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.