Wedding Season!

Earlier on this week Lottie of Pretty Geeky (check out her blog - she creates amazing looks and also does requests - ace!) ... asked me if I would do some posts on Wedding planning and style. I got married last year and I don't claim to know everything about weddings but I did take to the planning & creative side of it like a duck to water and have since thought about looking into a career in event planning - although I don't see this happening anytime soon.

So, this will be a little series of posts focussing on elements of the Wedding day and the planning process, hopefully it will give some helpful hints and tips and some ideas on styling - hair/make-up and even some inspiration for wedding guests and the dreaded 'what should I wear?' dilemna!

• First up, for all you brides to be ... stay organised - even if it means keeping a checklist/spreadsheet. Also keep a wedding folder or scrapbook where you can jot down ideas or rip out pictures from magazine and file them. When i was planning I would very often draw what the ceremony room would look like or draw key features of my day, like my table centrepieces, candy station, room decor, cake etc. Being able to visualise your thoughts makes it all the easier.

• Don't feel pressurised. Family and friends can try and make demands on you when it comes to your Big Day. Remember, it is YOUR day not theirs. Sometimes this can be difficult when parents are paying for the day or even just certain aspects so it can be useful to politely lay down some ground rules at the very beginning.
  

• Don't get caught up in the concept that your wedding day will be the best day of your life. This can be a particularly daunting thought for a Bride and Groom ... there is always a worry of an anti-climax at the end of it all. Don't fret. Your wedding will be a fantastic day regardless, the commitment you are making and what it symbolises to you is what is important. It should be one of many brilliant days in your life. Would you really want your wedding day to happen at all if it was going to be the best day of your whole life not to be superceded by any other? I know I wouldn't. I viewed it as the start of a whole new amazing life worth of fabulous days with my husband.

• Bargain Hunt! Weddings are an expensive business with the average wedding in the UK costing £21,000. However, just because that is the average cost, it doesn't mean you need to spend that much to have a gorgeous wedding. Businesses with charge through the roof for anything wedding related but guaranteed you can always get the same thing or similar for cheaper, you just need to use some savvy. For example, for my wedding I managed to find 12 candelabras for my centrepieces for £20 - amazing value. I then draped them in reams of pearls which I bought from various stores like Primark/Claires for only £1 a pop. I bought some votives, candles and mirrors from Ikea then added a few flowers. Also, get creative, design your own stationery or create your own favours. Don't be afraid to negotiate with suppliers either. They are all fighting off competition so you can barter with them. Sift out what you want from what you need. I wanted blue swarovski crystals on the soles of my shoes in the shape of mine and my husbands initials - a company was charging £80 for this, I couldn't justify the cost - so i decided to do it myself at the cost of £3! Fantastic.

• Do your research. Not only research about Weddings but also wedding suppliers. Don't sign on the dotted line or pay a deposit until you are comfortable with your supplier and you are happy with what they are offering you. Most importantly, make sure that there is no one else who offers the same for cheaper. Once you have chosen a supplier, keep in touch and communicate all your requirements to them. They are not mind readers and every couple want something different from their day so make sure you talk to them.
  

• Don't sweat the small stuff. Most Brides experience sleepless nights in the run up to their wedding, stressing that something may go wrong. Do you know what? It might, it often does but either no one else will know except you or you might not even know! Also, by the time your day is here, you are so excited and so happy that nothing really matters, you won't really care if the bar runs out of ice or the band arrives late .. you will be on cloud 9. Obviously, you can deal with any supplier shortcomings afterwards but on the day - don't sweat it!
  

• Look after your guests. This is a biggy for me. Of course, you spend a lot of money on your wedding but so do your guests. Think about the costs for a guest - they spend money on hen/stag do's, shell out for a new outfit, buy you a fantastic gift, sometimes they pay for hotel and often transport can be pricey, then on the day of the wedding bar prices can be pretty expensive in some venues. This is why I feel it is important to make sure your guests are comfortable, fed, watered and happy. It can be something simple, for example, one of the things I did was make sure that the toilets at my venue were fully stocked with lovely toiletries for guests. The venue wasn't a hotel so guests had nowhere to go to freshen up so I made sure they had all the essentials - hairspray, deodorant, gel foot pads for over enthusiastic dancers, even clear nail polish for any laddered tights!
  

• Catch it all on camera. Whether or not you can afford a professional photographer and videographer make sure that someone captures your day on camera. There is nothing quite like the feeling of receiving your photographs and excitedly looking through them - the memories all come rushing back! Likewise with a DVD. I was sceptical on getting a DVD for my wedding but I am so glad I did. It is lovely to look back on. I don't watch it everyday like some Brides but knowing it is there and we can show it to family is great. We were lucky as we paid for a videographer but my sister also made her own video which we just love. I would recommend if you are on a budget, ask a friend with a camcorder to capture it all, it really is a fabulous thing to have.
  

• Keep it personal. The best weddings I have been to are the weddings where a lot of thought or personal touches have been added by the Bride and Groom. Weddings can become a bit bog standard so if you can inject your own personality into the day it makes it more interesting for yourself and the guests. This can be making your own stationery, devising your own personalised menu, using table names that are personal to the couple or even just in your music or styling choice. Some of our personal touches: We were engaged in Italy, so we used this as inspiration for our food and drink, we had an Italian menu and served Bellini's as well as Champagne, we also had a cocktail menu where we had created our own cocktails for the day, also our music choices throughout the day was very personal to us and I had made all of the stationery for the day, including love quotes, personalised monogram sweetie bags and favours. You don't have to go that far, the simple things often make the biggest impact.
  

• Enjoy yourself! It is a truly wonderful day ... it is the one day that all your family and friends will be gathered in the one place at the same time so make the most of it!

I hope this information is of some use to Brides-to-be. I could go on and on but I am sure by now most of you will have picked up these tips and will already have your planning in full swing! If by chance, anybody does want to ask any questions about planning their day just leave a comment or send me an email.

Happy Planning!

xx