Category Archives: Wedding

Church Weddings

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With more UK wedding venues available than ever, saying your vows in a church is no longer the norm. But for many couples. When planning a wedding a church wedding is still an essential and traditional part of the big day.

So with around a third of UK couples still choosing a religious ceremony, here’s our beginner’s guide to booking a wedding ceremony in church:

What are the legal requirements for a church wedding?

Couples must be 18 to marry without their parents’ consent in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or 16 with their approval. The ceremony must take place between 8am and 6pm, witnessed by two people.

In Scotland it’s legal to marry from 16 without consent and at any time of day, although you do still require two witnesses.

Most marriages require banns to be published before the wedding, signifying your intention to marry. These need to be read out in the parish where each of you lives, as well as the church where you’ll be married for three Sundays during the three months before the wedding.

If there isn’t enough time for this, you can apply for a license costing from £200, which you may also need if one of the couple isn’t British or lives outside England. In Scotland, you need to give 15 days’ notice with the local registrar.

Are the rules different in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?

Yes — Scotland in particular has different laws than England and Wales, while there are stricter residency requirements in Northern Ireland. Catholic churches also differ, for example, needing a dispensation if one person is not Catholic but not requiring the banns to be read.

Can I get married in any church?

For a Wedding ceremony in England and Wales, you can marry in any church if you meet one of several conditions: that either of you has lived or attended services in the parish for at least six months, was baptized or prepared for confirmation there, that one of your parents or grandparents was married in the parish, or one of your parents has lived or attended services there for at least six months after you were born. If you’ve recently moved, you’ll be eligible to marry in your new parish too.

In Scotland, there are no residency requirements so you can marry in any church you choose. In practice, it may depend on availability and the individual minister who’s likely to want to meet couples who aren’t members of the church beforehand.

In Northern Ireland, one of the couple must be resident in the district where you plan to marry for at least 14 days before being eligible, unless you apply for a special licence

Do I have to attend church before I can get married there?

Not for a Church of England ceremony, although if your heart is set on marrying in a church where you have no connections, attending services for six months — even a single service each month — would allow this.

How far in advance should I book a UK church ceremony?

Churches can become booked up several months in advance, so ask the vicar or church office as early as possible, especially for popular dates. Many churches won’t arrange weddings during Lent, although this doesn’t apply to Catholic ceremonies.

Can I use my own vows in church?

Not in England and Wales, where legally no part of the wedding vows can be changed. However it’s possible to include poems, readings or songs which have a special significance in the service, depending on the individual vicar. In Scotland, you can vary the traditional forms or write your own with the minister’s approval.

 

Interactive entertainment

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It can be difficult being invited to a wedding and not knowing many people there. If you’ve missed out on a plus one, you might be looking ahead to the big day with a sense of excitement but also a little apprehension. Will you be able to chat to anyone at all? In the hopes of ensuring that everybody at your wedding can ‘break the ice’, here are five interactive wedding entertainment ideas that guests will enjoy.

Retro Games

It used to be that if you liked computer games, you’d keep it to yourself for fear of being ‘geeky’. Games are very much in these days though with the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and recently released Nintendo Switch proving to be extremely popular and why not tap into this love by hiring retro games for your wedding. A bit of fun at the wedding reception, having a Mario Kart tournament featuring your Auntie and colleague from accounts is sure to be one of the most surprising events of the evening! Not sure on going digital? How about booking Scalextric for a wedding instead?

Photo booth

One of the most popular additions to weddings in recent years, a photo booth brings people together like no other wedding entertainment can. Creating memories of your big day, guests will ordinarily be able to instantly print their photos and keep a copy for themselves whilst also sticking in another photo into an album that the bride and groom will be given after the wedding comes to an end. Photo booths often come with props for an extra dose of comedy and you’ll be even able to send yourself a digital copy as well. Marvellous!

Garden Games

If you are looking to plan a summer wedding, then you might be wanting to hold much of the big day outside in the sun. If this is the case, then after the ceremony and perhaps during the drinks reception, you might like to offer some garden games for your guests. Also able to be enjoyed after the wedding breakfast, games like  croquet or quoits roll back the years and ensure a level playing field from the ages of eight to eighty!

Ceilidh

When it comes to booking music for a wedding, you generally have two options – book a wedding band or book a DJ. But there’s actually a third option. Rather than booking a function band, you might like to book a Ceilidh instead! Similar to a barn dance, a Ceilidh band has an experienced caller who explains the dance moves to you ahead of time and ensures that all ages get involved. A fantastic option for your wedding entertainment.

 

Controversial Wedding Music

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When planning your wedding, the choices that you can make for each part of the day are immeasurable. There are simply so many options that it’s not even possible for every wedding planner to run through them all. One area that doesn’t seem to be quite so unique is the wedding ceremony music; many opt for a traditional theme that they have heard before like Mendelssohn’s Wedding March or Pachelbel’s Canon in D. That being said, some of the pieces are a tad controversial. Here’s why!

Wagner’s Bridal Chorus

Richard Wagner’s Bridal Chorus is perhaps the most well-known music chosen by couples on their wedding day. Known by many as ‘Here Comes the Bride’, we are pretty certain that you’ll have heard the piece before, even if not at a wedding. Why is it controversial? The music was composed as part of Wagner’s opera, Lohengrin and lovers of the operatic music scene may very well be aware of where the piece featured. Although it was used during a wedding scene, the marriage itself was short-lived. Not the omen you’d like on your wedding day! Richard Wagner was also notoriously anti-Semitic, which is another reason you may wish to avoid picking the Bridal Chorus for your wedding ceremony.

Mendelssohn’s Wedding March

Although hugely popular, Mendelssohn’s most famous work has proved to be controversial to its literary origins. Mendelssohn was commissioned by Prussian monarch Friedrich Wilhelm IV to compose a number of pieces to accompany various pieces of literature in order to revive a lagging genre in society at the time. In 1843, Mendelssohn was tasked with writing music for Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and this is where the Wedding March comes from. Why controversial? That particular play features a lot of pagan mythology including magic, fairies and fantasy, of which many in Roman Catholicism are uncomfortable. Is it therefore inappropriate for a Christian wedding ceremony? We don’t have the answer but it’s always best to check.

Schubert’s Ave Maria

Another tune that is popular during the wedding ceremony or as a prelude to the bride’s arrival, Ave Maria is a beautiful piece of music that was originally composed by Schubert for Sir Walter Scott’s Lady of the Lake in 1810. The plot of the story focuses on King James V banishing the Douglas clan to a castle on Loch Katrine and one of the group’s number is Ellen, a daughter who has to live with her exiled father. The initial lyrics have changed over the years to convey a more matrimonial tone, but some fear the lyrics don’t quite go far enough. Some hear them and feel the song is a beautiful hymn to a loving mother while others believe the words to convey the desperate cries of an exiled bride.

No matter which wedding music you opt for on your big day, we advise a couple to choose whatever makes them most happy. Still, it’s interesting to know the provenance of the tunes you might hear!

 

The best wedding entertainment

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When it comes to choosing wedding entertainment, many have absolutely no idea where to begin. That’s no surprise either; why would you know where to begin when for most this is something completely new to experience! Very few newlyweds have ever been married before so to expect the bride and groom to know how to choose wedding entertainment is ludicrous. Thankfully, we are here to help!

Restrictions

It’s best to start by looking at the wedding venue you have chosen and working backwards from there. Are there any restrictions in place that might immediately cut down your list into  a more manageable size? Many wedding venues are very old or are situated close to public areas. In this case, they may have a sound limiter which means you probably won’t be able to book that Metallica tribute band you had your eye on. Others might prevent wedding parties from having jugglers or acrobats indoors due to the highly expensive art on the walls. Ask your wedding venue whether they have any restrictions in place before booking wedding entertainment.

Taste

The important thing to remember about your wedding day entertainment is that it is all about you! The bride and groom! There’s no point booking a harpist if you can’t stand the harp (though in all honesty, we not sure any harp haters actually exist) and if you absolutely love card tricks, feel free to book a magician if it’s what you want. Your wedding day is exactly that: your wedding day. Make sure it’s everything you first envisaged after getting engaged!

What’s most important to you?

The bride and groom are often exceptionally busy on the wedding day itself so tend to ‘miss out’ on a lot of what’s going on by virtue of having other things to do. While your guests are sipping at champagne, the happy couple will often venture off to have their wedding photos taken. As everybody is enjoying their wedding breakfast, the couple often have to walk between tables as each guest wishes to congratulate them on their day. So what matters most to you? If you’d prefer to have attendees chatting to one another, a magician can help break the ice. If you’d like a fun photo album of your day, booking a photo booth is a must. Have a think and we are certain you’ll be able to prioritise accordingly!

Inside/Outside

Booking wedding entertainment definitely varies depending on whether your wedding is inside or outside. In the summer, you might want to book a strolling acoustic act, but always have a backup idea in place if it starts to rain! If your event is taking place mainly indoors, there will naturally be a few types of wedding entertainment that won’t necessarily work.

Consider your budget

The final consideration to make when it comes choosing wedding entertainment is your budget. Newlyweds don’t want to start married life with a mountain of debt but it does happen so please only book what you can afford. At the end of the day, a wedding is a marvellous celebration of a couple’s love for one another and nothing should get in the way of that. If you can’t afford a function band, then perhaps look at booking a DJ. There are a multitude of options available for any budget so there really is something for everyone.

 

Stick to your budget

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Around 20% of couples have blown the wedding day budget, a new survey has revealed…

With the majority of couples overspending by between £2,000 and £5,000, some try to make amends – 7% of married Brits sold their wedding outfits after the big day to save money, and a third of those who didn’t, would consider it.

And it’s not just the couples who are overspending when it comes to the wedding – it’s the guests, too! A massive three-quarters of the Brits surveyed would buy a new outfit if they were going to a wedding, and then there’s the gift

Around three quarters think it’s compulsory to buy a gift if you are invited to a wedding, with half of Brits stating that between £26-£50 was an acceptable amount to spend on a wedding present. More than half of Londoners feel their wedding gifts ought to be repaid with a free bar, compared to the 14% in the North East.

Whether it’s because they can’t afford the travel, the accommodation, the new dress and jacket combo they’ve had their eye on, a wedding gift, or paying for their own drinks, guests are being hit by wedding costs too. It’s no wonder that around a quarter would decline a wedding invitation because they couldn’t afford to go.

 

Wonderful wedding accessories

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From the bride’s bouquet to the groom’s boutonnière, the couple can enjoy wonderful embellishments on their wedding day. A lot of couples strive to have matching designs or colours across their accessories too, which makes for a wonderful harmonized look. So here are some of our favourite traditional wedding jewellery and accessories for him and her.

Headwear

Traditionally, the bride tends to have far more choice concerning headwear. Wedding veils seem to be the norm, for they come in a range of lengths and styles depending on fashion and culture. Similar to the veil is a decorative net or art deco style bonnet, which also come in an array of designs. But many brides also opt for headpieces such as tiaras, headbands, hair clips and combs. For the groom, there does not tend to be any jewellery headwear pieces available, so the groom and his groomsmen typically wear hats.

Arms, Wrists, and Hands

On his wrists, the groom traditionally wears cufflinks, and such a small and simple accessory works wonders to add style and decoration. Available in a range of styles and materials, from plain silver or gold to intricate engraved, bejewelled or rhinestone studded options. The groom might also wear a wristwatch as a finishing touch, but the more traditional wedding watch option for a groom is a classic pocket watch.

The bride often wears a bracelet, and these too come in numerous styles. You may want a simple band, or a chain with pretty dangling charms. A growing trend is to wear a corsage as well.

The most important wedding accessory of them all: wedding rings!

But the most important wedding accessories for the bride and the groom are the wedding rings! The giving of rings is a traditional part of the wedding ceremony! No doubt a lot of thought and consideration has gone into choosing your engagement rings and your wedding rings from deciding on the optimum metals, gems, engravings, etc. Steeped in tradition, the practice of giving rings can be traced back centuries.

Face and Neck

For the face and neck, the groom is well-known in western culture to wear a classic necktie or bowtie, and no other jewellery. Ties, coming in all manner of colours and materials, will fit any wedding. In other cultures there is also the option of wearing a cravat.

Often the bride completes her look with a pretty set of earrings and a necklace the chosen wedding theme (and personal taste) goes a long way in helping the bride decide on the style—some pieces of jewellery are rather discreet, and others are far more overt. Some brides even wear a garland around their neck.

Torso

On the torso, grooms can wear pocket squares and handkerchiefs. Depending on personal choice, these can be purely decorative or intended for use. Pocket squares and handkerchiefs are available in a variety of colours, designs and patterns and are an ideal way to inject personality and personalisation into groom’s wear.

For more of a traditional look, the bride may opt for a brooch. Brooches come in all shapes and sizes, and can fit any theme or colour scheme. They can be used for anything, be it accessorising a jacket, the wedding dress, or the wedding bouquet. Also, some couples dress in bright, rich fabrics covered in gems and sequins, which makes for a truly striking wedding look.

 

Wedding Shoes

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Whilst the wedding dress is usually the most exciting part of your bridal look, your wedding shoes are just as important. Here are some wedding shoe tips to ensure your shoes are comfortable and perfectly complement your wedding dress and personal style!

  1. Wear your Wedding shoes in.

We recommend breaking them in before your big day. Wear them around the house, to help soften them up and practice that all important walk!

If your wedding shoes are particularly slippy it may also be worth gently sanding the soles with sand

  1. Shoe Accessories

Make sure you have these must have shoe accessories for your wedding day!

  • Heel grips – if your feet keep slipping out the back
  • Gel insoles – to reduce the pain you get on the balls of your feet from standing up or dancing, for a long period of time.
  • Shoe protector spray – to protect your shoes from watermarks and stains.
  • Clean heels – to stop you sinking in the grass!
  1. Do they compliment your wedding dress?

There are a couple of reasons to try on your wedding shoes with your dress. Firstly you want to ensure that the colour and style suit the style of your bridal gown. If you have already been wedding dress shopping you will have come to realise that wedding dresses don’t just come in ivory or white.

Obviously carrying your dress around with you whilst you shoe shop isn’t exactly convenient, so try and get hold of a swatch of the fabric that matches your dress. Either ask the bridal shop where you purchased your dress, to send you one or see if there is something small from the dress you can take such as a sash or removable strap.

Secondly it is important that you try your shoes on with your dress to check if the hem needs altering. Ideally you want the hem to sit just off the ground to ensure you don’t trip. Bare in mind that when you are walking down the aisle, you are going to have a bouquet in one hand and the person that is giving you away in the other. You won’t have hands free to hold up the front of your dress too.

  1. You get what you pay for.

Brides to be usually feel it’s a waste to spend money on something that won’t really be seen under a long dress and that you will only wear once. However, you are going to be on your feet all day so we recommend investing in a good quality, comfortable pair of shoes, which won’t ruin your day with sore feet. Good quality wedding shoes don’t have to break the bank.

  1. Wearing the right shoe size

Do you go up or down a size? We’d always recommend going up. Your feet will swell as the day goes on, which means they will begin to pinch if you opted for the smaller shoe. Shoes that are slightly too big can easily be amended with insoles and heel grips and can be removed later in the day when your feet swell to fit.

  1. A comfier pair for the evening.

If you just can’t resist those sky scraping heels, get yourself a second pair of lower, more comfortable shoes for the evening. From pretty pumps, to flip flops and customised Converse, there are styles to suit everyone. Bare in mind however, that if you choose to lower your heel for the evening and you are wearing a full length dress, it will drag on the floor, so be careful not to trip!

It’s only just begun

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When planning a wedding the first step is your engagement and your journey has now begun. You are both on your way to being Mr & Mrs. but before you walk down the aisle or have that romantic first dance, you need to have the ever so popular engagement party!

The engagement party is the time to get all your friends and family together to celebrate the brilliant news. Many questions surround engagement parties such as who organises the party, how close after the engagement should the party be, who should we invite etc. Well, here are some ideas…

Set the date- This is the most popular question… When is the right time for an engagement party? Well firstly, when you are engaged is a good start, but I figure you already know that! So the most popular time frame for an engagement party is within the first 4 months of your engagement. This is because there will still be such excitement and this is the calm before the storm of wedding planning. Go show off that new engagement ring, dance together as an engaged couple and enjoy the planning of the engagement party.

Invites- State clearly that is an engagement party, and not your wedding! You would be surprised at how often this happens. Also tell your guests the venue, time and dress code if applicable. Your engagement invites should represent what you and your fiancé are like as a couple so if you are having a formal engagement party, your invite’s should portray this. But if it is non-formal and more of a knees up then your invites do not have to be as formal. I know I know, but it is the small detail which makes all the difference!

Decorations- This is the part you can have loads of fun with. You could go and buy some engagement banners and balloons and have the balloons filled with helium for table centrepieces. These can be found very easily from any party shop. You could also print out loads of photos of you and your fiancé from the day you met to the present day and place them around the room, your guests will love looking at these and it will bring back some beautiful memories. You could choose a theme for your engagement party and play on this. Even get your guests to dress up so your party really will be unique.

The Guest List- Firstly, do not invite guests to the engagement party who will not be invited to your wedding. So make sure that the guests at your party will also be partying with you on your wedding day. The guest list can be as small or big as you like. Many futures brides and grooms prefer for the engagement party just to be close family and the full bridal party.

Entertainment- Your engagement party is overall the first steps towards your wedding and therefore it is a reflection of your wedding day. Your entertainment can be kept simple with a DJ and a few fun family games or you could go all out and hire a live band. Live bands are a great source of entertainment at an engagement party as they can talk to the crowd and really get them involved.

Overall just enjoy it all. This is you and your fiancés first official party as an engaged couple and that is all that matters. It is all about celebrating this massive milestone in each other’s lives and also spending it with your friends and family.

 

Planning a winter wedding

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Snow, chilly temperatures and red noses are all possible, so when planning a wedding here’s your winter wedding survival guide for an effortless and beautiful big day. Whether you’ve chosen it because it’s a fantastically festive time or so you can spend sensibly on wedding suppliers, you are likely to still have a few concerns.

  • Remember to purchase faux-fur wraps for you (and don’t forget your bridesmaids!) to keep the chill off. You’ll probably be outdoors at least for the photographs, and these fashionable wraps will make sure you’re cosy enough to enjoy them!
  • Tissues and makeup top ups will be your handbag essentials. Red noses and rosy cheeks might be commonplace in the colder weather, but you don’t want them colouring all your wedding photos. Reapply makeup regularly over any redder spots to keep your complexion picture perfect. These winter hair and beauty tips will be your best friend.
  • The colder weather, more muted colours and darker days will all benefit from a bit of brightening up. Choose sparkly embellishments on your wedding dress and wedding accessories to reflect the light and add some wintery charm.
  • On a more practical note, make sure you’ve got colour coordinated brollies and wellies on hand. If it’s wet or it snows, you’ll be perfectly prepared to stun in your photos still without getting soggy feet!
  • We all know and love the flip flop basket at weddings for comfy feet, but for winter weddings we recommend adding a blanket basket, too. Add a chalkboard sign encouraging guests to help themselves to make sure everyone stays suitably toasty.
  • Your wedding food can also help by offering winter warmer canapés and drinks. Think hot canapés like miniature fish and chips or steak and chip skewers as well as hot chocolate, mulled wine and s’mores galore.
  • Red, white and green, ice cool blues, glittering golds and ivory – whatever winter wedding styling you choose, decide whether you want warming tones or to celebrate the season’s iciness. Stick to one idea throughout for a cohesive reception style.
  • The days draw in quickly in the winter, so you’ll have more hours of darkness than a summertime wedding. This makes lighting an essential part of the winter wedding survival guide. Even if you’ll be embracing the atmospheric glow, ensure there are plenty of candles, fairy lights or alternative lighting available. This is also a great time of year to include fireworks or sparklers at your wedding because you won’t have to wait so long into the evening to do so.

Traditional speeches

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Traditionalists will expect a run of speeches after the wedding food, but don’t let that deter you from changing things up. It’s your day, so you have every right to do it your way. If you won’t enjoy making a speech or one of the traditional speakers wouldn’t, then why let the nerves and stresses ruin the celebrations?

Here are four things you can do if you or a member of your bridal party doesn’t want to give a speech.

LOVE LETTERS

Not a fan of speaking in front of a large audience, put pen to paper before your big day to make sure you write all that was important to you. You can then have the wedding speech printed beautifully and include a copy with each place setting. When the time for speeches come, wedding guests will be asked to read their copy.

Rest assured this won’t be lacking the emotion of a live speech, once the sound of pages turning ceased, the smiles and tears will be free flowing! You could also mix and match this approach with a regular speech by using print outs, flip charts or other visual aids to distract attention from you.

STUNT DOUBLES

If you’ve got a willing friend who is more of a public speaker, why not ask them if they’d mind speaking instead? It could be on your behalf or a speech entirely of their own – whatever you prefer. For traditionalists, this will keep your speeches full even if the conventional people don’t deliver them.

NOT CAMERA SHY?

If it’s more the ‘here and now’ element of giving a wedding speech that worries you, why not pre-record your speech instead? We think the best wedding speeches balance thoughtful stories and anecdotes that you’ve planned ahead with a touch of improvisation on the day to inject the intense emotions you’ll doubtless be feeling.

Don’t worry, though, because we’ve got just the solution to make this happen for pre-recorded speeches too! Once you’ve hooked up the projector and played the speech, simply raise a toast with a few in-the-moment (romantic!) words for your new spouse afterwards. Best of both worlds? We think so!

RAISE A GLASS

For a more relaxed approach, why not ditch one or more speeches altogether and consider an alternative instead? Simply raise a glass of your chosen tipple, toast to the day, to your love, to each other, and you’ll create just as heart-warming an effect as the traditional counterpart would, without any of the stress, formality or fuss. Simple!!!