Wedding Planning - Ask the Expert Session 22/06/2010
On 22nd June The Wedding Community’s wedding planning expert Julie Tooby of Essentially You was on hand to answer your questions in our ‘Ask the Expert’ session on the discussion forum. Here are some of the questions and answers from the session.
Q Please can you give me ideas of what themes are in fashion for weddings this year. We are planning on getting married next June so I know things will change but we really need some ideas as to what to base the wedding on. We both like the outdoors but are not sure how to base the theme on this. Please help!!
A Themes are a funny thing, as you can end up wrapped up in them. The essence of the wedding is that it should say something about you and your H2b. We are seeing a lot of colour coming through this year, and a lovely one which will be big next year is the midnight blue being seen everywhere. Great for bridesmaids. To set your theme perhaps look at your colours and work from there. Are you thinking vintage chic or elegant fun? Once you have this you can build up the rest of your themeand add in little touches of inspiration which say YOU. If you like the outdoors look at maybe a garden party inspired idea, but you have to be a little careful as no planner in the world can promise a day like today so you need to bear elements like this in mind.
Q Our wedding venue provides chairs for the ceremony and wedding breakfast that have metal frames (silver) with red fabric seats. Our colour scheme is bright colours, oranges, yellows, greens and some red. I'm not sure if we should have chair covers or not? Do you think the rooms would look a lot better if we had chair covers and what sort of style would you recommend?
A The age old question, should we shouldn’t we have chair covers? Well there are different sorts available, some are lycra fitted others are cotton, sashes in different colours so you could choose one or even fit two twisted together. However as these can be an additional expense to your budget I would contact a good hire company (your venue may recommend one) and ask if they would let you try one to see what difference they make. In my opinion they can transform a room if the chairs that are there are not quite right for your theme. You are having bright colours but if it is just a touch of red then the chairs may tip the balance. If you have hired a coordinator they will be able to recommend a good hire company and may be able to get some samples for you, then you can see how it looks. Really this is the only way to truly visualise.
Q My partner and I are not religious so don't want a church wedding and are thinking of a country house. We would quite like to get married in the garden but not sure if you can legally get married outside. How does it work?
A This is a tricky one for sure. It is totally down to the registrars in the area. Venues have to meet certain criteria to be licensed, added to this is also the individual county’s registrar's interpretation of this criteria. Weddings cannot take place in the open air so it must be some sort of 'fixed building'. This can be interpreted as 'within four walls' or it can be interpreted as a more open building such as a permanently fixed pergola or covered terrace. It really is a minefield. Have you an area in mind? If so you can get a full list of all approved premises from the registry office which will rule out some of the leg work for you.
Q We are planning a summer wedding and would like to make the day as fun and relaxed as possible. There will be a break of about 2 hours between our ceremony and the wedding breakfast so what sort of activities can you suggest we can give our guests to do to keep them occupied so they don't get bored?
A Well now, entertainment for guests can really hit your budget, so it does depend on how much you wish to assign to this, you could do something such as caricaturist or magician. Or you could set games such as giant Jenga, four in a row etc which would be more cost effective. Perhaps you could go along the route of a video diary room which will get funnier as the day goes on. An art table for the younger guest is a good one and not costly. The list could be endless.
Q We are getting married in December next year and would like the venue to be lit with candles to create a magical feel. We are planning to have our ceremony at 4:30pm so it is dark (or getting dark). Do you think this is too late for the ceremony? After the pictures and wedding breakfast, the evening reception will not take place until about 8pm and our day guests would have only just eaten so do we need to provide food for the evening?
Also, I don’t want the venue to look too Christmassy as I still want it to look like a wedding. Any ideas how we can stay clear of the reds and golds so it is not Christmassy?
A Well I do think we have to break this down for you starting with your timings. Who has worked these out for you? The ceremony @ 4.30 will be lovely as it is December and to be honest you will have lost the light for photographs earlier than that, however this is something to bear in mind. I don’t think you need evening food as such but it may be an idea to provide something simple such as bacon rolls or cheese and biscuits at about 10.30 to soak up some alcohol and to cater for any munchies your guest have by then.
Candles are gorgeous and will certainly add something to the look and feel of the venue. Check that you can have them and look into what you will put them in, lanterns etc it may be cheaper to hire.
Christmas can be a difficult time of year to blend your theme to the venue; however it can be done and looks great. I have had a venue whose colours were red and gold and we managed to create a blue and silver theme which looked amazing. A good idea may be to hire an on the day coordinator who will assist with the planning, decor, setting up and timings as well as you on the day.
Q Since we have been planning our wedding I have been looking in wedding magazines and on websites at ideas and we would like to have a vintage themed wedding. Our wedding is 9th September 2012 so a while off. Do you think it will still be easy to source vintage accessories in a few years time? I don’t want to plan down that route if it will be out of fashion and difficult to theme the day properly.
A I do not think that vintage will ever go out, it is big news right now but as you will be putting your own stamp on things then it will be fabulous for your wedding. A great idea would be to begin sourcing things now and storing them for the wedding, that will help spread the cost and assist with budgeting. If it is a "vintage tea party" idea and you are looking to achieve with china tea cups etc then look around charity shops and get collecting - far cheaper than hiring and looks awesome!
Q My fiancé and I are not sure whether to have a DJ or a live band. What do you think would be better? We are inviting about 200 guests to the evening reception.
A Dj or band that is the question... I think you must look at the styles you would like and the budgets you have as a band is much more expensive than a DJ. However in my opinion if you get a good one it can be spectacular. You can also pop a playlist on your ipod and play this during the breaks and at the end to fill the gaps and save money.
Many thanks to Julie for all her help and advice. If you have any questions or just want to chat, why not start or join in a discussion on The Wedding Community forum.
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