HOT TOPIC

Stellar wedmin advice from those in the know

WINTER WONDERLAND

I’ve always dreamed of a winter wedding and the venue is booked for December. How can I style it tastefully to reflect the season with a touch of class?

Oh, we do love a winter wedding! For December nuptials most venues will have a Christmas tree set up, so it would be great to incorporate that into your staging by sitting your big-day bake next to it. Taking inspiration from the tree and the season, let’s go for whites to reflect the crisp weather at this time of year. Utilise lots of foliage in the flower arrangements and various shades of grey will bring the outside in. Plus, silver embellishments will add a sparkle or two – after all, you can never have too much bling! If there’s an open fireplace at your venue, why not make the most of it and heat up the space with crackling cedar logs and cinnamon sticks to activate the sense of smell, creating a nostalgic ambience. Drape a large garland over the mantelpiece with matching florals as the centrepieces on each table and large cathedral arrangements on pedestals along the aisle and in various focal points.

Place overlay lace linen on top of white tablecloths on all of your tables, and have silver charger plates underneath your dinner plates with silver-rimmed glassware. Go for tall silver centrepieces like candelabras to hold your green and white floral displays. Finally, silver chivari chairs are perfect to complete the look.

Whatever you do, make it about you and enjoy the process.

Blessing Enakimio, www.blessingbyble.com

PLANNED TO PERFECTION

What will be the key wedding trends in 2022 and how are couples planning their big days differently?

The last 18 months have probably been the hardest the industry has ever seen. The restrictions we’ve had to face have not only meant that the way people are booking weddings have changed, but also what they’re booking. Regardless of restrictions lifting, we’ve seen that many are still keeping their weddings relatively small and people are choosing to spend the budget that would otherwise have gone towards more guests, on added luxuries like entertainment. We’ve seen an increase in people booking immersive experiences and musicians that provide a more intimate experience allowing guests to feel involved. We’ve seen a lot of bookings for free standing aerialists, meaning people can be in and amongst the action. Couples are also looking for versatile acts who can perform even with restrictions in place, since we’ve still felt a lot of uncertainty around big events.

Needless to say, people have a lot of catching up to do and thankfully, we’ve seen bookings being made into the next couple of years, even into 2025! What most people need now is trust and flexibility. They need to be able to trust their suppliers and know that whatever the future may hold, Covid-19 restrictions or not, their suppliers and event organisers will stand by them and they’ll do the same.

We’re both obsessed with Christmas! How can we incorporate it into our ceremony, without being tacky?

A great way to incorporate Christmas into your ceremony is to consider a mini unity candle ceremony. This involves three candles, one held by each partner (representing the two families) and then one, which will stand alone to symbolise the union between them. Often, the mothers will light the couple’s taper candles before the couple light the larger unity candle together. The choice is yours, and if your wedding is joining families including children, additional candles can be used to include them too.

Flames are said to symbolise love and passion, so in the context of a wedding they show the love a couple have for each other. If your venue permits, you could give each guest a candle with the first being lit by the celebrant. They then pass the flame to the person sat next to them along the front row until everyone has a lit candle. It is then the job of the last person to light the couple’s. This would look quite magical at Christmastime.

Karina O’Donnell, https://celebrant-uk.co.uk

www.emmamigdenphotography.com

DIAMOND GEEZER

We’re having trouble settling on a pair of wedding rings that we both love and are beginning to feel the pressure. What would you recommend?

More and more brides are opting for bespoke wedding bands rather than off-the-shelf pieces, so this would be a great choice for you. Carefully contoured wedding bands for example ensure that there’s harmony in both engagement and wedding rings.

Plain bands are still popular amongst grooms but a growing number of gents are wondering whether they should look at something set with diamonds. The discreet addition of melee diamonds or more modern designs like a rubover or tension set featuring asscher, cushion, emerald or radiant cut diamonds are well worth a look. With bespoke design, you don’t have to feel restricted by what’s already out there.