Decorating the bride and groom’s getaway car is a fun and cherished tradition, and using your imagination, you can go beyond “Just Married” in soap letters on the rear window. Ribbons of different shapes, sizes, and colors will add a cheerful tone and make everyone smile. One caveat: Be careful decorating the car! Get the owner’s permission before decorating.

Read on to discover new ways to discover how to decorate a wedding car with ribbon!

Pre-Check

First, check out the actual vehicle before making your plan. See how the bumper is attached. Nowadays, many cars are so streamlined that there aren’t a lot of places to attach ribbons. If you know what you’re dealing with ahead of time, you’ll know if you need to focus your decorating on the inside or the outside of the car.

And, of course, if you need access to the inside of the car, make sure you have the key on the wedding day!

Vintage Cars

If the bridal party rented or borrowed a vintage car for the ceremony, make sure the owner is on board. You might even enlist his or her help. The owner is sure to appreciate this chance to participate while supervising and ensuring it’s all in good fun. If the owner of the car is in the business of renting his car for weddings, email a digital photo of the finished product to the company website to give other bridal parties a great idea.

Color Theme

Definitely find out the wedding colors before you purchase any ribbon supplies. By incorporating the colors that the bride and groom have already chosen, you’ll show them that the car decoration wasn’t just an afterthought.

Messages

If you have time, involve the wedding party and the invited guests. Ask everyone to write a positive message on a small tag. Keep the messages short, then tie the tags to ribbons and attach them to the car. The bride and groom will love the personalized touch.

Involve Kids

If there are children attending the wedding, involve them in the fun. Depending on the ages of the children, you might want to pre-cut the ribbon lengths. Make sure to get a photo of the ribboned car and all the kids as a memento for the bride and groom.

No kids at the wedding? No problem. Plenty of adults will enjoy the activity!

Noise Makers

Tying tin cans to the bumper is an old fashioned, but effective tradition. You can also attach bells to a ribbon for a more melodious sound. Just make sure that whatever you attach to the back bumper doesn’t interfere with the driving of the vehicle. If the driver has to reverse, tin cans or other noisemakers might get tangled under the tires.

Safety First

Of course, when decorating, don’t block any windows or mirrors. Even if the bride and groom are only driving a short distance, they’ll need to have full visibility to be able to get to their destination safely.

Inside

If you have trouble getting ribbons to work on the exterior of the car—or if you want to keep the ribbons a surprise—decorate the inside of the car only. Using the same color palette from the wedding, cover the seats with a weaved pattern of ribbons. You can even search out floral supplies and fill the back seat with pretty dried flowers!

Other drivers won’t honk their appreciation, but if the bride and groom are quiet types who prefer not getting honked at, this might be a kinder way to go.

Have Fun

In the end, you want to have fun with your decorations, but you also want to make sure that it is fun for the bride and groom. After their long day, you want them to smile when they see the time and effort you put into making their car look festive and celebratory. They might be too exhausted to thank you that day, but they’ll certainly appreciate their ribboned wedding car.