Category Archives: Design

Wedding must-haves

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Your wedding dress

We’ve all heard horror stories from brides who chose to risk buying their wedding dress from an online seller. We have so many calls from brides who have been let down by an internet supplier, receiving a dress in a condition not at all as described or how they’d pictured.

Every bride deserves the one-on-one attention they will receive visiting a bridal store. It’s the most important item of clothing you’ll ever buy: make a day of it – make a week of it! It’s an experience you will treasure for the rest of your life.

Your perfect venue

Finding the perfect venue is like finding the perfect pair of shoes: they should fit beautifully straight away!

Just as influential as the dress, your wedding venue will say a lot about the type of wedding you are having. Not only is it the backdrop for your photos – the pictures you’ll cherish for a whole lifetime – but the venue also acts as a prompt for your guests: it sets the scene and will give them a hint of the day to come.

When searching for venues, couples often comment that ‘the one’ hit them like a thunderbolt. It fitted their theme perfectly; it accommodated all of their guests; the grounds were stunning and it ticked all the right boxes. Don’t be tempted to compromise on the venue. It will add to that sense of ‘specialness’ by marking your big day out as something unique and memorable. It’s the venue that helps to set apart a wedding from a run-of-the-mill party.

Gastronomical delights

If Jamie, Marco and Gordon are all unexpectedly unavailable, never fear – there are some delicious taste-bud treats out there!

Hugely important, the food for your big day will play a big part of your guest’s opinions about your wedding. Hungry or dissatisfied guests are a big no-no. Treat your guests to a gastronomical delight. And it doesn’t have to be super fancy, either – bangers and mash is always a winner – just make sure that there will be enough for everyone.

Personalise your 2016 ceremony

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It wasn’t so long ago that you could only wed in religious places of worship or a registry office, but now brides and grooms can blend their marriage ceremony and reception by holding their wedding at any one of a number of fabulous venues. Weddings can be done in restaurants, barns, conservatories, hotels, and even beach huts!

Such a variety of venue choices mean that you can really make your wedding day your very own – there’s no one size fits all these days – and this season there are loads of new ways to theme your ceremony to suit your personalities.

Poetry please

If you’re both literary types (and even if you’re not!), why not try having a go at writing your own wedding vows?

First off, think about what getting married to one another really means to you; think of words to describe the relationship you have and your hopes for the future. Then just let your mind wander until the right phrases spring to mind.

Writing your own wedding vows works particularly well if you’re having a boho, country style or festival ceremony theme – it fits in with the slightly organic, hippie vibe going on.

Woodland wedding

How about a treehouse ceremony? – Particularly if you’re having a smaller, more intimate sort of an event. Look at venues like The Sole Street House of Kent. Built in an ancient horse chestnut tree, you can marry on the covered balcony while your guests look on from below.

Scotland has its own treehouse wedding venue – the Lodge of Loch Goil – and it’s certainly a fairy-tale setting.

If you’re thinking about having a woodland-themed ceremony, why not try carrying it through to every possible aspect of your big day? Think about wedding stationery designs inspired by trees, use twigs and moss in your table centres, maybe dress your bridesmaids in shades of green – an ombre look would work well.

A retro ceremony

The great thing about having a retro wedding is that you can select a style and a period that you love, and then just go all out! For example, if you’re picking a 1950s theme, then you could arrive at the wedding ceremony in a pink Cadillac. Dress for the occasion with a vintage tea-length gown, set off beautifully by a birdcage veil.

Or if you fancy something really elegant, then what about a 1930s-style ceremony?

You could play music from the jazz age to set the scene – what about hiring a portable wind up gramophone as a prop? Indulge your Art Deco fantasies with your wedding invitations and stationery and maybe set a monochrome theme throughout (which could extend to your guests – just ask them to dress in black and white, which is fairly easy for everybody).

Music is the perfect way to evoke this era in your ceremony – why not walk down the aisle to a 1930’s tune? Begin the Beguine by Artie Shaw is one of our favourites.

Something a little different

At most wedding ceremonies the guests stand behind the bride and groom as they say their vows. But what about facing your guests as you say your wedding vows or setting the space up so they can sit or stand in a circle around you as you say those all-important words?

You could also have a wedding ring warming, where the rings are placed in a small bag before they are exchanged, and are passed around to each guest so they can say a prayer or bless them.

Traditionally it’s a man who walks the bride-to-be down the aisle towards her bridegroom – but it doesn’t have to be. You could ask both your mum and dad to escort you (after all your mum is giving you away too!) or you could even walk down the aisle arm-in-arm with your fiancé.

Getting your guests chatting and enjoying themselves is a huge part of making your big day successful, so why not set the ball rolling with a drinks reception before the wedding ceremony? It doesn’t have to be alcohol either – you could serve tea, coffee and homemade lemonade. Many guests will have travelled quite a distance on the day of the wedding and would be delighted to be greeted with a bit of refreshment as the event begins.

Top tips for a relaxing Wedding day

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You’ve spent tireless hours planning, crafting, revelling, and swooning over your wedding and the fact that you get to marry the person of your dreams. But guess what? When your wedding day finally arrives, all of your plans are going to be set in motion, and it is time for you to sit back and enjoy! Sadly, not everyone gets to do this for one reason or another… but if you adhere to the following things, you WILL get to fully enjoy the entire experience of your wedding day:

1. Hire A Planner.

At the very least you should enlist the help of a Wedding planner. This way, you can let your planner finalize and secure all loose ends in the weeks leading up to your big day so you can relax and enjoy the fun stuff – like your Hen party, and the final dress fitting! All you have to do is communicate with your planner, and she/he will take care of everything! Finalizing numbers, arrival times, and even making any changes- your wedding planner will take care of it all. This will also eliminate the confusion that can happen in the days leading up to your wedding. It’s so important that you and your planner, are all on the same page- and a planner will ensure this.

2. Limit your activities on the morning of your wedding.

Want to get a morning session of yoga in? Get in your workout? Great. But don’t plan an activity that doesn’t fall within your normal routine. You don’t want to end up sore from a 7-mile bike ride that you wouldn’t normally do on any other day. Or you don’t want be late for the rest of your day because you decided to go get pedicures on your wedding day. Getting ready on your wedding day will take time, so enjoy it. There is also no need to add any stress of completing tasks before the wedding, so make sure you have all your projects done! Be smart and be reasonable with yourself and make sure you’re not over doing anything.

3. Eat and stay hydrated.

Seems like a no brainer but not eating and drinking water can ruin your wedding day. Staying hydrated will help your skin glow in your pictures. And in case you need US to mention the obvious… staying hydrated will also hopefully prevent you from over-drinking and getting sloppy from too much Champagne in the morning!

4. Turn off your phone.

Or at least only answer your planner’s calls. Live in the moment. Your wedding day will pass by so fast- you don’t want to regret spending it on your phone. Plus, if you’ve hired someone to help manage your day, there is no reason you need to be directing people or making calls on what needs to get done. Direct everyone to your planner, but also friends and family- so you can enjoy your wedding day!

5. Trust your vendors.

You spend tireless time researching, vetting, studying, interviewing, and choosing your vendors. So you should definitely feel confident in them by now. You have been working with them side-by-side to plan this big day, so why stop trusting that they will do the best job for you on your wedding day? Give them space and have confidence they’ll handle everything for you. Especially your wedding day planner. She is there to represent you and will do just that, but you have to trust she’s got it covered! Intervening and not allowing her to do her job creates confusion, chaos, and wastes precious time! You hired your planner (and all your other vendors) for a reason – remember that. Also, if there is a vendor who you feel like isn’t on par, discuss it with your planner and she can handle it for you. The whole goal is to not have to worry about anything, right?

So with all of this said… RELAX! Your wedding day will go smoothly with your team of highly experienced professionals. No need to worry about the table cloth colour or whether it will rain. Remember that some things are out of your control and there is nothing you can do to change that. For the things that are changeable and manageable, you’ve assembled your A List vendor team to take care of it. This day should be a celebration and an exciting time filled with love and happiness! Take in every moment and be happy- it will indeed pass by faster than you could’ve imagined! Now go forth and enjoy your wedding day!

You don’t have to be conventional on colour schemes

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Every bride seems to have a colour scheme or wedding theme in mind but are they really important? And, if so, how do you choose one that’s right for you?

As soon as you think of planning your wedding, for some reason the need to get a colour scheme sorted presents itself. Do you pick red because of the season? Why do we feel the need to focus on one or two colours, though?

A lot of people often have a colour in mind, which nine times out of ten develops into something else as time passes and they get more inspired. It would be much more lovely to keep colours eclectic and use your venue as a lead for your colour scheme.

Having a summer wedding? Go with a pretty floral look with your stationery then you can pick and choose accents from it to match your theme as a whole. Doing things this way will save you hours of time and money searching for that ‘one’ colour of bridesmaid’s dress or exact shade of flower.

Close your eyes and think of a feeling rather than searching with your eyes, conjure up hazy summer days, beautiful autumnal sunsets or a spring time landscape and dream up your colour scheme that way!

My most important piece of advice would be to always be yourself – if you have a perfect colour that is ‘you’ and that’s all you need – go for it! If you don’t, there is no rule for you to stick with one or two colours.

Remember… your wedding, your way! Enjoy every minute of planning your perfect day.

Don’t forget the lighting

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Many people forget about lighting when they are planning their wedding reception –

“Wedding Lighting is a key area that people find difficult to get right, yet it is so important in creating a stunning atmosphere and making sure that you and your guests feel comfortable, relaxed and have a good time.”

Night and Day

If you are planning an evening reception, look at the room that you are going to use for the reception after dark, as well as in daytime. You can then see how the fixed lighting in the room works and think about what lighting you need for your reception to add the right atmosphere. Uplighters might be the perfect solution to bring the room to life at night.

Dancefloor divas

If your reception is a venue where the dancefloor, tables and chairs are set up in different parts of the same room, use different coloured lighting to separate the two areas and build up the atmosphere. Make sure your dad’s moves are in the limelight while he’s busting his moves! (…or keep him and those moves in the dark.)

Mood setting

Coloured venue lighting really adds atmosphere to a room. Use different colours to really set the mood for each part of the evening – from the welcomes drinks right through to the meal and dancing. This can be pre-programmed and done at the touch of a button if you use an intelligent lighting system.

Light the way

If you expect your guests to use outdoor space in the evening, ensure that steps and uneven services are well lit to avoid accidents. Create a magical atmosphere by hanging lanterns in your venue’s outside space, or if you are on a budget, why not try tea lights in old glass jam jars and use them to light up the paths or shrubbery?

Great lighting can be set up around any size of budget – think about what you want to do first, talk to your venue and then take advice from an event planner or lighting designer. Even the simplest of lighting schemes can impress your guests if they are done right.