Morningside Inn: Wedding Decor Setup: Who Handles What?

Congratulations! You’ve booked Morningside Inn, and now it’s time for the fun part- bringing your wedding vision to life!

We know there can be a lot of questions when it comes to decorating your venue: What does Morningside set up? What should my florist handle? Can my family put things out? What needs to be assembled ahead of time?

Our goal is to make this as simple and stress-free as possible. This guide will help you understand what is included with your Morningside booking, what should be handled by your florist or friends and family, and what may require additional setup fees.

What Morningside Includes

Your Morningside Inn package includes a variety of items and services to help make your reception beautiful without requiring you to bring everything yourself.

In-House Decor Items

The following items are available to use at no additional cost:

• 3 easels – perfect for seating charts, welcome signs, or other displays

• Black battery-powered lanterns – can be used as centerpieces and are great for adding a little extra ambiance

• A variety of colored in-house linens – available for dining room tables

• 3 styles of table number stands with signs

• Cake display

• Cake cutting set

Of course, your package also includes all of the essentials such as tables, chairs, glassware, flatware, and dishware.

What Morningside’s Team Will Set Up for You

One of the biggest benefits of having your wedding at Morningside is that you don't have to spend your wedding day worrying about every little detail.

When your decorations are delivered unwrapped, organized, and clearly labeled, our team will take care of setting up many of your personal decor items. This includes:

• Seating chart – placed in the designated area

• Black Lantern Centerpieces – placed on tables

• Guestbook – fully assembled; placed downstairs during cocktail hour and reception

• Card Box & Gift Signage – placed by the front door for guest convenience

• Wedding favors – placed at each guest’s seat in the dining room

• Signage – this includes welcome signs, bar decor, dessert table signs, and table numbers

• Memorial table – photos and items honoring loved ones

• Patio items – games such as cornhole or Jenga

• Cake & desserts – staff will set up the cake and desserts when they arrive on the wedding day

• Cake display & cutting set – included with your Morningside booking

The Key to Making This Work

Our team is happy to handle these details, but we need your decor to be ready for us to place.

Think of it this way: Morningside can place it, but we don't build it.

For example, centerpieces should already be assembled, favors should be ready to go, and signage should be finished and ready to display. Our team is not responsible for creating floral arrangements, assembling complicated decor, or completing craft projects for the wedding day.

What Your Florist or Friends & Family Should Handle

Some wedding day details require more time, assembly, or specialized decorating skills. These items should be handled by your florist, decorator, wedding party, or friends and family rather than our venue staff.

This includes things such as:

• Creating or arranging bouquets and floral arrangements

• Adding or arranging floral pieces or toppers on the cake

• Assembling or placing couple-provided centerpieces

• Building or decorating arches

• Installing photo backdrops or photobooths

• Setting up specialty decor that requires tools or significant assembly

• Decorating ceremony structures, including Morningside’s pavilion

• Arranging aisle runners or decor

• Placing programs, fans, sashes, or other items on individual guest chairs

• Setting up specialty rentals that require assembly or installation

If you have a decor item that you're unsure about, just ask us ahead of time! We can let you know whether it can be placed by our team or whether you should plan for someone from your group or your florist to handle it.

Decor That May Require an Additional Setup Fee

Some items require additional labor or setup time beyond our standard included services. These may be subject to an additional setup fee.

Examples can include:

• Ceremony arches or structures

• Aisle runners

• Charger plates

• Chair sashes or covers

• Photo backdrops

• Photobooths

• Programs or fans placed on guest chairs

• Specialty decor requiring significant assembly or installation

• Other decor requiring extensive setup or additional labor

If you're planning something outside of our standard setup, we're happy to discuss it with you ahead of time so there are no surprises.

How to Prepare Your Decor

A little organization ahead of time makes a huge difference on your wedding day!

Please make sure all personal decor is:

Unwrapped
Everything should be removed from shipping boxes, bags, and individual packaging.

Clearly labeled
Label boxes and containers with your name and wedding date.

Organized by location
Whenever possible, group items together based on where they will go. For example, keep your table numbers with your table number stands and your guestbook items together.

Ready to display
If something needs to be assembled, glued, tied, wired, or otherwise constructed, please have that completed before dropping it off.

We strongly recommend bringing your decor to your Thursday rehearsal appointment so our team can review what you're bringing and make sure we understand where everything should go.

Your Planning Tool is also a great place to outline your decor and let us know where you would like different items placed.

A Few Important Things to Remember

Our staff is here to help make your wedding setup easy, but we are not a florist or decorating company.

We do not specialize in:

• Creating bouquets or floral arrangements

• Designing or arranging elaborate floral installations

• Decorating cakes

• Building specialty decor

• Completing detailed DIY projects

These details should be completed by your florist, decorator, wedding party, or friends and family before the items are handed over to our team for placement.

Also, we do not hold food or real flowers overnight, so cakes, desserts, and real flowers should be brought to Morningside on the day of the wedding.

Have You Met Wendy, Our In-House Florist?

If you're looking for help with your flowers, rentals, or overall wedding design, be sure to check out our in-house florist, Wendy!

Wendy knows Morningside Inn inside and out and can help you create a look that works beautifully with the space. She also offers a large variety of rental items, including mirrors, chargers, lanterns, centerpieces, candles, and more.

Working with a florist who already knows our venue can also make the setup process much easier, especially when you're planning more involved floral or decor installations. The best part- she sets up all her items for you!

You can see Wendy's work and rental options here: Flowers by Wendy Carol.

The Bottom Line

When it comes to wedding decor, the easiest way to think about setup at Morningside is:

Morningside handles the placement.
Your florist or family handles the decorating and assembly.

If your decor is finished, organized, labeled, and ready to be placed, our team can take care of many of the finishing touches for you.

Planning ahead, communicating your setup plans, and making sure everyone knows who is responsible for each detail will help keep your wedding day running smoothly, and let you spend less time worrying about decor and more time celebrating!

Happy planning!