From Vision to Venue: Inside the Design Process
- Dawn Klintworth
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
When Lily and Chris, along with their wedding planner, first reached out to us, they had a venue booked for their reception — the Kankakee Civic Auditorium — and a vision in their heads that they weren't quite sure how to bring to life.
They knew they wanted something warm and lush. Something that felt like a wildflower field had moved indoors. They had ideas, inspiration photos, and a list of things they wanted to handle themselves.
There was just one problem. She was a school teacher. And between lesson plans, end-of-year chaos, and everything else that comes with that job, the DIY wedding she'd imagined just wasn't going to happen without calling in some 'troops'.
So we figured it out together. And, we figured it out mostly virtually. The couple was in Kankakee, but the wedding coordinator was in Champaign.
Since Lily and Chris couldn't some see our inventory in person, we had to show them a different way. One of the best uses for AI in this industry is to take photos of your venue and ask it to create a new photo with your inspiration and details. We used pictures of the venue to create AI images of our proposed decor items. Here is one example - we asked Chatgpt to add greenery garland, our whiskey barrels, and gold lanterns to the front entrance of the venue. Here is the AI created image:
And here is a picture of the actual entrance, the day of the wedding - pretty good, right?
While this event was one of our largest, it was also one of our favorites! We love when a couple comes in with some pieces already in motion and needs someone to build around them, fill in the gaps, and make sure everything flows together like it was always meant to look that way.
Here's exactly how we approached this reception — and what that collaborative process looked like from start to finish.
You Don't Have to Hand Everything Over
Before we get into the details of this specific design, we want to say something clearly:
You don't have to choose between DIY and full-service with Burlap and Lace. You can do both!
A lot of couples come to us thinking it's all or nothing — either they rent everything from us, or they handle everything themselves. But that's not how we work.
If you've already ordered custom table numbers from Etsy, bought your own linens, or planned to make your own centerpieces — great. Bring them. We'll design around what you have, fill in what you need, and make sure the whole room looks like one cohesive vision instead of a collection of separate decisions.
This bride initially wanted to be a full DIY bride. Life had other plans. But her personal touches were still all over this reception — and honestly, that made the end result feel even more hers.
Starting With the Space
The Kankakee Civic Auditorium is a venue with real bones — high ceilings, large windows with lots of natural light, a stage, an outdoor patio, and a main hall that can feel either cavernous or cozy depending on what you do with it. This couple wanted cozy. They wanted warm. They wanted guests to walk in and immediately feel like they were somewhere special.
Before we ever talked about specific rental items, we talked about the flow of the space. Where would guests enter? What would they see first? Where would the eye naturally travel? What moments did this couple want to create — and where?
Breaking the venue into zones made the whole process feel manageable:
Outdoor Entrance
Indoor Entrance (foyer area)
Stage & Head Table Area
Main Hall / Guest Dining
Dessert Table
Outdoor Patio
Once we had a map of the space, we looked at what the venue already had — and built the rest of the design around it.
Zone by Zone: The Full Design
🌿 Outdoor Entrance — First Impressions Matter
We wanted guests to feel the wildflower/garden party vibe before they even walked through the door.
For the outdoor entrance, we designed around the venue's existing pillars — wrapping them in battery-operated faux greenery with warm lights for that soft, glowing effect that photographs beautifully and holds up all evening without wilting.
On either side of the entrance, glass lanterns with battery-operated candles created a welcoming path of light. Whiskey barrels anchored the space with matching faux florals — grounded, natural, and cohesive.
The goal here was simple: signal to guests the moment they arrived that this is going to be a beautiful night.
🪞 Indoor Entrance — The Transition Moment
Stepping inside, guests were greeted by two floor-length mirrors placed between the doors, each covered in greenery and florals at the top. Mirrors do something clever in event design — they expand a space, reflect light, and add a touch of elegance without taking up too much floor space or blocking traffic flow.
This is a space where Lily added her own DIY touches to it. She created a seating area with wicker furniture, flowers, greenery and more. She alos made these adorable giant wildflowers that really made a statement!
It's a small detail that creates a big first impression.
🎭 Stage & Head Table Area — The Focal Point of the Room
The head table was positioned on top of the stage. Behind the tables, we designed three sections of pipe and drape spanning the full width of the stage. Each section featured
White chiffon draping layered with warm white curtain lights and Greenery garland running along the top.
The effect? A lush, softly lit backdrop that drew the guests eyes to the stage the minute they entered the room (and it hid the concrete walls on the back of the stage). Romantic, warm, and layered — without looking overdone.
At the front of the stage, white bunting table skirts gave the stage a finished edge (and honestly, covered up the ugly carpet lining the stage front). Large urns on either side of the stage were filled with faux florals, and additional floral arrangements on gold floor pedestal centerpieces and white pillars extended the greenery down onto the floor around the stage.
✨ Main Hall / Guest Dining — Where It All Came Together
This was where the majority of the design work happened and honestly, this is also where the collaborative nature of this design really showed up.
Bistro lights draped across the main hall from side to side created that warm, golden canopy effect that makes every photo look like it was taken at golden hour.
For the tables, here's where the couple's own contributions made a real difference:
The coral table linens were hers — she sourced them herself, and they became the color anchor for the entire room.
The table numbers were hers too
Her brother made these wonderful 'Please Be Seeded" seating charts and they were the star of the show!
Fresh florals for the centerpieces were handled by a separate florist, delivered Saturday morning.
The bride also created a beautiful "About Us" table that had pictures of not only her mother, who had recently passed and was a beautiful way to honor her mother, but pictures of Chris and her.
We topped each table off with white tablecloths, gold chargers, water goblets, white napkins, and silverware. We designed around her colors and made sure every table told the same story.
That's the thing about working this way — when a couple brings pieces they've personally chosen or made, it adds a layer of meaning to the room that you simply can't rent. Our job is to make sure those pieces look intentional, not out of place.
The final result was a tablescape built from multiple sources that felt completely cohesive: warm metals, natural wood, soft coral, greenery, and candlelight.
🍰 Dessert Table — Sweet and Simple
For the dessert table, we kept it clean and functional. Two natural stain cupcake stair step stands gave the display height and visual interest, and a “Love is Sweet” dessert table sign tied the vignette together.
Simple. Intentional. On-brand for the whole look.
🏮 Outdoor Patio — An Extension of the Party
The outdoor patio gave guests a place to breathe, gather, and enjoy the evening — and we designed it to feel just as intentional as the main hall. But I will be honest, this space was the hardest to design and gave us the most challenges.
The venue didn't allow us to use any nails or screws to attach anything to the ceiling, and there wasn't any hooks or nails already existing, so we had to get creative. And, we had to pivot the day of decorating because our original design of using tension rods to hold the curtain lights just didn't work out. 😟
We pivoted to put the curtain lights down the middle of the patio (which we zipped tied to the electrical pipe running the length). Six bistro tables with black spandex table covers were placed around the patio. Glass hurricane vases with battery-operated candles were positioned between each set of doors, creating a warm glowing border between inside and out.
And again, the couple added their own touch by adding in the paper lanterns.
How We Did All of This — Virtually
Here's the part that surprises most couples: this entire design proposal was built without us ever being in the same room. We worked through the design remotely — talking through the space, gathering inspiration, building out zone-by-zone recommendations, and using AI-generated inspiration images to help the couple see what we were describing before committing to anything.
That last part matters. When you're trying to visualize pipe and drape with chiffon and greenery and bistro lights in a room you've only walked through once, a description only goes so far. Showing a couple a visual reference — even a generated inspiration image — changes the conversation entirely. It moves from “I think I understand what you mean” to “Yes. That. Exactly that.”
We've built our process around making design feel intentional — not overwhelming. Whether we're meeting you in our showroom or working through your entire vision on a call or through email, our goal is the same: help you see the finished room before we ever load the first item into the trailer.
Want to talk through what that could look like for your venue? We'd love to spend some time going over your space, your vision, and what you're already working with. No pressure, no commitment — just a real conversation about what's possible.
Burlap & Lace LLC is an event rental company based in Arrowsmith, Illinois, serving couples across Central Illinois — including Kankakee, Bloomington, Normal, Champaign, Decatur, Peoria, and Effingham. We offer one-of-a-kind rental inventory, transparent upfront pricing, no order minimums, and full-service delivery and setup.
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