How To Create Your Wedding Seating Plan

With your Guest List sorted and your invitations sent out, you might think you’re out of the woods. No more arguments about whether or not Cousin Penny’s new partner makes the cut? You’re sorted… Right?

Well, not quite. We hate to break it to you, but once the RSVPs start to come flooding in, you’ll have another challenge to face: creating your wedding seating plan.

What’s The Best Way To Seat Guests At Your Wedding?

We know it’s not the answer you want, but all we can say is… It depends! What vibe are you going for? If you want to create a more relaxed atmosphere, long rectangular tables can be a good option as they allow guests to chat more easily. On the other hand, you could opt for traditional round table plan, which work especially well if your Guest List is divided into clear groups – or if you want to encourage guests to mix.

How Should You Decide Where To Seat Guests At Your Wedding Table Plan?

Whatever table layout you’re going for, we recommend seating guests according to your relationship with them. There’s no “one size fits all” here, but working through this list from “nearest to top table” to “furthest from top table” is a great place to start.

1. The Top Table

Start off with the top table, which is usually a long table facing the rest of the guests. Here, you’ll find you and your partner, along with your parents and the very closest members of your wedding party (the best man or woman, maid or man of honour, or similar).

2. Immediate Family

Any immediate family should be sat at the table nearest to you and your partner – most likely your siblings, if you have them.

3. The Wedding Party

Any bridesmaids, ushers or other members of your wedding party should also be prioritised for a seat near the top table.

4. Extended Family

Next up is your extended family: your grandparents, uncles, aunties and cousins. If any of your other relatives have travelled especially far to be at your wedding, consider including them here too.

5. Close Friends

Any close friends who didn’t make your wedding party come in around the same place as your extended family.

6. Friends

Look, you shouldn’t usually rank your friends… But you might have to make an exception! The A List are in your wedding party and we’ve just dealt with the B List, so this is the C List – plus any acquaintances or friends of your parents you felt obligated to invite!

7. Colleagues

If you’ve invited your colleagues, it tends to be a good idea to put them all on the same table as they may not know many of your other guests. If you’re super close to your colleagues, bump them up to sit somewhere between your “close friends” and “regular friends”. But for most people, colleagues come in last place.

5 Questions to Ask Your Wedding Photographer When You Meet Them

So you’ve booked your wedding photographer(If not, read the wedding photographer checklist) and now it’s time to meet up, get acquainted and discuss some of the finer details of your wedding day. The photographer is one of the most significant vendors present on your wedding day and we can’t understate their role in proceedings. Therefore, meeting them before the day is very important to clarify everything.

If your photographer is based further away(some photographers travel worldwide), a pre-wedding meeting may not be possible……but there’s always Skype!

If possible, try to arrange to meet up at the venue. This will allow you to walk around the building and grounds and look for good photo opportunities and decide on where you would like photos to be taken. This has the double advantage of making your day go more smoothly and also increases the chances that you will be happy with the results.

You will have questions of your own so we won’t bore you with a massive list here. We’ll just highlight what we consider to be the 5 most important questions.

1. Arrival time and departure time

Find out when they will arrive on the wedding morning and add this to your vendor spreadsheet. It’s also useful to find out what time they will leave at the end of the night, just so you have an idea. It tends to be after the first dance but they may be willing to stay later upon request.

2. Key group shots you want – setting

Discuss the different group shots you would like captured. For example, immediate family only, bridesmaids only, groomsmen only etc. If you are at the venue, take a walk around the grounds to find a good location for the group shots. Do the same inside the venue as a backup in case the weather is poor on your wedding day.

3. Key couple shots you want(setting, pose, style)

At some point on your wedding day, there will be an opportunity to get some pictures taken of just the 2 of you. Find out when they would plan to do this? Normally, this would be soon after the ceremony, either before or after group shots. Some couples prefer to do a traditional portrait type shot while others prefer to go for a romantic walk and let the photographer be a “fly on the wall”. Photographers have their own style and may specialise in the formal approach or the fly-on-the-wall approach so discuss their suggestions and give them your input on what you are looking for. When discussing the couple shots, the key things you want to talk about are setting, pose and style. This is the location of the shoot on the wedding day, the poses you plan to do(e.g. looking at camera, no-poses-just-natural, kissing, quirky jump etc.) and the style of the photography(have you seen a particular style of shot you like? Ideally have an example image to show).

4. Specific shots

If you have any specific shots in mind that you want to capture, discuss these also. This could be a simple romantic shot, or it could be something very specific…..such as using props or an aerial drone shot(if they can provide that). Read this guide from Buzzfeed on drone photography

5. Key people you want captured(show a picture)

Finally, let your photographer know if you want them to capture images of specific people during the course of your wedding day. If you have 100+ guests, it could be difficult for them to capture a picture of everyone. If there is somebody you want to make sure isn’t missed, you need to let them know because they don’t know your friends and family and don’t know who the important people are. Show them an image if you can.

Those 5 little questions should cover most of the important things that need to be addressed. Add your own as you see fit.

Wedding Costs Spreadsheet

Planning a wedding is an expensive business! With so many high-cost purchases to be made in a short space of time, it can quickly become difficult to track your spending and you may find your wedding costs spiralling out of control and bursting your budget limits.

To help you manage this, we have put together a “Costs” spreadsheet. This simple table allows you to quickly enter expenses as they come in and track spending as you pay deposits.

It gives you a quick breakdown of:

Total amount spent on wedding
Total amount paid so far
Total amount left to pay

It also breaks each of these down by category so you can track high-cost areas.

Feel free to edit columns and move things around to make this work for you. This spreadsheet is free to be shared with whoever you like.

For more advice, read our guide on making wedding payments

Wedding Day Checklist – Things to Check

Wedding Day Checklist

With so much going on with your wedding planning, it can be hard to focus on some of the small tasks that make your wedding special. For that reason, we have built a wedding day checklist. This covers all the small tasks that are required in the week leading up to the wedding that have a direct impact on your wedding day. If you are looking for a more comprehensive checklist for the entire planning process, take a look at our wedding planning checklist.

Have you completed the following tasks?

Favours prepared
DIY decorations made
Printables printed
Signs printed and twined
Table decorations gathered and packed
Miscellaneous decorations packed
All attire collected and packed
Flowers for mothers of bride and groom collected
Arranged collection of cake
Confirmed all vendor arrival times
Wedding Party briefed

If you have completed the above tasks, you’re good to go. Remember to do your final wedding checks with your vendors too.

Read the full wedding planning checklist.

4 Things You Must Do at The Final Wedding Dress Fitting

The final wedding dress fitting has arrived. It’s your last chance to make sure you are happy with the finished result and advise of any changes you would like made. Whatever you do, make sure you do the following 4 things:

1. Take your wedding shoes

This is a must! You need to see how the dress looks with your shoes but also make sure that the length of the dress is correct when worn with heels. Try walking with the dress and shoes on together to give yourself an idea of how difficult it will be on the day.

2. Take undergarments and accessories

Likewise, take any accessories(veil, hair clips, tiaras) and undergarments that will be worn with the dress to your final dress fitting. This is to see how they look together and make sure it’s not dreadfully uncomfortable.

3. Take your bridesmaids or the “people who will be helping you to get ready on the day”

This has 3 purposes:

to get a 2^nd opinion and make sure everything looks as it should
to find out how to put the dress on(it can be harder than it looks)
to learn how to bustle the dress

4. Learn how to care for your dress

This is mainly to find out how to keep your dress crease-free. Normally, the best option is to use a steamer rather than an iron as the heated plate of an iron would melt most dresses. These can be hired or purchased for around £50.

It’s also good to find out how to take care of stains should you happen to get any(e.g. from makeup). Every dress is different but the shop should be able to advise on this.

Since this is your last dress fitting, try to enjoy it as much as you can. The next time you go back to the store you will be collecting your wedding dress!

The Complete Guide to Choosing Your Wedding Music

Choosing Your Wedding Music

Choosing your wedding music is one of those tasks that is deceivingly demanding.

You might think that this is an easy task, but once you start you will quickly realise the significance of the responsibility.

The music you choose for your wedding is such a big deal because……music is such a big deal. When we watch a film or go to a restaurant, music is used to create atmosphere. It changes the way people feel. The same is true for your wedding music. The music you choose is ultimately going to affect the mood of both you and your guests, so making the right choice becomes very important.

There are 3 main points of your wedding where you will need to choose music:

Ceremony
Dinner
Dance

Before we look at each section, consider the feel you want to create and make sure this fits with your theme. The feel will determine the style of music you should be going for. E.g. Easy-listening acoustic music would go well at a boho or rustic wedding, but wouldn’t be as fitting at a formal affair. Likewise, some indie-grunge might suit a rock n roll wedding but would be unfitting for almost any other style. Perhaps extreme examples, but you get the idea.

So let’s break down each point of the day

Ceremony

This is probably the easiest section of the day to choose your music for as there are certain pieces that have become synonymous with weddings. This is very dependent on the type of ceremony you are having so the best approach here is to discuss the options with your officiant as he/she might have some suggestions.

Dinner

Background music during the meal is an area that people often miss as most wedding guides won’t mention it. This is really not necessary as most of your guests will be talking and not listening to the music but it is really helpful in setting the scene and creating the feel that you want the day to have.

A good option here is to make a Spotify playlist in advance and plug it in to the PA system at your venue during the meal. Remember to match your music to your wedding theme.

Dance

Ah, the dancing! The grand finale to your wedding day. There are only 3 rules when choosing the music for the dancing(although you can break as many of these rules as you wish).

You must like it
It makes you happy
You can dance to it

Other than that, the choice is yours.

If you have hired a band, your choices will be easier as they will have a set playlist for you to choose from. You may be able to request that they learn 1 or 2 songs if you have something special you would like played(i.e. your first dance).

If you have hired a DJ on the other hand, the choice is as widespread as you like which takes you back to square one. Just make sure it’s happy music that’s good for dancing.

We’ve put together a guide on crafting the perfect wedding playlist in case you need some further inspiration.

Sending Wedding Invitations : 4 final checks

Sending Wedding Invitations

So you’ve named and addressed your invitations and they’re ready to go. But stop right there! Before your run out and pile them all into a post box, take 5 mins to go through the following checks to make sure there are no mistakes.

1. Check your guest list

Take a look at your guest list spreadsheet and cross-check your pile of invitations against it. You want to make sure that every name on the spreadsheet is included in an invitation.

2. Are they all named, addressed and stamped?

Yes, I’m being this specific……but trust me….when you need to write a lot of invitations, this can easily be missed. Check that they all have the name and address(and ideally double check that you have the correct address) and finally check that every envelope has a stamp.

3. Is there a return address on the back?

Not a necessity but this can be useful if there are any issues with sending the invitations(especially if one of your guests has moved house and not informed you of their new address).

4. Keep international mail separate

If you are sending any international mail, keep this separate and don’t stamp it with the others as you will need to pay a custom price for international postage. It’s easy to quickly stamp everything and overlook this so make sure you are checking the addresses as you are stamping.

Bam! You’re good to go. You’re invitations are checked, signed, sealed and…..will very shortly…..be delivered.

Walk to that post box like a boss, slam dunk those invitations and take a bow. You’ve just completed your invitations.

Read our hack on processing your RSVP replies as they are sent back

Wedding Vendors – Spreadsheet

Wedding Vendors Spreadsheet

One of the most difficult aspects of managing your wedding planning is staying on top of the various conversations you have with vendors. Attempting to keep all of this information in your head is nearly impossible as you discuss style choices, wedding day arrangements, meetings, deposits, full payments, number of guests……the list goes on……and on. It’s quite possible that you have 20+ email threads going at any one time…..and it’s all vendors!!! That doesn’t count the various arrangements you need to make with your guests and wedding party. What you need is a central location to keep all the key vendor information you need. For that reason, we have built this spreadsheet which includes all the key information you need to keep a note of.

Once you have the information added for each vendor, pass this onto anybody in your wedding party who is responsible for meeting vendors on the day of the wedding or before. This gives them all the key information they need in case there are any problems.

How to Choose a Wedding Planner

Hiring a wedding planner is an optional extra for many people, with most couples opting to plan their own wedding. This is partly down to a misunderstanding of what a wedding planner does and their role in wedding preparations. Many venues include a “wedding planner” in their wedding packages but most of the time this is just a member of staff who deals with on-the-day arrangements. They would not provide the same service that a wedding planner would. The term “wedding planner” could have multiple meanings. In this hack, we will advise on 4 different types of wedding planners and their responsibilities in making your wedding dreams a reality. Starting with……

The Wedding Planner

The standard Wedding Planner will take care of all your wedding planning woes, from start to finish. A wedding planner should be a specialist in event management and well experienced in creating and running events. They will meet with you for an initial consultation to discuss your wedding specifications, then they will go away and make it happen. They will arrange wedding vendors, attend venue/vendor meetings, liaise with vendors etc. A proper wedding planner will remove the majority of your wedding planning duties, leaving you to look forward to your wedding and just enjoy all the nice bits. Like choosing decor on Pinterest! The wedding planner will normally be in attendance on your wedding day to liaise with vendors as they arrive. This will help you to relax on your wedding morning as you will probably be feeling nervous enough as it is!

The Wedding Coordinator

A Wedding Coordinator is often less experienced than a wedding planner and may not hold an event management qualification. They would still cover many of the responsibilities of a regular wedding planner but would leave many other aspects of the planning to you, such as liaising with vendors and attending meetings. A wedding co-ordinator would normally be present on your wedding day to organise vendors and decorations etc in the same way that a fully fledged wedding planner would be.

The Wedding Director

A Wedding Director is a service often offered by wedding planners. A wedding director would provide a “day-of” service. A wedding director carries out most of their work in the few months prior to the wedding. Their services would include: finalising all vendor arrangements, visiting venues and planning layout, providing a day-of timeline for all parties, management of the wedding day activities. A wedding director service is normally a cheaper service due to the shorter length of service provided.

The Wedding Designer

This is a very different role to the other 3 as it solely caters to the visuals of the wedding and would not normally include the administrative duties carried out by a wedding planner. A wedding designer is an experienced creative professional who is able to combine various elements of design including decoration, flowers, table settings etc. to build a cohesive “look” for your wedding. These professionals can elevate your wedding vision beyond what you had imagined yourself.

When hiring a wedding planner, make sure to get a breakdown of everything they provide in their service. Many people call themselves wedding planners but only cover a fraction of the responsibilities that a qualified wedding planner would cover. To ensure you receive a high quality of service, consider using a verified wedding planner directory such as UKAWP This helps you to avoid hiring an inexperienced planner who could muck up your whole wedding.

If a planner isn’t in the budget, learn how to be your own wedding planner

What to Ask Your Wedding Officiant

Wedding Officiant

Your wedding date is nearing and it’s time to meet with your officiant to go over some of the finer details of the ceremony. Here are 5 questions you should ask.

1. Can you help us in registering our marriage?

Registering your marriage can be a monotonous task depending on your local laws and the complexity of the process. Most officiants have performed weddings for many couples so are very familiar with the process and should be able to inform you of all the necessary steps.

2. Are we able to have a rehearsal?

You may not feel you need a rehearsal and just want to wing it on the day. If you want to put your mind at ease however, it can be a good idea to have a quick rehearsal in the last few weeks before the wedding so that it is fresh in your mind. If they are not able to accommodate this, they should be able to go over the structure of the ceremony over the phone. You can write this down so that you have a clear picture of how the ceremony will pan out.

3. How long will the ceremony normally last?

Following on from question 2…..ask how long the wedding ceremony will last? This is important to know as it will determine the timing of events to follow. Once you know the duration of the ceremony, add it to your wedding day timeline.

4. Can we customise the ceremony?

If you don’t want to go with the standard wordings, you may be able to customise certain aspects of the ceremony such as the vows. The other important areas of customisation are song and reading choices. Ask what is/isn’t allowed as there are certain restrictions depending on the type of ceremony you are having.

5. Would they like to attend the meal?

Since they play such an important role in your wedding day, it’s always polite to ask your officiant if they would like to stay for the meal and reception. If they do, that is another person you need to account for when finalising numbers with the caterer. Remember to add this to your wedding guest list spreadsheet.

Wedding Hair and Makeup Trial – Quick Guide

Wedding Hair and Makeup Trial

The time has come for your wedding hair and makeup trial! Your first sneak peek of your wedding face! This is a day to enjoy some pampering and soak in the excitement. At the same time, there are some practical points to consider as this is your chance to check and change any aspects of the hair & make up that don’t match up with your expectations. Hear are our top tips:

Don’t use products

First things first. Don’t use any products on your skin or hair the night before the trial. You want the trial to be as realistic as possible so don’t use any hair sprays, styling products or styling appliances. Likewise, avoid using skin creams, lotions or toners that may affect the makeup. If there is anything you need to use, check it with your hairstylist/makeup artist to make sure it won’t pose a problem.

Take veil and accessories

Take your veil to your hair trial to make sure it suits the hairstyle. If you are having your hair and makeup done by the same person, get the hair done first so you can try the veil before makeup is applied to avoid any makeup marks on the veil. If you have any other accessories that you would like to check with your hair and makeup, it’s a good idea to take these too. This would include necklaces, tiaras, hairclips etc.

Do you know what you want?

Do you have a very specific idea of the hairstyle and makeup that you want to achieve? If so, make sure your hairstylist/makeup artist are on the same page, otherwise they may stray from your vision. At the same time, it’s good to be open to their suggestions as they may have ideas which could make your vision even better. They are the experts after all.

Be honest

This is very important. If you don’t like any aspect of the hair and makeup, it’s important that you tell them now. This is the purpose of the trial after all…..to find a style you are happy with. Don’t worry about offending them. You’re not insulting their work, you’re just saying that you don’t feel it suits you. If your hairstylist/makeup artist is offended by this, they are not particularly professional and they are completely missing the point of the trial. Without honesty, the trial is a complete waste of time.

Give the hairstyle a road test

Once the hairstyle is complete, you want to make sure that it stays in place. Try going out for a meal followed by dancing to accurately emulate wedding day conditions(extremely scientific!). Or alternatively……just go sky diving! Try to schedule your hair and makeup trial for the same time of day as you will have it on your wedding day. If it’s still in place by the end of the night, you’ve got a winner!

Other than that, just make sure to enjoy your trial. Spend some time getting to know your hairstylist/makeup artist then go out afterwards to make the most of the “do”.

The Small Stuff : 20 Items for Your Wedding Equipment List

Wedding Equipment List

So, you’ve hired all the big equipment you need. The only thing left to do is to arrange all the small things that add character to your day. Most of these items you will want to buy rather than rent as you can keep them as memories of your day. These are the items that are easy to forget but can make your day more special for a relatively small amount of organisation. Add these items to your “items to buy” spreadsheet.

On with the list.

“Ceremony this way” signs
Aisle decorations
Ring bearer pillow or box
“Pick a seat not a side” signs
Guestbook
Dinner seating plan and stand
Table numbers
Table number holders
Place cards on tables
Flower baskets
Flowers for mother of bride and groom
Sparklers
Flip-flops
Blankets for guests who want to go outside
Children’s games
Puzzles for tables
Charades for tables
Quizzes for tables
Custom games(e.g. how well do you know [bride and groom]”
Table decorations

Should I Bother Creating a Wedding Website?

Why bother creating a wedding website?

A wedding website is more than just a pretty web page where you show off your engagement pics! It acts as a centralised hub for key wedding information that your guests can peruse at their own leisure. This greatly reduces the amount of time you will need to spend emailing and calling your guests with any wedding-day updates and can reduce the costs of printing various invites(save-the-dates etc.) as all the information is available online. If there are any sudden changes of plans, a quick update to the website and an email to your mailing list saves hours of phone calls.

The content you put on your wedding website is completely up to you. Here is some of the most useful information you can include:

Venue information(including map, directions and parking information)
An email contact form(to allow your guests to contact you directly)
A link to your gift list
Information on travel arrangements
Information on local accommodation
Weather forecast for the day of the wedding(to aid in outfit planning)

As you can see, there is a lot you can do with a wedding website which makes it an incredibly useful tool in helping you plan your wedding with ease. Most of the time, a wedding website can be built completely free of charge.

How To Choose Your Wedding Flowers

Whether you’ve found your dream florist or you’re still considering options, it’s time to talk wedding flowers. And from buttonholes to bouquets and ceremony flowers to centrepieces, there’s a lot to talk about. So here’s how to get started choosing your wedding flowers.

1. Have A Colour (Or Two!) In Mind

Have you chosen your wedding colours yet? If not, check out this article – then come right back here. You’ll use the colours you pick throughout your wedding decor, tying everything together – and that includes your flowers.

2. Think Seasonally

Daffodils at a winter wedding? Maybe not. But tulips for spring? Perfect! Thinking seasonally is an easy way to choose flowers that will work with your wedding’s aesthetic (and it can save you a few pennies too!).

3. Think Outside The Box

You don’t need to stick with tradition! Roses are great and if that’s what you want, go for it – but there’s a whole world of wedding flowers out there! We love wildflowers, especially for more casual weddings, while sunflowers brighten up any summer ceremony. We’ve even seen a few weddings incorporate vegetables like kale, cabbages and artichokes – and honestly, they’ve looked amazing!

4. Trust Your Florist

At the end of the day, your wedding is about you and you should always trust your gut – but it’s never a bad idea to take a little advice from the professionals! Work with your florist to come up with something you love together, combining your taste and ideas with their creative eye and years of experience.

5. Waste Not, Want Not

If you’re on a tighter budget (and honestly, even if you’re not!), consider how you could reuse flowers from your ceremony at your reception. For example, the same flowers you used to decorate your aisle might be repurposed into table centrepieces later in the day.

6. Consistency Is Key

Once you’ve decided on a theme for your wedding flowers, stick to it. That doesn’t mean that everything has to be identical – but you want some consistency between your bouquet and your buttonholes, for example. If you do want more variation, think about how you could incorporate this into your celebrations – perhaps switching things up after your wedding breakfast to signal a transition from day to night?

How To Pick Your Wedding Date

Picking your wedding date is one of the first decisions you’ll make as a newly engaged couple. And once this date is set… Well, it’s the ultimate deadline! There’s (usually) no rescheduling – so this is it, and it’s full-on wedding planning mode from here on out.

But with 365 days to choose from, how are you meant to choose? Well, here’s our four-step guide to narrowing things down so you can pick that one perfect date.

1. Think Seasonally

Let’s start nice and broad with four options: spring, summer, autumn or winter. What do you want your wedding to look like? And what kind of vibe are you going for? A formal wedding can be done indoors at any time of year – but if you’re hoping for a garden party, it’s probably best to stick to the summer months. If in doubt, think about what you want your pictures to look like. Are you imagining photographs with a backdrop of autumn leaves or spring tulips? Do you see yourself and your guests wrapped in fur stoles or wearing shorts and summer dresses? This is an easy way to get an idea of what time of year you’re aiming for.

2. Who Has To Be There?

Sure, your wedding is about you and your partner – but it’s also having the most important people in your lives around you as you take this step together. Before you commit to a date, check that your most important guests will be able to make it. You don’t want to send out save the dates, only to find that none of your nearest and dearest can attend. This is especially important if you have guests travelling in from abroad as they’re likely to have more restrictions on when they’ll be able to fly.

3. Weekend or Weekday?

Once you’ve worked out the time of year and blocked off any “no-go” periods, you can start looking at specific dates. Most weddings are still held on Saturdays, giving your guests the day after to relax before work on Monday. That said, Saturday isn’t the only option and it’s increasingly common for couples to choose other days of the week – especially as this often means bagging a bargain. If you have your heart set on a venue that’s just that bit too expensive, consider a weekday wedding – and you could nab your dream venue for a price that won’t give you nightmares!

4. Work Your Priorities

Do you decide your date then pick a venue that’s available then? Or do you find your perfect venue and set a date based on their availability? It’s all about what’s most important to you and your partner. Our advice is to stay as flexible as possible. There’s no point deciding you must get married at 4pm on 8th August if nowhere’s available – but there’s also no point booking your dream venue if no one can come! Sit down with your partner and come up with a list of must-haves to help guide your decision.

Follow these four steps and you’ll have your perfect date picked out in no time! And to make things even easier, try using our Venue Search Tool to find your wedding venue – our wedding venue directory is the biggest (and the best!) in the UK.

7 Tips for Staying Calm the Week Before the Wedding

Week Before Wedding

As the time is approaching for the big day, you will be facing a flurry of emotions. Excitement, fear, joy, panic……to name a few. They all seem to combine into a big mush that leaves you feeling overwhelmed and highly stressed. These emotions are natural. Don’t worry if you’re feeling stressed….everybody does! It would be weird if you’re not! But don’t suppress the stress. Instead, do what you can to distract yourself from the negative emotions and relish(every minute) of the positive emotions. Here are our tips for keeping your cool for the final countdown.

1. Book a spa for the final week

Not exactly rocket science but this is a great way to loosen up in the lead up to the big day. Massage, facial…..whatever your preference is. Either go on your own, with your fiancé or bridesmaids…..or anyone else for that matter. And yes, Grooms are allowed to go for a spa treatment too!

2. Go for a country walk

Ease the stresses with a long walk in a pleasant countryside setting. The peace and quiet should help clear your mind from all the hustle and bustle of your wedding preparations.

3. Think about the dancing

You may be feeling stressed about your ceremony. The idea of standing in front of all your family and friends can be very stressful for some people. If you’re giving a speech, this may make you even more nervous. If you fall into this category, try to distract yourself by focusing on the non-stressful part of your wedding. Think about how you will feel once all the stressful parts are done and you can spend the rest of your day enjoying time with your family and friends. The dancing is normally a good part to focus on. Once you’re dancing, all the hard bits are over and the rest of the night can be spent boogying on down. And then comes……

4. ….the honeymoon

That’s right! Another great thing to focus on is the honeymoon(if you are honeymooning straight after your wedding). Your honeymoon is the first time in months that you will be able to fully relax and you don’t have to look at a to-do list once! If you’re feeling nervous about the wedding day, try distracting yourself by getting excited about the honeymoon.

5. Think about the marriage

With all the wedding planning arrangements you are going through, it is very easy to become so focused on organising the wedding that you can forget the most important thing…..the marriage. Remember what it’s all about. All this planning is for one purpose…the celebration of your marriage to the person you love the most. Once the wedding is finished, the marriage remains and this is the thing that lasts. Focus on the importance of the union…..as this is the thing that matters. Next week you will be husband and wife…..and that’s amazing!

6. Go for a meal with your fiancé

Following on from my last point….this is a great way to keep the romance flowing. Not only that, it gives you and your fiancé some time-out from wedding arrangements and gives you some breathing space. Take a couple of hours to catch your breath. Reminisce about how you met and look back at your relationship together. Don’t talk about wedding planning at all! Enjoy the company and just relax.

7. Don’t worry about small problems

It’s very easy to become obsessed with every little detail, but don’t worry too much about this. The truth is….with so many arrangements going on at the same time, it’s very likely that at least 1 thing will be missed or won’t go as planned. Try to accept that now, rather than feeling annoyed/frustrated on your wedding day. When the day comes, you won’t be thinking about the length of the twine that is tying favours together. Often small mistakes in your wedding day become anecdotes for the rest of your life….they actually make the day more special and memorable.

To sum it all up, there is only 1 thing to remember. The perfection is in the day, not the arrangements.

Guest Transportation Organiser Spreadsheet

Arranging wedding transportation for your guests can be a difficult business. We’ve done a full hack on this to walk you through how to do it with as little stress as possible.

Download the Guest Transportation spreadsheet to help you in making the various arrangements between guests and transport companies. Stay on top of your planning with this simple spreadsheet.

Wedding Day Timeline – Spreadsheet

Creating a wedding day timeline is a very useful tool for both you, the venue and your vendors. It helps you clarify how the day will unfold but also allows the vendors to see how the service they provide will fit into the day. This is especially useful for your photographer and videographer as it gives them rough times as to when the key events of your day are going to take place. This allows them to plan in advance and work out best camera angles etc. Your venue and caterer will probably also ask you for a rough timeline of your day as they need this for planning food, bars and staffing.

This spreadsheet gives you a basic template to follow which includes all the key information that you need to keep your day organised. Fill this in once you have the information you need and you will find yourself feeling a lot more relaxed. Send the completed spreadsheet over to all relevant vendors and your venue. They will probably be very grateful.

You should also send(or print) this for anybody who is delegated a task on the timeline so that everybody has a clear idea of where they need to be.

10 steps to Arranging Wedding Transportation – Avoid These Pitfalls

Wedding Transportation

Do not underestimate this task! Arranging wedding transportation for your guests can prove to be a logistical nightmare. Fortunately, we’ve been there and done it and know the pitfalls. This hack will save you (literally) hours of needless correspondence and prevent any transportation disasters from occurring on your wedding day. Trust me, your guests not being able to get to your wedding is one of the most stressful things that can happen on the day. Here is how to avoid it and make sure everything goes smoothly.

1. Download our Wedding Planning spreadsheet – complete the guest list

Download our wedding planning spreadsheet(if you haven’t already) and go to the tab titled “Guest list 2”. Ideally, you should have completed this already. If you haven’t sent your invitations yet, do this as soon as you can and put a box for them to tick if they require transport. Alternatively, you can ask your email list/facebook conversation with all your guests. When you have all the responses, add the info into the column titled “Need transport?” and add contact numbers for all guests who require transport.

2. Count total number of guests

This step is pretty easy. Count the number of people in the ” Need transport?” column who have confirmed they need transport.

Tip: Pass this spreadsheet onto a bridesmaid or best man. If there are any problems with the transport company on the day of the wedding, this will allow them to easily contact all the affected guests.

3. Download our Guest Transport spreadsheet

4. When do you need to arrange transport for?

There are 3 main times on your wedding day when you may need to arrange guest transport:

To collect guests from a central location and take them to your ceremony venue. This is mainly if your ceremony venue is in a difficult to reach place.
Between the ceremony venue and reception venue. If your ceremony venue and reception venue are more than 5 mins walk away from one another you will probably need to arrange transport between them.
To return guests to a central location(or near their house) at the end of the night. Again, this is mainly only needed if your reception venue is in an area with no transport options. A coach company may be willing to take a route with a few drop-off points to deliver your guests near their homes.

Once you have determined the transport options you need to provide, it’s time to email your guests.

5. Create email list – contact all

Create a new email list(or Facebook messenger conversation) with only the guests who require transport. Contact them all and ask whether they require transport:

a) to take them to the ceremony venue?

b) between the ceremony venue and the reception venue?

c) to return them to a fixed location at the end of the night?(this would be if your reception venue is in an area with no transport options)

d) a selection of the above

As you receive responses, add them to the Guest Transport spreadsheet.

6. Ask your venue if they cater to coaches?

Some venues may have small entrances which can only cater to small vehicles or may not allow larger vehicles on their grounds. Check with your venue if they have any restrictions.

7. Contact transport companies

Do a Google search for some local transport companies and send them all the following email:

“Good afternoon,

I am emailing to enquire whether you could provide a [number of guests] seat coach on the date of [your wedding date] to provide transportation for my wedding guests.

The trips I would require would be:

[number of guests] going from [location A] to [location B] at [time]

repeat further trips if needed

I look forward to hearing from you.

Many thanks”

8. Receive replies and work out best price

As you receive replies, add the details to the Guest Transport spreadsheet and work out the best price.

9. Make the booking

Book the transport company and make sure to get an email confirming all the details.

10. Email list to advise of pick up times/locations

Finally, send an email to your email list confirming all the details(pick up times/locations) and transport company name so they know what to look out for. You may even want to send them your guest transport spreadsheet so they have all the details and they know who else is travelling with them.

Follow these 10 steps and you will successfully book your guest transport with as little effort as possible and will have secured yourself in the eventuality of something going wrong with the transport company on the wedding day.

What Equipment do You Need to Hire When Planning a Wedding?

Wedding Equipment Hire

There are many different people and services that you need to hire when planning a wedding. “Wedding equipment hire” is probably the least glamorous and least spoken about. But it doesn’t need to be. Wedding equipment is one of the few areas that will really make a big difference to your theme and the “feel” you are trying to create. Unfortunately, the lack of publicity for wedding equipment hire leaves many people bewildered as to what it actually means. Is it just light and sound?? In this hack, we outline all the equipment that you (probably) need at your wedding.

Before you begin, check what equipment your venue already provide. You can use the list below to check with them.

Tables

Dining tables
Bar/serving tables
Cake table

Chairs

Ceremony chairs
Dinner chairs
Lounge chairs
Chair covers

On the Tables

Cutlery
Place settings
Serving pieces

Glasses

Water glasses
Champagne flutes
Red wine glasses
White wine glasses
Bar glasses

Linen

Table linens
Napkins

Lighting

Lighting canopy
Uplighters

Sound systems

PA system and microphones for ceremony
PA system and microphones for speeches
Sound system for band or DJ

That takes care of all the big stuff, let’s take a look at the small stuff.