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DIY Wedding Arch for About $170: the Orchard Ceremony, Piece by Piece

Orchard ceremony at dusk

Vows in the orchard

A DIY wedding arch that costs about $170 — and looks like it didn't

Nobody remembers an arch. They remember what stood inside it and what the light was doing behind it — which is why we will not let you spend eight hundred dollars here. This is a plain frame, one bolt of chiffon tied twice and directed by the wind, and a faux-greenery base your florist weaves real stems through in twenty minutes on the morning of.

The string lights don't touch the arch; they run tree to tree behind it, so the frame stands in front of a lit orchard instead of wearing bulbs like a carnival booth. Lanterns go down the aisle last, lit right before the chairs fill. Total damage: about a hundred and seventy dollars, and every piece of it works the reception afterward.

About $170 of parts; the orchard works free. — Ana

The storyA Wedding Grows in the Greenhouse

ReadWedding Arch Ideas, from a Farm That Has Built Six — Ana's full guide to shapes, flowers and cost

The manifest

  1. Wedding arch frameWedding arch frame · $70Shop this →

    A plain two-post frame, about seven feet tall — the orchard does the heavy lifting.

  2. Chiffon drapingChiffon draping · $25Shop this →

    One bolt, two knots; the wind directs it.

  3. Greenery garlandGreenery garland · $19Shop this →

    The faux base layer your florist weaves real stems into.

  4. String lights, warm whiteString lights, warm white · $27Shop this →

    Tree to tree behind the arch, never on it.

  5. Candle lanternsCandle lanterns · $30Shop this →

    Down the aisle, lit at the last minute.

  6. Fresh floralsFresh floralsDirectory →

    The one thing you hire. Find yours in the directory.

The arch, from more angles

A DIY wedding arch in an orchard at dusk: plain frame, ivory chiffon, greenery base, string lights behind
The whole trick in one frame: the lights live in the trees, not on the arch.
The orchard ceremony arch from the aisle, before the chairs fill
From the back row, before anyone sat down.
Ivory chiffon knotted twice around a rough wooden arch post, wind lifting it
Two knots. The wind does the rest, and it does it better than we would.
A ceremony with no arch: two apple trees, a wildflower runner and lanterns
The version with no arch at all. Two trees, a runner, lanterns. Nobody missed it.

How it goes up, in an afternoon

Two people, one stepladder, and the morning of. Don't build it the day before — dew does ugly things to chiffon.

TimeAbout ninety minutes, florist's twenty included

HandsTwo, plus the florist for the stems

Cost$171 of parts as listed; the stems are the florist's quote

SizeSeven feet tall, five to six wide — wide enough for two people and a dog

  1. Stand the frame where the light will be, not where it's pretty now

    Walk out at the hour of the ceremony a week before and see where the sun sits. You want it behind the arch or off to one side — never in your guests' eyes. Mark the feet with two stakes.

  2. Weigh it down before you dress it

    Sandbags or tent stakes on every foot, then tug it hard. A dressed arch catches wind like a sail. Everything that goes wrong with arches goes wrong here.

  3. Tie the chiffon twice, high and loose

    Fold the bolt in half over the top rail, knot once at each upper corner, and let the tails fall to the grass on one side. Do not center it. Do not pin it. The wind will arrange it for free all afternoon.

  4. Zip-tie the faux base where the flowers will go

    One corner, low to high — the upper-left third of the frame and a little at the opposite foot. Leave the rest bare. The florist weaves real stems into the faux garland on the morning; it holds water-free for the hour you need.

  5. Run the lights behind, and the lanterns last

    String lights tree to tree in a shallow swag behind the arch so the frame stands in front of a lit orchard. Lanterns go down the aisle after the chairs are in, lit ten minutes before the music.

What people ask us

How do you make a cheap wedding arch?

Buy a plain frame instead of a pretty one, and spend on what goes on it: one bolt of chiffon, a faux-greenery base, and a small order of real stems from a florist. Ours is about $170 in parts, before the florist. The frame alone is most of that, and a borrowed or rented one brings it under a hundred.

What can you use instead of a wedding arch?

Two trees. Honestly. A runner of wildflowers and lanterns between two old apple trees frames a couple better than most arches, and it costs nothing but the lanterns. Other honest stand-ins: a chuppah made from four poles and a grandmother's tablecloth, a plain wooden arbor already standing in a garden, or a single pedestal arrangement beside you — an altar, not a frame.

How much does it cost to make your own wedding arch?

In parts: roughly $60 to $150 for a metal or wooden frame, $20 to $40 for chiffon or fabric, $15 to $30 for a faux greenery base, and whatever fresh flowers you add — a modest florist order for one arch corner usually runs a few hundred dollars, and a fully flowered arch from a florist can run well over a thousand. If you build the frame from lumber, the wood is usually under $80 and the weekend is yours.

Does Hobby Lobby sell wedding arches?

Yes — craft and party stores sell plain metal arch frames, usually in the $100-and-under range, and they are fine. The frame is the least important part of the arch. What matters is that it's weighted down, that the fabric is loose, and that the flowers sit on one corner, not all over it.

Or tap the room itself

Same room, live — every number is a pin.

The two things you can't order from a truck

The flowers come from a florist in your town. The paper — watch it take your names.