How to Cover Walls with Wedding Pipe & Drape

Craving wedding venue pipe & drape that doesn’t require a 2nd mortgage?

Good news!

Get an extravagant look.

Without going over budget!

Hello everyone! I’m Rob from Ship Our Wedding, and I’m thrilled to share a tutorial on leveling up your wedding decorating game with an easy DIY drapery kit. Using drapes can significantly enhance the layout & look of your banquet hall.

pipe & draping provides a stunning & functional backdrop

The main issue is labor cost & buying draping can quickly put you over budget. For these scenarios, we recommend our easy-to-set-up DIY kits. We ship these nationwide for head table backdrops, portable wall partitions, and entire room draping.

Goal of Pipe & Drape

Imagine your guests showing up at your party and the first thing they see is beautiful white draping covering your walls. Pipe & draping accomplishes a couple of things:

• Draping Creates Cozy Atmospheres
  • Transform a spacious venue into a warm, intimate setting with the magic of draping.
    .
• Drapery Conceals Flaws
  • Not every venue comes perfect; use elegant drapes to effortlessly disguise features.
    .
• Wedding Photographers Love Draped Backdrops
  
  • A thoughtfully arranged drapery backdrop enhances your wedding photos, adding a personalized touch to your special moments.
    .
• Pipe & Drape Enhances Sound Quality
  • Strategically placed drapes can absorb sound, improving acoustics for a more enjoyable experience for you and your guests.

Setting up drapery raises the bar in event design and helps you tie together your theme and color pallet. In this super helpful guide, we’ll demonstrate how to install drapes that reach up to 10 feet high, giving your venue warmth & charm 🤗

Drapery Supplies

First, measure your space and determine how many supplies you need. We recommend measuring length by width. Is your room is shaped like a rectangle? If so, then (2) measurements will give you the dimensions of all (4) walls.

Just round up each measurement to the nearest 10 when adding all your walls

Before we start, make sure you have all the necessary items for the task at hand. Refer to this checklist:

• Base Plates: Essential for ensuring the stability of your draped structure.
• Tall Poles: To hold up the fabric material.
• Crossbars: Horizontal bars that link the posts together.
• Fabric: Choose colors that complement your wedding theme.
• Zip Ties: Ideal for holding fabric in place and forming swags.
• Scissors: Useful for making adjustments and fixes.
• Pipe Cleaners: (optional) For added security if desired.

You will also need 2-3 people to help with setup. Estimate each 10-foot section takes approximately 12 minutes to set up. So 300 feet = 30 ten-foot sections. This would be 360 minutes or 6 hrs for (1) person. (2) people can set up 300 feet in 3 hours. (3) people can set up 300 feet of draping in 2 hours.

Setup Skeleton

Let’s get started! Begin by setting the crossbars on the ground to form a perimeter. Strategically position the base plates between the crossbar ends. This will lower the center of gravity and guarantee stability, especially around doorways and busy areas.

See how it’s done in our video below

📦 Rent Pipe & Drape (24% OFF)

Once the crossbars are in place, secure the uprights onto the base plates before connecting them to the crossbars. This will establish a sturdy support for your drapery.

Hang Fabric

Now that the framework is set up securely, it’s time to dress it with fabric. Rent our 25ft fabric that doesn’t have a pole pocket for versatility. For each 10-foot section, we recommend (4) pieces of fabric per horizontal bar.

When hanging the fabric, ensure it is evenly distributed on both sides. This will create a polished appearance and keep the area clean, preventing dirt or debris from getting on the fabric.

Finalize Draping

Now that the fabric is in place, it’s time to finalize the drapery arrangement. Gently lift each piece of fabric to remove any folds or creases.

Examine each section to ensure it isn’t twisted & falls straight down

If you spot wrinkles, tweak the fabric surface. Pro tip use a fully extended crossbar as a long arm to fix areas not pleated. This prevents using a ladder to adjust the fabric after the pipe & drape is raised.

Create Entrances

Guest & vendor entrances need easy access. To make open walkways, tie (2) pieces of fabric with a zip tie at the center of the doorway to create an inviting entrance.

Adjust the fabric’s position without lifting it too high to avoid disrupting the pleats, ensuring a neat appearance. You should also use heavier base plates on doorways with draping since it has more foot traffic.

Safety Considerations

As you wrap up the decorating process, be cautious of any doors that might swing open at your venue. Hold off on fastening the fabric to the door frame to avoid mishaps like the fabric getting tangled.

Instead, loop it around any permanent vertical posts to keep it in place

If your venue lacks air conditioning, consider positioning fans (far away from fabric) to keep the space comfortable. You don’t want to open doors or windows, this will create wind which is not ideal for pipe & drape setups.

Small Details

After arranging the drapes along the walls of your event space, pay attention to the finishing touches. Use extra fabric to help hide any exposed draping. Tuck fabric so it is not in the way of guests and evenly pleated on doorways.

 re-finalizing fabric is what gives a polished, professional look

As the newlywed couple enters, swing the fabric gracefully back to create a memorable moment during the introduction ceremony. This way a wall of pipe & drape becomes an entrance to the aisleway.

Final Thoughts

After all your hard work, take a quick second to admire what you have done! Doesn’t the pipe & drape look elegant? Just imagine all the compliments you will get from family and friends… Psst, they won’t know how much you saved either!

📦 Rent Pipe & Drape (24% OFF)

With the right tools & little collabing, you can achieve a memorable setting everyone will enjoy. Setting up drapery yourself is a rewarding endeavor:

• DIY pipe & drapes cost less
• Draping equipment is pro-grade
• Kits look amazing when set up
• Drapery is easy to set up with others
• Do it yourself feels damn good!

Thank you for joining us in this guide! We love creating great content for our viewers. We hope you found these tips useful and enjoyable.