Thursday, May 21, 2009

Floating balloon canopy

I just came across this balloon canopy on Cup of Jo. It was originally created by Gustafson Porter as an installation for the Venice Architectural Biennale. However, I think it'll be perfect in my sister's yard! Perhaps as a canopy over the dining tables?

We might add a little invisible fishing line to hold it down though (just in case!)

I think this is that wow thing we've been looking for!

UPDATE:
The balloon canopy turned out beautifully! I've added a photo below. Still waiting on the others from the photographer.

It definitely took a practice session to figure it out. We had to get a lighter weight fabric (organza), bigger 17" balloons and something called Hi-Float to make it work. But it did! It was the big grand entrance at the end of the luminary-lined driveway!




15 comments:

Joanna Goddard said...

would be so beautiful! i'd definitely add fishing line just in case. your wedding is going to be LOVELY!

Unknown said...

this is a great idea!
but how are you going to set it up? in the early morning of ur actual wedding day?

Heather said...

Yes, definitely day of. Plus, we'll use something called hi-float that makes balloons stay up longer. We just did a trial run and the fabric floats, but we have a few kinks to work out. fingers crossed!

Unknown said...

wouldn't it take up alot of your time to get this set up in the morning?

what kind of fabric do you use, if you don't mind me asking? =)

Heather said...

We're still experimenting with fabrics and trying to see which is lightest. I think it's worth the time. We'll have multiple people working on it, but it's only 20 or so balloons (we're going to use 17" specialty balloons). The whole wedding is DIY, so day of there will be a fair amount of work going on. But we have a good group who will contribute day of, so it'll all come together.

Unknown said...

yup..having a group of good contributors is all it takes!

well all the best to you =)

i'll be coming back so do post some pics when it's ready ya

Heather said...

Just to follow up, the fabric we ended up buying was organza. It added a nice sparkly element as well. I just added a new pic of the finished product to the post above.

Emily said...

I just found your post--a girl after my own heart! I, too, have become enamored of the venice biennale balloon canopy, and am trying to figure out how to recreate it. I found a place that sells weather balloons, which is the type of balloon that the designer of the original used. Did you consider using weather balloons? If so, why did you go with another type? Thanks so much and belated congratulations!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful!!! How do you attach the balloons to the fabric though?

Heather said...

We attached the balloons with thread and needle (at the bottom under the tie of course) and then used fishing line to hold it in place. Glad you liked it!

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BamaBrooke said...

I just googled "Balloon Canopy" because I finally decided I wanted to try one for my wedding. This post has been VERY helpful! Thank you so much!

Unknown said...

Can you explain in a little more detail how you attached the balloons to the material? Also, how did you anchor it to the ground?

Heather said...

Hi Erin, I used a needle and thread and put the needle through the extra bit of balloon after you'e tied it off. Then the twine went from the balloon canopy to whatever surface we could figure out that was high enough and close enough. I wouldn't recommend anchoring it to the ground since the twine is so thin/invisible, that could trip someone up. In our case, we attached it to the top of the house, the top of the garage and on the other side the top of the fence. So we had to be sure the twine wasn't anywhere people would be walking. or high enough to not get in anyone's way. Hope that helps!

maria said...

The canopy looks beautiful in the pic. My mom wants to do this for a bridal shower in august instead of a canopy canopy. I just have a question did it actually provide shade? Or was it more for decoration?