Sometimes (not always!) saving money on a venue equals out to having to settle for something that is pretty plain.

Luckily, with a bit of elbow grease, you can transform a plain room into something beautiful. It just takes a little work and planning (but isn't true for everything wedding related!?)

As seen above, draping and lighting can do wonders. Unfortunately, if you're on a tight budget, you may not be able to swing draping and lighting. Perhaps you will have to choose one or the other, or neither...which is where I hope this post will come in to give you some good alternative ideas. Trust me, you can still make a space beautiful without spending a fortune!!

The key to making a plain venue more fun is adding some kind of extra texture. This is can be easily achieved by using ceiling decor (balloons, lanterns, lights) or wall decor. Make sure if you want to do either of these things that you:
a. make sure it's okay with your venue
b. make sure ceilings aren't too high and will allow for hanging (some industrial ceilings make it easy to hang decorations, but have heaters built in, making hanging a fire risk)

Here are a few tricks and tips.

Ceilings:
1. If hanging from drop ceilings, the easiest way is to get magnetic hooks. You just pop a magnet on one side and hang the hook from the other.
2. Balloons are an obvious choice because you can just fill them with helium and let them float up, adding a nice texture. (see my post on balloons for cost effectiveness and other hints.)
3. Exposed industrial ceilings (without heaters) are your friend. You can use string or wire to hang things really easily.
4. To get that nice center drape found in so many of our Pinterest dream pictures, use hula hoops as your center gather point. This makes a nice circle in the middle, and you can hang bunches of lanterns or light up balloons in the middle for a faux chandelier effect.

Walls:
If you are thinking of draping your walls (or a wall, or behind or head table) then you will basically follow the same method for hanging from the ceiling.
Otherwise:
1. Command hooks are your friend. If your venue will let you hang from the walls (ALWAYS ask!), these are a nice option as they are small, easy to hide and easy to take down (and less pesky and damaging than tape or staples).
2. Fishing line is a good, cheap, sturdy tool for hanging anything.

Again, I know draping AND lighting can be expensive. If you have to choose one or the other, I would go with lighting.

Lighting can add drama and dimension to a room without costing you as much in set-up or details as draping (because it is really as simple as planning out where you want your lights to go and plugging them in).

You can even rent lights from DIY uplighting. They will ship them to you, you set them up, and then send them back. All it costs is a $25 deposit and the cost per light ($19).

Now that you have at least a basic grasp of the concept, here are some of my favorite good ideas and tutorials. Happy decorating!

Not so fussy draping and accent wall done with supplies from Target for under $100.

Awesome tutorial for this stunning backdrop. Would be a great accent wall.

Draped canopy tutorial using crepe paper and hula hoops

Draped ceiling tutorial using poly mesh. This is a bit more complex than the other tutorials.

Drape effect achieved by hanging a $35 parachute.

Beautiful wall backdrop that can be made by hanging strips of fabric from a frame made of PVC pipe

Hanging mini lights is always a beautiful option.

See more ideas on my Pinterest boards here and here