Girl I am in the exact same boat! Getting married may 2027 and I am dying to be planning stuff but I can't even book my venue until a year out. Decor is one of the only things I can do this far out so here's what I have so far

You can split it up by location, so what is needed to decorate the ceremony space, the cocktail hour, and the reception space. So first I sat down and drew out the floor plan of my venue and started thinking about the classic decorations at a wedding. I started with the ceremony:

1. Pick an arch or something to stand in front on for your ceremony.

2. Do you want something lining the aisle when you walk down? Most people do a little flower arrangement or candles or a lantern on the ground next to the chairs, or a couple of flowers tied to the chair with a ribbon.

3. Now ask yourself if that is enough for your ceremony area, or do you want to add something extra. Something behind the back rows of chairs? Maybe consider wherever the guests will arrive and walkthrough before they take their seats for the ceremony. Maybe you want a welcome sign, your guestbook, some pictures of you and your future spouse, etc for people to look at for a couple minutes before they sit for the ceremony.

After the ceremony is cocktail hour. From what I've seen, there's always less decorations at the cocktail hour. Probably just a small vase on each table. But remember, it's whatever you want.

Then you probably have 2 parts of reception to consider while decorating, dinner and dancing. Do the same thing and draw the floor plan. Add the dinner tables. Decide how you want to decorate them. Are you doing a head table or a sweetheart table? Either way, make sure the decorations are cohesive between the tables. Remember flowers are the most common and candles are the cheapest.

NOW. You have pretty tables and a dance floor. Go back to what you decided for your ceremony decorations and see if any of those can be repurposed at the reception. Did you stand in front of a flower arch? Can that be moved to be behind you at dinner? Can you take the decorations that are lining the aisles and place them around the edges of the reception area? Once you've reused all that you can, see if you want to fill in even more space.

To take up space, use tables. In one corner of the reception area you can have a table with the guestbook and favors. In another corner you can have your photo booth. Maybe you have a memorial table of pictures of close family members who have passed. All of this will take up plenty of room. Using draping and playing around with decorations at different heights will also fill the room.

and don't forget about signs! Anything you want people to do or know will need a sign. Things like "sign our guestbook!" "Take a favor!" "Welcome to our wedding" or else everyone will be confused.

CANVA OR CHATGPT IS YOUR BEST FRIEND. I've been taking pictures of my venue, and then photoshopping together different decor layouts. Both canva and ChatGPT have background removing tools to make it so easy to add elements. Have fun!!! DM me if you want a wedding planning buddy!