Spandex Covers with built in sash, plain and with added bling rings

Spandex chair covers with a twist! From rushed sides to built in sashes, these spandex covers offer the versatility and structure of a spandex cover with built in texture and design.

No accents necessary but sashes and accents can be used to compliment your theme.

Spandex covers with rushed sides, with spandex bands and with sashes

Well, the answer to that is an easy one….COVER! Chair covers are the ultimate decor element. They uniform the room, they allow you to add colour as needed and they’re look can be personalized to suit your wedding or event theme. Plus, since they add lots of decor at eye level, they really are the only decor necessary aside from a nice centrepiece. Everything else is just fluff.

Here are some true life examples from some real weddings before and after the chair cover effect. No words required.

Deep red taffeta bows are the perfect compliment to this heritage building @heritagehallvancouver

Vancouver’s Hellenic Centre with painted gold chiavari style chairs and specialty decor by “Only the Best”

The idea behind using the chairs at your venue as a decor focal point has been around for decades now. Heck, we’ve been in the industry for more than two decades ourselves! And although chair covers have been the default, more and more weddings are opting to go with chiavari chairs instead. Why? Here are some pros and cons for both chiavari chairs and chair covers:

Chiavari chairs look very elegant and are light and easy to move around. That’s basically where the pros end. Now for the cons: chiavari chairs are EXPENSIVE. The venue’s own chairs have to be moved out in order to bring the chiavaris in and they require more labour to truck, stack and place than just decorating the chairs already provided by the venue. Also, they don’t suit all venues. Some spaces are inexpensive to rent, like gyms for example. This is great for the consumer, but they are cheap for a reason and simply adding the really expensive chiavari chairs, makes them look completely out of place. Lastly, chiavari chairs are PLASTIC! Don’t be fooled; they look gold or silver or white but that is just paint over PLASTIC. Also, because they are a PLASTIC chair, more associated decor costs result to “fill” the emptiness of the sparse looking chairs. They are not substantial enough to carry the entire decor, like covered chairs do.

Chair covers on the other hand are the less expensive option. As a result, they don’t offer that WOW factor when people see them in comparison to gold chiavari chairs but that is also one of their major pros. They are AFFORDABLE! When fitted to your venue’s chairs, they look amazing and you can dress them up to suit any wedding colour theme. You can make them look more expensive by simply choosing richer colours or fabrics for your chair cover accents and voila! Add a nice centrepiece and no other decor is needed.

When compared side by side, chiavari chairs offer the WOW factor but nothing more. Chair covers can offer a WOW factor by choosing the appropriate colour and fabric. They are affordable and easy to install and remove (either by DIY or by professionals).

Our opinion? Well, in some cases, chiavaris look amazing but we love the look and feel of luxurious fabric. The flexibility to change your decor look with elegant sash colours or specialty ties by far exceeds the rigidity of the one look chiavari. Save your $ and play with fabric instead.

If you live in Vancouver, you either love the mountains or you love the sea or even both but you don’t have to be a skier to love the mountains or a sailor to love the ocean.

So, when our bride, Louise, called to talk weddings, she made it very clear that she is not a sailor nor a club member but that she wanted her wedding to mean something and having it with both the ocean and the mountains as a backdrop meant something.  So, the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club fit that bill to a “tee”!

With beautiful wood and brass adornments throughout the dining room and windows that look out to an “only in Vancouver” scene, we set out to find the perfect chair cover and sash combination that would speak to this very special first time bride.

After much time and deliberation, our bride made the perfect choice….one that spoke to her, complimented the venue and addressed the view.  And, the result was, well, just as the view itself, breathtaking!

Louise ended up choosing white banquet chair covers with apple green taffeta sashes tied in a double twist side tie ending in a knot.  An intricate tie that was made to resemble the rise and fall of the ocean’s waves.  She was absolutely thrilled with the result!

Thank-you Louise for letting us play with the sashes until we got it just right.  Congratulations!

Coral Taffeta Sashes for an outdoor summer wedding ceremony.

Burgundy Organza Sashes for a Winter Wedding.

At some point during the wedding planning, all couples end up with information overload. From the flowers to the music, everyone will offer their opinion on what they feel is right or wrong.

Well, chair covers are no different. White vs ivory covers, fitted covers vs loose, or organza vs taffeta sashes….how do you make the right decision?

I have been in the wedding industry and more specifically in the chair cover business since 1994. I have seen trends come and go. For example, in the mid nineties, we used spandex covers exclusively. And, for an accent, we used spandex bands with metallic gold or silver bows attached to them. Later, the trend changed to tulle bows on the bands, then the tulle bows were used as sashes. And finally, the trend dictated that we all use organza sashes and later taffeta sashes. Currently, organza and mainly taffeta are the favourites and more recently, we are seeing an increased interest in spandex bands again.

But, how do you choose? What is the sash fabric of choice in 2014 weddings?

My answer is simple. What do YOU prefer?

Sash styles, as in everything else, come and go. Sometimes, one thing just happens to be the current favourite but it doesn’t mean that you have to adhere it if it is not your first choice?

Many times, brides are steered into a particular decision by decorators or suppliers that promote what they stock but if you take some time to look around at various options, you will be able to decide what look is really suited to your style.

Many companies, especially ones like “Chairs with Flair”, that specialize in chair covers and sashes will carry more than one style cover and more than one fabric option for sashes. With more options, you can take the time to figure out what will reflect your wedding’s theme best.

When brides ask me what is in style for sashes, organza or taffeta, I always tell them the same thing. One is not more “in” than the other but often, suppliers and decorators tend to carry more taffeta than organza; so the perception is that taffeta is in style.

So, I offer one simple rule of thumb. Let your wedding dictate the fabric and colour of your sash. Perhaps, an organza sash is better suited to spring and summer weddings because it gives a lighter, more ethereal look. Whereas, taffeta works great in fall and winter weddings because it is a heavier more substantial fabric. Then again, in the right colour, either fabric would work in any season, like for example, coral taffeta in summer or burgundy organza in winter…

In the end, it’s your wedding. You decide what look represents the event best and make the decision accordingly. The bottom line is that you have to be happy when you walk into your reception.