Tag Archives: preparation

Exclusive wedding venue

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How can you make an exclusive-use wedding venue truly feel like ‘yours’ for the day?

Hiring an exclusive-use wedding venue, such as a private barn, mansion or country house, comes with a plethora of benefits; you’re guaranteed privacy throughout your day, and you’re free to style it to your own taste and theme.

But how can you put your own stamp on a venue that’s ‘yours’ for a whole day?

Welcome signs

Personalised welcome signs to greet your guests will offer an introduction to your theme and what your friends and family can expect to see throughout the day. Simple words, such as “We’re so glad you’re here”, or a full order-of-the-day-style pallet can add a fun twist and be completely unique to your day. You may even be able to place your signs along the country roads leading up to your venue to point guests in the right direction.

Drinks on arrival

If you’re getting married in a church and travelling back to your chosen venue for your reception, it’s always nice to offer a refreshment to your wedding party upon arrival. Similarly, a drink (or two) post-ceremony if you’re getting married at the venue, not forgetting a welcome drink for evening guest. A ‘Pimp Your Prosecco’ stand could be a unique addition to traditional fizz, or consider offering a unique cocktail to get the celebrations started.

Floral features

Does your wedding venue offer a particularly beautiful staircase (inside or out), entrance or photography hot-spot that you can decorate with impressive flowers? Or, how about using a stand-out floral arch or impressive hanging floral display?

Cool canapés

Whether an in-house catering team provides you with all of the food you’ll need for your day, or you’re hiring in external caterers at your exclusive-use wedding venue, choose a selection of canapés to impress your guests and get their pallets excited for the feast to come!

Theme throughout

Most couples opt for a block colour or colour-combination scheme when it comes to a wedding theme, but if you’re looking to wow your guests, perhaps introduce a theme to your wedding that means something to you both; travel, films, musicals, bands, pets, books, landmarks, fairytales and sport teams are just a few ideas to get your mind racing.

Outdoor fun

If you’re chosen venue offers beautiful countryside surroundings, it would be wrong not to take advantage of them, providing the weather is on your side. Think outdoor garden games, fun wedding photography, musical entertainment, such as a string quartet, Irish band, harpist singers, or even something interactive, like a photo booth.

Exquisite food

Your guests will look forward to and remember the food at your wedding, so getting it spot on is important. Couples who want to make their banquet extra special can opt to customise a dish, or upgrade their menu to something even more spectacular for their friends and family to enjoy.

Communication

Planning any party or event requires time and communication to ensure perfection. The more you communicate with your venue and suppliers, the more seamless your day should run. Take time to think about your wedding plans in advance, before rushing into decisions that could cause upset later down the line.

Unforgettable entertainment

Whether you’ve chosen a romantic string quartet to play as you walk down the aisle, a magician for your drinks reception, or a brilliant DJ or band in the evening, your guests will be excited to find out what surprises you have planned in the lead-up to your day. If you choose suppliers that have worked at your venue of choice before, your planning process may be a little bit easier.

Wow factor

If you were throwing a party at home, you may want to end the night with a memorable moment. Therefore, if your exclusive use wedding venue allows it, why not opt for a fireworks display or, head off on your honeymoon in a fancy sports car the following morning?

 

DIY weddings

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Menu Cards

Handwritten Menu cards are a perfect place setting piece of design and for weddings on a budget whether created by yourself or someone else, can be a cost effective way to stylise your order of day in a way that ticks the boxes of your theme and decor too!

Welcome/Introduction Boards

Whether on chalkboards, mirrors or wooden boards, welcome words at the entrance to your reception are great ways to give your guests directions, enforce style or simply share the love of the happy couple. Finish off with soft and silvery foliage with stems of flowers in your bouquet to carry through your colour and look.

Reception/Table Decor

Source vintage and unique decor pieces to frame romantic messages to personalise your reception venue and decor. Your Wedding is a beautiful day, adorn it with beautiful things!

Planning your own handmade wedding is deciding where and how you can add personalised touches. It’s so enjoyable to create your own pieces and its great for everyone to try it themselves.

Modern Signwriting creates a beautiful, simple effect, and once you have mastered the basics you can apply it in many ways and across many other occasions!

TOP TIPS Mastering faux calligraphy is essential to achieve beautiful Modern Signwriting.

Practice individual letters over and over before tackling words to get a feel for how the letters flow.

Lightly sketch your design onto your item first with a soft art pencil – This will be easy to remove afterwards and less likely to scratch your item.

 

How to make a good wedding speech

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1. Strip it down.

There’s an unfortunate temptation in a short speech to try to cram everything you have to say into a short time. Instead of trying to make the time to fit the speech, however, recognize that you have to make your remarks fit the time allotted and to get all the key points you want to say.

  1. Plan and rehearse.

This applies whether you have five days notice before your speech or 30 seconds. If you’re surprised to be called on to speak, your wedding planning might consist only of conjuring up your three main points while someone else is trying to get everyone’s attention and introduce you, but that’s better than nothing. Ideally, you want to plan everything you’re going to say, rehearse in front of other people, and rewrite over and over.

3. Cut yourself off.

In the history of the entire world, we don’t think anyone has ever said, “I wish that speech had been longer.” So keep track of time, and by all means don’t ramble. If you’ve run out of time to make a major point.

4. Use milestones

For a five minute speech, you want to organize in roughly one-minute intervals, and you want to offer milestones to the audience at the top of each minute. You get one minute for your introduction, during which you explain what you plan to say.

  1. Show. Don’t tell.

For a short speech, show the audience–a couple of photos, a prop, anything that gives the audience’s eyes something to focus on. Raise your glass and propose a toast, rather than just making an announcement. It can be a little bit corny, granted, but it’s much more memorable.

6. Make it personal

You do not need to bare your soul, but in almost every short speech there is an opportunity to connect on a personal level with your audience. Don’t be afraid to allow emotion to enter into your voice if appropriate. If the news is good (and it should be at a wedding), say you’re happy and proud.

  1. Speak up

All of your preparation, cutting, organizing, and emotion goes for nothing if people can’t hear you. If you have good audio equipment, use it. If not, at least start out by asking whether people can hear your voice. One trick: Ask the audience to raise their hands if they can hear you well. If you see a patch of people somewhere without their hands up, you know there’s an issue you need to address.

 

What to eat

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When planning a wedding, what you eat could make the difference between a stressed bride and a happy bride! Here is a list of top foods and nutrient packed ingredients with the properties that will revive your glow, boost your energy and promote a settled and happy stomach!

Watermelon

Watermelon is low in calories and it consists mostly of water and the anti-bloating potassium. If you wish to try another melon opt for cantaloupe. Eat slices of melon as a snack or slice it into cubes and add it to a salad to fully de-bloat.

Bananas

Perfect if you had any salty food the night before – the high levels of potassium found in bananas will counteract with the sodium, making any bloating completely disappear. Additionally, the minerals found in bananas will keep the overall levels of minerals in your body replenished, meaning that you won’t get muscle cramps or experience numbness in your legs, which is essential during your wedding day!

 

Avocado

In the run-up to your wedding day, try adding slices of avocado to your salads, or your morning slice of toast. A known superfood, avocados are full of vitamins C and E, which work together to give your immunity a boost, as well as leaving your skin and hair looking healthy.

Tangerines

Tangerines are a great source of vitamin A and C, which not only help your skin battle acne, but also speed up the rebuilding process of your skin. Fine lines and wrinkles are much easier to manage with plenty of vitamin A, as it has wonderful anti-aging properties, while vitamin C helps you produce collagen, which keeps the skin supple.

Eggs

A perfect wedding day breakfast staple! Eggs are full of protein which will leave you feeling full without causing any bloating. Eggs are also rich in sulphur, which is not only good for your liver, but also great for increasing collagen and keratin production, which are responsible for healthy hair. Additionally, eggs have a diuretic effect, which will further reduce any bloating.

 

Sweet Potato

Sweet potatoes contain 65% of the minimum necessary daily amount of Vitamin C and have a very low glycemic index of 17. The best way to benefit from sweet potatoes is to keep the skin as it possesses healing potential with its high levels of vitamin A, beta-carotene and high potassium content. The body converts beta-carotene into active vitamin A, which is important to maintain healthy skin, hair and teeth.

 

Salmon

Wild salmon is another great staple to add to your pre-wedding diet. Rich in omega-3, it keeps your skin looking healthy, as well as well moisturised. Additionally, the vitamin D found in salmon will help keep your bones and teeth strong in the run-up to the wedding.

 

Blueberries

Blueberries have been labelled a superfood due to their high levels of polyphenols, antioxidative and anti-inflammatory compounds that positively impact the nervous system and brain function, helping to combat memory loss and improve your mood, keeping you calm and happy.

 

Green Tea

In the run-up to your wedding day, you might feel like you need all the coffee you can get, but try and steer clear of it as it can stain your teeth. Instead, drink some green tea. The tea will provide you with the energy you need and the amino acids in it will help you feel less stressed and more resilient under pressure, giving you a feeling of purposeful calm

 

The perfect wedding soundtrack

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While booking daytime wedding musicians might feel a little indulgent when planning your wedding music, ceremony songs are an essential element of every ceremony. Think about those all-important quieter moments… They occur as you walk down the aisle, sign the wedding register, and during your recessional as a happily married couple.

Even as the guests are being seated, playing some wedding music will create the atmosphere and anticipation you want. Red Masque an entertainment directory specialising in a huge selection of entertainment for any event, including weddings – we are here to help you choose the perfect live wedding music for your special day.

String quartets

If you would like to keep things traditional, why not hire a string quartet for your wedding music? Have them perform during your wedding ceremony for a truly magical start to your wedding day.

Comprising of two violins, a cello and a viola played together, string quartets create a whimsical and unique sound. If you are hosting your wedding in a church, your string quartet can perform stunning classical wedding songs from the likes of Pachelbel or Vivaldi – ever the favourites with brides and grooms

If you are a more modern bride who wants something a little different, many string quartets will also offer the choice of contemporary wedding songs, played in an instrumental manner. Whether you want Adele, Ed Sheeran or even a bit of Bob Marley, check your chosen string quartet will be able to perform them, then get booking!

Cellists

For a warm and rich sound, look to a cellist to provide the wedding music. There is a huge choice when it comes to choosing an instrumentalist for your wedding ceremony. Hiring one musician is perfect if your wedding budget won’t quite stretch to a whole string quartet. They are often cheaper to book (depending on their experience, of course).

Harpists

The harp is the instrument of choice for a lot of wedding music. In fact, you’ve probably attended weddings of family and friends yourself that have been graced by a harp’s soft notes. Harpists will need a little more space than some other instrumentalists, but they are still perfect even for more intimate wedding venues thanks to their gentle music.

Long hailed as one of the most romantic of sounds, the harp is bound to win the hearts of both you and your guests.

 

A bit of a romance

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A little romance goes a long way. The very best weddings manage to incorporate small elements of romance and elegance without going overboard and still remaining cool!

Your wedding entertainment is crucial in setting the mood for your day so what acts in particular should you be looking at this year to create that warm, fuzzy feeling at your wedding?

Rat Pack Singers

You can celebrate in effortless style with a Rat Pack Singers and Bands. There is something suave and special about this era of music that brings a touch of class to your wedding. The tempo of the tracks are perfect for dancing to and often have a really romantic and personal touch – without going overboard on cheese.

Fire Performers

Make a change to the traditional end of night fireworks and heat things up during the evenings with live fire performers. The flickering flames and amber glow of the fire is inviting to say the least and is something completely unexpected for your guests. Create special moments and surprises for a memorable night.

Gospel Choir

If you’ve seen romantic comedy ‘Love Actually’ then you will know the impact a choir can make on your wedding. The sound of a choir is magnificent during weddings, especially during the ceremony where their grand voices can carry beautifully throughout your wedding venue. If you are in a large venue or a church then the acoustics will be absolutely perfect for this!

Wedding Harpist

If you are unsure about the acoustics of your venue then you can still create a romantic atmosphere with a live musician such as a Harpist. A solo musician like this is beautiful, personal and elegant. Not only that but the harp is an amazing looking instrument within itself. It stands tall and is hard to miss as the talented performer serenades both you and your guests.

Ballerinas

Enthralling snowflake ballerinas gliding across your dance floor with flawless choreography bring wonder and fascination from your guests. Live dancers are always unexpected at weddings and make for amazing photo opportunities. Top tip: Have them perform with you during your first dance to make the that moment even more romantic and memorable.

 

Get your family involved in your big day

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Make your own photo bunting

DIY bunting is always popular with brides wanting to personalise their wedding – it’s super easy to make and can transform plain spaces like marquees. Why not take it one step further and create bunting out of family photos? It will go down a storm with your guests, who will love reminiscing over the photographs during the reception.

Ask them to do a reading

One of the most meaningful ways to include family members in the ceremony is to ask them to do a reading. This is an especially lovely way to involve family members who may be be a little further removed from the immediate family, such as aunts or uncles.

Have personalised place cards

This is another sweet photo idea – use pictures of your friends and family in their place names! It’ll get everyone talking on their tables, and literally putting faces to names means that you’re less likely to get awkward introductions. We also love it when couples use photos on their table plans for the same reason.

Set up a hashtag

In the age of social media, it’s becoming much faster and simpler to share your wedding photographs and videos of the big day with lots of people at once. If you’re embracing social media on your big day, why not consider setting up a hashtag and letting your guests know for easier photo sharing? You may have to explain it a little to the grandparents, but once they realise that they’ll be able to see everyone’s photos all at once, they’re sure to be on board!

Have a family wedding wall

This is a great way to observe family wedding traditions on your big day while still keeping it your own. Get as many family members as you can to send you their wedding photos before the day, and then create a big canvas out of all of them. If nothing else, this is a great way to see how wedding trends change! We also love it when couples recreate one of their parents’ wedding pictures for a nostalgic photo opportunity.

Don’t forget granny!

It might seem obvious now, but your wedding photographs will be over quicker than you think – so if you know your grandparents would love to be involved in the formal photos, make sure your photographer knows this before the day. The pictures will make great keepsakes to send your family after the big day, and they’ll always treasure them.

 

The Night Before Your Wedding

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The day is almost here! After all that planning, you’re going to be feeling a mixture of excitement and nervousness because your big day is actually happening… tomorrow!

To make sure you’re not feeling too lost in excitement, we’ve put together the things you should do the night before your wedding day.

Wash your hair

Whether you’re getting in a professional wedding hairdresser to do your ‘do for your wedding day, or if you’re keeping it in house and getting one of your bridesmaids to bring along their curlers and clips, washing your hair the night before will make sure your a lot easier to work with. Yes, freshly washed hair means it will still smell like your apple shampoo and conditioner as well as shine like the sun, but silky smooth hair can be a little too silky smooth for your hair styling appliances.

Honeymoon packing

If you’re off on your honeymoon or minimoon straight after the big day itself, it’s a good idea to, firstly, pack ahead of time, and secondly, double check it the night before your wedding. This way you won’t have that awful realisation mid wedding reception that you forgot to pack underwear for your trip. Make you and your hubby-to-be a checklist and use it to get packing in the weeks before the big day, then bring out the checklist again on the night before just to make sure you’ve packed absolutely everything you will need so you can quickly whisk yourselves away after the wedding…

Last minute beauty prep

Tonight is the time for the finishing touches! Manicure? Check. Pedicure? Check. Just completely spoil yourself with a totally relaxing beauty session with your bridesmaids to prepare for the day. Run yourself a bubble bath, play some chilled out music and have a good old gossip with your girls. But do remember, now is not the time for a facial. The night before your wedding is not the time to be introducing some new things to your beauty regime – it only risks the potential of waking up to an absolute corker on the end of your nose.

Step away from the spot

Talking of spots, if you’ve already got one or two – as annoying as they are – don’t pick them! Your wedding make-up will do the trick. If you’re getting someone in to do your make-up, they’ll know all the tricks in the book, or if you’re doing it yourself and you’re unsure on how to go about covering and concealing, YouTube it! YouTube has so many amazing hair and beauty tutorials to inspire your wedding look. But remember, it’s always a good idea to try out any new make-up techniques before the wedding day itself to get an idea of what suits you and your complexion.

Emergency kit

Round up all your big day essentials the night before to be ready – from kirby grips and safety pins just in case, to the essential lip gloss for topping-up before all the photos! That way you won’t be up all night thinking about what you’ll do if your hair goes out of place. Get it done and save the midnight stressing, and consequential lack of bridal beauty sleep – the most important kind of sleep!

Outfit checklist

If you’re all together, organise all the bridal party’s outfits ready for the big day. Lie them out on the bed and make sure everyone has got everything: the dresses, the suits, the ties, the accessories, the shoes. Only realising that one of your bridesmaids has got one shoe missing on the morning of the wedding probably isn’t the most ideal situation, right? There isn’t exactly a lot of time to schedule in an emergency jog to the nearest shoe shop on that specific morning…

 

Who should do what

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Planning a wedding is a pretty daunting task for any bride and groom, which is why traditionally the bridal party have a number of jobs to help with the process, and to ensure smooth wedding planning at all times…

Bride and groom

The bride and groom’s biggest responsibility is obviously to seal the deal and get married, but they have some crucial planning decisions to make first. It’s important that the bride and groom work on these decisions together and share the workload fairly, and that both are happy with each decision made.

  • Set the budget
  • Compile a guest list (this will be influenced by the budget)
  • Choose a theme, date and venue – make the necessary reservations and deposits
  • Organise invites, flowers, a photographer and wedding entertainment
  • Choose the wedding rings
  • Write the wedding vows
  • Thank-you notes for the guests
  • Greet everyone at the reception
  • Dance the first dance at the reception – some couples have lessons beforehand

In addition to the bride and groom’s joint responsibilities, each traditionally have tasks to handle on their own. The bride needs to choose her bridesmaids and maid of honour and their dresses, and choose a gift for her hubby-to-be. The groom needs to choose his groomsmen and best man and their attire, and also choose a gift for his wife-to-be.

Bride’s parents

In past traditions the bride’s parents have always paid for the majority of the wedding, but today the cost is usually distributed between mainly the couple, the bride’s parents and the groom’s parents. However there are still certain responsibilities for the bride’s parents to take care of.

  • Help the bride and groom with the guest list
  • Offer assistance and moral support with the wedding details
  • Attend any wedding rehearsals
  • The bride’s father escorts her to the ceremony and usually walks her down the aisle

Groom’s parents

The groom’s parents have very similar responsibilities to the groom’s parents:

  • Help the bride and groom with the guest list
  • Offer assistance and moral support with the wedding details
  • Attend any wedding rehearsals

Maid of honour

The maid of honour is traditionally a sister or best friend, and is the member of the bridal party that the bride relies most on. The maid of honour’s responsibilities include:

  • Organising any bridesmaid-related activities
  • Coordinating the hen do
  • Most importantly, organising the wedding dress shopping and any fittings
  • Helping the bride and groom with any ad–hoc tasks or errands  (keeping record of RSVPs, etc)
  • Attend any wedding rehearsals
  • Help the bride dress and get ready on the morning of the wedding
  • Arrange her veil and train during the processional and recessional
  • Holds the bride’s bouquet at the altar
  • Sign the marriage license as the bride’s witness
  • Helps the bride during the reception with the dress

Bridesmaids

There is no minimum or maximum number when it comes to bridesmaids and you can have as many as you want for your wedding. Bridesmaids can be single, married and any age.

  • Assist the maid of honour with the wedding planning duties and help the bride when needed
  • Help organise the hen do
  • Attend any wedding rehearsals
  • Walk in the processional and recessional

Best man

The best man is the groom’s go–to man during the wedding planning and his biggest support. The best man is traditionally the groom’s brother or best friend, and can be single, married and any age again.

  • Organise the stag do
  • Help to organise the groomsmen’s suit fitting and pick this up before the wedding say
  • Write a speech for the wedding reception
  • Attend any wedding rehearsals
  • Make sure the groom gets to the ceremony on time
  • Brings the rings to the ceremony
  • Signs the marriage license as the groom’s witness

Groomsmen

Apart from assisting the best man, the groomsmen don’t actually have many responsibilities before the wedding.

  • Help the best man with any wedding planning duties
  • Attend the stag do
  • Attend any wedding rehearsals
  • Arrive early at the ceremony on the wedding day and help to greet and seat guests

The final countdown

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When your dream day finally dawns, after all those months of planning a wedding, you want it to be nothing but dreamy. Often things don’t go entirely to plan, but you can still have the most perfect of days, so don’t let the worries build up. For a day filled with smiles and a sought-after stress free wedding morning, we’ve put together our top tips to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible.

One month before

Your bookings should all be made and arranged by now – we’re talking florists, cakes, wedding venue styling, entertainment, beauty – but it doesn’t hurt to get in touch again and finalise your plans. If you’re able to and haven’t already, arrange the timings for your event so you have a clear running order for the day in plenty of time. Make sure you include notes for the parts you won’t be present for yourself, too, like setting up – someone will need to know what goes where and when!

One week before

Finish any handmade items and DIY elements. Whether they will be decorative or you’re making your own wedding favours, when the day comes around you’ll be thanking yourself for finishing ahead of time. Get them all packaged as you’d wish and put aside in a clearly labelled box, ready to go for your wedding morning.

Now is also a great time to remind your bridesmaids and groomsmen what roles you’d like them to play on the day (if you need some pointers, you’ll love this bridesmaid jobs guide!). Dish out the jobs to keep things manageable and relax knowing that all the plans are in place.

One day before

The chances are you’ve prepared an ‘Order of the Day’ in some shape or form already, but this tends to begin with the ceremony. It’s a great idea to write down a running order for your wedding morning, too, so that you allow plenty of time for each element.

Think about what time your hair and makeup will be done, remembering to budget time for the bridesmaids too, when you’ll get into your dress, how long you’ll need for photos, and even when you’ll have a bite to eat! Give yourself some spare time on top so you don’t end up keeping your groom waiting should anything be held up (it’ll also save you from any last-minute panicking!).

Remember, it’s not worth worrying about things that are out of your control. Maintain this mantra for the simplest way to have a stress free wedding morning and follow these tips to start your day exactly as you’ll end it – in wedded bliss.