Church decor

SillyLGoose

Hi, I've posted here on occasion but I've mostly just snooped around. The ct board is my knottie home. But, I hope to get to know you as well!

I plan on meeting with florists within the next month or two.  I know she'll ask me about church decor. For the record, aisle runners really aren't for me. Also, I thought I'd do away with pew markers for many of the same reasons I'm not into aisle runners. Maybe I'll want an arrangement or two near the alter. FI was super shocked by my disdain for the typical church decor. He said it would "look better" if we had one or the other---aisle runner or pew markers. I hate aisle runners more than pew markers so pew markers would win. 

Anyone have/having no aisle runner or pew markers? 

SaraAndrew2010

I'm not planning on having an aisle runner or pew markers.  My church doesn't allow aisle runners (they are a big liability for people tripping).  The church where I am getting married is pretty elaborate, so pew markers seemed like an unneccessary expense.

Have you talked to the church about any restrictions on decorations? Many Catholic churches are fairly strict about where you can put decorations and discourage a lot of fancy decorations. 

meltoine

If that's your church in your siggy, I don't really think you need anything. Most churches are beautiful on their own and adding decoration just detracts from the beauty that's already there. 

PressMe

I agree with PP. Your church doesn't look like it needs much decor.  I have become very friendly with the parish secretary.  Not only does she give me all the do and don'ts, I ask her about things she seen done in the past.  She is a wealth of information.  HTH

[Deleted User]

We as well are not allowed to have an isle runner. At the church we are getting married in, it is a safety issue b/c the floors are all hardwood. The church I previously attended had a carpeted walkway, so it was allowed. As far as the pew markers go, I really like the idea of them, but something simple, not anything over the top. We are doing a white bow with a sprig of greenery in it, and actually, I have been thinking about contacting the florist and asking her to scratch the greenery and just do the bows. We attended a Catholic wedding last fall of a friend of mine and they had pew bows on every other one (I think) and I thought it looked really nice. It also depends on the formality of your wedding. They say the brides dress sets the tone for the wedding, so if your dress is not very formal, then I could see scratching the decorations.

mbcdefg

We will not have pew markers or an aisle runner. We just never really cared for them, plus we wanted to save some money. Our church is plenty pretty on its own.

Our wedding is the week after Easter, so there will already be lilies on the altar and we didn't need to purchase any decorations for the ceremony at all (we would've gotten a floral arrangement or two if the lilies weren't there). My mom's been encouraging our family and parishioner friends to donate lilies for their loved ones this Easter so that we will have plenty up there :P

Theresa626

Have you talked to your church about this?  you need to ask them their rules before you do anything. Most churches don't allow aisle runners, pew decorations or basically any decor at all.  See what they say first. 

Secondly, if that's your church, it's gorgeous and I agree that you won't need that much decor. Save it for the reception. 

Theresa626

Sorry, your last question:

I'm having no decor at all except for what we hold because that is all my church allows.  So, no aisle runner or pew bows. 

Kaye Smith

We're not having an aisle runner, but as pew markers we're having lanterns hanging from a ribbon on the pews.  For some reason, i'm not too big on flowers but when i saw a picture of lanterns as pew markers, i knew i had to do it. 

SillyLGoose

Thanks girls! Yes, that is my church in my siggy. It is just as beautiful in person- I think too many decorations would distract from the church as well as our ceremony. My church does allow aisle runners and pew markers as long as nothing damages the church (no tape, nails, etc). 

I've never been keen on either. I'll tell FI that some churches don't even allow either and many brides chose not to on the knot. My fiance is the one groom I know who has envisioned his wedding day more thoroughly then his bride. Maybe we'll do a few (very simple) pew markers since he really wants them.  Kaye- I like your lantern idea! 

kmm2150

Yes, that church is georgeous and I don't see any need for any decorations at all, especially if you don't particularly want them.  In beautiful, ornate churches like that I always think extra 'add-ons' just detract and look cheap in comparison to the church itself.  You, your groom, your wedding party and their flowers will be plenty of decoration!  Oh, and we were in a similarly ornate church - other than one flower arrangement by the guest book, we didn't have anything. Just our bouquets and boutonnieres, and I'm really happy with how it looked.

Kaye Smith

Your church will be beautiful with or without decorations!  My FI is the exact same way!  He has even used the term "when I've pictured my wedding, i always thought _______"  He definitely has more ideas at times about our wedding!

SillyLGoose

Haha, my mom just called me a bridezilla for not wanting an aisle runner. 

"How will they know the wedding is starting?" 

"Well mom, they'll see it's 4pm, the music will start, and they'll see people walking with flowers." 

"But it's tradition, SillyLGoose!" 

"Mom, I promise you, nobody is going to say, can you believe she didn't have an aisle runner?" 

"SillyLGoose, the older people definitely will! And at what point are you going to give Mr. SillyLGoose what he wants, stop being a bridezilla!" 

samurai21

The church where we're getting married is very ornate, so I don't really feel the need for decorations. We also can't have an aisle runner, which I'm perfectly ok with. I wasn't planning on doing anything for the pews until my FMIL said she wanted to make something, so we'll see . I kind of like the idea of just using the natual beauty of the church.

Plus, with confession shortly after the ceremony, we won't have much time for pics let alone grabbing any decor we used.

GulfCoaster

We did not have an aisle runner.  Our church didn't allow them because of the increased risk of tripping, but we wouldn't have used it anyway.  The way I looked at it was, why should we bother to spend that much money on an aisle runner that we will only use once?  An aisle runner might have made sense back in the day when church floors were dirt, but nowadays it's sort of unnecessary.  I never heard anyone ask why we didn't have an aisle runner, not even my grandmother.  I think your mother is a little silly -- even if people notice that there's no aisle runner, I really doubt most of them are going to care.

Our church was older, like yours is.  We had some pew bows, at my MIL's insistence (she made them).  Otherwise, we wouldn't have had any decorations other than the handheld bouquets.  Seeing your church pic in your siggy, I don't think you need any church decor.  It's already a gorgeous church.  Also, when I have been to weddings in gorgeous churches where the couple uses a lot of church decor, I almost feel like it's overdone, if that makes sense -- like it can get *too* ornate. 

JMU_Bride09

We're not having the aisle runner bc our parish won't allow it.  And Im playing around with the idea of pew markers, but Im not sure if they will work with our pews.  Also, I may not include them so we can spend the money elsewhere.

berrytr

Your church is beautiful and doesn't need anything added.

MairePoppy

Just curious. Is that St. Bernard's? Your church is beautiful, as is. If you are using a local florist, they will probably be familiar with the churches rules on flowers.