The Magically Artful Wedding

It's true. Wedding decorations can be a financial and creative challenge. But thinking beyond the "ordinary" and the "customary" broadens the realm of decorative possibilities.

The key to any decorative endeavor is to maximize resources in such a way that the decorations strike that perfect balance between blending into the background and standing out enough to draw attention. To achieve this, assign each decoration either a supporting or a starring role, with both roles being equally important. Each supports the other, much the way a stunning diamond necklace is enhanced by a beautiful garment. That same diamond necklace paired with a grungy sweatshirt just wouldn't have the impact that it has when added to the perfect little black dress. A subtle but appropriate background is every bit as important as the starring feature. Fortunately, in wedding decorating, both roles can sometimes be achieved with a single harmonious blend. Such is the nature of projection art.

When venue rules limit your use of wall art, turn to the stock and trade of the business seminar -- the art projector. With art projectors, any photograph or artistic design can be beamed onto a broad surface without the need to attach anything to the wall. Simply tuck the unit behind a potted plant and cast images of the bride and groom, events from the courtship, or even messages from the wedding couple to their guests, upon the walls of your reception.

Choose a traditional opaque projector for use with still photos and art images, or consider an LED projector that beams digital images from electronic sources such as camera memory cards, flash drives, laptops, notebooks, or even smartphones. Consider the ambient light at your venue, and seek out a projector with enough lumens to handle the room's brightness. Generally, the more lumens and focusing capability a projector has, the more expensive the unit is to purchase or rent. Fortunately, there are great deals to be had. Many business-supply companies and special event vendors carry just what you need, and even the top-of-the-line LED projector can be rented for a very reasonable price. To ensure optimal success, discuss the venue's lighting, and the anticipated finished art size, with a projection art expert. Not all projectors are created equal, and identifying the desired outcome will help sales/rental personnel match the ideal projector to your event. You may choose only a single projector, or choose to strategically place multiple units around the room, bearing in mind that whatever you add to the projector is exactly what the wall will reflect. If, for example, you only want to see butterflies, don't use a photo of butterflies. The entire photo is what you will see. Instead, use individual butterfly images copied onto transparencies, creating a depiction with no borders, just beautiful creatures appearing to fly freely.

Art projection is bursting with decorative potential. Is your floral budget tight? Beam beautiful blooms right onto the walls, and turn your reception into a virtual garden. Are you planning a reception game with rules that need explaining? Project those rules bigger than life, making them easy to see and understand. Utilize the projector to keep guests from missing milestone moments, like the first dance, the cake cutting, or the garter toss, by announcing the imminent event via an artistic virtual wall banner. And for a themed wedding, let projection art wizardry catapult the theme into a whole new dimension. Imagine a chuck wagon buffet settled before a ghost town full of tumbleweeds at your western-themed wedding, or all four walls turned into panoramic vistas of peacocks and weeping willows for that plantation-themed experience. With art projection, the possibilities are limited only by the imagination.

When utilizing an opaque projector, keep the décor fresh and engaging by assigning someone to occasionally change the still images. On the other hand, most LED projectors illuminate live-action videos, or a rotation of still images, without monitoring. And if a 3D illusion appeals to you, position an array of white artificial trees, or other interesting items, before the wall, and project your images right over them. You don't need a completely flat surface for the projected art to be amazing.

Art projection is easy. It's clean. And it's artistically expressive.

If it pleases the eye and spurs an emotion, it's an effective decoration. It doesn't have to cost a fortune to wow your guests. It only has to transform a space that would likely be ignored into a space that is appreciated. There's nothing wrong with ordinary walls, but the option to magically transform them into works of art may be a choice worth exploring!