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Wedding planning advice: Trends and themes that will dominate the UK wedding scene in 2018
We are all about being your self and organising a wedding exactly the way you want it, no matter what magazines or blogs say. However inspiration is a wonderful thing and we will always do our best to show you what is out there to spark a bit of creativity.
What if you have a venue, want your wedding to be beautiful but have absolutely no designer skills? Then quickly get yourself a stylist – like our guest author today – Chenai of by Chenai . She prepared for you a round up of what will light up the 2018 wedding scene from fashion style to venue selection. We hope it will give you some amazing new ideas (we are loving these grazing tables!!).
Whilst it’s always important for personal style to dictate your wedding planning and styling decisions, we can’t ignore the influence that art, design, and fashion play on the choices we made in society & culture. With this in mind, here’s my big 8 themes for 2018 weddings.
The Grazing Table
It genuinely surprises me that this has yet to permeate wedding culture in Britain. No, really, I mean it. Australia has been ahead of the curve on this front as evidenced by the number of platter companies offering the service. The beauty of the grazing table is that it lends itself to an informal setting and when styled creatively and (depending on size and scale) is an affordable option for feeding guests. It can be a show stopper between acts, instead of canapes between ceremony and reception for example and thanks to likes of Grape and Fig, the first platter company in the UK, I guarantee you, many a summer and outdoor wedding will feature grazing tables next year.
Photo from Grape and FigRoyal Wedding Style
Unless you’ve been living under a very large rock, you can’t have missed the engagement news of our favourite royal, Prince Harry to Meghan Markle. Every single detail from her dress to who will serve has her bridesmaids has been written about in blogs in publications everywhere but undoubtedly the so called ‘Meghan Markle ‘ effect will influence bridal style from Spring 2018 onwards.
Unconventional venues
Village Hall? Check. A field at the back of your dad’s friend’s neighbours house? Check. A cosy pub? Check. Railway arches? Check.
You get the picture. Traditional venues often satisfy the requirements of lovely views, gardens or rooms and make for wonderful photos. However, great value and flexibility is to be found in non traditional spaces. Increasingly, couples are getting bolder in their thinking where venue search is concerned and and as long as it has basic facilities, you know like electricity and running water (or at least access to) we’ll continue to see couples opting for everything but the country manor house.
Image from Shoreditch.com -
Wedding planning advice: 10 Things to consider while choosing LGBTQ+ wedding rings
Photo: Royalty free from EqualliChoosing you wedding rings is a big decision. To help you, today we have some advice from Roland Dean of Equalli – a company specialising in beautiful and high quality jewellery, serving LGBTQ+ community.
Love is a wonderful feeling and it’s only natural to want to celebrate it by making an official engagement. And what better way of saying I love you to the person next to you than with a beautiful wedding ring?
Even more, due to the legalization of same-sex marriages in so many countries across the globe, nowadays everyone has the possibility to freely celebrate their feelings. However, this freedom didn’t bring too much change in jewelry stores and there are not that many brands to consider the needs of a same-sex couple.
This is why we put together a short guide to help you out.
1. Choosing the style
With traditional man and woman weddings, the style is clear: the man gets a thick band while the woman can choose something more delicate and refined. However, with LGBT wedding rings, the options are limitless.
For instance, some couples decide to choose completely different styles, but with a unifying element. This way, both partners show they are unique, but united by their love for each other.
2. Wedding band or engagement ring?
This is a choice you’ll have to make, but there is also the option of going with a matching set. This means that you can get a wedding band and the matching engagement ring and decide who wears the one and who the other.
3. Matching rings or not
This is a legit question and it shows up in both heterosexual and LGBT couples. The answer is no, there is no rule that says the rings must match. It’s just a tradition that was designed to allow people around to identify you as a married couple.
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Wedding planning advice: Secrets to getting the best from your wedding film
A lot has changed in the wedding videography world. The times of two hour long films with cheesy music are over (hopefully!) and now you can get a beautiful, moving videos that will be a pleasure to watch. Hiring the right video company is really important but you can also help them to get the best results on the day.
Confetti & Silk is a video company that creates an award – winning, cinematic, discreetly shot wedding films. The managing director of Confetti & Silk, Stuart Kinghorn, shares with us some tips on how to make sure you have the best wedding video.
Tips for choosing your video company
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Watch previous example films from a range of videographers, see what’s out there. Most couples simply don’t know if they’ve not been married before or work in the video/ film industry. Try to find someone with a style which you could see yourself as the couple fitting into. This will in turn mean you should trust them to get on with it on the day and their decision making during the edit. It’s no secret if a client treats you better and with respect you will work harder for them, no matter what industry in the world.
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The basics should be choose a professional. Do they have a website? Do they respond to emails without you having to follow up? Are they available on the phone? Will you have to pay a deposit and sign a contract? If any of these things are absent, be careful.
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Can you find their business across multiple platforms such as social media? These will tell you what the videographers are really like to work with aside from the carefully constructed blurb on their website. Google and Facebook reviews are powerful points of reference. We once worked with, well they didn’t show up so we didn’t work with them, a photographer who had a 1 star review on social media, for not showing up! The bride had missed this but through a little more due diligence it shouldn’t have come as a surprise on the day.
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Top 5 wedding planning tips
With more than 15 years stage management experience in the West End, Ever Ever After’s husband and husband team, James & Sam Hayden-Harler, have a unique and unparalleled attention to detail, experience of making everything run smoothly and of course, the eye to make your wedding day uniquely memorable. Today they are sharing some golden tips for planning your wedding.
Top 5 tips for planning your wedding
Planning your dream wedding takes lots of time, effort and organisation. If you’re not sure where to start or are struggling for inspiration, here are our top five tips you’ll need to consider when planning your wedding.
1. Budget and allow 10-15% extra for little surprises
Setting a budget may be boring, but it is an essential that you set this first, as this will influence every decision you make for your wedding. Do plenty of research and set a rough budget before you start planning. It can be quite daunting when you make a list of everything you need and you’ll be surprised how quickly it all adds up. When shopping around for quotes confirm with the retailer or supplier whether they include VAT. If not, you may find you’ll be hit with an invoice for more than originally quoted. If you are finding your budget is going over, make a list of priority items you must have, as well as another list for ‘would like to have’. This will make sticking to your budget much easier!2. The Personal Touch
Use the skills of your friends and family to help you make your day individual and special for you. Once the big things are sorted, think about the details that will make your day special. What do you enjoy doing as a couple? How did you meet? Where were your first dates? Let the inspiration for your day come from the journey you have already taken together. Guests love a wedding that has a really personal touch. For instance, you may have a mutual love of a particular band or holiday destination.
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Wedding planning advice: I’m considering a destination wedding – where do I start?
Planning a destination wedding can be very overwhelming and many couples decide not to follow their dreams of a wedding abroad purely because of the amount of work it may take to organise. But let’s remember you can delegate most of this work and enjoy a fun elopement or wedding in our dream place. That is what wedding planners are for! Author of our advice article today is Claire – a UK based wedding planner behind Wed in Central Park, who specialises in organising weddings and elopements in New York City’s iconic park.
For the past five years I have been planning weddings for couples who want to get married in New York’s Central Park. When couples make first contact with me, they can be anywhere in the range between knowing exactly what they want, and when and how, and really only being in the very first stages of considering a destination wedding. Many couples are just looking for advice on where to start. I have planned around one hundred and eighty destination weddings or elopements to date. Here is a brief overview of how I would guide a couple who were in the early stages of considering a destination wedding. Whether you think a Central Park wedding would suit you, or you are interested in marrying in another great city of the world, or you are considering getting married on a beach, or somewhere else outdoors I hope this will be of use to get you thinking.
There are a few really big questions that need to be answered early on. Firstly, is this a destination wedding with a group of friends and family, or is this an elopement for just the two of you? Either way, you should discuss your tentative plans or ideas with your loved ones. They may have been assuming you would get married at home, or they might not want to travel, or they may not be able to travel for various reasons. Also, they might have some great ideas themselves, and they might be able to help.
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Wedding planning advice: Making your civil ceremony stand out
Michael Gordon writes and conducts bespoke services for life-cycle ceremonies: weddings, civil partnerships, vow renewals, handfastings, baby-namings etc. He takes pleasure and pride in crafting a unique, bespoke ceremony together with his clients – a ceremony which will be just the way they want it.
Today he shares some advice on non traditional wedding ceremonies.
Does the idea of making your civil ceremony stand out appeal to you? When you don’t want a standard, safe ceremony, but one that is memorable and personal?
Yes, a tailor-made service is absolutely possible – although the official, legal ceremony is still compulsory.
What is the normal procedure?
A civil wedding must be legally registered. There are two ways.
1. You can do it before your ceremony. Book an appointment at your local register office. Just go down (in your jeans!) with two witnesses, and, in a matter of minutes, you will be technically married. Then you can go on to your reception, relaxed in the knowledge that you have done the legal bit. Go out there and enjoy yourselves!
2. Alternatively, if you are marrying at a venue licensed for weddings, then the registrars will come across and conduct their service.
Either way, their ceremony will be totally non-religious and will be standard for each couple.
Taking things further
However, once you’ve done the legal bit and are at your reception, you can have the ceremony that YOU want. This will be the wedding of your dreams! The wedding that reflects your personalities and beliefs, and which will be everything you want it to be!
No extra paperwork is required. Instead, you’ll be working with a civil celebrant, who’ll give you all the ideas and guidance you need, and will prepare a unique ceremony for you.
How will this be special?
Of course, the venue is down to you, and can be very creative!
