceiling.  I have no idea, not one clue, what the ceiling looked like at my wedding.  This is classic bridal overthinking.

unplainjane

thanks for this advice. you're all right i tried to remember the ceiling at other weddings i went to and can't. heh. the only time i can remember the ceiling is once when the couple had tulle strung from it! heh funny how adding decorations will draw more attention to it as opposed to less which is what i want. i think the only reason why i noticed the ceiling when i viewed it was because the room was completely empty and so there wasn't much to look. i definitely think my money is better spent elsewhere.

JMandez2012

Hi,

I need some recomendation with celing swags. I really like it and I want to get a quote on it. Does someboy has experience wih it. Do you know a vendor in Chicago IL area?

Thank you.