How to Make a Romantic Marsala Floral Wedding Arch

Wedding arches aren’t just for the end of the aisle. A floral wedding arch can add a romantic flourish to any space at your ceremony or reception — like at the entry way to your venue.

This two piece floral wedding arch uses elegant Marsala & Blush flowers to create enchanting entryway decor. Your guests will feel like they’re stepping into a secret garden! However, this design would also make a wonderful focal point for your wedding ceremony or a photo backdrop for your reception. It’s easier than you’d think to make, too. Read on to get our latest DIY wedding arch tutorial and learn more insight behind the symbolism of wedding arches.

What does a floral arch represent at a wedding?

Wedding arches hold a whole wealth of symbolism and meaning in varying religions and cultures. For example, a square arch may remind you of the home you’ll soon share together, while a circular arch can represent the doorway into your new life together.

Floral arches bring an extra layer of symbolism to the table by incorporating flower language and colorful symbolism. For example, flowers in red hues, like marsala and blush pink, can represent fiery passion, romance, and even a sense of adventure. After all, a wedding marks the beginning of the biggest adventure of your life. On the other hand, white flowers can represent peace, serenity, and purity — like a blanket of fresh snow or the gown you’ll don on your wedding day.

Blended together with leaves in neutral and soothing shades of green, these two hues can represent the beautiful complexity and depth of your love. It’s why we chose this romantic palette in our latest DIY wedding arch design.

Do you need an arch for a wedding?

Technically speaking, no. Arches aren’t a strict wedding necessity.  After all, there are plenty of other decorations you could use to form the focal point of your wedding aisle — like chuppahs, altars, gazebos, or even a cozy mantlepiece, just to name a few.

That said, if you’re working with a Marsala color palette (like us,) you really can’t beat a floral arch. We’re fond of the way these bold flowers blend together with lush greenery to create a woodland-inspired effect. It’s like getting married in a vineyard! And if you’re ready to get started, you’ll learn how to decorate a floral arch for a wedding below.

What you’ll need to make a DIY red and white wedding arch

To create this two-piece floral arch, you’ll need:

• 4 Designer Flower Boxes in Marsala & Blush
• 2 Basic Flower Boxes in Marsala & Blush
• 3 Marsala & Blush Greenery Combos
  
• 2 Black Berry Flower Boxes
  
• 10 Rose Leaf Garlands
  
• 2 Laurelleave Vine Garlands
  
• Two Faux Branch Arch bases
  
• More faux branches
  
• Floral Foam
  
• Chicken wire
  
• Zip Ties
  
• Wire cutters
  

We’re using flowers from our Romantic Marsala collection for their passionate and rich vibes. But you can easily customize this design with any of our wedding color palettes. Just find the designer flower boxes, matching supporting boxes, and greenery kits, and you’ll have a full selection of coordinating flowers and greenery to get started.

Additionally, we’re using arch bases made from faux branches to bring the design a more natural, organic look. You can find these at a craft store or wedding supply shop. Or, if you want to add an even more organic touch, you could use real branches from your own backyard and fix them inside small pots or vases. You’ve got options to customize this design to your heart’s content!

How to make a wedding arch with Romantic Marsala faux flowers

Step 1: Form the base

To start, we’ll add more branches to the arch bases and form the foundation of the arch. Use cable ties to attach the branches so that they bend toward the center, and trim any branches that face too far outward.

This step isn’t just about adding height. The new branches help create a natural, varied look, as if your arch is springing straight from the ground. The more organic your design looks, the better. When you’re done, snip off the excess cable ties with your wire cutters.

Tip: It’s ok if both sides of your arch aren’t the same height. In fact, we made one side taller than the other to make the arch look more interesting!

Step 2: Prep the Base for Flowers

Once you’re happy with the base of your arch, you can begin preparing it for the flowers and greenery.

Start by wrapping a brick of floral foam with mesh chicken wire, then securing it with cable ties. Use another cable tie to attach it to the base of the arch frame, then snip off the excess ties. Keep going until you’ve attached floral foam to both sides of the arch, from top to bottom.

Tip: Use smaller pieces of floral foam higher up the arch to create a tapering effect. Not only will this help create a more natural look, but you’ll also avoid weighing the smaller branches down.

Step 3: Add Greenery to the arch

Now, let’s add greenery to the base of the arch! Take your greenery garlands and trim them into smaller sprigs of greenery. Then, begin inserting your leaves into both sides of the arch. Build from the bottom up and try to follow the overall shape of your arch frame, branching toward the center.

To provide extra depth, use the reddish foliage from your greenery combo kit to fill in any gaps in your greenery. Keep going until you’ve used all of your greenery.

Step 4: Attach faux flowers to your wedding arch

Now comes our favorite part: Adding the flowers! Beginning from the bottom up, start inserting flowers of alternating shapes, sizes, and colors into the foam. Try to use your largest flowers first, saving smaller blooms and accessories for later steps.

When arranging, try to insert flowers into individual “clusters” with a larger focal point and several smaller supporting flowers. Imagine that you’re making groups of miniature floral arrangements. When you add them all together throughout the arch, they form an even more beautiful whole. 

Tip: Don’t worry if you don’t like where you initially placed a flower. You can always take it out and try it again in another spot. Faux flowers are a forgiving medium!

Step 5: Add Detail

Once you’ve inserted most of your flowers, take your black berries and insert them into any gaps. This will help the arch look fuller and more lush. Then, take your smallest flowers and continue to fill in any gaps in the arch. If you like, you can also add extra leaves here as well.

Finally, take the accessories from your designer flower boxes and insert them near your focal point flowers to add one final touch of sparkle.

All finished!

And with that, you’ve just learned how to build and decorate a wedding arch for your special moments! If you wanted to add an extra embellishment, consider weaving battery operated fairy lights throughout the greenery to give your design a cozy glow, like fireflies in a vineyard.

We can’t wait to see how you’ll make this DIY wedding arch your own! Tag us @lingsmoment on Instagram so we can see your creation and share it with other brides.

If you don’t have time to make this arch yourself, have a look at our premade wedding arch decor. You can find beautiful floral garlands and fabric to style your wedding arch without the effort - and you can spend the time you saved on other aspects of wedding planning.