10 Stunning Mandap Decoration Ideas You Need Before Your D-day

Blessed be, at the ceremonial Vedi, underneath the stars (or even in the banquet hall where you choose to hold your wedding). The walk down the aisle to the altar where you take your vows with your better half makes the mandap one of the most important arrangements of the wedding. This is considered as a sacred place where you mark the beginning fo your new life of happiness and togetherness and your fairytale "happily ever after" also begins here. The mandap decoration ideas in the contemporary market are many and all the B-town weddings in the past year that are flaunted in the magazines and social media platforms have raised the bar.

Be it the flowers, the lights or the furniture that is placed, the mandap decoration ideas all sum up to making it breathtakingly beautiful and photogenic for your D-day. The magic of impressive mandap decoration ideas is immense - it draws everyone in, with jaws left trailing behind. Learn how you can incorporate this magic into your own ceremony, with these stellar mandap designs that are all the rage this year.

Moving to the Mandap

The wedding mandap is one of the most important elements as part of one's wedding decoration package. It's where the best shots are framed and clicked and now, with more and more day time weddings, it's where all the eyes lead to. Brides are drawn to it, with the emotions involved in the ceremony. Mandaps are where the true magic happens - they are the sacred place where two people become one! So, feast your eyes with these stunning and completely over the top looking wedding mandap mages and get prepared to wow your guests at your own wedding.

Moving away from fixed frames readily available with banquets and wedding venues, most Indian wedding decorators, planners and designers choose to work on an extravagant build from scratch, taking in the location and other external factors as well.

Here are some of the Mandap decoration ideas that really took our breath away and we are sure they will leave you completely floored as well. So lets not waste any more time and dig in, shall we?

1. Royal mandap decoration idea for the royal in you

Think royal elegance and you're bound to imagine domed structures, red sandstones and royal seating, preferably outdoors. Bring all of these elements together and you have got the perfect mandap decoration ideas for a royal Rajasthani wedding, destination weddings in the state and even winter weddings.

Over here, there is no need for recreation, as what see is a sandstone platform at a destination wedding, repurposed with strands of red roses, white marigolds and genda phool, bolts of fabric and a truckload of rose petals. How majestic, indeed!

Recreating the royal heritage of the Rajput or the Mughals is a popular trend these days for all of the wedding hall decor and not just the mandaps.

2. Floral canopy to satiate the Spring vibes

Floral mandaps have been all the rage - here's how you take them to the next level. Imagine all flower-based mandap decoration ideas (a floral canopy, floral archways, floral forests and even hangings and floral chandeliers) - the list is absolutely endless.

Over here, we are astounded by the floral canopy that seems almost like the real thing, over an ornate, Victorian-esque chaise and conventional gold, floor seating. The sets of pots only accentuate the look further.

3. Sculpted Nordic forest for the majestic forest feels

Image courtesy: Iron Swan & Co

Imagine blooms sculpted around strong trees and branches - a true forest in bloom as the definitive look for your marriage mandap. That's what we love about this all-white look. It makes for one of the most enchanting yet serene mandap decoration ideas.

The Nordic forest look harks back to outdoor weddings in the wood, possibly with a druid bringing the couple together as one.

Create your own version of this magic floral forest, replete with a colour code as the wedding theme (change the white thematic to a pastel pink or blue or even an orchid purple, if that suits your fancy). Add branches and moulded trees around the wedding venue to keep the look together!

4. Open mandaps with a dash of awesomeness

When you've chosen a spectacular setup for your wedding, why not let it flow all the way in? An ideal choice for a destination wedding decor, let the property and its focal elements flow into yours - from the sands on a Goan beach to winding grand staircases for a grand old palace.

Here, the core themes of an open set merge beautifully with a floating, waterfront setup, giving us the power of two mandap decoration ideas for the price of one.  Instead of drapes, lotus fronds floating over the water and blue skies add to the charm of the marriage mandap.

5. Waterfront inspiration to bring out a mirage effect

This is sheer perfection! A well-lit domed structure, covered in rose petals mirrored in the water. Calling in a royal Rajasthan, observe how the royal pillars, gold work and elaborate canopies are mirrored perfectly by the water body, giving the impression of double royal mandaps. Pinterest-worthy pictures guaranteed!

Combine these with drapes and flowers and you have a sheer monument to stand in digital time, immortalising your union together as one.

6. Lotus inspiration - the completely OTT mandap feels

Go over the top and how. Moving away from natural floral inspirations, take to these crafted ones. With a floral roof element (drawn as the lotus), large, lotus-shaped cutouts in silver and a round vedi, that's enough to whet anyone's fantasy as stellar mandap decoration ideas.

The lotus at the centre of this marriage mandap picture is highlighted by the larger, round structure of the venue, making it a sheer spell of flowers, one within the other.

7. Minimal mandap structures

Minimalism as a trend is here to stay within the Indian wedding industry. We now have professionals working to create minimal bridal mehndi designs, minimal bridal jewellery, minimal bridal makeup and now minimal wedding mandaps. We’re all for this trend especially because it brings the focus back to the bride and groom, and that is always a good thing!

The concept here stems from a bare minimal structure, covered in peach, white and baby pink rose blossoms.

8. Green mandaps are always fun

While once green mandaps were all about using little or no flowers, they're now about highlight in contrast colours (the blooms against the leaves, stems and bushes).

Green works as a great backdrop tone because it contrasts with most colours of an Indian wedding; thus, helping your colourful bridal lehengas stand out in a remarkable way. They’re also environment-friendly, which is a top reason for socially conscious couples to opt for these. With eco-friendly weddings becoming increasingly popular, this can be a way to go.

Case in point this floral design here, which is all about dark green leaves and rose inserts converting into grand archways, pillars and vaulted ceilings.

9. Floral, white structures for the win

Floral, combined with a pastel colour theme is a match made in heaven. From the humble whites like jasmines, rajnigandhas and mogras to white roses et al can be sculpted into a marriage mandap structure.

This set of mandap decoration ideas add freshness and elegance to all setups. They're stunning to look at and photograph, and work well for both day and night weddings.

You can also add drapes in matching shades to complement the colours of your wedding flowers. Take notes from Bollywood weddings (from the Virushka wedding to the DeepVeer wedding.

10. Repurpose your ideas indoors

Have mandap decoration ideas brimming in your head, but no place outdoors to put them up? Repurpose the set in your banquet hall or marriage hall and get the exact same look.

We loved how the wedding decorator here recreated a garden variety green mandap here indoors in spectacular detail.

Like these ideas? then have a look at some mandap decoration ideas that also gained strength as honourable mentions:

a. Bells, tassels and floral ropes:

b. Floral Chandeliers and Square Structures:

c. Floral hanging ropes, in a floral forest

It’s important that you finalise a mandap design that works with your wedding theme and vision. Ensure that your wedding decorator has sufficient reference pictures during the planning stages.

On the day of the wedding, delegate the decor responsibility to someone in your bridal party who will ensure that the mandap is ready on time for your Pheras. You should also give them the responsibility of the wedding songs to be played during the bridal entry. Now, that you have seen a multitude of mandap photos, we are sure you are feeling a tad bit more than just inspired! So, jump on the bandwagon and go find a designer for your wedding mandap now! 

Finally, make sure your photographers click great pictures of the final mandap, which you created with so much heart and thought.