Wedding Canopy for Less Than $375?

Lisa50

Well, two days and two appointments later (to discuss floral/decor with two separate vendors), I've come to the conclusion that canopies are a rip-off.  It seems that the only part of these contraptions that are not used more than once are the fresh flowers, other than that, the frames and fabric are used again and again, right??

How in the world can I rationalize spending $500 on an 8' x 8' canopy?  That was the first vendor's quote.  The second vendor came up with $375 for a 6'x 6' canopy.

Yikes!  I was hoping for something around $250 - $300.  Am I dreaming?  If you've had any experience with this, please let me know how to work within my budget.

Thanks so much!!!!!

2dBride

I made my own 8' x 8' canopy, from the frame of a portable popup gazebo.
I paid under $200 for the materials, and sold it for $200 after the wedding.  Instructions are in my bio.



Also, the Jewish Referral and Information Service has a list of local places to rent a chuppah that you might want to check out.  Even if you are not Jewish, a chuppah, wedding canopy, or mandap are basically all the same thing.

Some other DIY possibilities:

• This one relies on putting each of the four poles into PVC pipe set into a flowerpot partly filled with concrete for stability.
• This one is based on using a lattice for the ceiling, which stabilizes the whole structure so as to make support for the bottoms of the poles unnecessary.
• This one has a wooden frame at the top, held up by lattices at each of the corners.
• This one has a PVC frame, anchored in concrete.
• This one is based on birch poles put into umbrella stands.
• This one attaches foot flanges to slate tiles for each corner of the base.
• This one is not free-standing, and would need to be held by four people during the ceremony.  However, it uses bungee cords to attach the four corners of a tallit to the four poles, so that the fabric of the tallit won't get torn if the pole-carriers aren't perfectly in sync.

Hope this helps!

Lisa50

Oh, thank you 2dBride! 

I was stunned (don't know why ... we whip out the word "wedding" and price always doubles, right??) that, with the majority of the materials reused/reusable, one vendor is charging $500.  Ha!

I appreciate your feedback and will dig into the resources you've shared.  Thanks again!