Do you think you need a hidden talent to set up ceiling draping?

Well, you don’t have to be a draping guru to transform your space. It is quite easy to hang drapery & create a gorgeous look. We break it down step by step on how to set up ceiling drapes with or without vendor help.

we cover everything to know on draped ceilings

Why hang drapery from the ceiling?

• Creating a sense of height: Hanging drapery from the ceiling can create a sense of height and grandeur in a space. This is particularly effective in venues with high ceilings or large, open spaces.
• Concealing unsightly elements: Drapery can be used to conceal unsightly elements in a venue, such as exposed pipes or ductwork.
• Creating a focal point: Hanging drapery from the ceiling can create a focal point in the room, such as a backdrop for a head table or stage.
• Enhancing the atmosphere: Drapery can be used to enhance the atmosphere of a reception. For example, if the reception is taking place in a tent, draping can be used to create a more intimate and cozy atmosphere.
• Matching the theme: Drapery can be chosen to match the theme or color scheme of the wedding. For example, if the wedding colors are pink and gold, pink drapery can be used to complement the theme and create a cohesive look.
• Separating spaces: Drapery can be used to separate different areas or spaces within a venue, such as creating a separate area for the dance floor or a lounge area.
• Providing privacy: Drapery can be used to provide privacy, such as creating a separate area for the bride and groom to get ready.
• Enhancing light and sound: Hanging drapes on the ceiling can also help to absorb sound and control lighting in the room, which can create a better experience for the guests.

To be honest there are a lot of draping companies out there with different fabric ceiling covering ideas & techniques. If you have already started figuring out how to communicate with wedding vendors then you know draping ceilings can cost a lot.

Why Wedding Ceiling Drapes

Why would you want to rent draping for a ceiling? We’ve listed below the (5) main reasons clients go in this direction. Chances are you fall into one of these categories:

Makes Open Spaces More Intimate
Ceiling draping helps lower the height of ceilings & makes rooms cozier. Just imagine having a larger area with too much space. It can feel cold & bland. Using draping cuts your ceiling height in half helping your guests relax. This subtle but meaningful design consideration improves the vibe of your event.

Make Normal Spaces More Interesting
The issue with wedding venues is they are all similar. A typical banquet hall has (4) walls & a 14-foot tall drop ceiling. What will guests think about attending your event after they have attended (10) other parties at the same venue?

Yes, we know there are many things that your guest DGAFFA. However, ceiling drapery is a creative process that transforms your space giving it new life. Do this for rooms, hallways & outdoor pavilions to amaze your guests.

Create a Focal Point for Photos
Your pictures are a great place to accent with ceiling drapes. Use this for stages, meaningful moments, dances, entrances & special recognition. At a wedding hang drapery from your pergola or arch.

You might use this as a backdrop if you are considering the pros and cons of doing a first look at your wedding. Use fabric above your dance floor for pictures. Even hang drapes above the stage for speeches.

Work in Your Theme or Color
Drapery is great for bringing in themes. For example, you might use ivory-colored fabric if you plan a fall-themed wedding. You can use different color draping to mix and match your event decorations.

The color can be worked in as other colors of fabric or as DIY uplighting aimed at the ceiling drapes. We recommend white ceiling draping. The reason why is you can change the color of fabric to anything with the use of lighting.

Cover Up Ugly Ceilings
This is a big one! The most common reason clients use ceiling drapery is to cover areas they would much rather hide. It is normal to use pipe & drape to cover walls or block areas with clutter.

Fabric for Ceiling Drapery

We get asked this question A LOT! What is the best ceiling fabric for draping? There are (4) types of fabric. We cover the pros & cons to help you decorate your ceiling with fabric:

Tulle Ceiling Draping
This stuff is available everywhere & it’s super cheap, that is because the fabric is sheer. This means Tulle is lightweight making it much easier to work with as ceiling draping fabric. This is great for draping a large gym with a hoop. The drawback of Tulle draping is it wrinkles easily & is not flame retardant.

Heavy Chiffon Ceiling Draping
Chiffon drapery is the next step above tulle drapes. Heavy chiffon fabric has more weight and is not see-through. Since the fabric weighs more you can be limited to how you go about draping fabric from a ceiling. Chiffon can be chemically treated making it flame retardant.

Voile Ceiling Drapes
Voile is very similar to tulle draping. It is sheer & has less weight. Draping weight is measured in ounces so this won’t do a good job covering any areas. Voile is common for linen table overlays & sometimes a fluffy fabric for draping stairs & handrails.

Poly Silk Draping
This is the main type of fabric Ship Our Wedding® uses for draping fabric from a ceiling. The fabric has a nice weight & gathers well (without being fluffy). Poly silk is wrinkle-resistant with a slight shine. Use any of these (9) wedding lighting rentals to enhance the look of poly-silk fabric.

Simple Ceiling Drape Ideas

So far we’ve covered why you should rent ceiling drapery & the most commonly used fabric. Now we want to share some of our best ceiling draping techniques & ideas. It is much more meaningful when you get creative with your draping. Let’s think outside the box!

a great decorating idea combines wedding ceiling drapes & lights

You can use any uplighting color on the fabric to make it light up. Another unique element is to hang Edison string lights into your outdoor drapery between each piece of fabric. This has (2) benefits & looks great while improving the quality of your photos. Lighting increases the exposure (aka brightness) in your space.

Play with the idea of symmetry. Here are (3) types of geometric patterns/designs to use:

• keep it symmetrical

• setup a circular round design

• go with a spontaneous pattern

The symmetrical design uses horizontal draping going from left to right. The round design looks like the spokes of a bicycle wheel starting in the middle & going out to the edges. Spontaneous is organized chaos that doesn’t have a set pattern.

Use ceiling drapery with flowers & create a luxurious look that is truly breathtaking. Decorating with live flowers can be very expensive. A cost-saving alternative is to use silk flowers suspended in foam core.

Learn Tent Ceiling Draping

use white fabric in white tents with uplights & change the tent color

A tent liner is when you cover your whole tent as a draped ceiling. This requires custom-sewed fabric specifically made for the tent.

A tent liner is an involved process that we recommend to experienced pros.

This can cost over $10,000 😳 Liners are offered by tent rental companies. Most draping companies don’t provide tent liners because there are so many tent sizes.

There is a lot we can cover about how to drape a tent ceiling with fabric. There is so much information we can provide on this topic that we covered it in a completely separate article posted below 👇

Make Wedding Ceiling Drapes

So if you are thinking of DIY ceiling drapes there are (2) options. You can rent the fabric or buy the fabric. Either option will save a lot of money compared to hiring a local vendor and paying for their labor to install it.

It costs more money to buy the fabric than to rent it. This is why it might make more sense to rent draping instead. Rent ceiling fabric online & set it up yourself so you save instantly.

How to Cut Draping

How do you decorate a ceiling for a wedding? What you need is fabric & guidance. The drapery sells by the bolt from fabric supply companies (like Joann’s Fabric). They sell fabric by the yard. One yard equals 3 feet. So a 10-yard cut would give you a 30-foot panel of ceiling draping.

another popular option is to make a ceiling drape hoop

This is a round ring that is 20 inches to 5 feet across & suspended from a large gym ceiling. The fabric needs to be long enough to drape from the middle & out to the walls.

The lightweight fabric needs sewn pockets that fit on the metal hoop. The metal hoop will need to be able to open and then close so you can slide the fabric pockets onto the ring before hanging it in your gymnasium.

Hang Wedding Ceiling Draping

Want to learn how to drape a ceiling with fabric? It depends on the ceiling for your indoor wedding venue. We’ve broken this down into (3) types of banquet hall ceilings:

How to Drape Drop Ceilings
This is an easy & common way to hang fabric. Most venues have drop ceiling tiles. They are the white squares in the ceiling that measure 2 feet x 2 feet. We show you exactly how to do this in the pictures above.

If you want to learn how to hang ceiling drapes for a wedding, all you need to do is find the midpoint & hang your fabric. For a step-by-step ceiling draping guide, watch our video below. It shows how you can easily do this with zip ties & pipe cleaners.

when draping more than 15lbs of fabric, hang from the metal beam above the drop ceiling with safety cables & carabiners

How to Drape Exposed Beams
Does your venue has exposed rafters you can wrap around. If so, then setting up draping is easy. All you need to do is work the fabric from left to right.

You can lay the drapery over the rafter beam & drop it to the ground. You can pull it back or have them crisscross overhead. Make sure the fabric is long enough to cover the span & that it is secured in place on both sides.

How to Drape Finished Ceilings
Finished ceilings are flat and have no places to hang fabric. We do not recommend hanging fabric from chandeliers, conduits, or fire suppression lines. These structures may not be load-bearing (meaning they might not support the weight of the fabric).

Cost of DIY Ceiling Draping Kits

Almost every draping company seems to want to sell you the draping or have a company install it for you. If you are going to truly do it yourself then it would be better to rent a ceiling drape kit that ships for you to set up. We have included a flow chart to give you a better idea of what you might need to DIY ceiling drapes.

Click below for ceiling draping kits at wholesale prices

Depending on how you answer the above questions will determine which ceiling draping kit to rent. You will also notice that the above flow chart suggests draping legs. We posted a video below that shows you how to set up these legs with our wedding ceiling drape kits.

Will You Rent Ceiling Draping

Ceiling drapery is not just for the brave few with superior design skills. It doesn’t matter if you are newly engaged and looking for wedding advice. Anyone can cover a DIY ceiling with draping with the right ideas, technique, & rentals.

Enjoy our draping guide, tell us in the comments if you have any questions

You can hire a local vendor that will charge you for labor or find do-it-yourself ceiling draping rentals that are more affordable. We genuinely believe our ceiling draping kits are so easy to setup that you will love the results!