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Artificial Flower Guide

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Even the least green-fingered of brides can discover a penchant for florals as they work with their florist to create their bouquets and centrepieces.

While it’s pretty tough to beat the fragrance of fresh flowers, choosing faux flowers does bring many benefits. From budget to dates to décor, here’s seven reasons why you should to choose artificial flowers for your wedding…

If you’ve been dreaming of a blush bouquet of barely open peonies but set the date for September, your first thought will be disappointment. Do you really have to give up one dream in favour of another?

Choose from high quality suppliers for realistic replicas for all of your favourites – whether that’s ranunculus, delphiniums or prized peonies – and you can carry bouquets, wear buttonholes or choose table centres with any blooms at any time of year, allowing you to have your day as you dreamed it while also taking advantage of off-peak dates if you wish.

When you’ve got a venue to set up and decorate as well as getting ready on your wedding morning, we’d forgive you for feeling just a little over busy. Give yourself the relaxing morning you deserve by planning and setting up in advance.

That’s the beauty of working with artificial flowers – you needn’t worry. Not about them wilting in the warmth of your marquee or the flowers fading and crumpling or even how you’ll find the time to arrange them.

They can all be arranged into vases weeks in advance, making the final few days before the big one much more blissful.

If you choose a fresh flower wedding bouquet and want to keep it after the wedding, you’ll encounter the challenge of preserving the petals and flower heads perfectly. This challenge is only compounded by the fact that you’ll probably be jetting off on honeymoon soon, so there’s very little time to get these kinds of tasks done.

With an artificial wedding flowers bouquet, though, you can simply wrap them in protective paper and stow them in a box, forming a lasting memento of your perfect day without half of the fuss.

You might have heard of couples gifting their floral centrepieces to family, friends or perhaps members of the bridal party as thank you gifts. It’s a lovely touch, but with faux flowers to gift the present will last so much longer.

In general, purchasing artificial flowers usually works out cheaper than buying them fresh from a florist. This means that for some couples, going faux can facilitate far more in the way of flower walls, garlands and canopies, and standout table centres, making all the difference to their overall reception décor.

 

Country weddings

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When planning a rustic wedding or a country wedding most brides usually get control over the venue space, the wedding gowns and a few other key details but one thing no bride has control over is the weather. If you are planning a rustic or country style wedding you might find yourself checking the weather in the weeks and days leading up to your wedding. We thought it would be the perfect time to give a few ideas on rainy day wedding must haves! With a wedding, especially one that is planned for outside it is always best to play it safe and have these items on hand

Wellies

You probably will not be able to provide Wellies or rain boots for all your guests but you should check the forecast and if rain looks like it may happen buy some lovely rain boots for your bridesmaids, your flower girls, your mother and fiance’s mother and of course a white pair for yourself. Wellies can look great in your pics and are easy to switch in and out of as you move from one location to another.

Hay

Hay can be a last minute savor for a wedding that has been hit with rain. Adding a layer of hay to an outdoor location like a garden wedding or a rehearsal dinner can soak up the water and help to prevent mud from forming. You can’t exactly break out the hay if the clouds open and rain comes unannounced but it is something you might want to think about in the days before your wedding if you have had some weather come through.

Clear Plastic Tarpaulin

For a very reasonable fee you can get a large clear plastic tarpaulin and keep it on hand to place over items such as your wedding chairs, wedding flowers, your aisle runner and just about anything else that might be wet. Hardware stores stock this at great prices.

 

Would you spend £1,000+ on wedding photography?

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The simple answer is £1,200, including your album and disc of images. How much you spend on a wedding photographer really depends on how important the photos are to you. If photos aren’t a priority, don’t be afraid to go for a less expensive photographer or perhaps only get coverage for part of the day. Just make sure you understand the risks!

It’s hard to compare photographers based on price, because so much of what you’re paying for is about the quality of service and personality of your photographer. It’s worth investing in someone who’ll not only take great pictures but help you have a fantastic day, and so we think it’s important to meet them before you book.

If you’re having an overseas wedding, make sure you can communicate with your photographer properly – whether this means getting a translator to be the go-between for you and the photographer, flying a UK-based photographer out to your chosen destination, or choosing an expat who’s based locally.

The last thing you need to be worrying about is whether your photographer knows exactly what you want from the day because there’s a communication issue. 2,000 euros are about the going rate.

When it comes to costs, it’s a simple equation, Wedding photographers can only fit in so many weddings per year while maintaining good customer service, professional development and a smoothly-run business. It’s impossible to pay the bills unless you charge in the region of £1500 a time.

Some will charge slightly less and some a lot more, but a photographer charging under £1,000 must be either an up-and-coming talent or one of the many wedding photographers of whom we hear horror stories from couples who contact me for help after being disappointed with their budget photographer.

There are many talented ‘weekend warrior’ photographers who work a regular nine-to-five job during the week, but who still do a high-quality job at weekend weddings, However, you need to ask if they have invested in the back-up facilities for your images, professional gear and lenses that can shoot in very low light, and public liability and professional indemnity insurance should the worst happen.

Certainly anything less the £1,000 a day is often a recipe for disaster. A full-time wedding photographer with upwards of 200 weddings under their belt should probably be around £1,500 for a full day’s coverage.

Many of the top wedding photographers will be charging more than £2,000 and sometimes over £3,000 for their services, and in my experience, the £2,000 cut-off is quite a telling price point. The most important thing is to check out their portfolio and their coverage of at least three full weddings.

1,000 a day seems to be a ballpark amount to set aside for high-quality photography that you’ll cherish forever.

 

The most romantic Wedding Venues

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Finding the perfect romantic Wedding Venues isn’t always as easy as it sounds so here are a few of the best to help you find what you’re looking for…

1. Shuttleworth, Bedfordshire

A 5,000-acre site in the heart of rural Bedfordshire, the Shuttleworth estate offers an extraordinary setting for weddings. Choose from three distinct settings – the grand period house, a romantic Regency Swiss Garden, and an aircraft hangar with a backdrop of vintage aircraft and vehicles.

2. Blair Castle, Perthshire

Nestled in the rolling hills of the Scottish Highlands, Blair Castle is fit for a fairytale wedding. The castle’s history spans 700 years, giving you some spectacular rooms and spaces in which to tie the knot – from the intimate Library to the State Dining Room, the grand Scots-Baronial Victorian Ballroom to the stunning gardens.

3. Ashridge House, Hertfordshire

Nestled in 190 acres of landscaped grounds, Ashridge House is a magnificent neo-gothic country manor. Hosting ceremonies for up to 170 and informal evening receptions for up to 400, it offers several breathtaking historic spaces, providing a truly unique backdrop to your perfect day.

  1. Salomons Estate, Kent

Just outside the charming town of Tunbridge Wells, Salomons Estate vast grounds, romantic lakes and handsome manor house are the perfect combination for a country-meets-town wedding. Here, you can choose to marry in a range of rooms within the house or opt for an outdoor ceremony on the Victorian Terrace, with room for up to 230 day guests and 47 bedrooms for those who wish to stay overnight.

5. South Farm, Cambridgeshire

If a romantic countryside setting and first-rate food top your list of must-haves, then family run South Farm could be the venue for you. Nestled deep in the countryside, it’ll make a beautiful backdrop to the wedding day of your dreams – you’ll be charmed by its enchanting gardens, lovingly restored Grade II listed house and beautiful 16th century barn. Couples can enjoy exclusive use, with a choice of five romantic ceremony spaces including both indoor and outdoor options.

6. The Roman Baths, Bath

The namesake of the historical city of Bath, you can exchange your vows here when the museum is closed – giving you the option of a ceremony either by the light of the morning sun, or in a romantic evening service conducted by torch light. Afterwards, drink receptions and wedding breakfasts can be held in the elegant Pump Room, or on the Terrace for smaller gatherings.

 

Booking your venue in advance

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January and February are typically the busiest times in the wedding industry. With romantic engagements taking place under fairy-lit Christmas Trees, in front for warm, cosy fireplaces, under the illuminated sky filled with fireworks on New Year’s Eve and on the most romantic day of the year in February, you can imagine how busy the best wedding venues get in the spring and summer when it comes to venue viewings and bookings.

After the festive season has come and gone, the first thing that engaged couples (just like you) will be planning to do, is book in to visit a load of wedding venues as soon as possible. Wedding venue viewings are done by appointment only, so to avoid missing availability, we would advise booking in to visit your dream wedding venues early – to guarantee you actually get a viewing, or better still, why not make your appointment to visit them before Christmas, where you may find availability is more flexible?

As mentioned earlier, most engaged couples will wait until the New Year before the start to seriously think about booking their wedding. But, as the rest of the UK starts to focus on the festive season, this could be an incredible opportunity for you to get moving with your wedding plans and potentially book an ideal wedding date before anyone else has a chance. If you plan on getting married during 2019  then there’s no time like the present to visit your shortlist of wedding venues and snap that date up before the New Year. January, February and March are typically known for being extremely busy for wedding venues in terms of taking bookings for the next few years…so to ensure availability, it’s best to view and book ahead of the New Year rush.

Once your wedding venue has been booked, the rest of your plans should fall perfectly into place. So, if you book your wedding date before the New Year, you’ll be able to start your year off with a fantastic focus! Perhaps start the year by sending out your Save the Date cards, or start enquiring about wedding suppliers; like good venues, they will get booked up early too!

 

Plan Your Wedding in six Months

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Month one

  1. Agree on a budget and create a checklist – First thing’s first, agree on a budget both you and your partner are happy with. A checklist is also a must because it will help to keep you organised and on track of things.
  1. Write out a guestlist – The guestlist can be tricky, but give yourselves a number of guests each and start with close friends and family, then work from there.
  1. Pick a number of dates – It’s best to have a few dates in mind because you can see which works best for your close family and friends, you want to make sure they can all make your big day!
  1. Choose a venue – Planning six months in advance, it’s best to look for somewhere that offers packages!

Month two

  1. Book Vendors – Don’t forget to book a wedding Photographer, Officiant, Florist, Cake Baker, Musician or Band. If you book these around the same time it avoids anyone being forgotten.
  1. Wedding Ceremony Outfits – Start the hunt for the perfect wedding dress, groom’s tuxedo, ushers’ tuxedos and bridesmaid dresses. Remember to only take a couple of people whose opinions you really trust!
  1. Send out Save The Dates – These aren’t official invites, these remind your guests they need to put the date in their calendar!
  1. Accessories – Purchase shoes, jewellery and find your something old, new, borrowed and blue!

Month Three

  1. Purchase the wedding rings – These are quite significant for a wedding – don’t forget them!
  1. Send out Invitations – Make sure you add an RSVP to your invites so you can get an idea of numbers!
  1. Plan the rehearsal dinner – The rehearsal dinner is useful for everyone and avoids any unexpected surprises on the day!
  1. Decide on wedding favours – Wedding favours are just an added touch to all your guests, these could be anything from an edible sweet treat or a sentimental trinket.

Month Four

  1. Plan your honeymoon – After all this planning, you’ll be ready for some down time in an exotic place, best get it booked!
  1. Select a wedding breakfast menu – Meet with your venue or catering service to choose your wedding breakfast, you want to make sure you have the perfect spread! You should also meet with your cake baker to select your wedding cake flavours!
  1. Pick a song list – Hand your song list over to your DJ or musician with a good mix of new music and old time classics.

  2. Hair and Makeup Trial – This is very important, especially if you’re fussy about other people doing your makeup! Have a pamper day and choose a look you that remains true to your general style.

Month Five

  1. Create a seating chart – Now you have your final numbers you can decide where everyone is going to sit!
  1. Buy Gifts – It’s a nice idea to buy gifts for anybody within the wedding party as a thank you. It doesn’t have to be pricey, just something to show your gratitude!
  1. Get Your Marriage License – A very important part of getting married!

Month Six

  1. Confirm All Bookings – Ring up and confirm that all of your bookings have the right date etc.
  2. Get Married! – We hope you have a magical day…

Perfect Wedding Reception Songs

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If you’re looking for wedding reception songs to get everyone dancing, you’ve come to the right place. Here, we’ve rounded up the most popular songs played at weddings, with plenty of classic anthems and unique tunes that will have all your guests singing along.

25 Perfect Wedding Reception Songs Guaranteed to Fill the Dancefloor

Music can make or break your reception, so we’ve teamed up with one of the UK’s best party DJs, DJ Platinum and wedding singer Dominic from Sweet Soulful Sound, to bring you this definitive list of love songs – stick to these top tunes and you’ll create the perfect party atmosphere.

5 of the best first dance songs

First dance songs are traditionally romantic and tend to say something about you as a couple. But remember, they don’t have to be slow like the five popular choices here.

If your wedding ceremony isn’t traditional, then why have a traditional first dance? Go for something faster, choreograph a professional dance – perhaps a tango – or just have a mass dance with your friends.

  1. At Last by Etta James
  2. A Thousand Years by Christina Perri
  3. Let’s Stay Together by Al Green
  4. Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls
  5. I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing by Aerosmith

5 of the best wedding reception floorfillers

The one thing a lot of wedding guests always comment on is the wedding entertainment. Keep them dancing all night, and give them great memories of your big day with these classic floor fillers!

Why not choose one of these songs to play after the first dance to encourage everyone onto the dancefloor?

  1. Dancing Queen by ABBA
  2. Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars
  3. Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen
  4. Sex On Fire by Kings of Leon
  5. Mr Brightside by The Killer

5 of the best wedding reception songs to end the night

We always suggest that a bride and groom make their exit before the lights come on at the end of the night. Who wants to see messy reception tables anyway?

Choose a song to be played at about 11.30pm, dance with all your guests and then make your final exit. We love running out of the venue under a tunnel of sparklers – the perfect photo opportunity!

  1. Come On Eileen Dexys Midnight Runners
  2. Bohemian Rhapsody Queen
  3. Don’t Stop Believing Journey
  4. Ho Hey The Lumineers
  5. All You Need is Love The Beatles

5 of the best sing-a-long wedding reception songs

Your wedding video should capture all the special moments of the big day, and by that we don’t just mean the emotional, romantic bits. It should also capture those candid moments with you and your friends laughing and jumping around on the dancefloor, having the time of your lives. These songs will help you do just that…

  1. Valerie Amy Winehouse
  2. Celebration Kool & The Gang
  3. Can’t Help Myself The Four Tops
  4. Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel Tavares
  5. My Girl The Temptations

5 of the Best Father-Daughter Dance Songs

Not every bride has a dance with her father, but we think it’s a tradition that’s worth bringing back for 2019! Show your dad just how much he means to you (and that he’s still the number one man in  your life) with a dance at the reception. The songs below all have a great sentiment behind them but Father and Daughter by Paul Simon is our favourite here at Wedding Ideas HQ…

  1. My Girl First The Temptations
  2. Father And Daughter Paul Simon
  3. Isn’t She Lovely Stevie Wonder
  4. When You Need Me Bruce Springsteen
  5. Ain’t That Love Ray Charles

First Dance Songs

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While this dance is probably the most momentous you’ll ever have, it will also be the first of many. It’s one dance at the beginning of the evening that will soon slip into a dance floor full of people partying with you, so relax. Yes, all eyes will be on you as you enjoy your first dance together, but in a lovely kind of way and not in the style of a Strictly judge.

That being said, there are a few golden rules when it comes to first dance song choices. Follow these and whatever first dance song you choose, you’ll love it.

Don’t rule out first dance songs simply because they are popular – they are popular for a reason! Of course it’s lovely to make your wedding unique, but there are other elements of your reception that allow you to do that. Plus, just because a song has been played for a hundred first dances before yours, it doesn’t make it any less personal or appropriate for the two of you, too.

In recent years, our featured couples have turned to Ed Sheeran’s songs above and beyond any other artist. Original? No. Perfect in style and sentiment? Absolutely.

Don’t be tempted to jump on the bandwagon of a trend on a day as significant as your wedding. You’ll remember this dance forever, so the first dance song you choose needs to stand the test of time. While it might sound oh-so funny at your hen do to choose ‘Sex Bomb’, come your wedding day you could regret it.

We’re not saying all first dance song ideas need to be slow, but you do need to think about how you’ll actually dance to the song.

We recommend at least a handful of evenings spent practising in your living room. Why not wear in your wedding day heels at the same time? You’ll make hilarious memories and feel natural but prepared come the big day.

 

How to Deliver a Wedding Speech

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Everyone gets nervous delivering a speech, some people run better off the adrenaline and some people dissolve into a trembling mess. Those who get overly nervous can end up being too serious or lose track of where they are up to fairly quickly. Take our wedding speech advice into consideration and it should help to take the edge off.

Keep it simple

If you are a nervous public speaker, don’t try to run before you can walk. Crack a joke but don’t try too hard. Don’t hang too heavily on the punchline when your delivery isn’t guaranteed to land.

Tell a story

Speech advice 101: you’re making a speech, not a toast so your audience is expecting something more. If you are delivering a wedding speech, you are most probably going to want to share some anecdotes and happy memories. When writing your speech think of the journey you want to take your audience on and what the key messages you want to convey are.

Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse

The more practice you get in, the better the delivery. You’ll know when your jokes are coming up and how you want them to land. If you are nervous, you will be counting on your memory to help you get everything out as you try to maintain a calm and composed exterior.

The more of your speech you can deliver without having to look at your notes the better. However, do keep some notes handy should you need a gentle reminder of what on earth you’re talking about.

Be yourself

You are only going to deliver this speech once so enjoy it, be yourself and let your personality shine through. You are delivering this speech because of your relationship to the newlyweds, not because you’re being lined up for a future presenter. Nobody’s perfect and delivering a flawless speech is tough. As long as you get your message across, be it a little nervously, everyone is sure to love it.

The toast

Finally, the toast! Don’t rush to sit down but rather, invite everyone to join you in raising a glass to the happy couple as you round off your speech.

 

Mad Hatter Weddings

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Do you love that things are not conventional, do you love to have fun, or you just don’t want to grow up yet? Well, we have an idea just for you that is just Mad, and just like the Mad Hatter himself we’ve come up with some wacky idea for a Wedding Breakfast..

Tea

Earl Grey is the only tea to be served. It needn’t be high quality and can be of any origin, just make sure it’s Early Grey.

Sandwiches

There are three sandwiches which are appropriate for a Mad Hatters Tea Party; minted cucumber, egg mayonnaise and mustard cress, and smoked salmon and cream cheese. Cutting your sandwiches into heart shapes is cute, but would Alice approve of your allegiance to the Queen of Hearts?

The Chelsea Bun

The Chelsea bun is known predominantly for throwing, so get involved, it’s what Tea Parties are made for.

Shortbread

Height should not be discriminated against; therefore, shortbread is totally acceptable at the tea table.

Floristry

Wedding flowers perfection should be avoided at all costs. If you have a budget for plants, stick to twigs, decaying leaves and fungi.

Invitations

The maddest guests needn’t be invited, they will simply fall through the rabbit hole and stumble across your party by chance.

Dress code

Colourful, bold and avant-garde.

Hair code

No one is allowed to have similarities in wedding hair colour or style, other than that, anything goes.

Wedding Décor

Matching furniture is forbidden; the more quintessentially Wonderland, the better.

Guests

Be specific when choosing your guests based on personality, if they aren’t at least slightly crazy, they won’t fit in.

Hospitality

Being hospitable is essential. This can be achieved through planning a range of unrecognisable party games.

Weather

If you’re worried about being outside and it raining, it doesn’t matter too much as the best Mad Hatters Tea Parties are set in very little sunlight. For big budget tea parties, rain and mist machines are encouraged.

Seating

If you can’t get bums on seats, bums on anything is fine. Stools, shelves, giant mushrooms; anything goes.

Cheshire cat

One ginger cat is required as ‘purr’ its Cheshire heritage.

Timekeeping

This is banned as there is no time in wonderland. However, we would only suggest this tip as optional as if adhered to it can cause havoc, after all, you don’t want your guests to be late for this very important date.