Wedding Planner Q&A 1 of 2 126 views

Question: I'd like to know (if possible) how to look good on photographs. I know this seems like a daft question, but I hate having my photo taken and am worried about how I'll look.

Answer: I'm the same, absolutely hate having my picture taken but there is a trick. Firstly you need to relax and then you need to find a photographer that can put you at ease. Any supplier can be scary to work with but photographers more so as they are the ones who capture those most special moments. Have meetings with the prospective photographers and be honest about your worries, they know all kind of tricks to make you relax and smile a good one will show you how to pose to make the most out of your features. Have fun beforehand to, grap a camera and ask your chap to take a few pictures, see what you like and what you don't. Be creative!

Question: What way could you decorate your tables at your venue to keep it simple yet stunning sticking to colours of white/ivory and baby pink? It's a summer wedding! also what favours would you suggest? (not overly expensive as about 120 guests!!)

Answer: If you still wanted flowers then to cut down on costs use a tall, slim vase with a single structural flower and some kind of foliage, a single rose (in baby pink) with a few leaves always looks good, you can colour the water, use coloured class beads/sand or tie a ribbon around the vase to tie it in with your theme. You can buy everything yourself, spreading the cost in between now and your wedding.

Regarding favours, I suggest choosing your table decorations and then choosing your favours. If you go for something very simple for your main table decorations then you need something similar for your favours, chocolates are always good and you can pop a few in mesh bags that come in numerous colours.

Question: We were wondering what we could have as a favour we wanted something different something our guests can keep and something not very expensive as we have 150+ people. We want something different for men and women.

Answer: A really nice idea for favours at the moment is to give seeds, flowers or vegetables, its something that people can keep and you can match flowers in with your theme or pick ones that mean something to you or your guests. Another idea would be to print poems onto nice card and put one in each place setting, say ten different poems, that will give each person on the table a different one, it would not matter if they had the same as someone on another table.

What do you have to think is do you really need to have favours, they are expensive and most people forget them or eat them during the ceremony. For the few that do remember, most often they take them home and put them in a cupboard or on a shelf and forget about them. No one will think any less of you for not having favours, you can put bowls of sweets on the tables that match your theme or a few chocolates on their place setting. Maybe just have a few special trinkets for close friends and family and put them in a gift bag so no one else knows what they are.

Question: Something old, something blue, something borrowed, something blue and a silver sixpence in your shoe. Would the sixpence quailfy as something old as well, if i bought it online. No-one i know has anything old i can borrow so, short of taking an antique cabinet, I am running out of ideas. i have everything else i need, but the something old has been bothering me for ages.

Answer: Old Jewellery is always a good bet to borrow but there is no definitive answer as to what is old. It could be from family or friends, ask your friends to raid their mums jewellery boxes as there are not any rules on where is has to be from. Just remember that old does not mean antique it can easily be something from your childhood, old jewellery or trinkets. Its one of those where you can experiment with your creative side. Just remember its a superstition rather than a rule.

Question: We are getting married in August 09 and our colour scheme is black with hot pink. I have seen many ideas for table decorations and centre pieces etc but I'm worried about it looking tacky. Would table diamonds with tealights be classier than feathers/flowers or rose petals? I'm also struggling to find a twinkle backdrop for behind the top table? would you have any ideas?

Answer: Very nice colour scheme, one of my favourites in fact. With those colours you can do so much. Table diamonds are ok but you have to remember that your guests sit down looking across the table rather than looking down on to it so the effect can often be lost. You need to pick one major element and stick to it regarding table decorations, be it flowers, feathers or candles (what about black candelabras with hot pink candles for the evening!) If you start mixing too many elements it can start to look tacky, think everything in moderation. Feathers can look stunning within a floral decoration, imagine hot pink roses, a little dark green foliage and some long black feathers mixed in. You can always experiment at home (good excuse for your fiance to buy you some flowers) you can buy feathers from any good craft store as with any of the bits that you mentioned, put a white tablecloth/bed sheet on the table and get experimenting. It will be fun as its something you can do with the girls and you can test drive all your ideas.

Question: I'm having a small registry office wedding with immediate family only then followed by a reception for 150 people. My reception is starting at 7.30pm finishing about 1am. I have a singer who will perform 2 sets 45 mins each and a DJ to play music for the remainder. I also have a cold buffet to be served (in a separate room). My current predicament is timings - what time should I ask the singer to start his sets? Also what time for the buffet? I have been advised to have buffet at about 9.30 - is this too late?

Answer:: Regarding timings. It will depend whether your singer is singing your first dance or not? If he is then I'd suggest you get him to perform at 7.45 to 8.15. Then have your DJ perform till around 8.45 or 9.00 and then have your singer do his/her second set. Singers normally want to be fed and watered so he/she can do it during the break between the first and second set.

If they aren't doing your first dance, then get them on for the first set, shortly after it to get people in the mood and 'get the party started' so to speak! I would definitely ask your singer too - as they're going to have a clear idea of what they would want.

Re your buffet - normally 9.30pm is reasonable but as your guests haven't been to a normal day reception - they'll be hungry so I'd, personally bring the service forward.

Question: I have a question which I hope you can help me with. My wedding is this October and I'm hoping to have 5 tables and then a top table. The theme is autumn so we're hoping to have different tree on the tables. I don't really have any idea as to what I'd like my table centres to be and was wondering if you had any suggestions?

Answer: Gorgeous Colour scheme that will be beautiful at that time of year. What about jewellery trees? A little odd I know but they sell them in several big shops and in various colours, or they can be sprayed a colour of your choice, and you can hang the table name and a few pine cones from them, have a browse in the market hall section of a particular furniture store to see what I mean. Or what about tall vases filled with long twigs, perhaps some sprayed gold or champagne coloured, interspersed with your flowers, imagine wild flowers rather than your traditional types.

Another idea would be to fill tall vases with a mixture of pinecones and Christmas baubles, which come in various colours and can be ordered online or bought and cash and carries throughout the year. Or just use pinecones but spray some of them gold. Also there is no need to cut out leaves for the tables or place cards as a good craft shop will sell leaf skeletons often in various colours that you can scatter on the table of attach to any stationary.

Question: I understand that a good wedding planner can use their experience and make the day even more special and consider things that the bride and groom haven't thought about. Do the good planners end up saving the couple money as well?

Answer: Ahhh good question! As you've said, a good wedding planner will bring many benefits, such as ideas, advice to avoid mistakes/mishaps, experience & knowledge as well as a long list of trusted & pre-tested suppliers that you know will do a good job for you on your wedding day. In some instances we can save you money (e.g we can get discounted chair covers, deals with make up artists) sometimes we are offered commission - which we can pass on to you (at one weddng the caterers sent me a cheque for 10% which I gave straight back to the couple)

Its not always the case that you get a clear cash saving, but you'll definitely save time and stress. (Time IS money if you think about mileage, time off work etc). Lastly, alot of people also book wedding planners for services such as the 'on the day', where its much more risk management and also taking the pressure off bridesmaids, parents etc, and for about 1%of the overall wedding budget - that's worthwhile too! Where we can we'll save you money - we always have your best interests at heart.

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