22 November, 2010
Real Wedding: Nathaniel and Tamara at Lillibrooke Manor, Maidenhead, Berkshire
Tamara and Nathaniel had planned the perfect wedding, but wanted the peace of mind that the logistics were managed to ensure it became a reality on the day.
We met a year before their wedding and were in regular contact to provide supplier suggestions. Closer to their wedding we extensively discussed the day's arrangements. Following this meeting we produced a wedding day plan and a timings schedule, then spoke to and confirmed the details with all the suppliers.
Tamara paid great attention to detail with lots of special Zimbabwean touches that made their day meaningful, from the invitation design to the family wedding car, sourcing the national flower to relabelling the bottles of wine and the cake topper to the favours; there was a whole host of personal touches that made for an extra special day. During the week of the wedding we reviewed the final plans and timings together as well as collecting and storing all of their decoration items.
On the morning we decorated the church and Lillibrooke Manor, see the video of the set up here. Luckily we were equipped with our emergency kit with our ivory umbrella to hand when the rain came. We greeted all of the suppliers and supported their set up, organised the guests going to the buffet table, helped book taxis, stored the veil, moved garden games and liaised with the best man for announcements amongst many other things.
Being the point of contact on the wedding day ensured everything went smoothly and relieved the couple of any stress.
Wishing you both a wonderful married life together filled with much love and happiness x
Credits
Photography: Studio Rouge
Videographer: Capture the Day
String trio: Giardino Strings
Caterers: Complete Catering
DJ: Sound Bookings
Cake: Especially Delicious
15 November, 2010
Top 20 time saving tips - Part 2
Further to our recent top ten tips on saving time when planning your wedding, here are another ten suggestions:
11. High street bridesmaids
There are lots of dresses in high street shops such as Debenhams, Coast and House of Fraser that are just as gorgeous as any bridal shop ones, but without the time delay of ordering the dresses in.
12. Use a Wedding Planner
Ask an expert to create shortlists for suppliers you are having specific trouble sourcing. They will know of reputable local companies and may even be able to negotiate you a better rate.
13. Manage your RSVPs
Send a stamped self addressed envelope if you are mailing RSVP cards with your invites to speed up the replies. Or quicker still use an online RSVP option on a wedding website.
14. Back to basics
Skip some of the unnecessary tasks, such as having wedding favours, that can take a lot of hours to find and you may not feel are critical.
15. Thank you notes
Write your thank you notes as you receive gifts to save having a long list to complete when you return from your honeymoon.
16. Venue styling
Save time on the day by using wedding decorators to set-up and remove the decorations for you.
17. Pre ceremony photo shoot
Meet with your husband-to-be before the wedding ceremony for a photo shoot to save time after the ceremony, leaving you to relax and enjoy the arrival drinks with your guests.
18. Cheat with the cake cutting
Have an extra cake in the kitchen that your caterers can pre-cut so after your cake cutting ceremony is complete they can serve the cake much faster.
19. Skip a receiving line
Depending on how many guest you have these can take a huge amount of time, a less formal way would be to visit each table between courses during the meal.
20. Keep storage simple
Have a room aside to keep everything related to your wedding in- so everyone know where to put things after they have been used and most importantly where to go to pack everything up swiftly at the end of the day.
Photo credit: A SugarBlossom wedding at Brockhurst School, Newbury by Francis Beaumont