Weddings can be stressful events – you want something unique that showcases you and your partner’s style, but you also don’t want it to cost the Earth. Here are our top ideas for welcome wedding signs.
With the average UK wedding costing a whopping £18,400, it’s not really surprising that couples are looking for ways to cut the budget or that quality is a high priority when it comes time to splash the cash. If wedding signage, such as the classic welcome sign, is one of the things you’re hunting for, your search is over.
Look no further, as we delve into all things wedding signage related, asking the difficult questions, such as ‘do you really need a wedding welcome sign?’ and ‘How big should wedding signs be?’ so that you can get back to the important decision making, like whether lemon or chocolate cake is preferable.
Do you need a welcome wedding sign?
A welcome wedding sign can make your day run much smoother.. A welcome sign can be a relatively easy way to set the scene for people first arriving on your big day, as it will most likely be the first thing that they see. Plus, if your ceremony and/or reception take place in different locations or a large area where people may get lost, a welcome sign could be useful in guiding your guests where to go. Let’s look at how we can make it work for you:
Welcome wedding sign ideas
When thinking about which welcome wedding sign will work best for you, take into account the type of venue choice, where the sign will be placed, and how big it needs to be, to be easily noticed. Every other aspect of the sign design is totally up to you.
A-boards
A-boards (or A frames, as they are sometimes known) are a classic wedding sign option, as they are suitable for any budget and can be made to suit any design scheme. Placing one outside your venue, or the room to your reception is a fantastic way to welcome your guests.
Pop up banners
Pop up banners are banners that do not require attachment to a wall, ceiling or door, making them perfect for placing outside or in a room with a large amount of floor space, especially when used in multiple numbers, such as one either side of a doorway. Due to their long vertical nature, pop up banners can be the ideal place to display larger bits of information, such as order of the day, table plans or other information you want to share with your guests. Or, they work just as well as large format images, simply to decorate the place and emphasise your theme.
A3+ picture boards
Picture boards come in a variety of sizes and can be displayed in various ways, although the most popular are on easels or affixed to a sign post. These are the simplest to design and produce, and are extremely affordable, making them perfect for every budget.
Hanging banners
If you have wall space or ceiling space, hanging banners can be a beautiful way to decorate your space and welcome your guests. Banners can hang vertically or horizontally, and can be made up of pretty much any material, allowing for a huge amount of scope for design choices, making them a viable option for pretty much any theme or aesthetic.
Tips for a great welcome wedding sign
- Choose a font style that is aesthetically pleasing but also readable, even by Aunt Enid with the extra-strength reading glasses. Overly ornate calligraphy would work well for your names at the top of the sign, for example, but won’t work so well for the smaller print about seating plans or directions to the toilets. Another thing to note is how the sign fits in with the aspects of your theme. For cohesiveness, make sure your font and colours of the sign match other elements throughout the day, such as the invites, decor features, table settings, or other signage options.
- As well as serving as the starting point for your theme or colour scheme, you can use the welcome sign, or supplementary signs, to set the tone for the day to come. A popular option is a request for guests to put their phones away, with a line about the ceremony being unplugged (see image below for an example).
- At the other end of the spectrum, the bride and groom know that everyone will be using their cameras to take photos, so they create a unique hashtag so that they can view all of the images captured. You can display this on your welcome sign, so that people know it from the very beginning, or place it on other signage options as a way to re-emphasise your theme throughout the venue.
- Consider what your sign will be made of and what finish you want it to have. An ultra glossy sign may be obscured by the sun if it is outside in the summer, but a cardboard one will not fare too well in the rain.
Other sign ideas for your wedding
Whatever your style, theme, scheme or aesthetic, one of the easiest ways to enhance your big day’s look is with signage. They can be a great tool for adding large amounts of colour or pattern to a space, for a much lower cost than hiring out or getting bespoke made props.
Which types of wedding signage options you go for will depend on your style choice and what your venue allows. If you are getting married in a historic manor house, for example, they will be a lot more strict about what you can attach to the walls than, say, a village hall.
Floor stickers
Everyone loves a dance floor at a wedding, and if you have the space, a large floor sticker to designate where the dance floor is located can be a great way to add to your theme. With slip-proof coatings and high-quality print options, you get full control over the look of your dancing area, without having to worry about the safety of your guests.
Signs to keep forever
While you could technically keep any of your wedding signs forever, there has definitely been an uptick in couples choosing to create a sign for their wedding with the express intention of hanging it in their home as a memento of the day. These keepsake signs can be made up of anything, but are usually something more substantial, such as a bespoke embroidered banner, cut-out metal lettering, or a custom-made neon sign.
Neon signs can be a great backdrop for photos, and a souvenir of the big day that you can keep for years to come. You can have it say your names or a wedding theme (such as Mr and Mrs.) or if you intend to reuse it in your home afterwards, pick a phrase or some lyrics or a simple image – like a lightning bolt or heart- that speaks to both of you.
Photography spaces
Photo booths or a corner/wall of the room dedicated solely to photographs have replaced the tradition of leaving throw-away cameras on the tables and act as a part of the evening’s entertainment. If you can’t stretch to a full photo booth, you could use signage to create a wall feature such as a neon sign spelling out the wedding’s hashtag, or feature wall, with a large-format removable print.
Directional signage
Weddings contain a lot of moving parts. Even in the smallest of venues, a few signs that direct your guests to the food, bar, toilets, dance floor, smoking patio or photo booth can stop them coming and asking you, but also are a good place to add a bit to your theme without having to opt for expensive accessories or props. They can be as simple as picture boards standing next to the item in question, or a bespoke replica signpost, with arrows pointing in the directions of all the attractions, much like the iconic sign found at Lands End.
Weddings can be overwhelming to plan, we get that, and while some people will want to go for as much creative input as possible, there’s a lot to be said for having someone else take on a bit of the work.
Medash Signs are on hand for any help you may need, at any step in the sign-creating process, from ideas to design, creation to installation.
If there’s one day of your life when you want high-quality, beautifully bespoke crafted signage, it is going to be your wedding day, and we would love to help you achieve that.