Pre-wedding panic

I think it looks lovely and inviting! I know where you are coming from because we are doing it on quite a small budget and I have a few friends getting married in same year who I know will have massive proper white weddings but tbh, the way I have got over that fact is that it is your special day and aslong as you have your very special family and friends around you on the day, that won't even matter I love the colours of dusky pink with mint, sounds really nice.

Don't panic!

Can you have candles? If so, use loads. And I mean loads. They can make any room look amazing. Think about glassware for centrepieces, to reflect the light around. Just some plain Ikea tea light votives will do for smaller tables.

I have attended a wedding reception in a similar space and with clever lighting, it looked uber-glam. Also, they had a buffet and the little tables worked well, more so than the bigger ones. At the moment, the room is split between formal and not formal. Personally, I'd unify it by getting rid of the white linen and having bare wood, glass and candles everywhere.

I think the room looks nice! And just remember that however you decorate it, your guests are coming to celebrate your day with you because they care about you, so try not to worry too much about how 'impressive' things look.

Keep the decoration simple, its a straight forward place. Less is more - guests don't need all the decoration and fuss - the room will have the decoration of everyone in their finest, wearing their best smiles. Its all about celebrating - not stunning scenery!

https://direct.asda.com/Candles-Decorative/2071,default,sc.html

Asda Home have started doing lots of cheap decorative bits that would be great for weddings and fairly cheaply.

Hi, we're also doing our wedding on a small budget and have booked a town hall which was cheap but large. It has the potential to seat 220 (no dancefloor and 10 to a table) but we're going to have about 80 guests. The caretakers who set out the venue said it can be set out to make it look like we're not rattling around in there by putting 8 to a table and moving tables away from the walls, we're also going to be using tea lights to try and pretty the place up. I don't think you need to worry about it being a let down, people will be there for you and your husband ? though sometimes I do need to remind myself of this little fact!

We had a very small budget and a small evening reception in a local pub/hotel. We had the tables covered and loads of candles. We had a buffet and it was done really nicely. We used proper plates rather than paper (a small thing but makes a lot of difference) and had it all set out in an adjoining room (it has a strange layout) but it worked so well and it looked really nice too. Don't worry about it. I stressed for ages but honestly by the time you get to your reception you will be caught up on everything and having an amazing time you won't notice.

Your venue is brilliant because you can treat it like a blank canvas and do it how you want it, the space is fab.

I also agree with the wooden tables and no cloths. Also look in Asda/Ikea/Dunelm etc for bits n bobs.

We're collecting small jam jars and will tie lace ribbon round them and putting tea-lights in them and dot them around the venue, on the exterior steps etc. If you can get all your friends and family involved and collecting empty jars this is a cheap way of decorating. Or if time is limited raid the blue-stripe brand food and buy the cheapest food you can in a jar and throw it out. Incredibly wasteful but would be a cheap way to do it in little time. Similar to this:

Have some large centre pieces - something like tree twigs with fairy lights, will help fill up the place, as will having table clothes, and also once tables have the cutlery, glasses etc the rooms look fuller.

Thank you all for taking the time to reply! You've all really helped and I am feeling better about the situation

I will definately look into using candles think that will help set a tone to the room

I'd also try to get the venue to arrange the tables so that they're not in straight lines like the picture, a more random/staggered arrangement should make the room look more relaxed and less long and thin if that makes sense!

Charity shops always have plates and big platters/dishes to put your buffet food out on and you might be able to get some good vases, jugs etc too. I'd agree that if you can do it proper plates and cutlery rather than paper and plastic make a big difference.