Top Tips Tag

I love getting dressed up in a glamorous dress and going to a formal event, likewise I adore when my clients choose black-tie as the brief for their party or event. Although many people think it purely refers to the expected dress code it’s much more comprehensive than this. From your invitations alone, guests will instantly assume it’s going to be a more formal affair. Here are my top tips for how to organise your black-tie party or event. The Basics of Planning Be really clear about your priorities and set a budget accordingly. Considering these aspects before jumping straight into venue finding will pay dividends and ensure you’re able to stay focused on the bigger picture. Choosing Your Party Venue When choosing your venue consider how the decor and ambience will work for a black-tie event. With a generous budget transforming a venue is always a possibility, but with more limited budgets you’ll...

Some of my couples, or their parents, are lucky enough to own properties with large gardens where they can host their weddings. Often this provides a beautiful and meaningful location, but they can be much more challenging to arrange. 26% of UK couples now hire a wedding planner, but this number sky rockets amongst those planning a marquee or dry hire venue wedding as the logisitics involved can be much more complex. If you consider the average wedding takes 250 hours to plan, imagine how many more hours will be spent arranging all the extra elements that a garden wedding involves. To help you on your way, I’ve outlined a few aspects you might want to consider when planning your wedding. Cost Don’t expect a wedding at home to be cheaper than at a venue, this just isn't true. After all, not only do you have to build a temporary venue, usually in...

Pinterest, it’s an incredible tool for wedding planning, great inspiration and a source of dreamy fantasy images.  Many of my couples will come with a Pinterest board in place, or at some point one will often materialise. For a wedding planner, or a bride, at first glance, Pinterest seems great! However, it’s just one tool in your wedding planning tool box. In today’s blog post I outline some of its pros and cons. Essentially, it all comes down to understanding the difference between replication v inspiration and using it accordingly. Use Your Pinterest board as Inspiration to Create a Wedding Personal to You Your wedding day is an amazing opportunity to have a day that reflects you and share your loves with your friends and family. This will always trump producing a cookie cutter wedding that is purely based on the latest wedding trend. Trends are great for inspiration but don’t incorporate...

“You're engaged? Congratulations! When's the wedding?” I bet this is the first question everyone has asked you. But when it comes to selecting your wedding date there is a lot to be considered. Your instinct may say to choose your anniversary or another important date, but here's some tips on what else to consider when choosing your wedding date. Weather and the seasons Perhaps the first thing you should consider is which season you want to get married in. Do you prefer spring flowers, the summer sun, autumn leaves, or the potential for snow at a winter wedding? The time of year sets the tone, theme, and often the décor of your wedding. Do you see yourselves outdoors in a garden or indoors in a cosy, candle-lit venue? Weather is a huge factor if you would like your wedding to feature either an outdoor ceremony or reception. Statistically speaking, May is the driest...

With guests spending a majority of their time at their tables, couples often place great importance on their table centrepieces. Whether you want simplistic minimalism or indulgent extravagance your wedding planner and florist will be able to help you choose the perfect centrepiece for your wedding. However, there are a few top tips to consider… Guest Numbers & Budget Once you’ve decided how many guests you're having at your wedding you will then have a better idea of how many table centrepieces you’ll need. Consider that most round tables seat between 8 and 10 guests, with some venues having slightly larger tables for up to 12 guests. Rectangular and square tables will be completely venue dependant. In addition you may want different displays on your top table, maybe lower ones so as not to obstruct your view of your guests and their view of you. Colours Not all colour schemes are easy to carry through...

You’ve decided you’ll need some help planning your wedding and contacted a couple of planners to start the ball rolling. After the initial contact, often by email, your planner is likely to want to have a call or Skype meeting with you, and if you’re considering full planning then they are likely to want to meet face-to-face. This is such an important stage, primarily as it gives you both an opportunity to see if you're right for each other. When I say “right” I don’t mean the basic tick list of availability, price etc, I mean do you actually like each other?! You could be working with this person for 18 months, plus they’ll be with you on your wedding day, so it’s really important that you like them, trust them and feel a certain level of connection or understanding between you. However, during this meeting your planner will also...

When I get an enquiry from a couple for full planning of their wedding one of the very first tasks I undertake is to create a wedding budget. I’m often surprised by how many of my partial planning and wedding day management clients haven’t produced a budget and only have a rough idea of what their wedding is costing them. This comes with two problems; firstly, it means that the overall cost often spirals as they only initially consider the big things such as the venue and maybe the photographer, and secondly, it means they often haven’t fully thought through their priorities, the financial implications of these and where they may have to compromise in other areas in order to achieve them. I know it might seem like a very unromantic task for such a romantic day, but I can’t stress enough the importance of getting your budget down on...