Wedding Planning

 

Choosing A Church For your Wedding

Many people marry in their own local church, but you might like your wedding in a church away from where you live because it has special significance for you through family or other connections.

Thanks to a change in the law, you can now be married in a church of your choice, providing that you can meet any one of the following criteria:  

That one of you:

Has at any time lived in the parish for a period of at least 6 months or

Was baptised in the parish concerned or

Was prepared for confirmation in the parish or

Has at any time regularly gone to normal church services in the parish church for a period of at least 6 months or

That one of your parents, at any time after you were born:

Has lived in the parish for a period of at least 6 months or

Has regularly gone to normal church services in the parish church for a period of at least 6 months or

That one of your parents or grandparents:

Was married in the parish

 

Choosing Flowers For Your Wedding

Flowers tend to be governed by season and price. There are magazines dedicated to wedding flowers with lots of ideas.  When selecting a florist try to see their work before hand and show them examples of the ideas you have.  

Finding a florist for your wedding is usually quite easy.  Ask first at the wedding reception venues, since they will have frequent weddings and will have seen all the local florist’s work.  It may also be useful to ask a florist you are considering if you can go along to see their work on the morning of a local wedding.

It is also useful for the florist to visit your chosen venues if they are going to be dressing these areas for you.  If its a church wedding you may find that helpers at the church will be happy to help arrange the flowers and provide advice on where to and how to arrange them, all free of charge.  Consider this when making a donation to the church.

A photo of the wedding dress will assist the florist when selecting a shape for the bridal bouquet.

Choose your florist well in advance of the wedding, as they tend to be booked up months in advance.  The exact choice of flowers and colours can be made at a later date, say 2-3 months before your wedding.

 

Wedding Dress Advice

For your wedding dress, the average lead-time is around 4 to 6 months.  Try on a variety of styles and take photographs of yourself in them; This will enable you to get other peoples opinions and compare different wedding dresses.  

If you are planning to diet and change dress size before your wedding day - try to get as near the desired size as possible prior to purchasing your dress, for if an alteration is necessary after your dress is delivered, a one size reduction is considered okay, but you run a risk with anything more.

When you get your dress home be sure to hang it in a manner so as not to crush or crease the skirt.  A good way of ensuring this is to have someone put a screwed hook into the ceiling, well away from walls and furniture and hang the dress from that, in this way your dress will look perfect for your wedding day.

 

Looking Good On Your Wedding Day

One of the most important aspects of your look for the wedding is your make-up.  You will be on display throughout the day, so you'll want to make sure its perfect from ceremony to party night.  For a perfect complexion and make-up that will stay all day, we recommend you use a professional make-up artist.  She will use professional products and her expertise to ensure your make-up is not only flawless and comfortable, but will last into the night. Consider having Mum and the bridesmaids made-up at the same time.  make sure you book a consultation at least 3 months before your wedding, so they can visit you at home and have a trial run to see what the finished look will be.  Take some photographs, this will allow you to see what your make-up will look like in the wedding photographs.

Decide on a theme colour or style for your wedding day. This will help you pull everything together and make the day flow visually.  Your wedding stationery should reflect any theme you have chosen, from the Wedding Invitations, through the Order of Service to the final Thank You Cards. Your bridesmaids, flower girls, ushers and pages will also benefit from co-ordination with the wedding theme colour's, and will help with dress selections, tie and waistcoat co-ordination.

 

Choosing Your Wedding Photographer

The wedding photographer will be very important.  It is down to this person to record your day for prosperity.  You will need to trust and feel at ease with this person, the better the relationship the more relaxed you will be and the better the pictures.  

Looking at a photographer’s portfolio of work will help you decide if you like the style.  Discuss with him/her how you want the finished work to be presented, for example on a DVD, selected photos in a presentation album or a Coffee Table book.  

Meeting with potential photographers is essential to ensure the right chemistry is there for a good working relationship.

 

The Wedding Rehearsal

A wedding rehearsal normally happens in the week running up to the wedding.

All of the bridal party, including the bride and groom, best man and chief bridesmaid should attend the rehearsal, and if possible the parents of the couple.

The minister will run through the wedding service, and show everyone where to stand before and during your service.  

Any readings can also be run though to get a feel for the ambience. Timings of the wedding service will be finalised and any queries can be raised with the minister.  

 

The Wedding Day

The ushers should be the first to arrive at the church, about forty-five minutes before the wedding ceremony. They should be informed in advance of how to seat the guests as they arrive. The ushers could also organise where the guests may park their cars, and make sure that everyone has an order of service, prayer and hymnbooks.

The front right-hand pew is reserved for the groom and the best man. The groom's close family sit in the second pew behind the groom. The front left-hand pew is reserved for the bride's parents and her attendants.

The groom and best man should arrive at the church at least 30 minutes before the wedding ceremony. Guests usually arrive at the church fifteen to twenty minutes before the wedding ceremony begins, and are shown to their seats by the ushers. The organist will play the prelude music.
The next to arrive at the church are the bridesmaids and the mother of the bride. The bride's mother usually waits with the bridesmaids at the church door until the arrival of the bride and her father. The bride's mother is the last to be shown to her seat by the ushers, before the wedding ceremony begins.  

The mothers’ entrance serves as a cue to the groom that the bride has arrived, at this point, the organist will play the processional music and the congregation should stand. The bridesmaids take their places behind the bride in pairs.
The bride then takes her father's right arm and they proceed down the aisle together, followed by the bridesmaids, towards the groom who then takes a step forward to stand beside his wife to be.

 

The Wedding Breakfast

When your guests arrive at the wedding reception venue it's usual to serve drinks and possibly some canapés before everyone sits down for the wedding breakfast (its called breakfast, but is served any time of day.
Before Guests enter the room where the food is served, you may want to set up a receiving line. consisting of the Bride and Groom, parents of both, plus bridesmaids and best man ( these are not obligatory it can be just the two of you). This is a nice custom as you'll find the day goes by so fast this may be the only time you get to see all the guests and thank them for coming.

Your guests spend most of the wedding sitting down at the reception and deciding who sits where is never easy. The best seating plans reflect all the time, effort and thought put in by the married couple. However it doesn't happen by magic, so you need to start planning early. When the RSVP's start coming in, some names will link up naturally. Make sure each table has at least one lively guest who'll keep the conversation flowing, also keep a list of guests who will be attending alone or who wont know may people, but don't simply use them to fill gaps, think early on about how to include them in other groups, shared interests, work can be a starting point. Generally, couple sit at the same table, but not necessarily next to each other. A mix of men and women is always wise, and remember, weddings are prime territory for singles on the prowl, so this is a great chance to try and hook up like minded friends, but don't make matchmaking too obvious. We have Table plans to assist this matching  all our wedding stationery coordinating with Favour boxes, Menu’s and  Place cards