35 Altar and Aisle Decorations We Love

Make your ceremony space your own with any one of these gorgeous ideas.

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A lot of thought goes into your wedding decorations. For one thing, you have to make sure they go along with your vision or theme for the big day. For another, you want them to be visually appealing. The same goes for your ceremony space. In fact, we'd argue that your altar and aisle decorations are even more important, especially because this is where you'll say your "I dos." While it helps to have a breathtaking venue as your backdrop, an equally awe-inspiring set up—like a floral arch or pretty aisle decorations—can elevate any ceremony site.

That's why we've rounded up our favorite altar and aisle décor ideas from real weddings that will help you make the most of your service space. In the following slides, you'll see how these couples chose to dress up their venues. While some newlyweds decided to let their locations speak for themselves, they proved that even the most scenic spots can be made that much more beautiful with unique floral arrangements and structures. Take this mountain view, found at The Ranch at Laguna Beach, for example—it would have stunned all on its own, but it got an elegant upgrade by A Good Affair, who placed a floral hoop structure by Little Hill Designs at the end of the aisle.

Whether you choose to play up the beauty of your ceremony location with minimal décor or fill the room with plenty of floral arrangements—note one couple, ahead, who created an ethereal canopy for their indoor vows—there are plenty of ways to make your venue your own. Click through to discover more of our favorite altar and aisle decorations for a personalized, beautiful ceremony.

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Wintry Scene

Cory Ryan Photography

36 Winter Wedding Ideas for a Cozy, Festive Fête

The bride designed this winter ceremony set-up with help from the pros at Roots Flowers. Colorful rugs and hurricanes created a cozy and bohemian vibe.

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Song Lyric

Melanie Julian Photography

24 Music-Inspired Wedding Ideas That Will Hit a High Note with Your Guests

You don't have to reserve your special song for your first dance. Polished Pen Calligraphy penned the lyrics to "To Make You Feel My Love" on the concrete floor of this aisle.

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Pampas Grass

Anna Roussos

Tie the Knot Santorini used pampas grass and tropical greenery arrangements by Betty Flowers Santorini to add a simple, breezy touch to this sandy aisle.

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Waterfall

Lunalee Photography

This bride—who planned and designed much of her own wedding—let the location's gorgeous waterfall be the backdrop for her nuptials.

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Incomplete

Babsie Ly Photography

11 Ways to Add a Pop of Metallic to Your Wedding

Two asymmetrical gold pipes—provided by Back Up Backdrops—played up the venue's scenic surroundings.

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Pop of Color

Erich McVey

On this otherwise all-white aisle, red, green, and pink floral arrangements by Rose and Willow brought a dramatic pop of color.

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Flower-Lined

Koman Photography

Soft pink petals lined both sides of this aisle. The colors anchored the pink garden roses used in the altar's Edelweiss Floral Atelier floral installations.

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Pampas Grass and Greenery

Morgan Hydinger

21 Ways to Make Your Wedding Feel More Modern, Straight from the Experts

Penelope Pots filled vessels with pampas grass and greenery for a subtle hint of color in this contemporary ceremony space.

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Candles

Kaley From Kansas

See how to add candles to your reception tables here

Sometimes, a venue doesn't need to be intensely decorated—especially when it's this beautiful! Juniper and Lace Events kept it simple and opted for well-placed candelabras to play up the majesty of this event's location.

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Geometric

Natalie Broach

20 Geometric Wedding Ideas That Are Anything But Square

We're loving this wooden, geometric backdrop. To incorporate a natural element, a friend of the couple draped various parts of the structure with greenery and potted plants.

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Mossy

Tamara Grüner

These The Foxgolve Studio arrangements felt like they were plucked straight from the forest thanks to their fresh greenery and mossy bottoms.

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Crates and Flowers

Taryn Kent

26 Rustic Wedding Ideas That Still Feel Elevated

Vanessa Noel Events placed peach, white, and maroon bunches of flowers by Sprigs on rustic wood crates for this outdoor service. The same dark wood and color palette was used throughout the entire wedding.

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Natural Elements

Allison Jeffers

Find more wood-themed inspiration here

Wooden elements like this circular arch and ceremony chairs—all selected by Wolf Weddings—ensured that the fixtures didn't feel out of place among the surrounding trees.

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Mismatched

Cyd Weeks Photography

Mismatched chairs, pillows, and candles came together to form this whimsical and bohemian ceremony space by Golden Arrow Events. To complete the look, the pros added a sentimental quote which hung in the middle of the altar.

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Copper

De Joy Photography

Copper and White Color Palette Ideas to Add Shine to Your Wedding Celebration

Big Sur Flowers dressed up this copper circle arch by Revival Vintage Rentals with the same greenery that they draped along the back of the attendees' seats.

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Large Jars

Jake and Necia Photography

Kaella Lynn Events kept things simple and called upon Siren Floral Co. to fill large vases—provided by Found Rentals—with tall stalks of pampas grass for this wedding's aisle décor.

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Symmetrical Space

Katie Grant Photography

16 Things You Need to Know to Pull Off an Outdoor Wedding

The Romance Crew situated this floral arch by FLWR Studio right in between two large bushes. To balance out the area, arrangements of ferns and white blooms lined the aisle.

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Leaves

Kristina Adams Photography

36 Ways to Use Leaves Throughout Your Wedding

Only a few flowers were seen throughout this airy ceremony venue. Instead, Alfred House Productions scattered leaves down the aisle and draped greenery over one corner of the door.

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Cacti

Nisha Ravji

Trending Now: Cactus Wedding Ideas

Tie the Knot Santorini brought a western vibe to this destination wedding in Greece by dotting the end of the aisle with cacti in varying heights.

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Tropical

Plum & Oak Photo

One of the best ways to decorate your beach wedding's space is by utilizing flora and fauna from the surrounding area. For this destination wedding, The Dainty Lion used palm fronds and waxy leaves for each aisle's arrangements.

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Crest

Heather Payne Photography

See more crest-shaped décor ideas here

Recreate your custom monogram by placing a crest-shaped arch at your altar. This greenery-covered coat of arms was created by Philosophy Flowers.

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Modern Arch

Gayle Brooker

To make your ceremony feel more modern, consider a graphic asymmetrical arch, like this one by Technical Event Company, for your backdrop. Gathering Events softened the space by arranging white flowers on either side of the structure.

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Homey Feel

Delbarr Moradi

Find more ceremony aisles with rugs here

This couple wanted their ceremony area to feel like home. To do so, A Savvy Event lined the aisle with mismatched Persian rungs that mimicked a hallway leading to a grand room.

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A Quick Solution

The Edges Wedding Photography

While this couple was able to take advantage of Barr Mansion's sliding doors, they also noticed a pole that would obstruct their altar. As a quick and beautiful solution, Posey Floral + Event Design crafted this triangular backdrop out of pampas grass.

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Oak Tree

Charla Storey Photography

After seeing photos of the large oak tree at the Aldredge House, this bride knew she wanted her nuptials to take place right in front of it. However, she elected to keep decorations minimal as to not take away from the beauty of the old tree.

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Hanging Foliage

Tec Petaja

28 Tent Decorating Ideas That Will Upgrade Your Wedding

Saipua made it look as if the ceilings of this tented ceremony were vaulted by hanging long garlands of lush foliage.

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Nature-Filled

Jenny McCann Photography

For an outdoor service, bring nature to the forefront like Bows + Arrows did with this site. The pros displayed floral arrangements at the end of each aisle along with a flower-covered arch.

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Secret Garden

Rebecca Yale Photography

20 Fresh Ideas for Bringing the Outdoors in at Your Wedding

You can still achieve a "secret garden" vibe inside. Take note from Kate Siegel, who designed this ethereal space with the help of floral canopies by Cherries Flowers and dreamy glass globes that lit the way down the aisle.

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35 Altar and Aisle Decorations We Love

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Wintry Scene

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Song Lyric

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Pampas Grass

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Waterfall

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Incomplete

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Pop of Color

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Flower-Lined

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Pampas Grass and Greenery

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Candles

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Geometric

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Mossy

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Crates and Flowers

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Natural Elements

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Mismatched

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Copper

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Large Jars

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Symmetrical Space

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Leaves

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Cacti

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Tropical

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Crest

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Modern Arch

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Homey Feel

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A Quick Solution

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Oak Tree

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