Where Do I Start?

Discuss your ideas with each other – how you’d like to spend your day, who you’d like to invite, your priorities, budget, honeymoon.  If possible, speak with both families to see if they will be making any contributions to your wedding.

Once you have your budget in place, it’s a good idea to first make a decision on your reception venue as this will often dictate the number of guests you can invite and will give you an indication as to what you have left over in your budget for everything else.

Things that can go wrong on your wedding day

Love the hair but hate the make up – it’s always a good idea to have a trial of your hair & make up beforehand.  It’s also a great idea to take your veil if you’re wearing one and any accessories to see how it all comes together.

Running late – this can happen when there has been a lack of communication between the bride, the hairdresser or make up artist and the photographer.  If the make up artist is running late, you may not be ready for the photographer when they arrive. Let your hairdresser and make up artist know the time that your photographer will be arriving.  If possible, allow yourself a small window of time in between to take a breather and enjoy some time with your family and bridesmaids before your ceremony.

The photographer has arrived but you are still waiting on the flowers – ensure you have arranged with your florist to have your flowers delivered to your home before the scheduled arrival of your photographer.

Speeches at your wedding reception are hurried or delayed because of the meal service – the more you communicate with your reception venue, the better your reception will flow.  A good reception venue will give you guidelines for timings throughout the evening.  You can avoid unexpected time delays by advising your venue of the number of speeches you will be having.  A good rule of thumb for speeches is to keep each one to a maximum of 5 minutes.

Sticking to your Budget

Having a list of priorities will allow you to spend more on something that is important to you and pull back on another that is lower down on your list.  If flowers are important to you, consider if the order of service booklets you originally planned on having are really essential and if not, dispense with the booklets to allow you the flowers you are dying to have. 

Finding the best suppliers

When seeing potential suppliers for the first time, try to establish whether they are listening to what you want rather than them simply telling you what they do.  A great supplier will consider your ideas and possibly add to them but will pause to gauge your reaction to their suggestions before moving on.  They won’t talk in their own lingo and will make sure you understand each concept.  By the end of a meeting with them, you should feel comfortable in their company.

Getting the most out of your day

If you’re having a mid to late afternoon wedding, don’t forget to have a good lunch for you and your attendants.  Arrange to have a platter of mixed sandwiches and fruit made especially or delivered …for both the
bride & groom!

It’s a long day and if you’re fuelled up, you’ll be sure to take in every moment.

Last but not least – remember to savour every single moment from the time you wake up to the very end of the night!