Wiltshire based wedding florist, wedding designer and wedding venue stylist offering a venue design and decoration service and accessory hire. Fabulous Functions UK are a full service wedding venue specialist.
The bridal bouquet: there are so many decisions to make when choosing the design of it. This post cover a few things for you to think about.
The Bridal Bouquet
About Your Dress
Find your dress before you decide on your bouquet. Consider the style and shape of your dress. Your bouquet should complement your silhouette, not hide you or make you look and feel off-balanced.
The style of the bridal bouquet
Here’s another conundrum! There are a multitude of bouquet styles to choose from. Consider the following:
Cascade bouquet
This style of bouquet comprises flowers and greenery and resembles a waterfall of flowers cascading towards the floor. They’re impressive for sure. But something to consider is their weight, the bigger they are the heavier they are. But don’t worry, if it gets too heavy for you hand it to your partner and share the load. Sharing is caring as the saying goes! It would be a great addition to your album to get a photo of this. Queue one for the photographers!
TheHand-tied bouquet
They look like you’ve just gathered the blooms from the garden. The stems are left exposed and depending on the theme, the bouquet is tied with ribbon or twine. You can have ribbons of different lengths trailing down. They are often caught by the wind and add a bit of the whimsical to your photographs.
Round bouquets
In this bridal bouquet the blooms are arranged in a tighter shape, you could consider using just one type of flower to create this type of bouquet, or one colour tone.
Asymmetrical bouquets
Quirky and unusual this type of bouquet favours the unstructured look, overflowing with blooms and foliage of different lengths and sizes. Usually one side is higher that the other and you can use large showy blooms and interestingly shaped foliage.
What’s in your bouquet?
This is an interesting one!
You don’t have to use fresh flowers and foliage. You can incorporate brooches, grasses, crystals and pearls. Paper, felt, silk flowers, dried seeds and other dried elements. Then there’s feathers, family heirlooms, a bouquet charm of a loved one to consider using. The list is endless.
A silver toned brooch bouquet
The colour of the bouquet
This is where you might want to pull the covers over your head and pretend you don’t need to decide on the colour of your bouquet.
Think about the colour of your dress and the colour of your bridesmaid’s dresses. Are you favouring a single colour or do you have a colour scheme you want to use? Are you thinking of wild colours or of a mono colour bouquet?
The good news is there is no right or wrong answer. It’s all about what feels right for you.
Take our advice and chat with your florist. They’ll offer invaluable advice on creating the perfect bouquet for you. She or he will offer advice on flower combinations, seasonal availability, colour and style of your bouquet. And the size and weight of your bouquet that is right for you.
Why not follow us on social media to keep up to date with our happening and to see even more of our decor? Follow the links to Instagram , Facebook and Pinterest
A note about DIY – Wedding Planning Timeline: 6 months
We’re at the 6 months wedding planning timeline stage. This post is about what you need to do during the period from 6 months before the wedding – up to the day itself.
Now is the time to get going if you’re planning any DIY aspects: invitations, table centres, cake or favours. Whether you’re thinking about bubbles or the traditional sugared almonds– it’s time to plan now.
You’ll need practice time as well as production time. So get cracking!
The groom printed a set of animals to use as table names
Download a checklist of venue walkthrough questions here below:
1. Order or get making your wedding invitations. Not forgetting all the other wedding stationery including: orders of service, place cards and thank you cards. 2. Meet with your wedding cake designer to confirm your order, the design and the flavours. If you are DIY-ing your cake then you will want to do a test run. 3. Buy your wedding shoes and accessories.
You’ll need your shoes in time for the first dress fitting. And your tiara and veil in time for your make-up and hair trial run.
4. Book your make-up artist and hairdresser. Speak to several to find one you feel comfortable with. 5. Buy: bridesmaid’s dresses, suits for the for groom, best man, ushers and flower girls and page boys. Or hire them! 6. Book the honeymoon suite.
3 Months+ on the wedding planning timeline
Get your wedding dress altered If you need to. Then try not to lose or gain weight!
Kick off a regular facial routine for a glowing wedding day complexion.
Buy the rings. Check that when they arrive they’re the right size and that your wedding ring sits comfortably alongside your engagement ring if like most of us, you are going to wear them together.
At the 6+ months wedding planning timeline point, send out the invitations. It’s tradition to send them out 6-12 weeks prior to the wedding. But if you prefer – do it sooner.
We also offer a bespoke service for any accessories you must have but cannot find.
Get a gift list Now is the time to set up your gift list. Make your list available to your guests and have it on your wedding website if you have one.
Also:
Choose readings and music for the ceremony
Buy gifts for the best man, ushers and bridesmaids. If you’re presenting bouquets to the mothers of the bride and groom order them from your florist so they can plan their orders.
Arrange any necessary vaccinations for your honeymoon.
Start planning your hen and stag parties – A job for the Maid of Honor and Bestman!
1 Month to go
Arrange a final wedding dress fitting
Double check all arrangements are in place with all your suppliers. Be sure to speak to them and get written confirmation of dates, places and times.
Finalise your seating plan – and make your seating/table planner
Arrange your wedding rehearsal
Chase up on guests who’ve not RSVPd
Arrange a date to collect any hired suits – making a note of their return by dates. A job for the best man surely?
Write the speeches. From the heart – then practice, practice and practice some more.
1 week before – almost there!
Have your hair trimmed and/or coloured. This is NOT the time to experiment with a new colour or drastic changes of hair style.
Have your wedding rehearsal
Pack for your honeymoon
Wear in your wedding shoes. Don’t go to Tesco in them but wear them around the house to get used to them.
Put together a wedding emergency kit – put your chief bridesmaid in charge of it. Things to include: A compact mirror and powder, lipstick, tissues, stain spot remover.
Order your foreign currency for your honeymoon
Last minute plans
Make any other last-minute arrangements now. It might rain – this is Britain after all. Make sure there’s lots of brollies.
Have any planned beauty treatments now – Get your eyebrows shaped, fake tan done all in good time.
If you haven’t yet, find your something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue’.
Designate someone to look after the contact list of your suppliers. And then …
… FORGET ABOUT IT
The day before the great day itself
Have an RnR day if you can. Surround yourself with people who are going to take care of you and help you enjoy the special moments. Spend the day with friends or family and don’t do anything more exhausting than a manicure.
Try to get an early night – After all – you’re getting married in the morning!
And finally …
Keep in mind that this day is the beginning of your marriage.
So if anything goes wrong on the day – best laid plans etc. – focus on your marriage rather than your wedding. That’s the important part – that’s what will make it a day to remember!
Find Fabulous Functions
We hope you’ve found this useful.
If Fabulous Functions UK can help you with any aspect of your wedding or you are looking for that must have accessory and cannot find it any where, give us a call on 07511 842 451
Amy and Jerrad’s Wedding at Kingscote Barn, Tetbury
Amy and Jerrad at Kingscote Barn Amy is a returning customer – Fabulous Functions UK did the décor for her birthday party a few years ago – something she’d loved. So you can imagine our delight when she messaged us to say she’d met the love of her life, was planning her wedding celebrations and wanted us as part of her wedding planning team! Excited doesn’t cover it!
We arranged to meet for a coffee and an initial planning meeting in a cosy little pub in Devizes – with social distancing and masks in play to meet Covid regulations.
Initial planning meeting for Amy and Jerrad’s wedding at Kingscote Barn
It was great to meet up with Amy and her lovely mum and listen as she described the vision she had for her wedding venue décor. We explored ideas and suggestions, discussed colour scheme and made suggestions for other suppliers needed for the day.
I’d brought samples to show Amy. It’s so helpful to see the fabrics, compare colours and combinations where possible and make choices based on that knowledge. We created a beautiful vision and I was super excited to get started.
Wedding location
Amy and Jerrad had chosen Kingscote Barn in Tetbury for their wedding celebrations – a beautiful venue with much indoor and outdoor space for the couple and their guests to enjoy.
As part of our service, we include an on-site visit, approximately one month before the wedding date. This gives our couples a chance to walk through the venue and envision the décor they have chosen. Confirm locations for their accessories and make any last-minute changes. Amy and Jerrad’s Kingscote Barn wedding was no exception and so they walked through the venue with me, discussing each room and the best locations to place their accessories. At the end of the visit they were sure all was as they desired.
Personalised mirrored Table Plan for Amy and Jerrad at Kingscote Barn
Action stations
Come the wedding day it was all action. We arrived and unloaded all the accessories, had discussions with the coordinator at Kingscote Barn and got to work.
First up was dressing the chairs with a light grey chiffon hood and waterfall ruffles, creating a soft romantic feel. Once the florist had placed her centrepieces, we added tealights and candles to the tables, placed in groups of 3s around the tables to create a warm ambience once they were lit.
Next we turned our attention to the reception welcome room. We are happy to use accessories provided by our couples and incorporate this into the accessories we provide as part of the décor.
The floor standing mirrored table plan was a beauty and with much care we set it in place and added cylinder vases with floating candles. The personalised mirrored welcome sign was also placed ready to greet the guests.
Amy and Jerrad wanted to give a little nod to loved ones not present and had provided a treasured drinks trolly belonging to Amy’s Nan. This we carefully placed and decorated with items provided by Amy.
Amy and Jerrad at Kingscote Barn had a wealth of personal touches so… Not forgetting the ceiling! Kingscote Barn has a wealth of original beams and we attached some beautiful twisted willow branches, added tealights in glass baubles hung at various heights.
The aim was to create a warm welcoming décor full of romance, charm and sophistication. The venue looked so beautiful.
Amy and Jerrad at Kingscote Barn
What the lovely couple said about us
Jerrad said: ‘I knew the venue would be beautiful, because you were doing it.’
The both of them: ‘We cannot thank you Sandra & the Fabulous Functions team enough for the amazing work they did for us building up, and on the day of our wedding.’
The venue looked breath taking and you worked so hard so we want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We loved working with you. You knew our vision and you helped with every little touch!
Sandra was on hand whenever I needed her. Thank you all so much it was just perfect. Any event in the future we will contact you!
Wedding Venues and Disabled Access Here are some important questions to ask/points to consider when you’re searching for a venue to host your wedding or other celebrations. Whatever the occasion, if you have guests with any sort of limited mobility then this subject is one you’ll need to consider.
9 questions to ask about disabled access
What follows is some suggested questions to ask about wedding venues and disabled access either when making the first contact with the venue or during a venue show round.
1. Is the disabled access through the front access or a side entrance. If you are the bride and groom and are offered a side entrance, ask yourself if this is the right venue for you?
2. What are the dimension of the doors?
Ask for the measurements of the doors as wheelchairs are not all the same sizes. Some power chairs are larger than manual wheelchairs.
3. Are the car park and walkways paved or gravelled?
Wheelchairs are already heavy. Then add the weight of the person and you’re going to need a superman to manoeuvre over gravel.
4. Is there a lift to access the upper floors if need be? If you have accommodations on site and they are on the upper floors how will you reach them?
5. Ask about ramps at the venue and if you can take your guests with limited mobility on a visit with you to test out the access arrangements.
6. Think about buying a second-hand wheelchair and customising it for your wedding day. You can respray it or re-upholster it.
7. Is the bathroom big enough to accommodate a wheelchair and attendants?
8. Does the venue have non slip floors in in the reception areas, bathrooms etc?
‘The UK is replete with many wonderful music and event venues that are enjoyed throughout the year. This country is certainly very lucky in this regard as we have plenty of choices no matter where we live, especially in the cities. The even better news is that there a good number of venues across Great Britain where people can enjoy music, talks, workshops, and myriad other events, that have also made a great effort to implement accessible facilities.
Attitude is Everything, who have made wonderful strides to improve deaf and disabled people’s access to live music, know a thing or two about what it takes to make a venue accessible …
… From big arenas to small local venues, there certainly are a number of truly terrific locations to be proud of. With this in mind, please read on for a selection of some of the very best accessible event venues in the UK. Hopefully, you will be able to visit some yourself in the near future.
Wedding planning timelines
If you found this blog about wedding venues and disabled access useful, you may also want to visit our wedding planning timeline blog. It’s full of useful tips and advice on the tasks you need to do and when during your wedding planning journey. See also, our Wedding Planning timeline 18 Months +
Are you the social sort?
Follow us on social media to keep up to date with our happening and to see even more of our decor. Follow the links to Instagram , Facebook and Pinterest and see the latest additions to our accessory hire range as well as the fab venue transformations that we produce for our lovely couples.
Of late I’ve been giving some thought to two questions I’ve seen asked in various Facebook groups, that relate to second marriage dress etiquette:
Should one wear a wedding dress for a registry office ceremony?
Are there rules around second marriage style etiquette? Or put another way, a bride to be, marrying for the second time, wanted to know if it was acceptable to wear a white wedding dress for her ceremony.
My own thoughts on both those is a big YES – of course. If that’s what you want to do, if that would make you happy, then go right ahead.
But you don’t have to only take our word on second marriage dress etiquette for it. I’ve done a little digging to see what big wedding-related websites are saying about second marriage wedding dress etiquette. Hitched.com have an article from late last year, Second Marriage Wedding Dresses: The Rules and Etiquette Revealed. They posit that some second-time-around brides have the lustre of the wedding shopping process tarnished by remarriage etiquette uncertainty. It seems there’s often a worry over whether or not white is appropriate for a remarriage.
But, as they say, browsing for a second wedding dress ought to be as enjoyable as it was for your first. Further, some brides hold a conviction that a second marriage puts white out of the bridal picture. But yet, when Meghan Markle wed Prince Harry, a second marriage for her, she wore white. And wonderful she looked too.
And anyway, the whole white wedding thing has nothing to do with purity and everything to do with Queen Victoria deciding to wear white because it complemented the lace on her dress. You can read more about that in our blog, Something Old and Something Newthat takes a brief look at a few of the classic wedding traditions.
Say I do in glorious colour
White is wonderful yes. But there’s nothing to say you can’t say I do in colour too. Red is a popular choice for a wedding dress – for the first time or for a second marriage. As this Vows Bridal websitepoints out: ‘Coloured wedding gowns are everywhere these days.
Brides are breaking from tradition and going for a unique look that can reflect their personalities. These wedding gowns may have just a little colour, or be completely one colour with absolutely no white or ivory to be found.’ A red gown will sure as heck make a statement! Red is a popular choice for weddings around Valentine’s Day and Christmas.
But it’s best to use the colours that suit you as a guide – that way you’ll both look and feel amazing. And, as the Hitched article says, you could always put a twist on traditional white by opting for a super chic white trouser or jumpsuit.
Put another way, when it comes to second marriage dress etiquette rules – there are none. It’s the 21st century – do whatever you feel!
Incidentally, should you be in the Swindon area and should you not ever have had a colour and style analysis done, then now might be the time. If you’re thinking of going down the coloured wedding gown route for your remarriage then knowing the colours that best complement eyes and your skin tone will give you a head start in your quest for the perfect wedding dress! Ishbel’s Wardrobe, run by Reshma Field is a colour and style analysis business based in Swindon that Fabulous Functions UK is happy to recommend.
If you’re feeling social …
… do follow us on social media to keep up to date with our happening and to see even more of our decor. Follow the links to Instagram , Facebook and Pinterest and see the latest additions to our accessory hire range as well as the fab venue transformations that we produce for our lovely couples.
1. Set the date – Have an idea of your preferred date
Decide on the sort of wedding you want. Are you looking for a winter wedding, a full blown summer do or do you have a date significant to both of you? Knowing this will help you to choose your venue as they will have a different look and feel depending on the time of year.
There are ways to give yourselves more options. Consider booking a mid-week wedding instead of the usual Saturday. The suppliers you really want could have more availability for weekday weddings. Registrars and Celebrants may also have more availability for midweek ceremonies.
2. Set a realistic budget
No wedding is worth going into debt for. Decide on your priorities, items or services that are important to you. And add in a bit extra for a contingency – because you never know.
3. Draw up the guest list or lists
Knowing your numbers will help you with your venue search. Shortlist the venues that will cater for your numbers. This reduces the leg work and help to avoid the stress of viewing venues too big or too small for your wedding party.
4. Book your venue (s) – as soon as you can
After you have fixed your budget, this is the first item on your wedding planning timeline that needs your attention. A good place to start are the wedding directories like the White Wed Directory. You will find a good selection of venues and usually listed under regions. You can also find venues listed by categories ie. Quirky Venues, City Venues, Country House Venues.
It’s almost impossible to plan anything else or book your suppliers until this one is sorted out.
You could sign up to a wedding website to send out save the date notices to your guests. This is a fab way to safeguard your environment while generating less paper waste.
6. Are you willing and able to do the planning yourself? Decide now!
You can do it yourself of course. Or you can decide to call on the worth-its-weight-in-gold expertise of a wedding planner/venue decorator. In which case, Fabulous Functions UK is here to help!
7. Select your wedding party: bridesmaids, ushers, best man etc.
They want to enjoy then journey with you knowing they are a part of your fabulous tribe.
8. Book your photographer and/or videographer
Photographers and videographers often get booked up to 18 months before a wedding. If you find one you love, confirm your date with them to avoid disappointment.
9. Meet your minister/registrar/celebrants
And be prepared with everything you want to ask about your ceremony.
10. Book your DJ/Band/dancing girls/chamber quartet – or whatever it might happen to be – and don’t forget the catering either!
It’s never too early to secure your favourite suppliers. Ask for recommendations. Other suppliers will know who are the best in the business. Those who will give you fabulous service and attention to detail.
So that’s the big top ten planning decisions to make in the 12-18 month period from the engagement ring to the wedding ring.
Your journey along your wedding planning timeline is well underway. Time for a breather and a cup of coffee !
Other things to think about are:
Booking your cars/bus/horse or whatever mode of transport you want.
Finding a florist
Book a toastmaster or master of ceremonies
Take out wedding insurance and ….
… THE DRESS – If you haven’t already – start now!
If you’re going to have a couture bridal gown made then you must start now. To buy a designer dress allow 6-8 months. For off the peg or second-hand then 6-8 weeks should be sufficient for necessary alterations. Do check the availability of a good seamstress as there are peak times when they are rushed off off their feet with alterations.
Now follow this link for what to do in the period 6 months to the big day.
Here’s the story of one couples dream of a destination wedding and how their plans may change due to the effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Wedding plans get changed for all sorts of reasons. Some changes are forced upon us and we have to make the best of them.
Here we tell how one couple are coping with enforced changes to their dream of a destination wedding.
Lauren and Phil’s Wedding Plans – and when wedding plans must change
It was a beautiful day as we stood absorbing the stunning cliff top views at Ponta da Piedade in Portugal when Phil popped the question! After a heart stopping moment of taking his words in – I said ‘Yes’.
After much discussion we decided to start our wedding planning and the idea of a destination wedding took shape. We wanted to recreate this scene from our engagement location for our wedding ceremony but the location had to accommodate our family and friends without the risk of falling over the edge and into the sea.
Our original plan
We’d planned to travel to Portugal, view venues and wedding planners and start to make decisions about what we wanted for our wedding at the start of April 2020.
The plan, in my head, was to finalise our colour scheme and look at creating & sending out the Save The Dates by the end of April/ May.
But my original wedding timeline is now ALL over the place!
Portugal/ COVID-19
Having a wedding in Portugal was going to be about confirming our commitment to each other in the first instance. With celebrations with our family and friends, the guarantee of glorious weather, the views, the chilled-out atmosphere and the fabulous food and drink.
Our destination wedding was to incorporate the wedding and a large family holiday.
Also, cost was a big factor. We’ve got a budget of €10,000. At the time that meant we could afford to go over budget slightly with the good exchange rates. However, with COVID-19 this could and probably will, all change.
We’ve been in talks with two different wedding planners in Portugal. One has held our potential dates at the ceremony and reception venues up to 15th May. Other than that, we’ve got nothing booked so our wedding plans are currently on hold! But we’ve been assured that we can still organise a wedding for June 2021.
Backup plans
I did, course, have a backup plan in case Portugal wasn’t possible. One that encapsulates the theme (beautiful view, outside ceremony, with a focus on food/ drinks) of our Portuguese venue but in the UK.
The Sandy Cove Hotel is beautiful – but much more expensive! And with so many weddings being rescheduled, most dates are booked up already. We wouldn’t be able to get married on the date we originally wanted and we’d probably have to get married on a Friday. And that would mean further expense.
How am I feeling?
The main thing for me, is the HUGE AMOUNT OF UNCERTAINTY!!!
Will I be able to travel after all of this is over?
Can I afford a wedding abroad after this is over?
Will we be able to view the venues in Portugal?
What if the venues aren’t how I imagined?
Should I book it all now anyway
Will everywhere be booked up by the time I start booking?
What if my suppliers go bust by the time this is over?
Can we organise a wedding & a post-wedding party in the time given?
Will anyone want to go abroad for a wedding after this?
Portugal has beautiful views overlooking to the ocean and really great food. So Phil and I wanted to go for venues with the same kind of feel. The ceremony venue has exactly that with great views of the ocean. And the reception venue contains the best food – or so we’ve been told.
For me, a few things will influence whether we will go with the UK alternative:
If, by August 2020, we’re nowhere near Covid-19 ending for both the UK and Portugal.
The view of the economy and the outcomes (i.e. the recession and the exchange rates) – in other words, if we can afford a UK or Portugal wedding.
Our guests view of the wedding abroad, their safety and if they’d still be able to travel.
I’ve looked into the backup wedding and their available dates for next summer and we’ve found a potential date that we both like. But, a destination wedding remains our main preference. Yet, until we know more we’re not confident in making a decision.
The one thing we know is that we want to get married and build our future together. And Covid-19 won’t stop us doing that!
If you enjoyed reading this blog then check out our blog with helpful tips on the questions to ask and things to think about during your wedding venue search. Venue Walk Through Questions
Invented in the early 1960s, the Pantone matching system lets designers achieve colour-matching of specific colours no matter what process produced it. Every colour in the Pantone Matching System has its own unique number (PMS number) and that allows for exact matches every time. Pantone attributed to every colour, in all their tones and tints, a classification number. As this Visme blogsays: ‘Pantone literally wrote the book on colour matching. For over 40 years, Pantone has been the go-to colour matching system for not only the design industry but also paint, textile and plastic manufacturers.’
The Pantone colour of the year
Back at the turn of the millennium, in 2000, the Pantone Colour Institute created the Pantone Colour of the Year as a trendsetting concept for branding, marketing and creative society as a whole. The introduction of the Pantone Colour of the Year confirmed The Pantone Colour Institute as the front-runner for all things colour related.
So it’s easy to see why and how there is such anticipation and excitement about Pantone’s new colour of the year. It influences everything – including wedding venue décor.
The Pantone colour for 2020
Below you’ll find our blog about Pantone’s colour for 2020. Although it’s dated now you can still get the idea of how the Pantone colours will influence wedding venue decor. Thus, if you’re planning a wedding and you want to be en trend with putting Pantone into your wedding décor then you need to watch what they’re doing.
The 2020 colour of the year: Pantone 19-4052 Classic Blue
Pantone’s own website describes their 2020 colour of the year as: ‘A timeless and enduring blue hue, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue is elegant in its simplicity’. As they say, the colour is suggestive of the sky at dusk.
They also describe blue as something imprinted in our psyche as a restful colour. A claim supported by this website all about the psychology of colour. The site describes blue as the colour of the mind and one that soothes. Blue affects us mentally whereas red brings about a more physical response. They claim that research often shows blue as a favoured colour across the world.
We’re in turbulent times at the moment, thus Pantone suggests that their classic blue ‘brings a sense of peace and tranquillity to the human spirit, offering refuge.’
The wedding websites are ahead of the game of course, and have already written about how to use Pantone Classic Blue in your wedding venue décor.
Here’s a few ideas on how to incorporate blue onto your decor and go about putting Pantone into your wedding décor.
Wedding Florals
Add hints of subtile blues to your wedding florals.
Adding blue to your florals works beautifully. You can add as much or as little as you want, flowers provide a wonderful variety of blues for you to choose from. So be as wild or as understated as takes your fancy.
Stationery
Add classic blue tones to your stationery then a complementary colour. Here, the addition of gold foil creates a relief effect on these table numbers. Thank you Mat Fox Photography for this fab photo.
Beach Wedding Ideasfor Putting Pantone into Your Wedding Décor
A beach wedding and Classic Blue are a gift for your ‘something blue’.
Bring blue into your table setting. Blue glassware and blue and white china – either matching sets or mismatched – will nod to Pantone’s 2020 colour of the year.
Incorporate blues into your table settings by using napkins in Classic Blue, these blue agate from Fabulous Functions UK slices are the perfect guest name tags and they double up as guest favours too.
Other ways to add classic blue to your celebrations
In the summer time when the weather is fine, Classic Blue will look wonderful and fresh paired with white and shots of yellow.
For a winter wedding though, imagine a celestial-theme. Classic Blue will be heavenly for such a scheme. As will our silver, crushed velvet tablecloths available for you to hire. They’re also available in Royal Blue – which will hint at the trend if not hit it head on.
Do Suppliers Charge More for Weddings? I once read a post in a forum put there by a prospective bride. She was complaining, with some bitterness, that when suppliers hear the word wedding they see it as a cue to double or triple their prices. A claim that sparked quite some discussion. But is it true? Do caterers, cake-makers, venue dressers and photographers etc hike their prices at the very mention of the wedding word? And if they do – are there any good reasons why suppliers charge more for weddings?
After all, it’s rare that hings are as black and white as they appear. If a cake maker’s charges are higher for wedding cakes than they are for any other kind of cake – might there be a reason for that? Or is it sheer profiteering as the disgruntled bride in that forum felt.
To find out whether suppliers indeed do increase their prices for weddings we took a tour around the wedding industry and here’s what we found:
Registrar Fees and
Church Weddings
Of course, the process of getting married incurs many costs. Or at least it can if you want the whole shebang. Though you can have as much or as little of it as you want. So, let’s start with the cost of the most fundamental part: the legal bit. The ceremony.
Church Weddings
There is a required legal fee for tying the knot in church. According to this article from Your Church Wedding.Org on the cost of church weddings, the fees for a church wedding are set by the Church of England nationally and are the same for every church.
In 2019 it cost £540 if you married away from where you lived. And £496 if you wed in your home parish. This basic legal fee includes:
This required fee has ancient roots. It ensures your church can maintain essential services like weddings, christenings, funerals and other ministries for the community the church serves.
With the ability to marry in other venues there fewer & fewer church wedding so they have to find funding from other sources.
That sound like a standard fee doesn’t it? Yet, there seems to be wide variations up and down the country. And that for all aspects of the process. The final cost will depend on your guest numbers, hence the size of room used. As the prices differ from local authority to local authority. It’s not hard to get the idea they are making it up as they go along.
Let’s now move on to venue hire.
Venue Hire Charges
Do venue suppliers increase their prices for wedding bookings?
It’s true enough that venues charge more on weekends – it’s a simple case of supply and demand. As this Brides.Com article about having a Sunday weddingpoints out: Saturday nights are popular for wedding receptions because of their obvious convenience. But of course, there’s only so many Saturday nights in a year – so venues can charge a premium. As a result, Sunday and even weekday weddings are becoming ever-more popular as couples seek to manage their budget but have the wedding of their dreams.
Now we come to the thorny issue of suppliers of all kinds charging more when the word wedding is involved. It’s certain that some buyers feel taken advantage of. But is it fair?
Supplier Charges for Weddings
You might have read about secret shopper investigations. You know the ones. A reporter calls a vendor – a cake maker let’s say – about a birthday party on a certain date and gets quoted a particular price. Then a colleague calls the same vendor to ask for the same product or service but this time it’s for a wedding. And guess what? The quote is much higher. It’s clear then – they’re seeing pound signs at the merest mention of a wedding, right? Well – no – wrong. Or at least it might be wrong. As this Huffington Post article about why weddings are so expensiveargues – it does in fact depend on many factors, including the amount of work involved.
As the article goes on to explain, what such secret-shopper experiments as the one described above, fail to consider is the sheer amount of time, level of detail and the huge pressure of a once-in-a-lifetime event like a wedding. There’s no comparison between that and something like a corporate event or even a family reunion. Not in either of those are stakes or expectations as sky high as they are for a wedding. And that’s what makes the difference.
A cake for a wedding has so much more invested in it than a cake for a regular party. Take for instance the number of communications, consultations involved. Before booking their wedding cake, the couple will have met the cake designer several times, had cake tastings, exchanged emails and phone calls regarding the design details.
Then consider the size of the cake, a wedding cake usually has several tiers and possibly many flavours. Consequently the design will be more involved. Travelling to the venue and setting up the cake display. Depending on the display design, there could be the additional journey to collect accessories used for the cake display.
So you see it’s not a strict comparison of apples for apples but rather oranges to plums.
If you called up the lovely Kim of Kimmis Cakes and asked for the cakes below there will certainly be a difference in price and justifiably so!
A birthday cake designed by Kimmis Cakes
A 3-tiered wedding cake with fresh flowers
Our advice:
Decide what’s important to you and find suppliers that you want to work with.
When you’re shopping around for venues and suppliers, be clear on what your budget. Indeed, don’t be afraid to tell them your budget, this also helps to set expectations.
Request a consultation, get to know them, build a relationship with them and work with them on creating your dream vision.
Most suppliers will tailor their proposals to fit you and to make you happy. Just don’t expect them to work for nothing – or very little.
What do you think?
So what do you think? Do suppliers increase their prices for weddings or do their proposal take into account the additional work involved? If you’ve got any thoughts on it or you’ve got proven experience of it happening to someone you know do let us know.
Should you be planning a wedding or celebrations and want to talk to us about your venue decor or accessory hire then give us a call. Or fill our out our contact form and we will be in touch soon.
A Wedding Planning Timeline. You’re engaged. Congratulations! Enjoy the celebrations because, if you intend to marry within a year or two you’ll need to start plotting and planning now. But fear not! For we have a super helpful wedding planning timeline to help you along, based on an 18-month planning schedule.
We see a lot of couples looking at a wedding date in 18 months to 2 years time. Because of this, many venues get booked well in advance. So, if you’re set on a particular location, it’s worth chatting to the venue early to avoid disappointment.
What to do and when to do it on the wedding planning timeline
12 – 18 months+
1. Set the date. A bit important is this one.
You need to set a date at least 12 months from when you announce your engagement. This way you have a chance of getting your choice of venues and suppliers at good prices.
If you’re on a mission to save money consider booking a mid-week wedding instead of the usual Saturday. This is also a cost-effective way to do the legal stuff if you’re planning an alternative ceremony of some sort – humanist for example.
A wedding planning timeline
2. Decide now if you’re willing and able to do all the planning yourself
You can do it yourself of course. Or you can decide to call on the worth-its-weight-in-gold expertise of a wedding planner. In which case, Fabulous Functions UK is here to help!
3. Send out save the date cards
Because you don’t want your guests to have booked their skiing/sun/city break when you plan to make your vows.
4. Set your budget
The key points here are:
Be realistic – no wedding is worth going into debt for
Add in a bit extra for a contingency – because you never know
5. Draw up the guest list or lists
You’ll need oodles of ompromise and communication here. Do your best to keep it equal and appease both families.
You might find it easier to have a separate evening guest list for work colleagues and family that are close – but not close enough.
6. Book your venue (s)
The sooner you do this the better. It’s almost impossible to plan anything else until this one is sorted out. You’ll need to:
* Book a venue for your ceremony – church, registry office or licensed civil wedding venue.
*Find and book a venue for your reception, your wedding breakfast, disco or whatever after-dinner entertainment you have in mind.
Things to think about are:
1. Seating capacity 2. Room hire costs 3. Catering options 4. Indoor and outdoor settings for photographs
It’s possible to save wads of cash by having your wedding out of season. Plenty of venues have wonderful winter offers.
7. Select your wedding party: bridesmaids, ushers, best man etc.
Decide on the role each one is going to play in your wedding planning. Good communications is essential to avoid misunderstandings and upsets during the months ahead.
8. Book your photographer and/or videographer
Our pointers here are:
1. Look for someone who offers you the style of photos you want – traditional, contemporary, reportage or a mix. 2. Meet them in person 3. Ask to see their portfolio and a complete wedding album.
Fabulous Functions UK know several photographers, so if you’d like us to point you in someone’s direction we’d be happy to. Simply give us call.
9. Meet your minister/registrar/celebrants
Go armed with all your questions about the ceremony. They’ll help you find suitable readings and music if you want them too.
10. Book your DJ/Band/dancing girls/chamber quartet – or whatever it might happen to be
Whatever after dinner entertainment you have in mind now is the time to get them booked up.
Book caterers if you need them
It might be that your reception venue isn’t doing your catering. In which case, you’ll need to think about hiring outside caterers. If your budget is super tight then party platters from your supermarket are an option to consider.
Book your cars/bus/horse or whatever mode of transport you want
Assuming your wedding breakfast is going to be somewhere other than the church you’ll need transportation for the wedding party.
Rather than several individual cars a vintage double decker bus would be great fun – and photogenic. Tickets please!
Book your florist
You’ll need to think about how many flowers you want and where you’d like them. For the budget conscious silk flowers are worthy of your consideration. There’s many other factors in their favour too. Read about the benefits of silk flowers and foliage in our blog.
Book a toastmaster or master of ceremonies
Worth thinking about. They’re worth their weight in their gold to make sure everything goes to plan and people are where they should be when they should be.
Book your honeymoon
Book it in your maiden name with your existing passport. Then change all your documents to your new married name when you get back.
Take out wedding insurance
It doesn’t need to cost much and might save you a packet if you’re suddenly let down by a supplier. There’s no price on peace of mind.
11. The dress
If you haven’t already – start now! If you’re going to have a couture bridal gown made then you must start now. To buy a designer dress allow 6-8 months. For off the peg or second-hand then 6-8 weeks should be sufficient for necessary alterations.
6+ Months
A note about DIY
Now is the time to get going if you’re planning any DIY aspects: invitations, table centres, cake or favours. You’ll need practice time as well as production time. So get cracking!
1. Order or get making your wedding invitations. Not forgetting all the other wedding stationery including: orders of service, place cards and thank you cards. 2. Order the wedding cake. Or cupcakes or ‘cheese cake’, or have your wedding cake home-made. 3. Buy your wedding shoes and accessories
You’ll need your shoes in time for the first dress fitting. And your tiara and veil in time for your make-up and hair trial run.
4. Book your make-up artist and hairdresser. Speak to several to find one you feel comfortable with. 5. Buy: bridesmaid’s dresses, suits for the for groom, best man, ushers and flower girls and page boys. Or hire them! 6. Book the honeymoon suite.
3 Months+
Get your wedding dress altered If you need to. Then try not to lose or gain weight!
Kick off a regular facial routine for a glowing wedding day complexion.
Buy the rings. Check that when they arrive they’re the right size and that your wedding ring sits comfortably alongside your engagement ring if like most of us, you are going to wear them together.
Send out the invitations
It’s tradition to send them out 6-12 weeks prior to the wedding. But if you prefer – do it sooner. Information to include on them:
Overnight accommodation
Transport
Parking
Dress code if applicable. Include reply cards to make sure you get RSVPs and ask your guests for dietary information.
Order venue décor and table decorations
Buy or hire?
An alternative to buying is hiring.
Do check out our For Hire section or the Treasure Trove sectionfor some fabulous accessories. We also offer a bespoke service for any accessories you must have but cannot find.
Now is the time to set up your gift list. Make your list available to your guests and have it on your wedding website if you have one.
Also:
Choose readings and music for the ceremony
Buy gifts for the best man, ushers and bridesmaids. If you’re presenting bouquets to the mothers of the bride and groom order them from your florist so they can plan their orders.
Arrange any necessary vaccinations for your honeymoon.
Start planning your hen and stag parties – A job for the Maid of Honor and Bestman!
1 Month to go
Arrange a final wedding dress fitting
Double check all arrangements are in place with all your suppliers. Be sure to speak to them and get written confirmation of dates, places and times.
Finalise your seating plan – and make your seating/table planner
Arrange your wedding rehearsal
Chase up on guests who’ve not RSVPd
Arrange a date to collect any hired suits – making a note of their return by dates. A job for the best man surely?
Write the speeches. From the heart – then practice, practice and practice some more.
1 week before – almost there!
Have your hair trimmed and/or coloured. This is NOT the time to experiment with a new colour or drastic changes of hair style.
Have your wedding rehearsal
Pack for your honeymoon
Wear in your wedding shoes. Don’t go to Tesco in them but wear them around the house to get used to them.
Put together a wedding emergency kit – put your chief bridesmaid in charge of it. Things to include: A compact mirror and powder, lipstick, tissues, stain spot remover.
Order your foreign currency for your honeymoon
Make any other last-minute arrangements now. It might rain – this is Britain after all. Make sure there’s lots of brollies.
Have any planned beauty treatments now – Get your eyebrows shaped, fake tan done all in good time.
If you haven’t yet, find your something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue’.
Designate someone to look after the contact list of your suppliers.
THEN FORGET ABOUT IT.
The day before the great day itself
Have an RnR day if you can. Surround yourself with people who are going to take care of you and help you enjoy the special moments.
Spend the day with friends or family and don’t do anything more exhausting than a manicure.
Try to get an early night – After all – you’re getting married in the morning!
And finally
Keep in mind that this day is the beginning of your marriage. So if anything goes wrong on the day – best laid plans etc. – focus on your marriage rather than your wedding. That’s the important part – that’s what will make it a day to remember!
We hope you’ve found this useful.
If Fabulous Functions UK can help you with any aspect of your wedding or you are looking for that must have accessory and cannot find it any where, give us a call on 07511 842 451
