Category Archives: Wedding

Step by Step Wedding Entertainment

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Morning

The pre-wedding jitters can easily be set to bed by a little entertainment in the morning! When family are gathered together in the hotel just waiting for a few hours to pass by, there’s nothing better than a bit of entertainment from a strolling act to enliven proceedings. A great time for a magician to diffuse some nerves and ensure that talking to your Great Uncle isn’t as difficult as you’d feared. A brilliant ice breaker, we highly recommend this whilst the bride and groom are busily getting ready.

Ceremony

During the wedding ceremony itself! You’re probably wondering if you want a traditional wedding march to accompany you as you walk down the aisle, but why have that when you can have a small jazz band playing off to the side? It makes for a far more unique proposition than an organist playing that same tune you’ve heard at hundreds of weddings before and can even form part of the ceremony itself should you decide to put your own spin on things.

Drinks Reception

Whilst the bride and groom are off having their photos taken with their various in-laws, cousins and old University friends, it leaves the rest of the wedding party to stand about somewhat aimlessly drinking some Champagne or non-alcoholic equivalent. But it doesn’t have to be that way! Hiring a wedding pianist for an hour, or perhaps a solo singer is a perfect example – always goes down a treat.

Wedding Breakfast

Naturally it all depends on your budget but after the food and speeches the bride and groom tend to walk between tables, happily greeting those they haven’t seen in awhile. For those who aren’t on a table with anyone they know very well, the small talk ran out somewhere between the main course and dessert. As such, some light entertainment in the form of a quiz – perhaps about the couple? – or caricaturist can go a long way!

Reception.

We needn’t go into too much detail about whether a band of DJ is the way to go… Just know that entertainment is pretty much a must have for this portion of your wedding day and can make the occasion even more special to those who have travelled a long way! There are a whole host of acts that come under the ‘wedding entertainment for hire’ banner, so you don’t need to stick to just one!

 

Garden party weddings

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When planning a Garden Wedding, these top tips can make this ever-evolving theme personal to you.

Outdoor venue

To hold an authentic country garden wedding theme you usually need one of three types of wedding venue – a country barn with fairy lights wrapped around the beams, a marquee reception with hay bales for seating, or a quintessentially English manor house with beautiful gardens filled with blooms where you could set up garden games for your guests to enjoy.

Tea and cake

What’s a country garden party without high tea? Instead of a traditional dessert, put a tiered cake stand on each table filled with scones, muffins and cupcake so guests can help themselves, with a pot of tea and coffee on hand to wash it down. Why not stir up a little competitive spirit among your guests and have a Great Wedding Bake-Off?

Set up a table in the marquee and ask guests to bring their homemade goodies. The bride and groom can then present first, second and third prize before cutting their own wedding cake.

Pastel perfection

From the details through to the bridesmaid dresses floral prints and pastel shades are best suited to a country garden theme.

The best floral prints for this theme are pansies, daisies and roses. Think pink, lavender, turquoise and lemon for perfectly pretty girls. Keep shoes nude and hair accessories minimal – flower headbands, perhaps?

The little details  It’s the little details your guests will notice, so consider some of these country inspired ideas… Hand Picked flowers for the bouquets and centrepieces, raffia-tied jam jar favours filled with mini eggs and handmade bunting with Cath Kidston-style material spread all around the wedding venue.

Boho bride

For a country look, consider a short or tea-length wedding dress, and for a bit of fun, add a coloured underskirt with matching shoes! Put real flowers in your wedding hair and accessories with pearls – the chunkier the pearls, the more modern the look.

Make sure you have some wedding wellies on hand for your outdoor reception, as well as some white umbrellas should you need to shelter guests at any point.

 

Choose the right colour scheme

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When planning a 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?

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?

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 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 springtime landscape and dream up your colour scheme that way!

The 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 wedding day.

 

Affordable Wedding Entertainment

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Not everyone has a huge budget for the most important and happiest day of their lives but most people would like a little something for their big day. With that in mind, here is  a list of the most affordable wedding entertainment.

Spotify

If you are after ultra-low budget then there’s nothing cheaper than playing Spotify as you walk down the aisle, during the drinks reception and when dancing the night away once the food has all been cleared away. If you’re strapped for cash then this will be cheaper. That being said we do advise signing up for premium ahead of the big day; we can’t think of anything worse than a dreaded Spotify ad every three songs.

Acoustic Guitarist

Many like to walk down the aisle to some live music and what better way to celebrate this momentous occasion than by booking an acoustic guitarist. With this blog on the hunt for most affordable wedding entertainment, acoustic duos are out and acoustic guitarists are in. Able to perform as you walk down the aisle, during reception drinks and perhaps as an accompaniment to the wedding breakfast, an acoustic guitarist is as cheap as they come.

Garden Games

With the weather as nice as it is, you might be forgiven for thinking it’s summer already! Many enjoy an outdoor wedding every year and if you’re one of the people who wants to bring the party vibe, garden games are a must. Croquet, giant Jenga and even a spot of rounders have all been seen in recent years. Fun to play and quick to set up, this is some of the cheapest wedding entertainment around and gets you the most bang for your buck; breaking the ice between guests have never been easier!

Harpist

Incredibly harpists come under most affordable wedding entertainment because they supply their own instrument (grand pianos tend to be a pretty penny to get through the door of a venue that doesn’t have one!) A superb addition to any wedding, we highly recommend booking a harp.

DJ

If Spotify isn’t your thing and you don’t want to shell out for a full live band, booking a DJ is a no-brainer. Experienced disc jockeys know exactly how to read a room and work at many weddings throughout the year. Able to choose the right music for the right moments, you’ll be jumping up and down one second and slow dancing the next. An absolute must for the evening!

 

Wedding Inspiration

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When planning a wedding, many people don’t start with the venue or even the entertainment, but tend to begin with making the guest list. Who gets a plus one? Should you invite your second cousin? Or that friend of a friend who invited you to his stag do that one time? All a difficult moral quandary but one thing that is certain is that you’ll both want your families in attendance.

Mothers, fathers and grandparents as well. When it comes to picking roles for them, siblings tend to be put to use as bridesmaids and ushers but grandparents… Well grandparents all too often get left out of having to perform any official duties.

That’s partly why we love this story so much! Bride Maggie Wakefield and her fiancé Josh wanted to find a special way to thank the part that their grandmothers had played in their lives. Rather than have a small group of young girls hold the honour of being their flower girls, they instead chose 75-year-old grandmother Joyce and 74-year-old grandmother Drue to sprinkle rose petals down the aisle at their wedding ceremony in Gap, Pennsylvania.

That wasn’t the only way that Maggie and Josh celebrated their grandparents either; with the bride’s having died before the ceremony, it was grandfather Ronald that got to do the honours, walking his granddaughter down the aisle. A wonderful story and hopefully it gives you a little bit of wedding inspiration.

 

Wedding and festival season

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Here’s our quick guide, to create a Glastonbury festival themed celebration for your own big day. It’s ideal for laid-back couples who favour fun and characterful touches over outdated traditions.

Plan a Glastonbury festival themed wedding and it won’t just look great, it’ll be the most fun wedding your guests have ever attended! So book your tipi and let’s get planning…

One of the beauties of throwing a Glastonbury festival themed wedding in a tipi or yurt is that you get lots of ceiling height for hanging decorations. Cluster colourful pom poms together for a fun, festival vibe. Then, add atmosphere as night falls with endless strings of festoon lights, both inside the tent and outdoors too…

Illuminated oversized letters are a trend that took the wedding world by storm and never really let up. They’re also big news at festivals, so we think purchasing some giant letters for your own Glastonbury festival themed wedding is a must! For a twist on the theme, you could always try letter balloons, or go pint-sized with a letter block guest book.

One of the most important elements of any Glastonbury festival themed wedding reception is the wedding entertainment. Make sure guests are clued up on all the food and festivities to come with an illuminated chalkboard. This line-up of fish and chips followed by fireworks and dancing has us tempted…

 

Awkward Wedding Moments

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When planning a wedding, it’s nothing short of exciting and wonderful but there are a few surprise moments which may leave you feeling uncomfortable and a little anxious. We’ve compiled a list of the most awkward wedding moments to arise and how to overcome or avoid these cringe-worthy moments…

  • Having to tell one of your friends that she isn’t your bridesmaid is probably one of the biggest hurdles in the planning stage of the wedding. The best way to let her know that you still care about her is to tell her quietly and ask her to do something else important at the wedding, for example make a special speech!
  • If you don’t want to invite everyone in the office to your wedding, you’re definitely not obligated to. The rule is, if you socialise with them outside of work, then your friendship is more likely to be genuine. It’s your day, just invite your closest work friends but be discreet about it.
  • Inviting your mum to your hen do can be a tricky decision. If you feel like you won’t be able to let your hair down, relax and have fun then don’t invite her. An alternative can be to do something a bit more formal to celebrate with your mum rather than taking her out with your friends. Equally, your mum may not fancy a drunk night on the town! If that is the case, use this opportunity to have a second hen party – perhaps a spa day, activities or a weekend away?! It’s important to make sure she doesn’t feel left out.
  • Every bride fears messing up the first dance, whether that means stepping on the groom’s toes or falling to the floor, all eyes are on you. It is definitely something that should be practiced even a few times, it doesn’t have to be choreographed but take some time with it. Still on the lookout for the perfect first dance song to suit your style? Whether you’re a slow shuffle or flash mob scene kind of couple, take the personality quiz and find out the PERFECT first dance song for you…
  • This may be something that’s overlooked when choosing your perfect wedding dress, but essential on the night of the wedding reception. Whilst this shouldn’t dictate the ease of your wedding dress per say, it’s a good idea to prepare your bridesmaids and your MOH of their potential duties including toilet assistance!
  • It’s a given that on your wedding day there will be hundreds of wedding photos taken of you and your h2b. Do not feel anxious by this if you’re not particularly photogenic. You’ve paid a professional photographer to take photos of you and they’ll know what angles look the most flattering. If this is potential worry for you, make sure you speak with your photographer pre-wedding so you can discuss poses and even have a taster shoot to practice.
  • Most of the time, relatives will be civil with each other at a wedding even if they don’t get on with each other. After all, they love you and are there for you on your big day – they won’t be focusing on each other. If you are worried however, then make sure they aren’t sat on the same table or sat near each other at the ceremony. It’s probably best to keep the distance between them. Check out our seating plan guide for unconventional families.

Wedding day nerves

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We can assure you that as soon as you see your betrothed at the end of the aisle, those nerves will disappear, but how do you cope with them in the meantime? Well, to give you some top tips on calming those wedding day nerves in the lead-up to and on the big day itself.

Identify your list of chief concerns

Make a list, get some hierarchy and perspective going. Identify your big worries, know the smaller ones and accept them.

Surround yourself with positive people

Anyone that has an agenda about your wedding should not even be in your vicinity. If there are certain friends or family members that are causing problems, do not engage with them.

Talk about your anxieties

Any doubts about anything will fester so articulate them to your nearest and dearest, don’t get distracted but do tackle what you need to tackle them. Confronting them and taking action will instantly reduce stress levels.

Focus on your breathing

If you start feeling anxious, focus on your breath, and in particular, your diaphragm. And become calm – yoga is a brilliant way to learn body awareness, build stamina to stress and remain flexible, emotionally and physically. Take it up!  Spending five minutes each day focusing only on your breath is a fantastic strategy for dealing with worry.

Look ahead with positivity

Start visioning a wonderful day ahead of you, with people who want to share it with you… This is the gift of a wedding.

Allow yourself to be supported

This wedding is not solely your responsibility, you can delegate tasks to chosen trusted friends, you do not have to be the one holding it all together alone.

Think of your posture

If you think you’re getting overwhelmed you will look at the floor more, give and receive eye contact less and your voice will become more high pitched. If you haven’t realised yet you are stressed, those around will have done. Acupuncture is a brilliant way to counteract the manifestations of tension and finding a good practitioner will pay dividends.

Allow yourself to be pampered

Let go and relax. Have fun in the run up, lighten up, see the funny side to any conflict.

Rehearse the day in your mind

Mentally walk through what will happen on the day, from beginning to end. If there are parts you are worried about (these are usually the aisle walk, the vows and the speeches) focus on your role in that only – you can’t control what anyone else does or says.

Be positive

Smile, be happy and enjoy planning your wedding day. It’s going to be amazing!

 

Do you really need wedding entertainment?

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When your grandparents got married, they probably didn’t have too much in the way of wedding entertainment. In fact, 50 or so years ago, most weddings took place in the morning, followed by the wedding breakfast and then, after the speeches and cake, the bride and groom would leave to go off on their honeymoon – probably in the mid to late afternoon So in fact, their actual wedding day was really quite short.

Nowadays the trend is to make much more of a deal of the whole event.  It’s not unusual to be invited to a ceremony taking place in the late morning or early afternoon, followed by a drinks reception and canapés, a wedding breakfast, the speeches and cake cutting.

Then there’s a short break – maybe some afternoon tea and the arrival of the evening guests when the whole event restarts with probably another drinks reception and dancing. That could be a whole 10 hours of keeping guests happy from the moment they arrive at the church until they leave around midnight.

So what are you going to do with them? How can you make sure your guests feel entertained, happy and engaged throughout the day rather than looking at their watch and wondering when they can politely leave?

Look up entertainment in the dictionary and it says ‘the act of providing amusement or enjoyment’. Which is to say that entertaining your guests isn’t just a matter of providing conjurers, magicians, musicians and photo booths – it’s making sure that they have a great time at your wedding.

Catering..

First off, make sure you don’t let your guests get hungry or thirsty. If you’re having a late morning wedding and evening dancing then you’re going to have to feed your guests twice over. Or if you’re having an early afternoon wedding followed by an evening event, then you can’t expect your guests to wait until dinner time to eat.

If all this is beyond your budget then you’re going to have to rethink the timetable of your day –  maybe get married mid-afternoon, serve a delicious afternoon tea and then dinner in the evening. Or get married as late as possible and just have an evening affair. Serving your guests delicious food and drink is all a part being a good hostess and you don’t want to cut corners here.

Music?

That really depends on the structure of your day. You don’t have to have a string quartet or music playing during a drinks reception but it does create a party atmosphere. Music also fills in the gaps when you’re having your photographs taken or signing the register and can fill in any awkward silences that might occur.

Obviously if you’re having an evening event with dancing you’re going to have to have music – whether you opt for a DJ or a live band, or ideally both if your budget stretches. One thing we don’t recommend is that you create a playlist on your iPod, your wedding music is something you shouldn’t really DIY, it’s too much pressure.

Say Cheese..

Having a group photograph taken of your wedding day is another way that all guests can feel involved in your big day. Exercise your photographer’s creativity by arranging everybody in a giant love heart shape or the initials of the bride and groom. Gathering everybody together is a great icebreaker and a good way to get people talking to one another before dinner.

In fact, if you’re a good host and hostess you should make everybody feel part of your big day and not allow anybody to feel left out – that’s all part of entertaining.

 

 

Overdone wedding trends

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  1. TOO MANY BRIDESMAIDS

Gone are the days of having one or two bridesmaids; now, “bridesmaid armies” are the hot new trend, with some opting for as many as 10 close chums to accompany them to the altar.

“The ‘bridesmaid army’ trend swiftly came over from the US and has taken hold of wedding parties everywhere in the UK, This can be great for photo-ops, he says, “but it can sometimes take away from the ceremony, as they get crammed up by the altar.”

This trend, however, is slowly being faded out thanks to the new Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle.

  1. OVER-THE-TOP WEDDING CAKES

Wedding cake trends also have seen a huge transformation in recent years. The humble iced fruitcake wedding cake is long gone, due to ‘Instagram wars’ for that perfect cake shot.

From drip cakes and naked cakes, then onto doughnut walls and eight-foot macaroon towers, and recently even Meghan Markle’s 154lb deconstructed lemon and elderflower wedding cake! This is a trend that’s becoming increasingly competitive.

  1. LIGHT-UP LETTERS

It may prove a hit with most. While some couples choose to spell out their initials, others opt for their own wedding hashtag or go for a simple “congratulations”.

  1. DRAMATIC BRIDAL ENTRANCES

When it comes to dramatic bridal entrances, From the bride literally being ballooned into the ceremony, to being walked in by a dressed-up dinosaur, the bride’s entrance has become yet another aspect of the wedding that can be blown up to unimaginable heights.