HOT TOPIC: wedding worries

Our experts solve your problems

What questions should we be asking a venue before booking?

There is a lot to think about when booking a wedding venue. These are some of the questions that we recommend you ask prospective properties:

Do you allow outdoor ceremonies? Getting married outside is a great option and can often offer a fantastic backdrop for the ceremony and great photo opportunities. Couples can get married with us in the gardens of Spring Grove House, which look spectacular.

Do you have accommodation? It’s worth finding out if they have any rooms for guests and if there is the option to stay the night before the wedding. For example, we have the option for couples to stay in our fantastic Safari Lodges.

Is there a minimum/maximum number of guests required? A venue may only be able to cater for a certain number of guests, or may have different options for the ceremony, wedding breakfast and reception.

Do you allow external suppliers? Some venues prefer to do everything in house, whereas others might completely rely on external suppliers, or a mix of in-house and external. For example, we cater in house for food, but we do allow external caterers on occasion.

What are the photo opportunities within the venue? Many

Romantic Melody

We’re having our wedding in our local church followed by a drinks reception outside, can a harp be played in both locations?

A harp is an excellent choice for a wedding, as it will create a romantic atmosphere and enchant your guests without drowning out the conversation. To play in a church and then move to an outdoor setting is easily achievable on a smaller harp, which may be picked up and carried with minimum fuss. On a large concert harp, this will be a little tricky and time-consuming, as it will need to be moved on a trolley and probably wrapped in covers, depending on the terrain and weather. My perfect solution is to use a very lightweight carbon fibre harp, which is easy to carry and needs no covers. This is quite happy being played in the rain, snow or sunshine, so you need not worry about passing showers, and it can be moved and played somewhere else in an instant.

Helen Barley www.helenbarley.co.uk

photographers may know the venue, especially if they are local, but it might be worth noting some stand-out locations, which will save time on the big day.

Do you offer exclusive hire of the venue? Some properties may be open to the public, so it’s worth finding out if you will be sharing your day with another pre-planned event, or whether members of the public will have access to the grounds.

The team at Safari Venues www.safarivenues.co.uk

The Sweetest Blooms

We love flowers and want to incorporate them into our cake. What should we take into consideration?

I adore flowers on cakes and advise my couple to consider hand-crafted sugar flowers first. Sugar flowers are perfect for cakes, as they won’t wilt, are non-toxic, can be crafted to match your fresh flowers and can be a longlasting reminder of your wedding day. Handmade sugar flowers are a showstopper piece of art and your guests will be wowed by how realistic they can look.

Of course, some couples do like to use fresh flowers too, these can also look wonderful, but it’s worth bearing in mind that not all flowers can go on cakes as they may be poisonous, and as they may wilt quickly, it might be worth bringing your cake cutting forward to an earlier time.

Talking things over with your cake designer and florist is your best bet, as they will advise you on what’s best for your preferred design and the time of year.

Heather Tilstone www.tspcake.com

Dance The Night Away

With so many bands to choose from, how can we find the right one for our big day?

Searching for your dream wedding band can feel daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. With an agency like ourselves, we have experts on hand to help you whittle down the list to help find your perfect match.

It all starts with the right questions: what is your budget? Which songs do you want to hear? Where are they going to perform? When do you want them to perform? Once you have a vision, we can point you in the right direction and recommend bands to fit your needs. Your taste matters, and we want to make sure that you have the most relevant and fitting options to choose between. From floor-filling modern pop bands to toe-tapping jazz afternoon quartets, DJ live Ibiza-style party bands to soul and Motown groove-inducing bands, there’s a band for everyone.

On bands’ profiles, you can watch their promotional videos to see them in action, read their recent reviews, listen to their demos and scour through their repertoire for your favourite songs. Now that you have all the information you’ll feel ready to book that band you’ve been

History In The Making

dreaming about.

The team at Entertainment Nation www.entertainment-nation.co.uk

My wife-to-be and I are having a quirky wedding inspired by pre-Raphaelites. Do you have any ideas on how we can do this?

Treasured Memories

What stationery trends will be popular in 2023?

A big trend we see continuing into 2023 is the gifting of cards and stationery from the bride to the bridesmaids. It’s such a special day, and asking those you love most to be a part of it should be celebrated and remembered.

Though paired back, classic tones are still a huge trend in wedding stationery but we are finding more people are asking for greeting cards which feature colour and vibrancy.

Another trend we see continuing are wedding cards that can be kept and cherished as a reminder of the wonderful celebration long after it has passed. Instead of popping them in a memory box and putting them to one side, they can be kept out on the shelf and admired for years to come. Our ‘Keepsakes’ wedding card is a luxurious hand-painted 3D structure, perfect for those who are not buying a present but would still love to gift something super special.

Nicol Meazzini

The pre-Raphaelites period began in 1848 and lasted until the early 1900’s, so look for venues of that era. Think Gothic revival-styled houses and those from the arts and crafts movement. Look for properties with amazing gardens and old walls, vines, wisteria or rambling rose walkways.

Influences were largely taken from the Medieval period, Christianity and nature. When adding touches to your ceremony, draw from the colours used in artwork by Burne-Jones and Waterhouse using free, natural shapes.

The look you want to achieve is of grace and beauty, with flowing, loose-fitting long dresses and slightly wild hair, often with flowers or jewels.

Castles are also perfect settings and lend themselves perfectly to unity ceremonies such as handfasting with cords in your chosen colours or wine blending.

The pre-Raphaelites loved lots of intricate detail and vibrant colours. Burnt oranges, dark teal and deep reds, but they equally embraced the polar opposites with ethereal whites, soft pastels, golds, silvers, coppers and bronzes. They were not keen on using extremes of dark and light simultaneously. The drama was essential but in a quiet and still way.

Readings are a must since poets were involved in the movement. You could also consider something by JRR Tolkien, as even though he was a much later writer, he was heavily influenced by the pre-Raphaelites. Talking of Tolkien, it would be very easy to add legend and fantasy to this style, think Game of Thrones or The Witcher

There is so much beauty and grace to be had within this theme, and the possibilities are endless in terms of how you make it your own.

Louise Goode www.louisegoodecelebrant.co.uk