Our very simple to follow explanations will assist you decide what balloon decorations are the optimal option for your special occasion.
Once we started with balloon design, we felt confused with the substantial selection of displays we saw. Yet along our learning process, we found out that everything come down to three fundamental styles:
Balloon Bouquet
Mainly used as a centerpiece for desks, the balloon bouquet really is the heart of a balloon display. Between two and nine balloons, connected to twisting stripes, are organized in various heights and attached to a table base.
A balloon centerpiece can be made of latex OR mylar (also referred to as foil) balloons OR you can combine them.
As the balloons must be helium filled this choice determines the life-span of your balloon decorations. Whereas mylar balloons will float around 14 days, even the highest quality latex balloons won't stay up longer than for about 12 to 24 hours. By using a product called 'hi-float', it's possible to make them last 10 to 25 times as long!
Balloon Arch
Naturally, balloon arches fulfill their purpose best when you can go through them! So they are ideal balloon decorations for an entrance or exit. Often they are also utilized to frame the head or cake table at a wedding celebration or to design an incredible stage decor.
Unlike with bouquets you get the choice between helium or air-filled balloon arch.
A floating arch is made of single helium-filled balloons aligned like pearls along an invisible nylon line, hence the name "String of Pearls". The two ends are fixed to bases, very similar to the table bases for bouquets, just a bit heavier and generally 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" - quite often utilized for wedding balloon arches - you generate an amazing effect with relatively little effort. The only problem is the short longevity, because of the nature of helium-filled latex balloons, as discussed above.
You could either use mylar balloons as an alternative of latex or you go for an arch with air-filled balloons if the decor for your specific occasion should last much longer.
However, with these styles of balloon decorations, there is a little bit more constructional work involved, as an air filled balloon arch needs to have a couple of supportive elements:
a structure made of a good, flexible material like conduit, PVC pipe or aluminium pole and
a strong foundation at either end to anchor the arch.
The pipe or rod is formed into the actual arch and the balloons are attached to it, mostly in bunches of three to five balloons. By utilizing a variety website of colors and placing the balloons in a special way you'll get this great spiraling effect displayed on the photo. Don't worry, we'll explain in detail and with lots of photos how to do that!
Basing on the size of the arch you'll have to blow up quite a few balloons! This investment, obviously, only makes sense if you are planning to do many more balloon decorations.
A much less complex way to design an air filled balloon arch is by using so called 'Link-o-Loon' balloons.
Balloon Columns
Placed as amazing eye-catchers at either side of an entryway or head table at a wedding ceremony, balloon columns are ideal for wedding balloon decorations. They also make wonderful balloon decorations for defining an area of your venue, as an example the dance floor or the stage decoration.
As columns are frequently crafted from air filled balloons, supportive elements are required:
a sturdy metal or plastic pole and
a stable base as support for the pole.
The balloons are linked to bundles of typically three to five balloons and fixed to the rod, layer after layer. Utilizing even bigger balloons for the top and the bottom, and smaller sized balloons in between, the balloon column takes the characteristic shape of its model in the "real" world. To crown your work you could position a stuffed giant balloon on top of the balloon column.
Like with the air filled arch, each of these balloon decorations imply you'll have to blow up a great deal of balloons! So, renting out an inflator would be a fantastic idea, particularly for blowing up the huge balloon that crowns your column.
You could fill only the balloons at the bottom with air and the rest with helium. This way you would not need a stable base and a pole, as the balloons are going to support themselves. Use a nylon line to connect the balloon clusters to.
If you need to have the display simply for one party, a helium filled balloon column will do fine. It saves you the trouble of creating a frame and leasing an inflator. Yet, helium costs more air and the life-span of the balloon decorations will be much smaller.