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Local experts offer stellar advice on wedding dilemmas

Planning Sos

We’ve just started planning our honeymoon; what advice can you share to help the process?

The honeymoon is when you kick back and focus on the two of you while thoughts of seating charts, wedding favours and centrepieces become a distant memory.

With a literal world of destinations, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. At Tailored Retreats, it helps to consider some fundamental questions starting with those centred around you as a couple. What do you enjoy doing together, and are there destinations or experiences you both have on your bucket lists? Weddings often reflect the happy couple; the perfect honeymoon should follow suit!

Blooming Beautiful

I’m set to tie the knot next summer, and I’d love to include some of the season’s most beautiful flowers in my bouquet and venue décor. Do you have any suggestions for what I should look for?

Summer brides usually have their pick of lovely weather and a wide option of simply stunning blooms. Roses are a bridal staple available year-round in various shades and sizes to embellish bouquets, buttonholes and wedding venues. Choose high-grade flowers for your bouquets, and either colour-block them with filler florals or go for a graduated effect using one to three shades. Pick your favourite colours as there’s no written rule that it has to be white or ivory for brides.

Large head dahlias, lilies and peonies are in season only until early June, while hydrangeas, larkspur, lisianthus and astilbe are your other go-to large statement flowers and fillers.

For greenery, choose to go with one shade of green with a variety of leaves or use about three to five different types with varying shades to add texture and colour to your displays. Greenery is available yearround, so source plenty to fill up the venue displays and use your large and filler flowers as focal pieces to keep costs down.

Have a budget for your flowers, as florals are expensive. Careful

Next, think about whether you have set travel dates and departure points or if you have flexibility. Many hotels offer honeymoon benefits for couples travelling within a year of their wedding, and flexibility can mean cost savings as well as a greater choice of destinations, hotels and flights. Finally, agree on your budget. Without an idea of what you want to spend, planning a honeymoon can be exhaustive to no avail. Off the back of these initial questions, a good travel agent can narrow down destinations before working with you to design a tailor-made itinerary for your dream honeymoon.

Amisha Patel | Tailored Retreats https://tailoredretreats.com

planning with your florist will help keep within your budget. Here at Becca Blooms, we tell all our brides to start speaking to us as soon as they have a date and venue booked. That way, we can source and create the most appropriate, cost-effective and impactful floral displays.

Rebecca Paulraj | Becca Blooms | https://beccablooms.com

DREAM-WORTHY SETTINGS

We’re just starting our big-day journey, and neither knows what to look for when booking a venue. What advice can you share? Choosing the venue for your big day is a big decision. View as many different properties as possible to decide your must-haves and any compromises you’re happy to make.

Some couples don’t want to worry about the British weather, so look for somewhere with plenty of inside spaces. Some lovebirds never want their special day to end, so ask about a late licence too!

The Bedford in Balham is perfect if you want a venue where everything can happen in one place, from getting ready, the ceremony, wedding breakfast, evening reception and accommodation.

Becky Stevenson | The Bedford | www.thebedford.co.uk

Al Fresco Celebrations

What advice can you share when planning an al fresco wedding?

Probably the biggest challenge you’ll face when planning an al fresco wedding is – all together now – the weather! But if you plan, you’ll find ways around it while still having the best open-air celebration you could wish for.

Make sure everyone’s adequately informed. When you send out your invitations, ensure you’re clear about what parts of your day will be celebrated outside, or indeed all of it, so that guests know to make their arrangements for attire and protection. Keep an open line of communication with your suppliers too, and collaborate with them on wet-weather backup plans. For example, at which point will you be prepared to take it all inside? Who is going to be responsible for moving the whole shebang?

Check on the access to your venue. If you’re tying the knot in a field, is there parking nearby? Are there accessible roads and paths to get to you? If not, think about overcoming these challenges for your guests. Perhaps you must lay on extra transport from a local car park, for example. Also, think about accessibility from the point of view of any less able-bodied guests you may have coming.

Sound tends to drift away in the open air, so ensure you have all the tech in place to ensure everyone can hear you say, “I do.” You’ll also need to check with the venue whether there are any restrictions on late-night music, as you don’t want to disturb the local wildlife or residents! Also, do you have all the

#TRENDING

We’re looking for the perfect florals for our wedding; what are the latest flower trends?

Summer is in full swing, and we couldn’t be more excited! The latest flower trends look towards colour and decadence with fragrant peonies, ranunculus and sweet peas. Taller stems of delphinium and lilac are fast becoming a firm favourite in the flower world, not to mention the year’s colour, Viva Magenta, a shade rooted in nature that exuberantly promotes joy and optimism to brighten any bouquet this summer.

Flowers like alstroemeria, amaryllis, anemone, cymbidium and gerbera embody this stunning colour tone and pair flawlessly with neutral-tone flowers – think hydrangea, white roses and cream delphiniums. Whether you’re refreshing your home to fit the season, exploring ideas for a wedding or looking for seasonal trending flowers for an upcoming occasion, Bloomsbury Flowers are here to satisfy all your floral needs. Anoma Radkevitch | Bloomsbury Flowers www.bloomsburyflowers.co.uk creature comforts in place on the tech front, such as loos and generators?

Think of what cover you want to provide for you and your guests; this is crucial for the comfort of all in terms of wet weather protection and the sun – we’ve had some scorchers in recent years. Once you’ve settled on a vibe for your nuptials, this should all become clear. An elegant, lined marquee is ideal for a classic wedding, whereas a tipi is the perfect choice for a boho or rustic vibe.

When it comes to styling, take a look at your setting and plan ways to complement it with your theme. Nature can do incredible heavy lifting on this front if you strive to work with it rather than against it.

Olivia Gibson | Your London Wedding editor