Archive for the ‘Planning Tricks’ Category
Monday, 21 July 2008
I always think that without a little bit of care and attention weddings can perhaps become……a little bit, well…boring! As a wedding planner I know I probably shouldn’t say that but it’s those pesky line up photos that can do it you see. Plus the fact that some guests might only know the person they came with in addition to the bride and groom. And that would all be fine (it is the bride and groom’s day after all) except for the fact that in my experience, bored guests make for a somber party atmosphere. And lets face it if you’re spending all that cash you want to throw a great party!
With a little thought and attention, it’s so easy to create a great atmosphere & get your guests to share the love and mingle a bit. One of my favourites is the classic treasure hunt (customised to your wedding’s theme of course)! Chocolate egg hunts for Spring, flower fairy hunts for enchanted woodland weddings and butterfly hunts for the summer (no real butterflies please!).
In addition, all sorts of variations of the classic guest book are currently taking the wedding world by storm. From the polaroid guest book to makeshift ‘studios’ made from a piece of draped fabric and even real photo booths, some of the results are hilarious and make fantastic keepsakes. I particularly loved the blackboard set up that these super-talented school-sweethearts had at their primary school themed wedding which was featured in Martha a few years ago. Guests wrote well-wishes onto a blackboard and then had their photos taken alongside their scribblings. Such a great idea!
Finally an idea of my own that I’d love to see would be kite flying. There’s a little boy who flies his kite out on the field near my house and I always think that it would be great fun to do in a big group at a wedding. As always, at the right wedding in the right location but I think this would be a great source of entertainment for kids and oldies alike!
Happy Monday!
Photo Credit: Flickr
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Wednesday, 9 July 2008
Sky lanterns make a magical ending to a wedding & if your venue will allow, I thoroughly recommend them. Top tip: rather than using a lighter/match/taper to light them use a mini blowtorch (the type you use for doing creme brulee) as it can be tricky to light them otherwise.
Posted in Planning Tricks, Real Weddings, Sky Lanterns | 4 Comments »
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Tuesday, 24 June 2008
In recent years, as weddings have become more and more personalised, processional music (the bride’s entrance music) has also been given a makeover & many couples are looking for something beyond the traditional wedding march (not that there is anything wrong with traditional you understand!). At the too-many-to-count weddings I’ve been to in the last few years, I’ve always found that processional music is a great opportunity to express your personality whilst also setting the tone and developing the style of your celebration.
So….what will you choose?
One of my closest friends had this beautiful track & despite not being at her wedding (!! OK so I didn’t actually know her back then,) the track really captures something of them and their relationship.
Recently, I’ve heard this & this which both work beautifully as processionals. With the Coldplay track the bride entered at the ‘guitar crescendo’ – what an amazing moment!
For my own wedding I chose this (sorry you can’t hear more of it), the lyrics to which are:
“Hold my hand while you sleep
So when you dream I’m there with you.
Home, feels like home
I hurry to make my way home
Cos you are my truth and my light
And when night falls I search for you
Make my way closer to you, closer to you”
I chose this track not only because it’s beautiful but also because the lyrics were really meaningful. Getting married felt like coming home, finding that place where you’re suppossed to be and so ‘coming home’ became a minor theme to our wedding day.
For a long time I toyed with the idea of having this incredible piece (warning: long piece of music but definitely worth it) & I still think it would be incredible at a wedding. Maybe a cathedral wedding. A cathedral wedding with a huge budget where you could have the entire orchestra there ;)
I also recently found this Spiritual from Oh Brother Where Art Thou which I think would work brilliantly at a Christian wedding.
For our exit we also chose this iconic track (nb nothing to do with SATC). A great track that worked perfectly for that moment!
So……tell me about yours…..
Posted in Music, Planning Tricks | 6 Comments »
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Tuesday, 3 June 2008
Photo credit: Anna T (what a beautiful bride!)
Today I’ve been writing a piece about how to get married on a budget of £1,000. Now, I’m not entirely sure that the £1,000 wedding is possible but I’d love to be proved wrong. Anyhow, I thought I’d share with you some of the tips I wrote:
Think about your friends and relatives; what skills do they have, what could you borrow? Could someone make your cake or arrange the flowers? Are any of your friends in a band? Do you know anyone who got married recently? Do they have anything you could borrow?
Consider getting married outside of peak wedding season and even during the week. Venues often offer massive discounts to couples willing to marry outside of busy times.
Book some consultancy time with a local wedding planner. Although this might seem like an unnecessary expense, a planner will be able to advise you how to create a wedding on a budget and how to effectively spend your money.
Before you buy anything, find out if you can hire it first. Florists often hire out vases, candleholders and other venue decorations for a fraction of the cost price.
When choosing the flowers for your wedding think about how to make the biggest impact with the smallest amount of flowers. For example, three peony heads floating in a fishbowl vase can be just as beautiful as a traditional table center and will cost a fraction of the price. In the same way, give bridesmaids single stems rather than full bouquets.
Keep the number of bridesmaids, best men and ushers to a minimum in order to save on expensive attire, accessories, flowers etc. If you can’t choose between your best friends consider having a couple of flower girls in place of adult bridesmaids.
Buy a second hand wedding dress. Most dresses are worn for such a short time that if you’re on a budget, it makes sense to buy something second hand. It’s often possible to pick up a designer dress for next to nothing from sites such as ebay and some charities shops even have dedicated bridal stores.
Hold your ceremony later in the afternoon. That way, you’ll reduce the amount of food and drink you require as well as cutting the amount of time you’ll need to hire your venue for.
Think really carefully before you book your venue. It might be tempting to go for the village hall because it’s the cheapest option but consider how much you’ll need to spend on decorations. A local restaurant might be more expensive a first glance, but if it needs few finishing touches, it might be the more budget-friendly option.
When choosing your menu, pick dishes that are seasonal and if possible local. Not only will ingredients be cheaper, they’ll also taste fabulous.
Serve your wedding cake in place of dessert. Perhaps choose a chocolate cake and serve it with cream and seasonal berries to create the wow factor without the attached price tag.
Consider asking each of your guests to bring something to drink along with them. Guests will be more than happy to contribute as they won’t spend money at a bar you’ll have a great selection of drinks for guests.
Send invitations via email rather than buying them and sending them by post. There are lots of pretty templates to choose from and you could even design your own. Not only will you save pounds, you’ll be kind to the environment too.
Posted in Planning Tricks, Weddings on a Budget | No Comments »
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Tuesday, 20 May 2008
Today, we’re really excited to be launching a series of Planning Tricks. In this section, we’re going to be posting some of the simple ways we’ve learnt to make your wedding day that much more of a success. We hope you’ll enjoy and if you have any tricks of your own please contact us.
False Starts and Pre Ceremony Music: If you’ve ever been a guest at a wedding you’ll know all about the strange phenomenon of false starts. As the bride’s arrival draws ever near, waves of silence seem to move across guests and whispers of “is she here yet” fly around the room. As the minutes pass, these false starts happen more frequently, for longer periods of time and can create a strange, almost flat atmosphere. To avoid this, simply play some background music to stop any awkward silences. My absolute favourites are Zero 7, Sigur Ros and The Cinematic Orchestra as ambient music works perfectly for this part of the day.
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Monday, 19 May 2008
Just last week, I bought the Spring 2008 edition of Martha Stewart Weddings. I love this magazine with all its beautiful weddings and clever ideas. This edition has a lovely feature all about streamers and ribbons and one of the pictures is of the most beautiful flowergirl’s outfit! In fact the outfit is so beautiful I felt it deserved it’s own post. So here you go:
There is so much I love about this outfit but especially the multi-toned cummerbund and the adorable shoes. I LOVE those shoes! MS have been very clever here and rather than finding shoes to match the yellow colour palette (a nightmare I’m sure), they’ve tied ribbon around the arches of the flowergirl’s feet and popped the shoes on afterwards. Despite being ingenious, I’m just not sure how long a flowergirl would stand having ribbons tied around her feet and wonder if it would be better to superglue lengths of ribbon to the inside of each shoe? I also think it would be a good idea to do a trial run of these shoes before the big day, just to see how long the bows stay tied.
Photo Credit:
Martha Stewart Weddings
Posted in I Heart, Planning Tricks, Yellow | No Comments »
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