Our simple to follow explanations will help you figure out what balloon decorations are the best solution for your special event.
We felt overwhelmed with the large variety of displays we came across when we began with balloon decorating. Along our learning process, we figured out that it all boils down to three common designs:
Balloon Bouquet
Mainly used as a centerpiece for tables, the balloon bouquet actually is the heart of a balloon display. Between two and nine balloons, tied up to curling ribbons, are organized in various heights and attached to a table base. In the examples beneath the base is either a heavy flower basket or a sand-filled balloon. It can be virtually any decorative object that is weighty enough to keep the balloons in place and where the ribbons can be attached to.
A balloon centerpiece can be made from latex OR mylar (also called foil) balloons OR you can blend them.
As the balloons need to be helium filled this choice determines the life expectancy of your balloon decorations. Whereas mylar balloons will float approximately 14 days, even the highest quality latex balloons won't stay up much longer than for about 12 to 24 hours. By applying a product knowned as 'hi-float', it's achievable to make them last 10 to 25 times as long!
Balloon Arch
Naturally, balloon arches carry out their function best when you can go through them! So they are best balloon decorations for an entrance or exit. Commonly they are also utilized to frame the head or cake table at a wedding or to create a magnificent stage decor.
Unlike with bouquets you get the choice between helium or air-filled balloon arch.
A hovering arch is composed of single helium-filled balloons lined up like pearls along an invisible nylon line, hence the name "String of Pearls". The two ends are fixed to bases, quite similar to the table bases for bouquets, just a bit heavier and usually standing on the floor. A brick or sand filled balloon will do the job and can easily be decorated quite nicely.
With a "String of Pearls" - oftentimes utilized for wedding balloon arches - you create an amazing effect with fairly little effort. The only downside is the short longevity, as a result of the nature of helium-filled latex balloons, as described above.
If the decor for your special occasion need to last much longer, you can either work with mylar balloons in place of latex or you go with an arch with air-filled balloons.
Having said that, with these kinds of balloon decorations, there is a little bit more constructional work required, as an air filled balloon arch needs to have a couple of supportive components:
a mounting made of a strong, flexible material such as conduit, PVC pipe or aluminium rod and
a durable foundation at either end to anchor the arch.
The conduit or rod is shaped into the actual arch and the balloons are attached to it, primarily in bunches of three to five balloons. Using various colors and putting the balloons in a specific way you'll get this great spiraling result displayed on the photo. Do not worry, we'll describe in detail and with numbers of photos how to do that!
Basing on the size of the arch you'll have to blow up quite a few balloons! This purchase, obviously, only makes sense if you are considering to do many more balloon decorations.
A much basic way to make an air filled balloon arch is by making use of so named 'Link-o-Loon' balloons.
Balloon Columns
Positioned as superb eye-catchers at each side of an entryway or head dining table at a wedding celebration, balloon columns are excellent for wedding balloon decorations. They also make wonderful balloon decorations for defining an area of your wedding venue, for instance the dance floor or the stage decoration.
As columns are often made from air filled balloons, supportive elements are needed:
a strong metal or plastic pole and
a sturdy base as support for the stick.
The balloons are secured to sets of generally three to five balloons and fixed to the rod, layer after layer. Using larger click here sized balloons for the bottom and the top, and smaller balloons in between, the balloon column takes the characteristic shape of its model in the "real" world. To crown your work you could place a stuffed giant balloon on top of the balloon column.
Like with the air filled arch, the two of these balloon decorations imply you'll will need to blow up a bunch of balloons! So, renting out an inflator would be a very good idea, especially for blowing up the giant balloon that crowns your column.
You could fill only the balloons at the bottom with air and the rest with helium. That way you would not need a stable base and a pole, as the balloons are going to support themselves. Make use of a nylon line to connect the balloon clusters to.
A helium filled balloon column will definitely do alright if you need the display only for one evening. It saves you the hassle of building a frame and getting an inflator. Yet, helium costs a lot more than air and the life expectancy of the balloon decorations will be much shorter.