Leeds is one of the leading bustling and vibrant cities in the North, so it’s no wonder why so many people are looking to get married there! Are you looking for a venue with a difference in or around the city?
Bridebook.co.uk has found 25 of the best nearby wedding venues in Leeds that are stunning, heaps of fun, or just plain kooky! Take a look at these incredible places, or hunt for yourself using our Wedding Venue Search tool.
This beautiful gothic revival castle really is a venue to behold! Allerton Castle provides a stunning backdrop for your fairytale wedding day as you walk down the aisle in the Gothic Great Hall.
The Engine Shed is an utterly unique venue that really has the wow factor! This Grade II listed building is set over two magnificent floors and can become the blank canvas for your special day.
Set in the ruins of the Barden Tower and surrounded by picturesque hills and rivers, The Priest’s House is a stunning venue for your intimate wedding celebrations. Check out the stone interiors!
Lineham Farm is a country chic venue in a secluded area with surrounding woodlands to host your idyllic day. The farmhouse dates back to the 17th Century and has retained all the charm and character that you could wish for!
The 14th Century Hospitium is a gorgeous wedding venue with medieval stone walls and plenty of character included! Less than an hour away from the centre of Leeds, this versatile building is overlooked by the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey – a photo opportunity not to be missed!
The beautiful Jacobean Manor that is Holdsworth House Hotel dates back to 1633 and is brimming with history. Sunny courtyards, interesting architecture and pretty gardens can be found on site, as this venue comes to life on your very special day!
Just a stone’s throw away from Leeds lies Wharfedale Grange, the perfect spot to pitch your wedding tent! With this versatile area of farmland, you can do what you wish and watch your dream day come to fruition.
This old Yorkshire stone farmhouse has been lovingly converted to form the intimate Box Tree Restaurant. With tons of character, three Michelin stars, and just a half an hour journey from the city, this unique venue is the perfect place for your wedding breakfast.
The Majestic Hotel boasts elegance, grandeur and is definitely majestic to say the least! Situated in nearby Harrogate with 8 acres of beautiful gardens, this Victorian hotel is the ideal place to host a very majestic wedding!
Skipbridge Country Weddings is a green field venue complete with natural surroundings and even farm animals! It has homely cottages on site and plenty of space for camping or glamping, so you can truly make your wedding weekend a fab experience for all guests.
Stun your guests by having your wedding on a train platform at the National Railway Museum! This impressive and spacious venue will pull out all the stops (literally!) to guide you in your journey to married life.
The warm feel of East Riddlesden Hall will comfort you and your partner as you step into the Grade II listed barn. Dance the night away under exposed oak beams and fairy lights less than an hour from the centre of Leeds.
Amongst peaceful woodlands and the beauty of rural Yorkshire, Hazlewood Castle is a venue for a king and queen. Say your vows in the medieval chapel and let this historical setting make your wedding day dreams come true.
The unforgettable vibe of The Faversham is the perfect place to celebrate with your nearest and dearest. On the edge of Leeds City Centre, this venue offers a bespoke service within unique walls – especially the beautiful conservatory!
In the developing industrial area of Leeds sits New Craven Hall, a modern and vibrant wedding venue, perfect for a unique celebration. The New Craven Hall team offers a completely bespoke service, which means you can make all of your wedding day dreams come true.
This converted stone barn in rural West Yorkshire has become the beautiful Chilli Barn, an intimate wedding venue. Surrounded by endless meadows and woodland, the decor shows off character features with a modern touch.
The stunningly restored barns of Priory Cottages are undoubtedly a very special place to say your ‘I Do’s. Set in the idyllic countryside, this venue has a perfect mix of romance and enchantment to suit every couple that passes through it’s doors.
With it’s very own lake in a scenic valley of rolling parkland, Waterton Park Hotel & Spa is the ultimate setting for your special day. Gorgeous accommodation awaits you…but be sure to get a photo on the bridge first!
Seeking some luxury just outside of Leeds? Denton Hall offers charming 18th Century decor, crystal chandeliers and spectacular views across Yorkshire – have it as your very own exclusive country house for the entire weekend!
The peaceful grounds of Northorpe Hall Barn warmly welcome you to this alluring venue. Exposed wooden beams and stone walls enclose you and your guests and you celebrate your special day – and the best bit is that any profits from your day helps fund local projects for young people in need.
Just 30 minutes away from Leeds, Heaton Mount lies between a winding driveway and immaculate lawns. Dating back to 1864, this Italianate mansion boasts exquisite decor and breath-taking views for you and your guests.
The fairytale setting of The Sun Pavilion was built in the 1930’s but has recently been restored to become an utterly unique venue. It hosts an Art Deco glass dome and is home to stunning views over Harrogate’s Valley Gardens, to really bring the natural beauty indoors!
This 200-year-old barn, situated just 10 miles down the road from central Leeds, could be the ultimate romantic backdrop for your big day. The Old Barn at Esholt sits in a quaint location with plenty of character features to feast your eyes upon!
This spectacular country mansion with 11 acres of stunning ground has become Goldsborough Hall. The oak-panelled Jacobean library and beautifully designed drawing rooms are the ideal places to host your wedding celebrations.
The Queens venue offers a stylish backdrop overflowing with glamour for a totally classy wedding day. Right in the centre of Leeds, you will have spectacular views across the city from the terraced balcony of this beautiful building, as well as a bespoke service that will serve the largest or most intimate of wedding parties.
Cookridge Hall is the perfect backdrop for your big day. Located in North Leeds this beautiful grade II listed old hall was built in 1721 and set amongst an 18 hole golf course. If you are looking for a scenic wedding venue, look no further!
Have your special day at this stylish and incredibly romantic wedding venue in Leeds. Woodlands weddings are designed just for you in one of the best wedding venues in Leeds!
If you’re still unsure about which wedding venue to choose or you’re looking elsewhere in the UK, Bridebook is here! Use Bridebook.co.uk’s Wedding Venue Search and type in your preferred location, and we’re sure you will find ‘the one’!
Bridebook.co.uk doesn’t only help you find that perfect venue – it can also make the planning process much easier by assisting you with your entire wedding planning process. Fill in your guest list, budget and use our wedding checklist to make sure you don’t forget a single detail of your special day.
Feeling overwhelmed by marketing your venue to new potential couples on social media? Christina Barker, Wedding Planner for Chantilly Rose and wedding marketing professional has honed her skills and educational talent within the industry through years of experience and research. Now she shares her top tips for #winning in social media marketing and boosting the awareness of your wedding venue below.
Whether you like it or not, your potential clients are all on social media. 2 billion of those are on Facebook alone.
You want to attract couples to your wedding venue so why not utilise those popular social media channels.
Facebook is still by far the biggest social networking channel in the world and will probably continue to be so for a long time.
With YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter also on the rise you need to ensure your wedding venue is being visible and standing out from the crowd. We’ve put together 10 top social media tips for your wedding venue to increase bookings.
1. Post consistently.
Post engaging content and videos which will entice your audience to interact with your accounts. When they do this it also increases the chance of being shown in their news feeds. When we say post consistently, this doesn’t mean that you suddenly remember you’ve not posted in a while and so instead post 5 things on Facebook in one go. Spread your posts out. For example, we recommend you post on Facebook 1-2 times a day. Even if you are only posting something twice a week. Keep it consistent. Your followers will be expecting to see new content at the same time each week from you. Use a scheduling tool to help you so you can plan all your posts in advance. This saves heaps of time and frees you up to do other tasks.
2. Share content from other businesses.
Popular wedding magazines and blogs are full of wedding inspiration for couples to peruse. You might have some recommended suppliers on your list, so keep an eye on what they are posting on their pages and help them out by sharing what they do. They will be thankful for it and doing this will help you form relationships with suppliers and other people in the industry. If you are sharing good content, couples will be coming to your account to look for more.
3. Host regular competitions.
Think about what you want to promote and have fun with this. It could be a simple like and share. It doesn’t have to be anything massive, just something that will help your page get the engagement it needs. There’s no point having a page with lots of likes but no one is interacting with it. This will also give you a chance to reach new people.
Do be sure to keep an eye on Facebook’s ever changing guidelines and rules when it comes to what you can and can’t do.
4. Advertise on Facebook.
This is a HUGE one. If you aren’t using Facebook ads you are definitely missing out on a massive market. Using Facebook ads you can target specific people. For example, newly engaged couples within a certain radius of your venue. You can spend as little as £1 a day on these ads. Obviously the more money you budget though, the more people you will be able to reach so I would always invest in these ads. Using Facebook ads you can also link it with Instagram so your ad will show on Instagram at the same time!
Unlike something like a magazine advert which you can’t track, with Facebook ads you are able to see exactly how many people have seen it and how many people clicked on it. They can take a while to get your head around but this is something you can definitely outsource to a digital marketing company like us.
5. Utilise your cover photo.
This is one people always seem not to bother with or not know about. If your wedding venue has simply uploaded a photo, thought that will do and left it, you are missing a trick! This is one of the first things a person sees when visiting your page. You could advertise your wedding packages here or maybe your next wedding fayre. Don’t forget to add in the details in the description along with any links for them to find out more information. Always be thinking about your sales funnel!
6. Check your page insights.
Look at what is working and what isn’t. What posts are getting the most likes and comments? Continue similar posts and stop posting the things that aren’t getting any engagement. Insights are there for you to check how your page is doing, so be sure to check back regularly. Have your social media manager produce a monthly report for you.
At White Heart Marketing, our team is able to manage your page and do this all for you.
7. Use LOTS of visuals.
Couples love to see lots of photos. Be it on Instagram, Pinterest or another image based platform, they like to imagine themselves getting married at that place. They imagine all of their ideas coming together. If you are seen to be posting different styles, there’s a strong chance that one of those styles is perfect for them. If they can see that your venue is able to cater for this then they’ve pretty much already decided they want to book your venue before they’ve even contacted you!
8. Hashtag, hashtag, hashtag.
Hashtags are widely used on both Instagram and Twitter. A hashtag can be used to find other people talking about the same subject. If you search for #yourweddingvenue (insert name), you can then engage with everyone that has used it. For example, a couple may have taken a romantic photo in the grounds of your venue after visiting for a show round. You could comment, ‘congratulations on your engagement, thank you for visiting us at your show round earlier, we hope your visit was everything you wished for.’
When posting your own photo to showcase your venue, make sure you are including all the relevant hashtags so people can search for you. Hashtags like #WeddingWednesday are great ones to include! On Instagram add your hashtags in the first comment after posting your photo and description. This keeps your feed tidy and hides your hashtags once you get a good amount of comments. You can use up to 30 hashtags on your Instagram posts so make sure you are taking advantage of that so even more people can find you!
9. Keep your information up to date.
When was the last time you checked your ‘about’ section on all of your accounts? Have you made sure everything is completed? Do you have any additional services you can add on? Are your wedding brochures current with all the correct pricing? Your potential clients want to be able to see the information they need without having to go off to another site or clicking on too many other links. If you have everything where it should be then they are more likely to spend time on your account as oppose to someone else’s.
10. Don’t be a slave to social media.
Just because your clients are on social media, doesn’t mean to say you should be on every single platform. Although it’s great for SEO, if they click on a social media channel and see its not been active for months it doesn’t give your company a great first impression. Try and stick to two that work really well for your ideal client. Usually for wedding venues these platforms are Facebook and Instagram. Do those two platforms really well and you could be booking out couples for years to come!
Happy couple hunting! If you feel this is all totally overwhelming, just know that you are not alone. I hope these tips have given you a little insight into what type of social media you should be doing for your wedding venue.
If you have any questions you would like to ask or you are interested in us managing any aspect of your social media, please contact us. We would love to hear from you!
5 quick and simple things to bear in mind today that will help you attract newly engaged couples and secure more wedding bookings around autumn / winter time.
Chances are you’re so busy preparing for the weddings you’ve booked for right now that the last thing you’ve got time to think about is keeping your wedding business ticking over in the slower, winter months.
But with winter weddings becoming more popular thanks to better value for money, more availability and the romance of winter settings gaining greater appeal, you could find yourself with a few fantastic slow-season booking opportunities if you put in a tiny bit of prep work now.
Fortunately, we’ve prepared a checklist of 5 quick and simple things to bear in mind today that will help you attract newlywed couples around autumn / winter time and beat the competition to the punch!
1. Ask for testimonials and reviews as you finalise each wedding
As you come to the end of each wedding you cater for, be sure to ask for and chase up reviews, recommendations and testimonials as the chances are, if you sit back and wait for them to trickle in, newlyweds will forget to send them at all.
According to a recent survey, 70% of customers will leave a review for a business if you ask them for it.
Recommendations play a significant role in winning new business and securing more bookings as a wedding supplier, and it is a pretty quick and straightforward way to ensure you’re ahead of the competition as we approach off-peak wedding season.
To read more on the impact reviews have on wedding bookings and how best to approach gathering recommendations, view this article.
Upload all good feedback to your Bridebook Profile as you collect it, as it’s better for SEO and for generating new business steadily if you can publish new content regularly rather than bulk upload it.
2. Make sure your Bridebook profile is up-to-date and complete
With more and more newly engaged couples opting to use wedding directories to search for wedding suppliers, it is essential that you ensure all profiles you own are complete and up to date – particularly with regards to contact details, pricing, reviews and photographs.
It should take no more than 30 minutes to fully complete your profile on Bridebook and with exposure to around 40,000 wedding-planning couples, it’s a marketing channel that pretty much takes care of itself whilst you’re busy managing your bookings during peak wedding season.
Wouldn’t it be nice to benefit from SEO, exposure and a valuable database of leads and contacts to follow up as we approach off-peak wedding season without having to do very much at all?
3. Share photographs of your weddings as you go
Get into the habit of taking photographs and uploading them to Facebook and Instagram as you prepare for and complete each of your summer weddings.
By creating a presence for yourself online now during peak wedding season, you’re much more likely to have your content discovered online during off-peak wedding season.
Wedding suppliers who attempt to upload photos all at once will find themselves at a distinct disadvantage to competitors who have been present online and keeping their content relevant throughout the spring and summer months.
4. Keep an eye out for local wedding fairs you’d like to attend
Most wedding fairs take place during off-peak season and these events often provide a golden opportunity for you to show off your summer portfolio and book new clients.
National wedding fairs are good for inspiration and large scale networking but can often carry a high cost. Keep an eye out for local wedding fairs (or host your own) and put your name down as an attendee early on to ensure you guarantee your place for a great price.
The clear benefit of attending local wedding fairs is that you’re likely to meet local engaged couples – your core target audience – as well as local suppliers who you can network with for the sake of recommendations and repeat business.
5. Offer deals and special packages
Towards the end of peak season you could start promoting special offers and deals to attract off-peak brides and grooms.
If you choose to adopt this strategy, make sure that you prepare marketing material a few months beforehand and that you start promoting your special deals on social media towards the end of the summer and at any wedding fairs you attend.
This requires a little more time than the other tactics we’ve listed above but can be a very effective way to secure last minute bookings.
Are you prepared to peak during the slow season?
If you’re planning to stay busy as the wedding season draws to a close why not try out a few of the above techniques to keep your wedding business brand front of mind for engaged couples preparing for a winter wedding.
Most of these tips are considered best practice anyway so get into good habits now and you’ll benefit from bookings and exposure in the long term.
Location plays a huge role in the search terms and phrases couples use when planning their wedding. Here are 5 simple ways to dominate local SEO in the wedding industry.
5 simple ways to dominate local SEO in the wedding industry
We’ve already discussed why content is key to SEO success and how to make it work for your wedding business so now we want to hone in on the importance of location-based SEO and targeting.
Location plays a huge role in the search terms and phrases couples use when planning their wedding and to be frank, they’re unlikely to search without it.
Think about it; which millennial couple would search for the term ‘wedding venues’ which returns almost 22 million results (most of which will be irrelevant) when they could search for ‘wedding venues in London’ and be presented with just over 2 million relevant results?
It’s a no brainer.
Here are 5 simple ways to ensure your website is optimised for local search.
1. Ensure you’re including specific local areas in all of your content
Rather than describe your business as a ‘beautiful wedding venue in London’ be as specific about your wedding business in your content as possible.
Narrow the search field and conduct research into keyword volume and competition for terms like ‘wedding venues in East London’ or ‘wedding venues in Hackney, London’.
The more specific you can be the better, as although you’ll be optimising for a smaller search volume there will be less competition for these super long tail keyword phrases and the improved intent of those searchers will mean that they’re more likely to convert to actual bookings.
Remember that Meta Descriptions and Title Tags matter too, and you should customise these so that they reflect the content on your page and the location or area you’re looking to target.
The more relevant your content is to those looking for a wedding supplier like you, the more likely you will be to boost traffic to your website, increase your website rankings and boost wedding bookings.
2. Include related local businesses and local events in your content
What’s happening in your local area this month? By incorporating details of what’s happening in your town and how you and your business are getting involved in your content, you’ll earn ‘Google points’ for relevancy that will help you gain authority for local wedding searches.
When you write about local wedding-related events remember to include the names of wedding venues, cities, towns and regions.
Top Tip: why not offer to link to other wedding suppliers in the local area in return for them sharing your content with their contacts and social media followers?
3. Ensure you’ve claimed your Google My Business page
You know those bulleted businesses that show up underneath a map at the top of most Google results when you include location in your search?
Those businesses are featured there because they’ve set up a Google My Business page.
Here’s an example of the wedding venues that feature when we search for ‘wedding venues in London:
It’s totally free to set up a business page and the amount of local interest and ‘click throughs’ you’re likely to earn for featuring here is well worth the small amount of time needed to set everything up.
In the wedding industry, reviews and recommendations play a huge role in winning new business. According to a recent survey, 84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation, and seven out of 10 customers will leave a review for a business if asked.
Focus on publishing reviews on your website but also on your wedding business’s Facebook page and Google My Business page. Having good reviews on these sites will attract local prospective clients and support your business in local results, as reviews and star ratings will appear alongside your contact details once you’re set up on Google My Business (as demonstrated in the example above).
5. Feature in online directories
One of the easiest ways to shortcut your way to more wedding bookings when it comes to local search is to feature on free online wedding directories.
The majority of these wedding directories have a lot more resource to throw at optimising their site for SEO, so rather than compete with them for space in the top 3 results, get listed on their site and you’ll be top of the search results anyway.
Some wedding directories even feature above local listings in the search engine results page which means it really is very important that you include complete and up to date information in your wedding business profile.
Is your Bridebook profile complete and up to date with your address, contact details, pricing and pictures?
Wedding location makes a world of difference
Let newly engaged couples know *where you are *to really drive online bookings for your wedding business.
Competition for local space is hotting up this summer and you can bet if you’re not on top of your rankings, your competitors will be.
Follow our 5 simple tips to get a head start and claim your space as the number one local wedding supplier in your area.
How to write killer SEO content for your wedding business
Is your wedding business ranking #1 in google? No? Then it’s probably time to change a few things…
Why content is key to SEO success
The entire business world has a finger (or in most instances, an entire hand) on the pulse of SEO because it’s now recognised and accepted as a primary vehicle for customer attraction and sales.
And if this isn’t the case for your wedding business yet it soon will be; that is, if you get it right.
It’s easy to get bogged down with popular terms like ‘keywords’, ‘links’ and ‘tags’ but ultimately the difference between success and failure in SEO lies with quality content.
Are you making sure that all of your content is as relevant, interesting and engaging for newly engaged couples as you can?
Succeeding as a wedding business online is down to producing the right content, and choosing the right content to produce is reliant on you understanding what your potential clients / couples are searching for online, and then providing them with the best answers to their questions.
Here are four SEO content tips that will guarantee you soar to position one in the search results…
Tip 1: Act natural – optimise content but relax when it comes to keyword density
It’s important to know which keyword terms you’re optimising for but don’t let keywords rule your writing.
Even some SEO pro’s are guilty of meticulously measuring keyword density using tools like SEO Quake; counting the number of times a keyword is used on a particular page in body content, meta data and alt tags.
And whilst it can be good to check your content with these kinds of tools and ensure your keyword density is meeting minimum requirements it’s essential that you always write for engaged couples first before you consider how Google feels about things.
According to SEO guru Rand Fishkin, this is the general rule of thumb for keyword repetition:
Google understands how words and phrases relate which is exactly why you haven’t got to worry too much about keyword repetition rules. Avoid over-optimizing your website and make sure you don’t cram in keyword phrases for the sake of it.
Include the keywords that brides and grooms in your local market are searching for to find your type of wedding service in your page titles, blog posts and website copy but always use natural language that is relevant, credible and accurate.
Google rates high quality content that meets the user’s needs so deliver the content and experience engaged couples want and answer the questions they’re asking. This is a far more effective way to boost rankings and improve usability than getting keyword stuffy.
Tip 2: How to choose content topics that will help your wedding business rank well
The best way to approach choosing a content topic is to combine insight into long tail keyword phrases with any content gaps in your wedding specialism, and to think of the questions engaged couples will want answers to.
Firstly, you’ll need to select your core subject or specialism, for example: “wedding venues in London”. You want to rank well for this keyword phrase and be considered an expert when it comes to delivering relevant content and results to searchers as it’s something that’s closely related to what your business does.
Next, you’ll want to Google the phrase yourself and check out which articles or sites are already ranking well for the term “wedding venues in London”.
How’s the competition looking?
If nobody else seems to have answered this question well and you’re sure you could do better, go ahead and focus on writing content for this relatively broad phrase. But if there are loads of relevant results already (which is likely when looking at broad search terms) it’s best you try to think of* different *words or phrases that are still relevant to this core keyword term. This will allow you to create truly unique content and have a better chance at ranking well for more specific search queries.
If we take the example “wedding venues in London”, related phrases could include “affordable wedding venues London”, “wedding venues London art gallery”, “wedding venues London and Essex” etc. Ideally, you want to carve out a relevant but differentiated niche for your topic, for example: “How to hold an affordable wedding at a London venue”, as these kinds of long-tail phrases are likely to be* less* competitive and will help you build authority around your core topic without going head to head with an established website already ranking well for this topic.
Take a look at some of the other words or phrases existing articles include frequently and use tools like Ubersuggest and KeywordTool.io to help you expand your related keywords lists.
Tip 3: Optimise your images for SEO
Choosing the right images to accompany your written content is really important as Alt Tags contribute as a ranking factor for Google when deciding if your content is high value.
Here are the key things you should consider when choosing images to help support your content and improve your SEO value:
Images must be engaging, high quality and attention grabbing.
Images must relate to your topic, add value to the piece and /or illustrate a point that is difficult to explain to enhance the overall reading experience.
Think about the size of the images you’re using as loading speed is a core SEO indicator and slow websites will lose readers and potential new business.
Remember to optimise your images with Alt tags and relevant descriptions that relate to the keyword phrase you’re optimising for.
Separate words with a hyphen when labelling images, not with a space or underscore. Search engines only recognize hyphens as word separators and this can affect how your images rank during a search.
Bridebook Business Tip: if you struggle to gather high quality, original images to support your content, why not try to connect with wedding photographers working at the same weddings as you, and offer to link them if they let you use a few of their photos? Links are absolutely vital for SEO so it’s a great currency to bid in when pairing up with other wedding suppliers to exchange favours.
Tip 4: Post fresh, new content regularly
As a rule of thumb, you should be looking to share a blog post or content of some description on topics of interest to your target audience around 2 or 3 times a week.
This could include one post on your own wedding website and a guest post for another related wedding website. Try submitting features to popular wedding blogs to help boost your website traffic and visibility. Publishing articles on third party platforms or partner websites can really help boost your rankings as it means you’re accessing a new audience and earning a relevant backlink to your own site.
Top Tip: ask any websites you publish content on if they can give you a followed link back to your wedding website in return for the content you’re contributing. Followed links act as signals telling Google that another related wedding website endorses yours. Also, try to use your core keyword term as anchor text in your backlink to earn extra SEO points!
Remember to share all of the content you produce on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and on any social channels you’re active on. There’s no point producing all that great content if nobody knows about it!
Are you content with your content?
Conduct a quick audit of your wedding website today and decide which content will stay, which will go and which can be re-purposed or edited to be improved.
The best way to fall short of SEO expectations is to leave stale, uninteresting content on your site.
Use our SEO content tips to start improving your chances of a position 1 ranking and we promise, the wedding bookings won’t be far behind.
The buzz around wedding fairs and open days is back, and it’s a couple-attraction technique that all wedding venues and suppliers should look to incorporate into their 2018 marketing plan.
When it comes to showcasing wedding venues, nothing beats an online or offline advertising campaign like a real life tour of the venue itself.
Wedding fairs and open days have the unique, face-to-face ability to make newly engaged couples visualise their wedding day more vividly than any online experience could.
This kind of experience based couple attraction technique is called experiential marketing – or event and engagement marketing – and it’s a technique that’s usually very expensive. That is, unless you ARE the wedding venue in question; in which case it’s a low cost, high impact way to increase wedding bookings in 2018 and beyond.
Creating a real wedding experience for loved-up couples
Experiential marketing – that is, immersing a potential client in a fun and memorable experience that reflects the product of service you’re offering – is an excellent way for wedding industry professionals to create a closer bond between engaged couples and your wedding venue or business.
Think about it…if a wedding venue or exhibiting wedding supplier stirs positive emotions in a bride or groom then they’re far more likely to remember and associate those great feelings with you and your wedding business; which in turn, is likely to lead to more bookings.
Simple.
And it’s a client attraction tactic that wedding venues and suppliers are starting to adopt more often as the true effects of this marketing approach on bookings are realised.
A recent Bridebook Business survey found that of 2,200 newly engaged UK couples surveyed, 63% had attended wedding shows near where they lived and 40% of those couples had attended a wedding fair at the wedding venue they later went on to book.
5 reasons why wedding fairs and open days are becoming increasingly popular
In terms of return on investment, wedding venues do remarkably well out of open days and fairs, as the latest Bridebook survey proves.
But if you still need convincing, here are 5 additional benefits to choosing open days as a sustainable and impactful form of new client attraction in the wedding industry…
1.Group viewings for couples
Wedding venue staff save bundles of time by inviting groups of couples to view their venue and grounds all at once rather than having to dedicate their time to individual meetings.
Your time is valuable but if you want to increase bookings you must make couples feel special when visiting your wedding venue.
When you host a wedding fayre or open day, you can spend time decorating your venue and making it perfect for maximum impact, rather than having to work around existing events and guests – as is often the case when hosting individual meetings with couples.
2. Connecting with fellow suppliers and networking
Wedding fairs provide an opportunity for venues to promote existing, preferred wedding suppliers and meet new local suppliers.
Invite local wedding suppliers along to your open day and invite existing partner suppliers to set up a small stand offering information about their product or service.
When venues can offer couples approved supplier contacts they’re helping to take the stress of organising a wedding and all the little bits that need addressing away from the happy couple.
It’s essential that local wedding suppliers forge strong relationships with each other to help all non-conflicting parties build a presence online and secure more bookings. The alternative to this is to do nothing and let non-local wedding suppliers with bigger budgets dominate your online space and take local business away.
3. The scarcity complex
One key factor in the decision making process for soon-to-be brides and grooms is how desirable a particular venue or wedding supplier seems to be.
Subconsciously as human beings, we want what is perceived to be in demand.
By opening your doors to groups of couples rather than individuals, wedding venues and suppliers can often generate a kind of ‘battle for bookings’ as soon to be newlyweds compete to secure the best day for their big day.
4. Showing off your venue in a number of different themes/seasons
How great is it to be able to show newly engaged couples first hand how your wedding venue looks in spring, summer, autumn and winter? Now that’s a USP!
Nothing is more likely to evoke emotions in visiting couples than being able to serve mulled wine by an open fire at a wedding show in winter, or host games on the lawn during a summer wedding fayre.
Hedsor House & Park host an Indian Summer Inspired Wedding Showcase on 27th September where guests can enjoy a glass of fizz and wander around the grounds at their leisure; taking in the Indian inspired ceremonial seating in the domed hall and viewing first hand how their wedding breakfast could look in the recently refurbished ballroom.
5. Invite existing bookings along too
Couples love to revisit their venue whilst planning their big day and they love to show it off to family and close friends too. Why not invite them all along to your next open day for the sake of ‘decorative inspiration’ and at the same time, boost attendee numbers and show couples potentially looking to book your venue how many other couples are already committed to planning their wedding with you.
This tactic leads us back to the scarcity complex as you’ll be showing newly engaged couples how many others have already chosen to book your venue for their big day.
Wedding fairs and open days are here to stay
Despite experiencing a bit of a dip in popularity a few years ago, the buzz around wedding fairs and open days is back, and it’s a couple-attraction technique that all wedding suppliers should look to incorporate in their 2018 marketing plan.
If saving time and increasing wedding bookings is on your agenda for 2017 / 2018, you’ll want to get in front of the people who matter today.
Do you have a wedding fair or open day that you’re looking to advertise? Share the details with beth@bridebook.co.uk and we will share it with our social community of 250K for FREE!
Birmingham, famed for its Bulls, Balti and Black Sabbath but also home to some of the most beautiful wedding venues in the UK…
Are you looking for a venue with a difference near Birmingham? Bridebook.co.uk has found 25 venues in and around the city that are stunning, fun, or a little bit quirky! Take a look at these incredible places, or hunt for yourself using our Wedding Venue Search tool.
1. Packington Moor
Just outside of Birmingham and surrounded by acres of woodland and countryside, Packington Moor makes jaws drop. This authentic stone barn with rustic beams gives off a light and airy feel for a perfect wedding.
This stunningly quirky venue holds productions throughout the year…and also weddings! Birmingham Repertory Theatre is ideal for couples who want a hint of dramatics included in their wedding day. Let’s get the show started!
The Kitchen Garden Cafe is a totally unique place to host your special day. It is an eco-friendly gem in the centre of Birmingham which offers heaps of charm for your wedding setting.
Inside the majestic exterior of Hampton Manor Hotel, you will find stylish and contemporary decor with a deep history at the heart of the venue. Surrounded by lush gardens, and only half an hour from the city of Birmingham, this venue is a rather grand oasis.
5. Bawdon Lodge Farm
In Charnwood Forest lies Bawdon Lodge Farm, the perfect place to set up a magical tipi or marquee wedding. Event professionals will be on hand to help your dreams become reality in this countryside haven.
This stunningly quirky idea is great if you want to create an unforgettable experience. Deckerdence is a double decker bus that creates the centrepiece to your marquee and, with an onboard bar, you’ll have your guests’ attention within seconds!
Hagley Hall is an incredible Georgian Palladian manor house on the border of the West Midlands. With its magnificent state rooms and acres of parkland, this venue is brilliant for your bespoke wedding.
These gorgeous 18th Century barns are just 20 minutes from Birmingham and have striking high-ceilings for a dramatic look. Shustoke Farm Barns is made up of several red-brick buildings that you can use as you wish for your special celebrations.
Fancy saying ‘I Do’ among the flowers? This is your chance! Birmingham Botanical Gardens offers fascinating landscapes and 3 beautiful event spaces that are sure to please all of your guests.
With an incredibly distinct exterior, Gorcott Hall is a 16th Century, Grade II listed Tudor building. Inside, the character continues with timber beams and open fireplaces to add loads of warmth to your big day.
New Hall dates back to the 13th Century, showing off its glorious exterior and wonderful grounds. The oak panelled rooms and sunny terraces welcome you to New Hall Hotel & Spa, which is fit for a King and Queen!
A combination of contemporary style with original features is present in the outstanding setting of Redhouse Barn. Within 5 acres of Worcestershire countryside, this one-of-a-kind venue is bound to impress.
The 18th Century manor house of Swinfen Hall Hotel is a sanctuary of interior decor, ornamental gardens and has a deer park in the grounds. Perfect for feeling like a princess on your wedding day.
Make your wedding day unforgettable by choosing Dudley Zoo & Castle as your special location. With a renovated sensory garden, 40 acres of beautiful grounds, and over 1,000 animals from across the globe, you can’t go wrong with this venue.
Nestled in the Worcestershire countryside, Bordesley Park‘s 16th Century manor house is the perfect setting for a fun and relaxed wedding day. Stunning decor, lush gardens, a luxury marquee and even a trampoline are included to take away the stress from your day.
The beautiful surroundings of Aston Wood Golf Club make this wedding setting totally unique. This venue can cater for intimate celebrations in the oak-panelled dining room offering delicious catering and impecable wedding service.
In rural Worcestershire, you will find the grand structure of The Elms. This beautiful Queen Anne manor house provides elegant lounges and stunning decor in every room to add the icing to your cake on your special day.
The contemporary setting of Mythe Barn is based in an idyllic location just outside the hustle and bustle of Birmingham. From ceremonies in the Oak Barn to wedding breakfasts in the Grain Store and outdoor courtyard celebrations, this venue is a special one.
Sat on the edge of woodland in the Staffordshire countryside, the character and romance of this venue will complete your magical day. Pendrell Hall offers crisp, stylish interiors, The Morning Room – a haven of wooden features perfect for ceremonies, and 3 bridal suites to choose from.
Rich in history and full of regal charm, Stoneleigh Abbey is an incredible fairytale venue just 25 miles from Birmingham. It brings elegant rooms with timeless features and the famous Saloon which Queen Victoria once dined at!
Wootton Park is a barn style venue overlooking a lake and island for the most stunning photo opportunities. The landscaped gardens and 16th Century farmhouse in their own secluded valley are yours to do with what you wish on your big day.
In nearby Staffordshire, the very lavish Alrewas Hayes venue will put a spin on your wedding day. Boasting traditional rooms with period features and the luxury Lakeside Marquee, anything is possible here.
This beautiful Grade I listed Georgian mansion is also a renowned art gallery and is surrounded by 120 acres of picturesque parkland. Compton Verney offers the striking Adam Hall, perfect for ceremonies and wedding breakfasts on your special day.
A stone’s throw away from the city of Birmingham lies Grand Station. The decadent and timely nature of this venue’s function rooms will stun your guests and give you the grandeur you require for your special entrance.
If you fancy something a little more quirky, Erasmus Darwin House is for you! With 250 years of history and doubling as a museum, this venue will add heaps of charm and character to your Birmingham-based wedding.
Still unsure about which wedding venue to choose? Are you looking elsewhere in the UK? Help is at hand! Use Bridebook.co.uk’s Wedding Venue Search and type in your preferred location.
If you’ve still got tonnes to plan for your big day, Bridebook.co.uk can make the planning process much easier. Fill in your wedding guest list, wedding budget and use our wedding checklist to make sure you don’t forget about anything in your busy schedule.
Here are 4 outdated wedding traditions that wedding suppliers should scratch off the list when working with 2017 / 2018 couples.
The wedding suppliers tick list is changing as we near 2018…
As wedding suppliers, we all have very different stories to tell when it comes to catering to the unique tastes and preferences of the soon-to-be-wedded couples we work with.
But we’ve noted a few old school traditions that seem to have reached the ‘death do us part’ portion of the wedding planning process.
As with most traditions, over time, their true meaning and significance is lost because they simply aren’t relevant any more.
Here are 4 outdated wedding traditions that wedding suppliers should scratch off the list when working with 2017 / 2018 couples.
1. The bouquet toss
Wedding florists…when was the last time a bride ordered an extra bouquet to toss to her single ladies?
It was probably a while ago.
We’ve all experienced that cringe-worthy moment when the dance floor is cleared and the singles are asked to line up and prepare to fight for the good-luck petals. Fortunately for all wedding guests of 2017 and beyond this strange custom has almost completely disappeared.
Wedding florists and wedding planners – don’t bring up the bouquet toss unless the couple bring it up themselves. It may make you look a little ‘last year darling’.
In fact, instead of throwing the bouquet to singletons, wedding flowers are now being given to wedding party guests as gifts to take home. Waste is a thing of the past.
Fun fact! Do you know where the bouquet toss originated from? In medieval Europe it was good luck to touch the bride so rather than have her dress grabbed at, she’d throw her bouquet at the crowd to distract them and then she’d make a run for it. I think a hug is the done thing these days…
2. Smashing cake in the bride’s face
Smashing the cake into the bride’s face is a tradition that stems (albeit tenuously) from the breaking of bread over the bride’s head for the sake of fertility and as a demonstration of male dominance.
We’re pretty sure nowadays it’s just an act that makes for silly photos and memorable moments but most brides are understandably not over the moon when it comes to being coated in cake for the remainder of their wedding day.
Wedding cake suppliers – breathe a sigh of relief because your iced masterpiece will actually be enjoyed and appreciated by guests as intended.
Modern day brides and grooms are choosing to skip this ritual altogether and instead, are investing more time and money in making their wedding cake an elaborate affair and a significant feature of their day.
Once upon a wedding, accessories were supposed to take a back seat and let the dress do the the talking.
But brides today are opting for big, bold accessories to bring their look up to date. Cue brightly coloured shoes, show-stopping hair pieces and statement necklaces.
Wedding dress and accessories suppliers – note that many brides today are choosing to invest their money in one big focal piece rather than lots of little accessories. Make sure your collection reflects this shift so that brides can visualise the complete end result in your boutique without having to shop elsewhere for more contemporary pieces.
4. Bridesmaids should carry matching bouquets
Couples are now choosing to mismatch floral arrangements including asking bridesmaids to carry different flowers in a similar hue or similar flowers in different but complementary shades.
Or dare to be different and offer paper bouquets to brides! Cheaper than real flowers and way cooler – your brides can make their new-age bouquets as wacky as they like!
Stand out as a wedding florist of tomorrow by offering this idea to couples to show you keep abreast of the latest trends and can cater to them accordingly.
Don’t go changing…
…unless you’d like to win more bookings and develop your wedding business!
It’s really important for wedding suppliers to adapt with the latest wedding trends – whether ditching old or adopting new because you want to be taken seriously as a contender in the wedding industry of tomorrow.
By offering information on things newly engaged couples may not have even thought about, you’ll earn their trust and most likely, a booking too.
Newly engaged couples usually begin their wedding planning journey by choosing a venue.
This means that you’re faced with dreamy couples making big decisions that they may not be completely qualified to make this early in their wedding planning journey!
Evidently, the look of a venue is the key driver in a couple deciding which to choose, followed by price and capacity.
But there are a few other crucial questions couples often forget to ask whilst caught up in the moment.
Give your wedding venue the edge over competing venues by offering this information upfront and forcing them to ask the same questions of competing venues.
7 things wedding venues should clarify to help win hearts and bookings
1. Mention the wedding coordinator
If you’re going to be on hand throughout the wedding planning process but you’ll be handing over to an on-the-day wedding coordinator or qualified team member on your potential clients actual wedding day, mention this.
Be upfront and say that you’ve got an excellent wedding day coordinator who you’ll all work closely with throughout the planning process, and that this person will make sure everything runs smoothly on the day.
Reassure the couple that they’ll get a chance to meet this person before their big day once all of the important details have been captured accurately to make sure that they are comfortable that everything is in hand.
2. Let the couple know when they’ll have access to your wedding venue
If you’ve got another wedding planned at your venue around the same time, let the couple know this and if possible give an approximate time that they’ll be granted access to rooms in order to set up and decorate.
This conversation may seem a little premature but it’s something the couple will need to consider, and your forethought at this stage will be gratefully received and prove that you have thought of everything for them / not missed a trick.
3. How does everything fit in the space they’re looking to hire?
Create a vision for couples when you’re showing them around your wedding venue. It can be difficult to visualise a wedding if the room the couple is looking to hire isn’t set up for one at the time of their visit, so walk them around and mention where they could have the top table, the buffet and the dance floor.
By helping build a vision for the couple they’re more likely to imagine their wedding there and book.
4. Mention the entertainment equipment you have to offer
Lots of couples fail to ask about the logistics of evening entertainment and then fall short when they realise they need to provide their own equipment.
Let the couple know that they’ll be saving money on evening entertainment at your wedding venue because you already have a state of the art sound system with speakers and handheld microphones in place, which could be used for speeches and music.
If you’ve got cool lighting options for the evening, add this into the conversation too.
5. Give the option for a dinner the night before or brunch the day after
Help the couple to really make the most of their wedding experience by offering to host an arrival dinner for close guests the night before the wedding, or a brunch the day after.
Tagging on an additional meal will again help build a vision for the couple and show that you’re aware they’ll want to make the most of the time they have with their nearest and dearest.
6. Be bold and mention the weather
Although this applies particularly to weddings hosted outdoors (where discussing a plan B option in case of rain is vital) it also applies to indoor weddings, as it will affect photographs and will mean the possibility of soggy guests.
Mention the dreaded ‘R’ word and reassure the couple that if it happens, it won’t affect the smooth running of their day.
It’s also worth mentioning that if guests have brought coats, bags and umbrellas, your venue will operate a simple cloakroom or provide a rail or storage that is tucked out of the way.
7. Be open about any restrictions your venue carries
Whether your venue has noise restrictions after midnight or doesn’t allow flash photography in some areas, you’ll need to be open with the couple upfront to avoid problems later down the line.
In this scenario, it’s better to lose a booking by being honest than to disappoint a couple so much that you’re left with negative reviews and very unhappy clients.
Open the door to more information about your wedding venue and couples will love you for it
As a wedding professional, it’s important that you lead your clients to make the right decision for them and their wedding day.
Most information regarding space, equipment and service inclusions at wedding venues is limited – particularly at the early stages of planning when venues are being shortlisted – and details of what brides and grooms can expect to get for their money is unclear.
By offering an abundance of information on things the newly engaged couple may not have even thought about, you’ll earn their trust and most likely, a booking too.
Did you know that Millennials now use Pinterest as much as Instagram?
There’s something strange happening in the wedding industry where Pinterest and wedding suppliers are concerned…
Predominantly viewed purely as an online scrapbook designed to help wistful couples build a vision for their big day, the word ‘Pinterest’ seems to incite an involuntary groan from many wedding venues and suppliers who are unsure of how to make this ‘platform of unattainable dreams’ work in the real wedding world.
Despite being one of the newer social media platforms, Pinterest was the fastest independently launched site to reach 10 million unique monthly visitors according to the latest study by market research leaders, Statista. In fact, as of April 2017 Pinterest reported a whopping 150 million active users on its site.
That’s a pretty sizeable audience.
But who’s pinning what?
Did you know that Millennials now use Pinterest as much as Instagram? If we dive deeper into user demographics for the board we can see that 81% of Pinterest users are women and almost 50% of these women are aged between 18-34.
You don’t need us to tell you that this is ‘prime bride’ age.
The masterminds at Pinterest saw weddings as one of their core markets a long time ago, and they recently commissioned a study to examine all wedding-related Pins and activity to get an idea of just howsignificantly weddings feature as a topic on the platform.
Here’s a summary of the key results:
1.Over 40 million people “turn to Pinterest for guidance across the wedding planner journey” every year
2. Pinners save almost 900 million Pins about weddings every year
3. Pinners conduct 378 million wedding-related searches every single year
4. 27% of Pinners plan for their wedding several times a day, compared to 18% of non-Pinners
This latest research proves that weddings constitute a huge market on Pinterest and that couples pinning on the platform are more engaged and involved in the wedding planning process than those that aren’t.
Sounds to us like they’re the kind of people we want to be in front of.
And if that’s not proof enough that weddings are and always have been one of the most pinned-about topics, a survey published by the Daily Mail back in 2012 revealed that 70% of Pinterest users had wedding-themed boards before they were even engaged. Awkward, you may think. Opportunity, you must think.
This statistic indicates a level of intent by soon-to-be newly engaged couples (or at least, they hope so) whose behaviour suggests that they will use the platform as their primary planning and idea building tool.
So why do wedding suppliers feel anti-social about this platform, rather than Pinterested?
We’ve asked several partnering wedding venues and suppliers for their thoughts on Pinterest and why it doesn’t seem to take priority over other social platforms for wedding industry professionals.
We found that the three main drawbacks of the platform are as follows:
Pinterest only enhances unrealistic expectations for brides and grooms, making wedding planning more difficult for wedding suppliers
It’s a ‘dreamers’ platform rather than a conversion based revenue stream
It requires you to post high quality images to get noticed – the expense of which (financial and time) isn’t justified by the return
It appears that many wedding venues and suppliers aren’t taking Pinterest seriously because it’s not a channel designed for direct customer engagement and bottom of the funnel conversions. But the value to be had in being present in an environment where your target demographic is sharing attractive and desirable images and essentially building the vision for their big day must be realised.
Image sharing is just a hop, click and a follow away from a website lead, and we’re going to take a look at how you can get started and improve your chances of winning bookings using this pinning platform.
How wedding suppliers can generate interest from Pinterest
1.Set up a quality profile for your wedding business
Setting up a Pinterest account is simple. Make sure that you use a striking, high quality profile picture and include a concise profile description of your wedding business, using relevant keywords and including that all-important link to your website.
Once you’re set up and before you start building an image portfolio it’s important that you remember Pinterest isn’t about promoting your wedding venue or business – it’s about gathering and showcasing high quality images that relate to your specialism and inspire couples so that they want to share and pin them.
2. Create specialist Pinterest boards
Create categories of boards for couples to follow – such as ‘winter weddings’, ‘UK wedding venues’ or ‘wedding flowers’ and then begin to fill your Pinterest boards with original photographs and pinned pictures.
You don’t have to go over-board (pin pun intended) – usually between 5 and 10 boards is fine but if you really think you need more, just try not to go over 20 as it will become difficult to fill and manage them all.
Success on Pinterest is pretty much entirely dependent on the use of high quality imagery and fortunately, the wedding industry is one of the most photograph-centric of them all. You could ask couples (or go direct to the photographers) if they’d mind you using a few of their professional photographs to eliminate the expense of you having to regularly arrange for original photographs to be taken yourself.
Pinterest makes it easy for you to pin images directly from your website and blog. When you pin an image, the source of that image is saved which means that when your saved images are repined by other users, your website will stay listed as the original source of that image.
Put simply, it’s likely that attractive imagery will result in visits to your website as long as you use great imagery on your website – which you should be doing anyway.
4. Optimise your images
The majority of pictures you’ll pin and share on the site will either be uploaded directly by yourself, your couples or pinned from other places.
Whilst you can’t change the documented source of photos already on Pinterest, you can ensure you optimise any new images you’re uploading.
Once you have uploaded your new images click on “edit” and you’ll be able to include a description of your new picture and a link back to your website. However where possible, you should try and Pin directly from your website as it is a more web friendly and customer ‘share friendly’ approach.
Regardless of which pinning method you prefer, you should always include a short description of the image when you pin it.
5. Try out promoted pins
Because the vast Pinterest audience constitutes your main target demographic, wedding suppliers should consider using promoted pins to ensure that your best Pins appear in the most relevant places.
Why not test three of your best performing pins on various target audiences. Use time of day, location, age and perhaps ‘stage of wedding planning process’ as unique identifiers when testing your pins on different audiences to see which types of content work best for which audience.
6. Pair up and pin with other wedding suppliers
As we always say to wedding suppliers, why wouldn’t you help yourself by offering to help others?
Offer to promote other wedding suppliers and businesses you’ve worked with.
Wedding venues could create a “beautiful wedding flowers” board or a “gorgeous wedding cakes” category and ask the relevant suppliers to provide professional pictures. Wedding planners could use Pinterest as part of their social promotional package for advertising clients and have a “beautiful wedding venues” board which could feature venues they’ve worked with or products used.
This is an easy way to keep your Pinterest board populated with high quality images and it’s a great way to help cement partnerships within the industry.
Smaller businesses will love this technique as they’re most in need of increased online visibility and discoverability by potential clients. You can offer them exposure on your Pinterest account and guarantee fresh content for yourself with little effort.
Complementary images like these can also be found through re-pinning, which will help interaction with other pinners – including brides, grooms and other wedding suppliers.
Get Pinterested in this platform today
We’re not expecting this blog post to change the minds of every wedding supplier overnight. What we do hope is that we’ve given you a few good reasons to consider including this channel in your marketing plan in 2017 and beyond.
Getting started is a piece of cake, and as long as you know what to expect from the platform – that is, exposure with the hope of website visits – then you should see great value in investing a little time in it now and again.
Join your future clients today and show a little Pinterest in image sharing, optimising and showcasing the pics that make you tick.
Check out Bridebook’s Pinterest to see the idea boards and inspiring images we’re providing for couples.
Wedding venues are 90% more likely to be shortlisted by couples if they pick a powerful profile picture.
Wedding venues are 90% more likely to be shortlisted by couples if they pick a powerful profile picture.
As the saying goes, you only get one chance to make a good first impression.
The profile picture you choose to introduce your Bridebook portfolio or indeed any social media profiles your wedding business owns is more important than any other content on the page.
A recent Bridebook survey of registered UK based ‘wedding planning’ couples revealed that 9⁄10 brides and grooms shortlisted their wedding venue based on its profile or thumbnail picture alone.
The profile picture is the opener; the hook that encourages newly engaged couples to stay on your page and scroll through more photographs or read more information about your wedding services.
Your profile picture is the online equivalent of eye contact, a smile and a firm handshake when meeting potential clients face to face.
So what makes for a good profile picture?
Many wedding venues and suppliers will choose to use a profile picture that succinctly captures what their wedding business is all about; such as a photograph of a wedding venue or a wedding cake.
And whilst this is the right approach in terms of needing your profile picture to be relevant and able to instantly tell first time viewers exactly what your wedding service or product is all about, we mustn’t forget to inject personality, fun, love and warmth into our profile picture.
Weddings are about love, and couples looking for wedding venues, wedding planners, dresses or florists will be drawn to photographs that exude emotion over those that don’t.
Let’s take a look at some examples.
Sandhole Oak Barn is a beautifully designed oak wedding barn set in the rolling Cheshire countryside. However, the first picture we see when we visit their Bridebook profile simply doesn’t do the venue justice. Despite the blue sky in the photograph the overall image feels a little cold and unromantic.
When we scrolled through a few more images of the venue we discovered two beautiful photographs that would work much better as profile pictures.
These images are warm, romantic and the presence of people in the pictures enables newly engaged couples to better relate to the venue and its purpose.
This first image shows a crowd of wedding guests enjoying themselves amidst a hazy backdrop and the second image is of the front of the wedding venue – as per the original profile picture above – but includes a newlywed couple standing in the entrance which makes for a far more impactful image.
Nancarrow Farm is a glorious wedding venue made up of a number of barns on a working farm near the Cornish coast, and they’ve got it right with their chosen profile picture.
This beautiful photograph is the first thing we see when we land on their Bridebook profile page and it features the wonderful rustic barn with a happily married couple embracing in its doorway; evoking a feeling of love, romance and simplicity.
Elmore Court is a stunning manor house situated in Gloucestershire and overlooking the Cotswolds, and despite their profile picture effectively advertising the venue in all its grandeur, we can’t help but think adding newlyweds and a little sunset glow would make for a more affecting profile picture.
Here’s their current profile picture:
And here’s what we’d prefer to see when we land on the wedding venues profile page:
Choosing the right profile picture for your wedding business is ultimately down to you and your preferences. What makes an image stunning is partially subjective but you can follow a few general rules to increase the chances of your profile picture winning you wedding bookings.
Personality is vital when choosing a profile picture to represent you and your wedding business.
Include people in your picture – ideally the married couple but wedding guests work well too – as this will help newly engaged couples searching for a wedding venue or supplier to better picture their big day with you and relate to the emotions conveyed in your image.
We are all visual creatures and with so much choice out there for couples planning their wedding it is more important than ever to stand out. Grab visitors attention with your profile picture and thumbnail and you’ll be 90% more likely to be shortlisted for bookings.
Who needs a thousand words when you’ve got a showstopping profile picture…
In a world where competition is rife, isn’t it nice to think that wedding suppliers could help each other out? Here are 3 ways in which wedding venues and photographers can team up for maximum marketing opportunities…
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” – Helen Keller
Where no conflict of interest exists, why wouldn’t we form a partnership and support each other’s efforts?
Wedding venues and wedding photographers still typically tend to go it alone where marketing is concerned. But why, when the products and services at each others disposal are so perfectly fitting as the ideal marketing vehicle?
Wedding venues rely almost exclusively on photographs to sell their locale to newly engaged couples. They compete online with other local wedding venues firstly on aesthetics, and then on details such as price, package, dates etc.
And with so many competing venues showcasing beautiful imagery on their websites and sharing exquisite photographs on Facebook, Instagram and other social feeds, it’s never been more important for wedding venues to feature unique, artistic photography.
Similarly, wedding photographers are fast becoming hailed as one of the most important investments for couples getting married in 2017 and beyond. But competition is stiff.
What better way to get noticed for your photography skills than to photograph some of the most superb wedding venues in the UK, add them to your portfolio and share them online?
3 ways in which wedding venues and photographers can work together
1. Remember to tag each other when you promote your weddings online
Ok this may seem like an obvious one but it’s surprising how many wedding venues and photographers still don’t tag each other when sharing photographs on social media.
This is one of the easiest ways for both parties to extend the audience reach of their posts and get their content seen and shared by more people.
Clearwell Castle has the right idea. Here, they’ve re-posted a photograph taken at their wedding venue; remembering to tag the all-important photographer.
2. Extend photo opportunities beyond weddings
Blenheim Palace is a wedding venue that’s truly realised the benefits of partner photography and is capitalising on the fact that it’s a very attractive place for photographers (amateur and professional) to include on their portfolio.
Blenheim Palace is using #picoftheweek and #justgoshoot hashtags to promote photography of their venue on Instagram, and people are loving it.
Although the photo’s aren’t specific to weddings, they’re still advertising the venue and its grounds. By adding a few strategic wedding hashtags, wedding venues and photographers could subtly promote each other’s skills in a similar way.
Photographers swoop on the Palace to snap away – hoping that their pictures get chosen to advertise the venue and hoping that in doing so, a mention by Blenheim Palace on social media may get them noticed as a serious contender in the photography world. And in return, Blenheim Palace receives free marketing through the circulation of standout, original photographs.
3. Recommend each other
It is of course easier for wedding venues to recommend wedding photographers when brides and grooms book their weddings, however photographers can still return the favour by leaving reviews and recommendations for venues on their website, and by publishing social posts to promote their work at the venue in question.
Venues should ask this of partnering photographers as standard.
Wedding venues and wedding photographers can also leave recommendations for each other on their Bridebook profiles. Showcasing photographers and venues you work well with puts couples at ease and shows that you support other experts in the industry – helping both parties build a network of likeminded suppliers.
Wedding venues and photographers should make the most of free marketing opportunities wherever they can.
In a world where competition is rife, isn’t it nice to think that us wedding suppliers could help each other out?
Wedding venues and wedding photographers are a match made in heaven where this kind of mutually beneficial relationship is concerned.
Take free marketing opportunities where you can. Help promote each other’s products and services and publish photographs that benefit both parties on your website, social channels and on your free Bridebook profile – which should be packed full of all your important wedding business details.
There’s huge potential for wedding venues to maximise how they use Facebook and to generate bookings and business as a result.
We’re not here to tell you that social media is taking over the world. You already know that.
But deciding where to focus your online marketing efforts as a wedding venue supplier and knowing *how *to individually tailor your approach for each social channel can be tricky.
According to the latest study into the most famous social network sites worldwide in April 2017, Facebook stands out as the clear market leader and largest social network by active users today; boasting 1.97 billion monthly active users, followed by Whatsapp (1.2 billion) and Youtube (1 billion).
Facebook is the perfect platform for wedding venues – and wedding suppliers in general – looking to market their products and services because it is the number one network for close, friendly connections over mass media broadcasting.
It is a channel made up of networks of people likely to recommend products and services to their connections, and it is a platform that enables you, as a wedding supplier, to publish both written and visual content that sells your services.
Facebook is a marketing channel that wedding venues in particular cannot ignore and we’re going to explore the ways in which you can boost your wedding bookings on this platform this summer and into the future.
But firstly, let’s address a growing (or should we say, declining) problem with Facebook.
Organic reach (i.e. how many people you can reach for free when you post content on your page) on Facebook has dramatically declined since around 2012, which – if you’re active on Facebook right now – you will probably have noticed.
This is down to two things. Firstly, there’s simply too much content being published on the platform which means we’re all facing far greater competition when it comes to getting our content seen. And secondly, Facebook is now trying to display super relevant content to specific groups of people, rather than serving all content to all folk.
So the social landscape is changing and we need to change with it. More than ever before the focus is on delivering specific, relevant content to the right people and in the right ways to be seen. And being seen means being booked.
Here are 5 ways in which wedding venues can improve reach, engagement, interactions and subsequently get more bookings through Facebook alone, today:
1. Paid advertising works
Facebook advertising really isn’t that scary or expensive if you know how to approach it, and let’s be clear; we’re not suggesting that you ditch existing efforts in favour of paid.
Facebook is encouraging us to consider incorporating targeted paid advertising into our social strategy rather than just using the platform as a free broadcasting channel. The reason for this is because of the renewed emphasis on content relevance and targeting.
Facebook is taking care of a lot of your targeting for you already when you post organically thanks to an updated Facebook algorithm which now adapts to individual user preferences. Put simply, this means that if someone regularly looks at photos of your wedding venue rather than reading written content, the Zuckerberg army will deliver more photos and less content to them in future.
But we can take this one step further through the use of Facebook ads (which can run for as long as you like and can be set to expire when your allocated spend runs out) and serve highly specific advertisements to specific people in your target demographic at a time and on a device that best suits your audience.
For example, a particular wedding venue may target engaged couples within a certain distance of their venue, e.g. wedding venues in London, as well as by age, gender and lifestyle preferences.
Facebook insights (which you’ll all have access to via your Facebook account) or Google Analytics (if you’ve set this up for your website) will be able to tell you much more about the kinds of people you’re attracting, such as whether they prefer to read your content on a mobile or tablet. Use these insights to build a highly engaged audience on Facebook.
In summary, you don’t have to throw a lot of money at Facebook advertising to benefit from an improved reach, and remember, it is about supplementing – not replacing – organic efforts with paid.
2. Be selective with the content you post
It’s time to switch from untargeted, frequent publishing to targeted, selective publishing.
Whether you’re paying to sponsor the Facebook post or not, your objective should be to get as much engagement from each post as possible. Basic targeting options are available for organic posts e.g. engaged couples in London, which means that you have no excuse not to be thinking about the audience and the purpose of your content each and every time you post.
Delivering more relevant content to the people who matter most to your business is the key to securing more bookings.
Top tip: be sure to include trigger words in posts that indicate important events (e.g., “congratulations”) which will get the attention of Facebook (who love jumping on special events) and the engaged couples you’re looking to target.
Overly self-promotional Facebook content is not the best way to win business, and by that, we mean the kinds of posts that read “Hold your wedding at our venue and we’ll give you 10% off!” or “We pride ourselves on delivering the best weddings in the business”.
Produce useful and informative content for your audience that aims to drive traffic to your website and blog. These owned assets of yours are where your conversions and bookings are likely to happen.
With reviews and recommendations becoming increasingly important for brides and grooms in the decision making process, you can post subtly promotional content by sharing the good news stories and the positive comments of couples who’ve held their wedding day at your venue.
There’s nothing more powerful than photographs and comments from a happy couple who’ve had the best day of their lives at your wedding venue. This should be the angle you adopt.
It’s also worth partnering with wedding suppliers who’ve worked on weddings at your venue. Ask them to leave their own comments on your Facebook page and engage with your content, and then do the same for them.
And encourage fans to engage with your posts when they see them, so that they see more of them. This could be as simple as adding a reminder to “Please Like and share” at the end of your posts.
3. Share videos and Broadcast on Facebook Live
Did you know that Facebook ranks live video higher in the news feed, and that users spend 3x more time watching live broadcasts than traditional videos on Facebook? This means that if you can get couples live streaming their wedding day on Facebook, you’re more likely to be seen by the brides and grooms you’re looking to attract!
Why not start broadcasting your very own live footage of your wedding venue on Facebook today and kickstart your mission to improve organic reach!
Record live behind the scenes footage of your team setting up for a wedding (but be careful not to capture anything personal to the couple who’s wedding your hosting unless you have their prior permission) and include footage of florists, caterers and musicians – remembering to tag all parties involved in the live stream; subsequently leveraging your audience reach through the audiences of other wedding suppliers.
4. Update your photo gallery
This sounds like an obvious one but we really shouldn’t underestimate the power of a great picture.
See.
Save and utilise all exceptional images from weddings held at your venue and make sure any less than spectacular snaps are removed.
Your best photographs should take pride of place as your venue’s Facebook profile picture and cover photo, and you should change these feature images now and then to test which garner the most attention and to therefore inform which photographs are best shared in future to win engagement.
5. Beware the competition
Be careful not to rely too heavily on competitions or to boost your competitions too often.
The reason for this is that your audience will perhaps increase (for the short term at least) but you’ll find you often attract people less likely to spend money on booking your wedding venue and more likely to just want to win something.
Organic content and paid advertising (not boosted posts) is always best and keep competitions as an infrequent treat rather than placing them at the forefront of your social campaign.
There’s huge potential for wedding venues – and wedding suppliers in general – to really maximise how they use Facebook and to generate bookings and business as a result.
Get out there and tap in to the 2 billion internet users currently using social networks today.
Have you found this article useful? Leave us a comment!
Welcome to this week’s Supplier Story! ‘Supplier Stories’ is an original Bridebook Business article series, where we go behind-the-scenes and into the wedding world through those that know it best – the experienced and talented venues and suppliers across the UK.
So whether this is your first story or 10th, enjoy as we look into the industry as a whole, and celebrate a true story in itself! Who says couples have all the fun?
Blenheim Palace’s Supplier Story:
This week we shine the spotlight on Emma Rogers, Sales and Events Manager at the elegant Blenheim Palace. Using their significant events management expertise, the Blenheim Palace wedding team transforms Winston Churchill’s birthplace into a quintessential fairytale wedding venue. Its unforgettable baroque architecture and award-winning gardens makes it a firm favourite for a seamless and spellbinding wedding.
So without further ado, Emma over to you!
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself?
I studied International Hospitality Management at University which included a year’s placement in the USA and all of my jobs since then have been in the Events Industry. My parents always worked in Hospitality as well so I guess I was destined to do it. I started at Blenheim Palace nearly ten years ago and have been involved in planning all sorts of different events, big and small since then.
2. Share the story of Blenheim Palace?
Blenheim Palace was built in the 18th Century and is known as a masterpiece of English Baroque architecture. The ancestral home of the Dukes of Marlborough and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, there is so much fascinating history behind this World Heritage Site. The Palace has been used to entertain and celebrate for centuries, and we are thrilled to carry on this tradition of hospitality today, welcoming weddings and all kinds of events.
The Palace is surrounded by 2000 acres of parkland landscaped by ‘Capability’ Brown which includes some incredible views. This really is a magnificent setting for weddings and I am very proud to be part of the team here.
3. What’s your favourite room in the Palace?
As an event space I love the Saloon. It is a really intimate dining space which is unusual given the size of the building. One long table for dinner with beautiful flowers, glassware and lighting can make the room come alive.
4. What drew you to the wedding world?
I have always loved event planning but there is something so special about working with a couple to plan their wedding day. I really enjoy getting to know the couple in the lead up to their day and then being there on the day to see all of their exciting plans come to fruition. You really feel part of their day and it is such an honour to help make their ideas a reality.
5. What do you see as the biggest challenge in the wedding industry currently?
In my opinion the fact that there is so much choice now for couples and access to so much information, whilst helpful can be overwhelming. Gone are the days of someone setting their heart on one venue; couples now see so many venues and suppliers it becomes harder to stand out and equally hard for the couple to make decisions.
6. What wedding venue trends are you seeing in the industry?
I have noticed some new trends in food including concentration on making the food much more individual and interesting, and more consideration for using local produce. There seems to be an emerging focus on making sure parts of a wedding day are unique and something that guests may not have seen before, most typically in entertainment (like using artists instead of photographers or caricaturists). I have also noticed that more couples are interested in using outside spaces more for ceremonies or garden games.
7. What is the biggest challenge you face on the wedding day itself?
We want to make sure every couple enjoy their day and don’t have to think about the logistics of everything happening. This is why planning is so important and why we make sure they have a copy of the event order in advance – so they can see that we have every bit of information we need, ensuring they don’t have to think about anything on the day. This makes the challenge of organising logistics and design much easier, and puts our couples’ minds at ease.
8. How do you feel technology is changing the industry?
Access to so much online advice about wedding planning is great for giving people ideas and inspiration, but I feel it can also give people unrealistic ideas on what they want to (or can) achieve on their wedding day. While technology is definitely having a big impact on the industry, I think it has its disadvantages too. The trick is to be careful which tools you use and to make sure that they have up-to-date and verified information on venues and suppliers.
9. What has been your biggest time saver this year?
We always try to work as efficiently as possible but with the number of enquiries we receive it has been difficult to manage everything. A big time save for us was the development of a new website, on which couples have access to much more information before, including room sizes, prices and even seeing the room in 360 degrees on their screen. Doing this means that couples are much more informed on the venue before coming to us and we can dedicate more time to them, as we have less enquiries to manage.
10. How do reviews affect the industry?
Like with any industry, word of mouth is one of if not the most important marketing tool for wedding venues and suppliers – couples always want to hear about others’ experiences and judge whether the venue or supplier lives up to its reputation. I think it’s great that people have such easy access to information and reviews about venues and suppliers, however often people are more motivated to leave reviews when they have a bad experience than when they have had a good one, so it can paint an unrealistic picture of a supplier which is a great shame. We always include privately-sent testimonials. We are always happy to share testimonials with our potential clients.
11. How do you get to know your couples before the big day?
We meet with our couples as many times as we can and they would like to before the day. It is great to get a feel for their vision for the day so you can then recommend the right suppliers to help them make that vision come true.
12. What do you think makes Blenheim Palace unique?
Blenheim Palace is a truly unique space with amazing grounds and spectacular function rooms. What also shows is how passionate the team here are about Blenheim Palace and how important it is for us to host amazing events befitting of this amazing building. We put so much time in to the planning of the event and involve lots of staff on the day from all different departments, and our passion for the building feeds through to a passion for hosting these fantastic wedding days.
13. What do you think makes for the perfect wedding?
To me, it’s making sure that the wedding day is exactly what the couple want and reflects their personalities. In the past, weddings were less about the couple and more about tradition and pleasing others; there was little room for variation from the couple and not much scope to make their day uniquely theirs. Nowadays, people are much more interested in arranging a day that suits them and are not so easily swayed by others’ opinions, which means that they can have their perfect day the way they want it and I am fortunate enough to help.
14. What’s your favourite wedding memory?
There are so many to choose from. We had a wonderful wedding last year and the Groom had arranged the Bride’s favourite singer to sing her down the aisle, completely unbeknown to her. I was stood with her outside the ceremony room and, although she had chosen the song she was walking down the aisle to, she was not expecting it to be sung live. It was amazing seeing her face as she walked in the room and saw him singing and then also to see the Groom beaming with pride at her reaction. It was so lovely!
15. What do you love about Bridebook?
Bridebook is a great tool for couples to use when planning their big day. I love the incorporation of guest lists and budget management. As a venue, Bridebook allows couples to see a snapshot of what we do and the search bar feature means we’re easy to find too. Alongside being a listed venue Bridebook has given us great opportunities to stand out with their blog features, awards and more. They’re always working to bring couples to their dream venues, and venues to their dream couples!
A huge thank you to Emma for sharing her Supplier Story. See the beautiful Blenheim Palace in their Bridebook profile.
Want to feature in your own Supplier Story? Get in touch with Beth at beth@bridebook.co.uk.
The UK’s divorce rate is at its lowest level for nearly 50 years. Couples now enter marriage knowing their partner and relationship better than ever before leading to marriages becoming increasingly strong and lasting.
Wedding planning app and website Bridebook.co.uk has surveyed 4,000 recently married couples and discovered a change in this generation’s perception of marriage:
Results show that couples are getting married considerably older than the last generation (average bride or groom is 8 years older than in the 1970s) and the majorityalready live together (89% of couples). They have long relationships before marrying (4.9 years on average) and have had previous serious relationships before ‘finding the one’ (2 previous serious relationships on average). Marriage has become a consensual independent decision free from external pressure (84% discussed marriage before the proposal, 83% felt no pressure to marry) – it is an ‘opt in’ personal choice. The number of weddings has started to rise (2.7% annual growth in latest figures) after a steady and dramatic decline in the past 50 years and the number of divorces is at its lowest level since 1971 as people are more secure in their relationships prior to marriage than ever before. Commitment as a concept has become refreshingly relaxed in comparison to previous generations.
Key findings: TIMEFRAMES OF MARRIAGE
The average age of a single woman getting married in 1971 was 22.6 years old, now it is 30.8 years old.
The average age of a single man getting married in 1971 was 24.6 years old, now it is 32.7 years old.
The average couple were in a relationship for 4.9 years before getting married. This breaks down as –
Dated for 1.4 years (17 months) before moving in together.
Then lived together for 1.83 years (22 months) before getting engaged.
Then were engaged for 1.67 years (20 months) before getting married.
The total average time living together before marriage totals to a whole 3.5 years.
The average number of serious relationships each member of the couple had before marriage = 2.
Key findings: MARRIAGE’S INCREASE IN VALUE
– 95% of couples would recommend getting married.
– 91% of couples choose to get married to demonstrate commitment. Only 2% due to social pressure, 2% financial, 2% convenience.
– 85% of couples say marriage makes a relationship stronger.
– 83% never felt any pressure to get married. 92% feel there is less pressure to get married today than parents’ generation.
– 73% stated that they value marriage more now than they did as a child.
Key findings: VIEW OF RELIGION IN MARRIAGE
– Whilst 41% of couples got married in a church, 52% of couples claim to be “Not at all religious”.
– Only 8% of couples cited religious reasons as one of the primary reasons for getting married (91% cited demonstration of commitment, 30% cited planning to have children).
– 57% of couples who chose to get married in a church chose due to “Sticking to traditions” and 22% due to “Parental expectations”.
Key findings: CHANGES TO RELATIONSHIP SINCE MARRIAGE
– 80% feel that since getting married the level of commitment has increased (3% decreased).
– 60% feel that since getting married the level of happiness has increased (5% decreased).
– 57% feel that since getting married the level of trust has increased (4% decreased).
– 56% feel that since getting married the level of love has increased (4% decreased).
– 41% feel that since getting married they share a better mental wellbeing (4% worse).
– 33% feel that since getting married they have a better sexual relationship (11% worse).
Key findings: OTHER
– 46% of couples have a child within 2 years of getting married.
– 26% of couples hadn’t broken up in their relationship before marrying.
– 82% would consider marriage counselling if the need arose.
– 83% don’t believe you have to be married before having kids.
Hamish Shephard, founder of Bridebook.co.uk, says:
“It is fantastic to see how the marriage is evolving with today’s modern couples for the positive. Marriages are becoming stronger than ever, relationships happier and more committed than ever, and couples more independent and consensual in their decisions than ever.”
“Whilst living together before getting married, having serious relationships out of wedlock, or getting married when you are older were previously frowned upon, for the modern couple these can clearly be very positive steps to finding “the one” and having a fantastic long-lasting marriage”.
“Weddings are now focused on the celebration of a couples’ life-long commitment to one another, rather than the start of a new life together, and hence have become bigger and bigger occasions.”
“We have reached a tipping point where the divorce rate will likely be on the decline for the foreseeable future as marriage increasingly becomes the fully informed independent choice of couples wishing to demonstrate their commitment to one another without the pressure seen in previous generations.”
For further information, interviews and images please contact Harriet or Sarah-Jane at Harriet Hunt Communications
Whether you’ve recently started to plan your wedding or you’re right in the thick of it, you probably noticed something fairly quickly – weddings can be costly. In 2024, the average cost of a wedding is £20,775, and that’s before you’ve even got to the honeymoon or considered the cost of the engagement ring. So if you’re trying to figure out how to plan your dream wedding and stay firmly within your budget, you’ve come to the right place.
In this post, we’re going to take a deep dive into how to save money on a wedding and offer you plenty of tips to make sure you don’t go over your wedding budget.
Before we go over the many ways you can save money on your wedding, make sure you have a solid idea as to what you want to (realistically) spend. To give you a helping hand, you can use Bridebook’s useful wedding budget calculator.
Throwing a lavish and expensive wedding is a fabulous way to spend your big day, but it’s important not to get too carried away. Have a chat with your partner about what’s really important for both of you and create a list that categorises the must-haves and the nice-to-haves so you know what can be cut if you get a little too close to the top end of your budget.
Planning a wedding is a lot of fun, but it can also be a stressful time. That stress, combined with spending a great deal of money, can be create challenges. Remember to be open and honest with your partner and try not to get your heart set on something before you’ve booked it. The last thing you want is to be disappointed if something doesn’t quite work out how you hoped.
What’s the average cost of a wedding in 2024?
Average UK Wedding Costs: With and Without the Engagement Ring and Honeymoon
As uncovered in our ultimate wedding budget breakdown, the average cost of a wedding in 2024 is £20,775, not including the ring and a potential honeymoon. When you factor the engagement ring and honeymoon into your budget, the average cost rises to £25,952, which is a huge amount of money to spend.
It’s important to remember that this is just an average, and the actual cost of your wedding will depend on many factors, including the cost of the venue, number of guests, time of year, and even how many tiers there are on your cake.
Of course, you don’t have to spend this amount, or anything close to it – couples have weddings which range from costing less than £1,000 to costing £100,000 or more. If you budget wisely, make some careful decisions and plan ahead, you can make significant savings while still ensuring you have your dream wedding.
What are the best tools for saving money on your wedding?
When the time comes to start planning your wedding in earnest, the excitement can take hold and before you know it you’re creating spreadsheets, browsing Instagram hashtags and Pinterest stores, and your Google search history is nothing but venues and flower shops. But before you dive into the deep end, why not consider a tool to help you save time, money and effort?
We recommend using Bridebook’s state-of-the-art wedding budget tool to keep track of your expenses and make sure everything is taken care of. We also have a wedding planning app so you don’t have to keep a stack of notebooks with you or carry your laptop around when you meet vendors – you’ll have everything you need right there on your phone.
Can you save money on your wedding by inviting fewer guests?
When you’re getting married, we understand that it’s a big deal and you’ll probably want to invite every family member, friend, colleague and acquaintance you have. However, having a set number of guests will ensure you keep the guest list limited, which will save you on the venue, catering and invitation costs. It may be tempting to invite everyone you know to come and celebrate with you, but doing so will increase the cost of your wedding and could push it beyond your budget.
To put it into perspective, the average couple spends around £200 per guest – that means, if you’re ruthless with your guest list and invite 100 guests instead of 150, you’ll save over £10,000. If you’re not prepared to make cuts quite that drastic, even just cutting back your guest list by five could save you around £1,000.
A twilight wedding is a wedding that starts later in the day and is a great way to lower the cost of your wedding. It not only means you’re using your venue for a shorter amount of time, but you also bypass the expensive wedding breakfast and you pay vendors and staff for fewer hours as well.
For example, Friern Manor Country House Hotel offers a twilight wedding package starting at £3,500 for 70 guests, compared to £7,995 for a traditional wedding – that’s half the price! That means you can have all the celebrations of every other wedding, only condensed into a shorter amount of time. It’s the perfect way to make massive savings on your wedding if you’re happy to have the ceremony take place later in the day.
If you’re planning a wedding on a budget or just looking to save a bit of cash, knowing how to break down your budget will be one of the most important parts of your overall wedding planning, but how to stick to it? In this video course, Bridebook founder (and qualified wedding planner) Hamish Shephard explains how to plan a wedding on a budget, sharing his expert money-saving tips on everything from your wedding venue to your catering and more.
If you haven’t set the date yet, you can find huge savings by avoiding the busy seasons, certain days of the week and popular locations. So, if you’re happy to not have a Saturday wedding in the middle of summer, slap bang in the middle of London, you could save thousands. For example:
Choose a midweek wedding. You’ll save on almost every wedding supplier by joining the 50% of couples who hold their big day on any day other than a Saturday, which is the most popular day to get married. To maximise your savings, the cheapest day to get married is a Tuesday. Suppliers are usually happy to offer reduced rates on days that otherwise wouldn’t be booked.
Consider areas outside London. Couples are now spending over £15,000 (or 77%) more to marry in the capital. So, like other savvy couples, why not consider having your wedding somewhere outside of the capital (both Wales, and Yorkshire and the Humber, are the cheapest regions to get married in)? Plus, not only is a wedding away from your hometown a great way to save money, it increases the feeling of magic, mystery and adventure.
Have a winter wedding. Try to avoid peak wedding season, which is between June and September, when costs are the highest. Costs are lowest in the winter, with January and February being the cheapest months in which to tie the knot (24% less than the UK average). So, if you don’t mind it being cold outside, it could be a great choice. And on the off-chance there’s frost or snow, it’ll give you the opportunity to take unique wedding photos.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that many venues offer discounts and special ‘late availability’ packages in off-peak wedding seasons or to fill a space left by a cancellation. This can make even the most premium ones a far more affordable option if you’re happy with a bit of last-minute planning and organising. A great example is Holdsworth House Hotel, an idyllic wedding venue with 32 bedrooms, charming courtyards and enchanting gardens.
If there’s one thing people remember about weddings, it’s the quality (and quantity) of the food. Whether you go for a four-course breakfast or an all-you-can-eat buffet featuring around-the-world cuisine, food is guaranteed to excite your guests. For that reason, you won’t want to cut corners when it comes to your food, but there are still some creative ways to save money while not compromising on quality. But, with couples spending around £5,700 on wedding catering, it can account for around a quarter of your entire wedding budget.
As we’ve already highlighted, you can slash these costs by cutting the number of guests you invite, as there will be fewer mouths to feed. Your friend’s boyfriend of two months? Sure, you like them, but do you like them enough to pay £62 per head for them to eat a three-course meal? Cutting out a table of eight will save an average of almost £500 on food and drink (as well as saving you in table numbers and stationery). Not to mention that cutting your guest list might also give you the ability to choose a smaller, more affordable wedding venue.
If you’re keen on having a lot of people there, why not invite them to the evening reception? That way, no one will get offended about not being invited, and you’ll save money by not having to feed as many guests at the wedding breakfast. Alternatively, why not skip the expensive wedding breakfast altogether and have a breakfast buffet instead? A buffet drastically reduces costs by only requiring limited staff, plus it offers guests a wider choice.
Many people enjoy a drink or two at a wedding, and the most obvious way to save money is by not offering an open bar. Save over £2,000 by offering a paid bar. This requires your guests to pay for their drinks themselves, and stops everyone from accidentally over-indulging. Plus, guests won’t expect an open bar, with two out of three couples opting to let their guests pay for their own drinks.
Another way to save money is by choosing a more affordable fizz for the toasts. Champagne may be a luxurious choice, but cheaper alternatives like prosecco, sparkling wine or Cava will still go down just as well.
You may also be able to hire your own mobile bar instead of going with what the venue offers. One of our vendors, Near and Far Mobile Bar Ltd, is an excellent option as they set up their mobile bar at the venue, provide staff and bartending service, and offer pre-wedding consultation. Whoever you hire, just make sure they have a license. Or, you could choose to provide your own bubbly. Just bear in mind that the venue may charge a corkage fee. This can sometimes be more expensive than going with what the venue offers.
Below are just a few tips for helping strip those costs right back, while still ensuring you get wonderful professional photographs.
Consider an express package. Instead of having the photographer spend the whole day with you, ask if they offer two or three-hour packages, where they come and take shots of the venue, the bridal party and your close friends and family. Opting for fewer hours is the best way to reduce costs, but does mean forgoing pictures of you cutting the cake and your first dance at the evening reception. Some photographers also provide a second camera person and opting out of this service can significantly lower the cost.
Hire a local photographer. Local photographers will usually charge you far less than those who have to travel far and charge additional fees for those miles. Here at Bridebook, we have a huge range of fantastic photographers, so you’re sure to find one who operates where you’re hosting your wedding.
Go digital. If you forgo professionally printed albums as 9 out of 10 couples now do, you could save £250+. Most modern photography packages include a link to your own online gallery, where you can browse and enjoy all your favourite shots at your leisure. You can then always use a photo-developing service, such as Snapfish, to print your photographs for a fraction of the cost later on.
While the majority of couples choose to have a photographer shoot at their wedding, a third of couples also choose to hire a videographer to document and capture their big day in a candid and natural way, with the costs in line with that of a photographer. If capturing your wedding on video is important to you, there are plenty of ways to save money on a videographer too.
One way to save money on a wedding videographer is by hiring a professional who might not have as much experience as others. An up-and-coming videographer, who is new to the business, will have plenty of enthusiasm and passion, but not quite as much of a portfolio. They may also not have a range of expensive kit, such as drones or 4K cameras, but should still be able to produce a beautiful video for a price that fits within your budget.
You may also be able to save money by asking not to have any complex editing or cinematography, which can add a lot of time to post-production.
One of the expenses that might take you by surprise is the price of your wedding flowers, at an average cost of around £1,100. This is due to florists having to source different flowers, create elaborate artistic displays, and transport them to the venue, which all requires time, dedication, skill and expertise. That being said, there are ways you can save money on wedding flowers which mean you can have a luscious wedding filled with flora while sticking within your budget.
Many wedding florists have years, if not decades, of experience providing flowers for hundreds of weddings. That means they’re equipped to work with any budget – including yours. Speak to your chosen florist, tell them what you’re looking for and trust them. As with all wedding vendors, communication is key.
Here are a few money-saving tips for choosing wedding flowers:
Choose flowers with big heads. Not only do they look gorgeous, but generally, the bigger the flowerhead, the fewer stems you need to fill out an arrangement, which can cost a lot less than having multiple small-headed flowers.
Go for flowers that are in season. While it may be tempting to ask for roses at your spring wedding, they’ll cost a lot more then than they would during late summer or autumn, because they wouldn’t be in season. Choosing flowers that are in season will naturally help keep costs down.
Choose a naturally beautiful venue. Go for an outdoor wedding with plenty of surrounding greenery, so you won’t have to pay for additional decor. Great outdoor venues can include vineyards, parks and private gardens.
Opt for foliage over flowers. Greenery is super popular right now and many couples prefer to go with garlands to adorn their tables or drape over the altar. The best part is, foliage is typically way more affordable.
Wedding decor peppers your personality across your big day, but depending on your theme, the costs can quickly add up. The average cost of professionally sourced wedding decor is £1,500, but there are plenty of ways to save money if you’re willing to compromise, such as by creating DIY decorations or sourcing them from specialist vendors. If you’re happy not to have personalised decorations, you can slash this amount to just a couple hundred pounds. Check out our blog post on how to save money on wedding decor for more inspiration.
Another expense is the cost of marquee hire, which averages around £4,200. This depends on the size and type of marquee you go for, so if you’re not set on either of these, you can make significant savings by having a more basic marquee type. Another way to save money on a wedding marquee is by avoiding peak times, such as Saturdays and/or the summer months, as prices can be much higher during the busiest and most popular periods.
Your wedding cake is most likely the most expensive dessert you’ll ever buy, with the average cost at around £400 – £500. After all, it’s not just hugely symbolic: you’re paying for an edible work of art. Yet just like the cake itself, there are layers to the cost. The larger your wedding party, the bigger the cake will be, and the more expensive it will be too. If you do have a lot of guests, a cake with a less complex or intricate design will help keep costs down. You could also consider a dummy layer that replaces a layer of cake with polystyrene – not as tasty, but generally cheaper (though this isn’t always the case).
Due to the skill and time needed to make them, fondant and sugar flowers will typically cost more, so you can save money by forgoing them where possible. A lovely and cost-effective option (not to mention fashionable) is a naked cake with fresh flowers or fruit. Not only does a naked cake require less buttercream and fewer time-consuming decorations, but it still looks and tastes amazing.
Wedding cupcakes are another cute option and usually cost around £4 per guest; they’re generally easier to make and decorate, look adorable in pictures, and are often cheaper than a showstopping multi-tiered wedding cake.
For entertainment, it ultimately depends on your wedding theme. To keep costs down, consider creating a DIY kid’s table if children are coming to your wedding. A collection of colouring books, crayons and a box of Lego will save you £500+ that you would have to spend on a kids’ entertainer.
When it comes to music, if you’re interested in a live act, unless you want Tylor Swift at your wedding, a solo singer will generally be far more affordable than a band, simply because you’re paying one performer instead of four or five. Similarly, a DJ is often a more budget-friendly option and is almost guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser. You can actually save up to £900 by choosing a DJ over a live band (though a band will offer that unique touch to your evening reception).
Firstly, you can reach out to bridalwear boutiques and ask if they have any upcoming sales or bridal dresses at discounted prices. There’s every chance that in a week or two, there may be a sale that slashes the price of many of their dresses, saving you a bundle. And, it may be an awkward conversation, but asking your bridesmaids to pay for their own dresses could save you £300+.
Most bridal shops sell sample dresses in styles they’re either discontinuing or no longer want to sell at discounted prices. These are dresses you and other brides-to-be try on in the shops, but if you can look past this you can make significant savings. You can also opt for high-fashion brands – ASOS, Chi Chi London and Little Mistress all sell wedding dresses at super affordable prices (just note that these are unlikely to match the quality and service of a bridalwear boutique).
The amount of gorgeous second-hand dresses out there shouldn’t be underestimated, and you can save as much as £750 by finding a vintage or pre-loved dress. Plus, only 5% of brides buy a second-hand dress, which means you won’t face much competition if you opt for something pre-loved.
To save money on a veil, why not have it as your ‘something borrowed’ and ask a family member if you could use theirs? If you’re willing to compromise, you may also have other accessories at home already, including a belt and bowtie, or jewellery and handbag, which may already work with your wedding outfit.
It’s also worth checking the depths of your shoe cupboard to see if you have some shoes that will work. Just remember to give them a polish to make them extra shiny. And remember that, again, you might have to compromise on the exact look and quality you originally envisioned . Check out our dedicated post to discover more ways to save money on wedding accessories.
The thought of walking down the aisle, all eyes on you, is both exciting and probably a little nerve-wracking. But, when you look amazing, it can help you feel confident enough to melt those nerves away. This is one of the many reasons why hiring a professional to take care of your hair and makeup is important to so many brides and, in most cases, totally worth it – that and it’s one less thing for you to worry about on the day. But, with couples spending an average of £690 on hair and makeup (as well as other pre-wedding rituals) cutting costs where possible can be a lifesaver for budget-conscious couples.
The most obvious way to significantly save money on wedding hair and makeup is by biting the bullet and doing it yourself, or asking your bridesmaids to take on the responsibility. This could save you up to £330+, but comes with its own set of risks (which we set out in our article on demystifying bridal beauty costs). If the DIY approach isn’t ideal, you could instead consider hiring a makeup assistant , who won’t be as experienced as a hair or makeup artist but will still have worked closely with one at plenty of weddings.
Another cost-saving option is to travel to your stylist or beautician on the morning of your wedding, rather than having them come to you at your venue. This could potentially halve the amount you spend on beauty. Just note that you won’t get the same level of on-the-day care and attention, including last-minute touch-ups and veil adjustments, which might be stressful).
While not generally quite as pricey as a wedding dress, today’s couples spend an average of £700-900 on suits for their wedding. While a bespoke, tailored suit might be appealing, high-street retailers offer a great range of wedding suits for around £150 if you’re on a tight budget. You may also find a great suit or tuxedo at a local second-hand store or charity shop, but bear in mind you’ll likely need to have it altered to fit you perfectly (which will bump up the costs).
Another option to slash the price of a suit is through renting, which can cost as little as £50 per suit. Plus, if all the groomsmen rent their tuxes or suits from the same place, there’s a good chance the groom’s suit will be free, or at least discounted. And even if this isn’t an advertised offer, it’s always worth asking.
Your wedding ring is the one piece of jewellery you’ll rarely take off, so will be with you through thick and thin – which is why couples spend an average of £1,000 on their wedding rings. However, it is possible to save money on wedding rings by not relying on expensive metals such as gold and platinum, instead opting for something such as silver or titanium, which could lower the cost to as little as £50 per ring (and still be durable over years of wear and tear).
You may also want to seriously think about whether or not you want to choose wedding rings with set diamonds or other precious stones. While it may look incredible, it will be far more expensive than if you were to choose a plain band. Also, the thicker the band is, the more expensive it will be, so consider choosing a band that is on the thinner side to reduce the cost.
With Pinterest full of gorgeous and creative wedding invitation ideas, it’s hard to forgo a beautiful professionally-designed invitation in favour of a less aesthetic amateur one. But, you don’t necessarily have to do that to save money. Choose the invitation style of your dreams and go digital, and give your guests the option to RSVP digitally too. This will massively reduce the cost of your wedding stationery, on which couples spend an average of £400.
Almost a third of today’s couples don’t use paper stationery, such as menus and invitations, so consider joining them! Save money on wedding stationery by using sites like Paperless Post, or design your own beautiful digital invitations to email to your guests and save almost £300. At the wedding, a decorative chalkboard can explain the menu and agenda for the day – beautiful and often cheaper than paper (plus you can box it away as a keepsake post-wedding).
A registry office wedding is already one of the most affordable choices when it comes to a wedding on a budget, costing an average of £1,342. However, it’s possible to save even more money on a registry office wedding if you opt for the basic ceremony only, which means it could cost you as little as £57 (not including the £35 it costs for each of you to give notice).
It can also be cheaper to get married during quieter periods, so make sure you avoid peak times such as Saturday afternoons or the height of summer.
Hiring a wedding planner may sound like another cost you could do without – after all, the average cost of a wedding planner is £2,436, or about 10% of your overall budget. But, wedding planners can actually help you save money in the long run by ensuring you stay within your budget. Not only that, but being in the industry means that wedding planners also have plenty of contacts and connections and can help you land the best deals, discounts and savings as a result, and they’re expert negotiators as well.
One way to save money on a wedding planner is by hiring them to do a partial wedding planning service, which means they come in with a few months to go before your wedding to make sure everything is as it should be. It’s a far more affordable service, but obviously not as thorough as if you were to hire them at the very start of your planning journey.
A wedding celebrant is a wonderful way to personalise your ceremony, particularly if you’re not looking for a religious wedding or you’re a couple with mixed faiths. However, because a celebrant can’t legally marry you, there are further costs due to the need to also hire a registrar. And, with the average cost of a celebrant being £500, this can be an important cost to consider.
To save money on a wedding celebrant, consider compromising on the level of service involved. Ask if they’ll consider not meeting with you ahead of the wedding, and if they’re happy to rely on a questionnaire to personalise your ceremony. Similarly, many celebrants will want to speak to your family and friends about your relationship; cutting out this service may help to lower the price. Just be aware that you may not get as bespoke or thorough a service.
Go down the DIY route. DIY favours can really reduce your costs, and if you’re happy with them not being super personalised, you could get the cost down to less than £1 each.
Consider cheap sweet treats. Edible favours are usually a more budget-friendly choice, such as retro sweets, biscuits, or even homemade jam.
Keep packaging simple and practical. The simpler the design, the more affordable the packaging will generally be.
Donate to a charity. A charity donation made on behalf of your guests allows you to control how much you spend, and makes for a thoughtful and generous gesture.
Depending on your plans, you could spend a good chunk of the first half of your wedding day being driven from A to B to C and back to B again. For that reason, wedding transport can be expensive, with couples spending an average of £700 on the vehicle and driver of their choice.
To save money on wedding transport, consider hiring a venue that allows you to have the ceremony, breakfast, reception and accommodation all in one, so you only need to pay for an hour or so of time. Or, if you know someone with a classic car or something with some oomph under the bonnet, call in a favour in exchange for an invite and a night of free drinks.
Your honeymoon is your chance to relax and unwind after a year or more of full-on wedding planning. The honeymoon is non-negotiable for many couples and is one of the biggest splurges, costing an average of £4,300.
It can be tempting to book your honeymoon early to help you budget, but if you’re flexible with where you’re happy to go, you could grab a bargain by booking a last-minute deal a week or two before your wedding.
But if you have your sights set on somewhere in particular, reduce costs by travelling on off-peak days: Wednesdays and Thursdays are usually the cheapest for international flights. It also goes without saying that during busier times, such as school holidays or the summer months, it’s often expensive to travel. If your wedding is booked on such an occasion, why not postpone your honeymoon by just a couple of weeks and save money by travelling off-peak?
The cost of wedding insurance might feel like an unnecessary expense – as low as £30 for the most basic cover, to £100 -£180 on average, to up to £20,000 – but it can save you thousands down the line in the unlikely event something goes wrong.
You can save money on your wedding insurance by only choosing a basic policy, such as a policy which doesn’t include public liability. If you also forgo a marquee, you won’t need to add a marquee insurance extension to your policy, further bringing the cost right down.
Despite being a specialist type of insurance, comparison sites such as Money Supermarket let you compare quotes from various providers so you can secure the best policy. Just double-check that your chosen insurer includes everything you need and provides you with the right level of coverage.
Spending the ‘right’ amount of money on a wedding gift is something that plagues the mind of many wedding guests, but the cost of a wedding gift can vary dramatically based on several factors, including your relationship with the couple and whether or not you’re in a couple yourself.
But, there are ways to save money on a wedding gift. Why not club together with other guests, turning what would be several smaller gifts into a single larger one?
If the couple has a gift registry, it should include gift suggestions to suit a range of budgets. Don’t buy your gift from the first retailer you find it in – if you shop around you might be able to find a bargain, or at the very least something very similar with a far more affordable price tag.
Plan your dream wedding with Bridebook
There you have our top tips to help you save money on your wedding. For more information, check out our individual savings pages for even more ways to cut down your spending and make your wedding budget go further.
Here at Bridebook, we have thousands of wedding venues and suppliers to suit any budget. Sign up today and start planning your dream wedding!
Welcome to this week’s Supplier Story! ‘Supplier Stories’ is an original Bridebook Business article series, where we go behind-the-scenes and into the wedding world through those that know it best – the experienced and talented venues and suppliers across the UK.
So whether this is your first story or 10th, enjoy as we look into the industry as a whole, and celebrate a true story in itself! Who says couples have all the fun?
A Piece of The Party’s Supplier Story:
Wouldn’t it be amazing to have a top television producer film your wedding? With A Piece of The Party, couples can have just that! Lauren, this week’s featured wedding supplier, draws on her years of experience working on some of the UK’s favourite shows, including Take Me Out, Big Brother, I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here and Strictly Come Dancing to make wedding videos that capture as much of a couple’s special day as possible – from the grand entrances to the tiny details. Together with her incredibly talented team, she immortalises wedding memories and has a ridiculous amount of fun doing it.
So without further ado, Lauren over to you!
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m a senior TV producer, with over twelve years of experience working in the industry. I started as a runner on Strictly Come Dancing and worked my way up through the ranks on shows like The X Factor and Big Brother. I spend half of the year working on programmes like I’m a Celebrity and devote the rest of my time to filming weddings and events – allowing me the perfect balance of fun and creativity whilst still keeping up with all of the latest innovations in the media.
2. Share your story?
I’ve always loved an event – even when I was little I used to get so overexcited before a party that I couldn’t sleep for days before. Luckily I’ve mellowed a little now! I have worked in TV since I was 18 where started as work experience at BBC Television Centre. I fell in love with the industry, the glamour, the chance that you might run into Ian Beale or one of the guys from McFly – it was absolutely brilliant. I worked on Saturday night shiny floor shows like How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? and Any Dream Will Do before falling into my ‘university education’ – working on Big Brother from Series 7. I worked my way up and have done all manner of roles on the show. I was then headhunted by a chat show and became the youngest TV producer in the country aged 24, going on to be one of the youngest seniors there’s been. What I lack in age, I make up for in extensive experience storytelling and producing, and that is something I want to bring to people’s weddings.
When a good friend of mine moved to Australia and turned 30, my friends and I realised we had to put together a video to show her we were thinking of her. So I filmed and edited our friends dancing around and singing for her to a Katy Perry song called ‘Birthday.’ What it lacks for in quality (it was practically shot on a Nokia 3310) it makes up for in love and I realised there was a serious market for people showing their love for friends and family through the fun and beauty of video.
Having already been inspired to start up some kind of fun filming company, a lot of my friends started getting married a few years ago and asked me to film their weddings which I absolutely loved. I realised there was a total gap in the market for wedding videos which are fun as well as beautiful and tell the story of the whole day. So I decided I could make a career out of it. Freelancing in television allows me the flexibility to spend part of the year in TV and the rest on A Piece of the Party.
4. What’s the most memorable wedding you’ve documented?
I’m lucky in that I genuinely feel like every single wedding I’ve documented so far has been really special and unique. But I have to say the one that sticks in my mind is Maria & George Hollis. They needed a fairly fast turnaround as Maria’s mother might not have been able to make the wedding due to illness. It already had grabbed me from the moment that the couple booked but attending the wedding made it a million times more special. Maria’s flower decorations were incredible, potentially due to the fact she’s got her own wedding florist business (Luna in the Wild). All of her friends and family were so close and lovely. They had an OFF THE SCALE party too – fancy dress and a hell of a lot of R Kelly made for a brilliant night. All of this was topped by the fact that Maria’s mother managed to make the day. I remember driving home feeling totally overwhelmed and full of love for the couple. I can’t wait to film heaps more special couples like Maria and George and create a video as special as they are.
5. What’s your favourite wedding memory?
Two come to mind. One is my very good friend Chris’s wedding – he was the first in our friendship group to get married, I was surrounded by our very best friends from college and it was the first time I realised just how incredible weddings are. The second is my friend Ellie’s wedding, who hired a band called Brando who played a thirty minute version of ‘Shake It Off’ by Taylor Swift. I still want to return to that moment to this day.
6. What part of a wedding is your favourite?
I think the moment the couple see each other for the first time is always pretty special but I’m also all about the party – everyone has finally relaxed and it’s really nice to see a total mix of people together in one room celebrating their friends coming together. To be honest though, what I love about weddings is that every single one has an element of the day which makes it really special and until you’ve filmed it, you never know what it’s going to be, which is why I love to be there to cover every single moment and then select the very best bits.
7. What do you think makes you/your product unique?
I genuinely love weddings, I’m a people person and most of all a people pleaser, so I really do go above and beyond trying to ensure people have a video that is truly unique to them. Our videos are a tale of the whole day and my storytelling experience from television means that storytelling is an inherent part of my personality. I don’t treat the videos as if they have a set format – they’re all set to different music, and I will always consider the individual style before I even shoot the video. It’s important that I spend a lot of the day getting a feel for the couple and the wedding.
I’m also very used to remaining discreet, not intruding on the event whilst still capturing the beauty of the day and the most special moments that they might miss. I’m also a family girl through and through (I made my Mum wear the same outfit as me ‘for the brand’ at a wedding fayre once!) and I’m really keen to capture families in videos, in whatever form that family is made up. For me it’s all about the love that you have for someone who will always be there for you.
8. Why do you think having a wedding video is important?
Weddings go by so quickly. And you spend SO LONG working on them, but on the day it’s just impossible to take in every detail, even if you have a completely photographic memory. There’s just too much to do and see and I feel like a video is the only way to capture it all. Don’t get me wrong, photographs are super important and a wedding essential but a video is your best possible chance of remembering the finer details that you’ve worked so hard on and also seeing the things you didn’t get to see on the day, even for years to come. You spend so much money on your big day that an additional expenditure on something that ensures your wedding will never be forgotten, to me seems like money well spent.
https://vimeo.com/205427979
9. What is your favourite documentary?
It’s not a documentary but I’m all about the dates – so Take Me Out (a show I worked on for three years and absolutely adore) First Dates or Married at First Sight. I will never stop being excited by watching romance (or the occasional dating disaster) unfold on TV. If you want to cringe/roll with laughter in equal measure, you MUST watch the 2017 Valentines First Dates special – particularly the bit where the guy gets asked how he wants to pay the bill… I was watching behind a cushion.
10. What do you love about Bridebook?
The client user interface is really well laid out, the design is super slick but most importantly its run by a brilliant, friendly team who genuinely love weddings and want to give suppliers the chance to connect with really lovely couples. For me as a supplier, I couldn’t ask for anything more. That and the fact it can be used anywhere is essential for a 2017/18 bride!
https://vimeo.com/135813952
A huge thank you to Lauren for sharing her Supplier Story. Check out her superb videos in her Bridebook profile.
Want to feature in your own Supplier Story? Get in touch with Beth at beth@bridebook.co.uk.
Welcome to this week’s Supplier Story! ‘Supplier Stories’ is an original Bridebook Business article series, where we go behind-the-scenes and into the wedding world through those that know it best – the experienced and talented venues and suppliers across the UK.
So whether this is your first story or 10th, enjoy as we look into the industry as a whole, and celebrate a true story in itself! Who says couples have all the fun?
Iona Thomas’s Story:
This week we’re sitting down with Iona Thomas, a truly talented musician whose combination of singing and playing the harp has moved wedding-goers and music lovers all over the world.
With experience performing on big stages (including Glastonbury and Live Lounge); as a backing artist on international tours; and as a resident musician, Iona is no stranger to the limelight but Iona has recently decided to take on a new challenge – the Wedding Industry – and we couldn’t be happier.
So without further ado, Iona over to you!
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name’s Iona and I’m a singing harpist!
2. Share your story?
I started playing harp when I was about 7 – I saw a lady playin harp in a local concert and I was absolutely in awe. My mum said if I was still asking her in a years time then she would consider taking me for lessons… 6 months down the line of asking her every day I think she’d had enough and took me to my first lesson. I continued to play throughout school and university and was always gigging alongside my education. By the time I graduated I already had quite a few gigs lined up, so decided that I would continue playing professionally… and here I am now!
3. What drew you to the wedding world?
There is always quite a big demand for harpists at weddings, I did a few and loved the atmosphere, environment and being part of a really special day. It’s just such a lovely thing to be part of.
4. What do you see as the biggest challenge in the wedding industry currently?
To be honest it’s always been quite smooth sailing for me in the wedding industry. I guess personally a challenge for me is keeping my set list up to date. People often request chart songs which requires learning a few new songs a month.
5. What wedding trends are you seeing in the industry?
Maybe not a trend – but since being made legal in 2014 it’s been nice to see more same sex marriages!
6. What is the biggest challenge you face on the wedding day itself?
I try and prepare myself as much as possible so that I have minimal to worry about on the day of the wedding – but I still always worry that maybe my car won’t start or my speakers won’t work on the day. Touch wood it’s always been fine though.
7. How do you feel technology is changing the industry?
For me, a lot! Social media and the internet is a great way to promote my music to potential clients. I’ve had a couple of bookings from someone seeing me on someone else’s Instagram story. As well as that, in terms of equipment there are always new and improved speaker systems coming out and my electro-acoustic harp, which I believe is one of the first to have been built, was only made in 2012.
8. What has been your biggest time saver this year?
Well currently my biggest time waster, which will hopefully turn into my biggest time saver, will be the FAQs section I’m about to add to my website. After replying to endless emails to questions like “can you play outside?”, “what do you wear when you perform?”, I’ve decided to make one big list with the answer to everything!
9. How do reviews affect the industry?
I think massively. Internet reviews can really make or break a business. Assuming everyone gives accurate and honest reviews I guess they can only be a good thing though.
10. How do you get to know your couples before the big day?
Depending on how they found me really. If they booked me at a wedding fair obviously they met me and heard me then. When I get bookings online then I can send them a list of dates that I play at hotel bars around London so that they come and watch if they like. Alternatively just always being available by phone and email is important I think.
11. What do you think makes you unique?
I think by being a Singing Harpist I am relatively unique – there aren’t many of us. And I can definitely vouch for this after having a few people enquire about the same date I tried to find someone to pass my extra work to… it was not easy!
12. What do you think makes for the perfect wedding?
I guess perfect is subjective! But I would probably say that it would be more about the relationship of the bride and groom and how well everyone gets on on the day instead of things like venue, décor, etc.
13. What’s your favourite wedding memory?
I’ve been booked as a surprise a few times, that’s always nice. Other than that I’ve performed at a few amazing weddings abroad. I played at one in this little town in Italy some years ago, on top of a big hill in the sun with a view of the valley. It was beautiful.
14. What do you love about Bridebook?
I think Bridebook is very innovative and current. Being able to compare suppliers all within one site, with all the information and price comparisons I think is great. Also, I love the Bridebook team!
Any other comments?
Thank you Bridebook team for the interview!
A huge thank you to Iona for sharing her Supplier Story. Iona specialises in pop and contemporary music, giving chart classics a quirky, and romantic twist – check out some of her beautiful performances in her Bridebook profile.
Want to feature in your own Supplier Story? Get in touch with Beth at beth@bridebook.co.uk.
Welcome to this week’s Supplier Story! ‘Supplier Stories’ are an original Bridebook Business article series, where we go behind-the-scenes and into the wedding world through those that know it best – the experienced and talented venue and supplier professionals across the UK.
So whether this is your first story or 10th, enjoy as we look into the industry as a whole, and celebrate a true story in itself! Who says couples have all the fun?
Weddings at QMUL’s Supplier Story:
Today our featured supplier is Saran, wedding co-ordinator at Weddings at QMUL (Queen Mary University of London). QMUL is a hidden gem in the heart of London that offers something a little bit different. University campuses aren’t considered a common venue choice, but with a beautiful library reminiscent of the iconic scene from Beauty and the Beast and an excellent wedding team that keeps everything running smoothly behind the scenes, QMUL proves that they should be.
So without further ado, Saran over to you!
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m Saran and I’ve worked at Queen Mary University London for 6 years now. My official job title is ‘Sales Executive’ – but when it comes to weddings I double up as our in-house Wedding Coordinator.
2. Share the story of yourself and Weddings at QMUL?
I was thrown, head first, into the world of weddings to be honest. Shortly after I joined the team at QMUL, we were hosting one of our first, if not THE first, wedding celebration in the Octagon – our signature venue. This was way before we ‘officially’ hosted weddings and so I was tasked with the challenge of being the event coordinator for that wedding. Of course, I was terrified. New to my role and being given something so important was very daunting – it meant that one of the most important days in someone’s life was in my hands. But determined to make the event a success, I rose to the challenge. The day itself went really smoothly and the sense of achievement afterwards and knowing ‘I can do this’ gave me a thirst to do more!
Having successfully delivered my first wedding, I was keen to develop this new found skill and I worked with my team to officially launch our weddings product back in 2012. We soon realised that we had such a unique offering, that we should really shout about it. ‘Weddings at QMUL’ was born in February of this year. We contacted couples who had previously hosted their weddings with us and basically asked them to be honest and tell us what they really felt about their experience with us as a venue. This was invaluable information for us and it formed the foundation of our new wedding offering.
As a venue, our objective is to offer an extraordinary experience in a historic venue that is relaxed and beautiful. Our new branding is clean and simple and more importantly, our new packages are transparent and easy to understand. Planning a wedding comes with so much stress as standard, our role is to ensure that we take a lot of that stress away from the couple so that they can focus on each other and their guests for a truly unforgettable wedding day.
4. What do you see as the biggest challenge in the wedding industry currently?
Every space is becoming a wedding venue – from warehouses to pubs and roof gardens, so for us, as a venue, our focus is to remain unique and attractive to prospective brides and grooms. We are very fortunate that we have such a beautiful, unique and versatile venue. But for our team, that is just the foundation. We continually look at ways we can offer an amazing experience for our couples that they won’t get elsewhere. This all starts with me and making sure that I support them through the entire process, from the moment they first enquire, right up to the wedding day and sometimes beyond!
5. What wedding venue trends are you seeing in the industry?
I’ve noticed that one of the key trends is shorter lead times. Of course, we still get those couples who plan their big day months, if not years ahead of time. But we are seeing a greater demand for weddings with much shorter lead times, sometimes even as short as a few weeks.
We have also seen an increase in year-round weddings. A couple of years ago we only ever received enquiries for summer weddings, a cluster of dates between June and August that were in high demand. Now we are hosting weddings in what we used to class as ‘off-peak’ season.
6. What is the biggest challenge you face on the wedding day itself?
Anyone working in the wedding industry knows that weddings NEVER go 100% to plan. The biggest challenge I give myself on a wedding day is to make sure that when things go wrong (like we all know they do) that the couple and their guests know nothing about it. My priority is to make sure that the couple has the most wonderful wedding day, free from anything that could cause them any stress.
Another challenge for us is that we are a university, not a purpose built wedding venue so sometimes logistics within our facilities can be challenging. To ensure that this doesn’t impact on the big day, I make sure that everything is planned out from the moment of booking, right up to the day itself. I have my own ‘checklist’ that I have designed and I use it to ensure nothing is missed and everybody who is involved from the venue is briefed and aware of every last detail.
7. How do you feel technology is changing the industry?
Today, everyone has a smartphone as an extension of their arm, so everything is just a click away from a social media platform or a Google search. As a result guest expectations are higher and there is a lot of pressure on the bride and groom to try and think of something innovative to make their day different and memorable. On the flip side, it does make it really easy to find new and quirky ideas with just a scroll, a click or a quick chat with Siri.
8. What has been your biggest time saver this year?
Our new packages for sure! When we re-branded to Weddings at QMUL, the first thing we did was look at what we offer and how accessible that information was. We realised that it was really difficult for our potential couples to find out how much it would cost for them to host their wedding with us. So we designed brand new packages that were transparent and allowed couples to see exactly what is included in each package and the costs associated with it. No little surprises later down the line. This saves me so much time as I am not constantly playing ‘ping pong’ with lots of questions from couples and it reduces their levels of frustration in having to ask so many questions.
It’s human nature to seek validation in something by hearing about something from someone else who has experienced it first hand. Couples planning their wedding are no exception – they want to hear more about ‘real life’ wedding stories and read first-hand recommendations in order to make an informed decision about something they are going to spend a lot of money on. For us, word of mouth recommendations and reviews are really valuable.
10. How do you get to know your couples before the big day?
When I meet a potential couple I like to think of them as a friend and not a client. I spend a lot of time with them through the wedding preparation process, so when a couple comes in for their menu tasting session with our chefs, I make sure I am there as well. It’s a really nice relaxed environment and I find it gives me a great opportunity to get to know the couple even better. We form a partnership and it allows us to work together to ensure their day goes perfectly.
11. What do you think makes Weddings at QMUL unique?
Our signature venue is our Grade II listed Victorian ‘Octagon’ venue. Anyone who steps inside for the first time is always blown away by just how extraordinary it is. We call it ‘The Hidden Gem in the Heart of East London’ and it really is! It’s the only venue of its kind in London. However, as a team, we wanted to ensure that we didn’t get complacent and expect that the venue would sell itself. As lovely as a venue can be, after all it is only a ‘room’, albeit a pretty one. For us it’s all about the additional services and support we provide as a venue. From having myself available as a point of contact throughout, to the transparency of the new competitively priced packages and the complimentary extras we include at no additional cost, we have designed a truly unique offer for all potential couples.
Photo credit: Lauren Page
12. What do you think makes for the perfect wedding?
The people. If you have the most important family and friends around you, you will have memories that last a lifetime. Therefore, making sure that everyone attending is happy on the day is the number one priority. If they are happy, I am happy!
13. What’s your favourite wedding memory?
My own wedding – it was an incredible day that was filled with so much love from family and friends. It was a colourful Indian wedding with an abundance of food, drink and LOTS of dancing! My friends said that they had never been to a wedding where the dance floor was packed from beginning to end. It was also a great learning curve for me too – to be the bride was the most important lesson ever. It made me experience first hand what our couples at Queen Mary University London are going through when they are planning their big day. It’s very stressful, but now I make sure that I do whatever I can to help them and put their minds at rest.
14. What do you love about Bridebook?
The app is brilliant! It’s great for couples who do not know where to start when they are planning their wedding. Having a resource like the Bridebook app is a great tool for them.
Searching tirelessly for the perfect wedding venue near Greater Manchester? Bridebook.co.uk has compiled a list of the top 25 venues in and around the city to help you out! Take a look at these incredible places, or hunt for yourself by viewing all our wedding venues in Manchester.
In the centre of Manchester sits Halle St Peter’s, an incredible grade II listed church that has been recently reformed. High ceilings and original features will impress your guests as they enter this venue – a stunning backdrop for your wedding day.
Wonderful grounds and a chic interior welcome you Ashfield House Hotel. This exclusive venue is the canvas for you to put your own spin on your wedding day, making your biggest dreams become reality!
Dating back to 1421, Chetham’s is made up of medieval buildings with heaps of character. As you say your vows among oak-panelled walls and take photos in the breath-taking library, your wedding day will be immersed in history and charm at this venue.
Fun, quirky and magical are the three words often used to describe this venue. Complete with bails of hay, authentic farm items and llamas and donkeys to pose with during your photos, The Wellbeing Farm has it all.
Amazing Art Nouveau architecture brings class and style to your wedding day in the form of Belle Epoque. Only a short journey away from Manchester, the stunning interiors and Italian glass mosaic floors of this venue are the perfect surroundings for your wedding.
This stunningly epic grade II listed building is completely one of a kind. The Great Nave within The Monastery is filled with history and offers spectacularly majestic surroundings for you and your guests to enjoy.
The Ashes boasts a stone courtyard, 50 acres of lush grounds and original interior brickwork. It’s easy to forget you’re just outside of Manchester when you see the picturesque pond and stunning surroundings of this venue.
Nestled away behind Didsbury Park, this Victorian villa is full of charm. The relaxing atmosphere of it’s gardens will be the perfect setting for you wedding day.
Set in the Peak District just outside of Manchester, Upper House stands tall over tranquil gardens and magnificent woodlands. Steeped in history and with a medieval banqueting hall ready to wow your guests, your wedding will be a success with this hidden gem.
This family-run beauty is nestled within Styal Golf Course and provides the blank canvas for you to work upon with your wedding theme. Styal Lodge uses gorgeous wood panelling and natural light to breathe fresh air into your wedding.
The incredible 15th Century Manor House of Mitton Hall combines historical features and a contemporary feel. Oak panelled rooms make the interior cosy, while adding a touch of class to your wedding.
Step into the limelight in this fabulously unique venue. The art deco glamour of The Plaza auditorium will transform your wedding into an unforgettable event, and you even get your own private film screening with popcorn provided!
Magnificent high ceilings and stunning architecture make Whitworth Hall a truly incredible place to tie the knot. In the heart of Manchester, the gothic grandeur of this building is all you need to stun your guests.
This rustic barn is a charming backdrop for your wedding day. Beautiful beams and natural light give The Oak Tree of Peover a magical and contemporary touch to the Cheshire countryside.
This stately home is truly magnificent venue that shows off beautiful architecture inside and out. The Adlington Hall & Gardens is set within the countryside close to Manchester and boasts incredible interior design. Wow!
The Saddleworth Hotel is a venue full of chic interiors and luxurious features. Based a short drive away from the centre of Manchester, the perfectly preened gardens and spectacular views are the ideal wedding backdrop.
A Medieval-inspired period barn and striking exteriors belong to Sandhole Oak Barn, set in the rolling Cheshire countryside. Say ‘I Do’ in the Oak Clock Tower, and then party the night away in the impressive grounds.
One of the most quirky ideas near Manchester is a wedding day trip with Canal Boat Cruises. The wedding boat ‘Romance’ is transformed into a venue for your special day, and you and your guests can even help to open and close the locks on your journey!
Heaton House Farm is a former dairy farm with sandstone barns and a rustic exterior. As you step inside, style and contemporary chic make a glorious backdrop for your very special day.
A truly unique wedding day can happen in front of your very eyes within The Manchester Museum. You and your guests can walk among the dinosaurs during your wedding for the ultimate step back in time.
The classic and historic decor of Capesthorne Hall will give your wedding day an edge of class. With breath-taking views across the countryside and grand interiors, this venue is the ideal setting when becoming Mr and Mrs!
Owen House Wedding Barn is a bespoke wedding venue dedicated to give you a truly unique wedding experience. The converted barn still has original features and plenty of rustic charm to offer for your photo opportunities!
This spectacular venue is surrounded by acres of woodland and lush greenery to enjoy on your big day. Sparth House Hotel is equipped with luxurious features and a personalised service to help you relax on your wedding day!
If you’re still undecided about your wedding venue or you’re looking elsewhere in the UK, use Bridebook.co.uk’s Wedding Venue Search and type in your preferred location.
Feeling stressed about the plans for your big day? Bridebook.co.uk can help you out and make the planning process much easier. Fill in your guest list, budget and use our wedding checklist to make sure you don’t forget a thing in the lead up to your special day!
