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Devine Bride says… eat, drink, and be married

Based in East London for over 10 years but originally from Glasgow, Laura Devine of Devine Bride offers pick and mix wedding planning, helping cool couples to plan their wedding in a more flexible and fun way. With over 180 weddings and events under her belt, Laura knows what’s worked, what’s not, and what’s fun! Here she shares her expert advice on keeping guests well fed and happy.

“The number one thing all my clients ever say to me is, ‘I just want everyone to have a good time’. “The answer is surprisingly easy: just ensure you don’t scrimp on food and drink.”

How many times have you been at a

wedding, and ended up strategizing how to weasel through the cluster of guests hovering around the entrance where the dribble of canapés is coming from? Yep yep, me too, friend; my point exactly.

angelawardbrown.com It’s hungry (and thirsty) work, doing the good deed of helping your nearest celebrate their love for each other!

You’ve already asked your guests to travel for the day, perhaps stay overnight somewhere, they’ve probably got something new to wear, possibly even arranged babysitters, and likely not had any lunch. I cannot stress how important feeding and watering your guests generously is. Hangry-ness also adds to the overall atmosphere of your day. And sneaks in surprisingly easily. Having worked at 180+ weddings, I can tell within about 10 seconds of entering a room if the canapés haven’t come out yet. “Food and drink can also act as its own form of entertainment. It encourages interaction, provides a talking point, and quite simply, it makes people happy.

I’m here for the details, I really am, but I tell my clients not to sweat the small stuff. So long as there is plenty food and drink to go around, it doesn’t (entirely) matter what font your place

names are in. Unfortunately, people don’t remember place names, but they definitely remember how hungry they were waiting for canapés, the photos to be done, or dinner to be served. In real terms, stationery-wise, a table plan gives impact and adds to the stylisation of your angelawardbrown.com day, but place names on the other hand, can be substituted without much of a second look. And while we’re on it… if your favours can’t be consumed, then ditch them entirely please – and spend the money on more drinks. The very first things that get thrown away by your caterers when they’re clearing your tables are your place names and your favours! I see it so often and it makes me so sad! I get it though; feeding 100-odd guests for around 12 hours isn’t cheap. But that’s the reality of the day; if you want people there to celebrate with you, you must host them. So, if budget is an issue, I would always advise to either cut your numbers, or do some swaps in your day to make sure your money goes further.

So, for one, if your wedding package is coming in at approx £100 per head, cutting just 10 guests will give you an extra £1k to play with to do extra canapés, an extra round of drinks, or perhaps a fun snack station. But if you have reservations on that front, in my humble experience, I would make these swaps:

Swap this For this Add this

Live ceremony music

Designed place names

Speaker with a Spotify playlist Handwritten ones

(rope in your ‘maids, it’s an effort) An extra round of canapés

Bread on the table for guests to nibble on during the speeches, or crisps and nuts on your reception tables

Live band

A tiered cake

Live DJ A smaller symbolic cake Money behind the bar

Pizza and donuts

It all comes down to value for money and price per minute of enjoyment, in my eyes. As always, put yourself in your guests’ shoes. How would you like to feel? The answer from me, when it comes to weddings and epic parties, will always be, ‘full and merry’.”

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