On-the-day Wedding Practicalities 4721 views

The wedding venue’s all set, you’ve laid out your dress and you’re ready to jet straight off on honeymoon after the celebrations. So have you thought about who’ll collect up your spare decorations, who’s looking after your suitcases until they’re needed, and where to put your marriage certificate on the day? Beverly Pearce of TK Weddings suggests a few details to consider before you head off to start your new lives together.

To save yourself unnecessary stress on the day, one of the most important things to establish in advance is who will be setting up your reception tables. Are you allowed in to do this yourself? If so, find out exactly when. Some wedding venues will not let you in to decorate the night before due to other bookings, and if you can only get access a few hours before the ceremony, you won’t be able to do it yourself. Hiring a wedding co-ordinator will spare you the worry – they’ll ensure your tables look exactly how you want them to. Alternatively, assign friends to carry out this role – just make sure they allow plenty of time, and give them precise instructions. The best way to be certain they’ll get it looking how you want it to is to set up a table at home prior to your wedding day and take photos of it as a guide for them.

Who will keep your marriage certificate safe on the day? It’s traditional for the bride to be handed the certificate after the ceremony, but the last time I looked, wedding dresses didn’t come with pockets! If possible, it’s a good idea to put it straight in your wedding-night bedroom or in your suitcase or honeymoon day bag, as you may need it wherever you jet off to. Otherwise, enlist someone responsible who lives locally to you to keep it safe and return it to you when it is needed.

Think ahead to where you’re spending your wedding night. If it’s at a different location to your evening reception, have you booked suitable transport to get you there? Make sure you don’t leave it until the end of the night, unless you’re happy to share with your guests! If it’s a hotel and you haven’t already spent a night there, make sure it accepts late check-ins (especially if the reception is not open 24 hours) – you don’t want to turn up only to find you can’t get into your room! A tip for couples who don’t want their room showered with confetti is to keep the location a secret from friends (however well-intentioned they might be). This also solves the problem of those jokers who think it’s traditional to strip your first-night bed of sheets!

Civil-ceremony music is usually CD music chosen by yourself and approved by your registrar. Make sure you have asked someone you trust to turn the correct music on at the right time – and they’ll need a practice first, to get the timings perfect and the volume just right.

If you are having a guest book, make sure you ask a bridesmaid or usher to circulate it throughout the evening so it doesn’t get left on a table and forgotten about. Also, ask someone to find it at the end of the evening and give it to you, or put it in your room or bag – it’s lovely to read people’s comments together as you relax in your first-night room.

You probably took a lot of time and effort to choose it, but have you decided what you’ll do with your bouquet when the ceremony is over? If you are throwing it to your single friends, make sure this is announced so you get a good turn-out and plenty of people to fight over it! If you want to keep your actual bouquet but like the idea of throwing it, ask your florist to make up a small extra posy for you to throw. This is also an option should you wish to lay your flowers on a deceased relative’s grave or have them dried to enjoy at home for years to come. If you do intend to keep it but aren’t returning home immediately after the wedding, decide in advance who will look after it for you – you won’t want to take it on honeymoon!

There are a number of things to remember to ask people to collect up for you at the end of the evening. Disposable cameras, guest book, cards and presents, your decorations - and what about your spare cake? You may also have removed a veil, shawl or shrug at some point in the evening. Make sure someone takes it with them for safekeeping. The best idea is to give someone a list of all the things you want gathered up and taken home. Your wedding-day coordinator will collect everything together and leave it in a safe place to be picked up by the appointed person. Otherwise, give this task to your mother or best friend, or someone else who is likely to stay sober and remember to do it!

These may not be the most exciting details of your wedding day, but they are easily sorted out with a little forward planning, so put your mind at rest and start writing that list now!

This article is copyright to Beverly Pearce (TK Weddings) September 2005.
Top Photo by kind permission of GT Photography.