I’ve run my own wedding business now for 12 years and quite simply I love it. Since I started a business as a wedding supplier, I was drawn to it like a moth to the flame and I can’t help but keep coming back for more.
The Wedding Industry – here’s why I love it! Read More »
Wedding Planning Tips
So by now you’re knee deep in wedding plans. The venues been booked and you’ve got one eye on your wedding catering options and costs. Regular daydreaming of your honeymoon destination may have began and you are already getting nervous that your original budget is looking somewhat on the optimistic side. Now it’s time to decide the wedding guest list. Amongst all this planning in the eye of the wedding storm, you must decide who will actually join on the big day. In other words, who are you going to invite on your wedding guest list? Who are you going to add to your wedding guest list? Now it’s time to get down to business. This should be easy right? Make a budget, determine how many guests you can afford to come – or your venue can accommodate – send out the invites and bosh, you’re all done. Not so fast there senor and senorita. If you’re both on the same page this can be easy, however there’s a good chance this can become an all mighty tug of war between you both. Your parents may get involved with their own invitees, your best pal wants to bring the girl he met on Tinder just last week, and your cousins ten hyperactive kids are waiting in line to chow down on the sweet table whilst costing the earth to feed. Deep breaths now. Let’s go through this one step at a time. With our 5 handy guest list tips you’ll be through this in no time. 1 – What is your budget and venue capacity First things first. Let’s cast our mind back to the budget and the venue. Ask yourself the following three questions: Are there any restrictions on numbers at the church or venue? What is your budget for catering, bearing in mind the other outgoings for the day? How many guests would you like to attend your day celebrations? (Make a rough list) Next up, if you haven’t already done so – speak to your venue or caterers and get an estimate of your catering costs on a cost per head basis (this will become a familiar term in your wedding journey.) If you’re opting for a traditional drinks reception and three course meal; with prices ranging from £30-£100 a head or more (this can vary immensely depending on what type of venue/catering you opt for), you can see how guest numbers can make a huge difference to costs. Catering is up there as one of the most expensive items of the day (unless you are cunning and choose one of our cheaper alternative catering ideas) so numbers here will be important. You may be a popular couple and have hundreds of guests you would like to invite, but sadly you are likely to face limitations on your budget here. One sage piece of advice to consider: is it better to have fewer better fed and watered guests to enjoy your day, or more guests that you will have to treat more sparingly. Many guests will likely opt for the former. 2 – Your wedding guest list – three events in one day When it comes to your wedding day, bear in mind that the ceremony and reception are essentially two separate events. These will also be distinctly different from the third part of the day which are your evening celebrations. The reception usually follows on straight from the ceremony. However if you are having a ceremony in a small church and your venue is larger; you invite your most important guests to the nuptials. You can then invite your nearest and dearest, plus the other important guests to the reception (I.e. the more fun bit.) This will roll through the afternoon with drinks, your wedding meal (the wedding breakfast) and into your evening celebrations. Your evening reception offers another opportunity to invite more guests for the party aspect of the day in. This is after all the formal parts of the day are complete, and everyone can let their hair down. Your extra guests here may include work colleagues, plus ones you are less familiar with, and perhaps older or wider friends groups. There is less pressure here on capacity numbers and catering costs, however you may still wish to consider these guests in your evening catering numbers (but that’s up to you.) Bear in mind however, that having extra guests for the evening will of course depend on the location and accessibility of the venue. Guests to the evening event are less likely to make a long journey for this aspect – as opposed to guests there for the whole day who will travel from far and wide to be part of the celebrations. 3 – Make a list – or multiple lists – of people to add to your wedding guest list This is the time to break it down (and I’m not talking about break dancing, at least not yet anyway). Sit down with your other half. Between you, write down three categories for your wedding guest list including the guest ‘must haves’, ‘like to haves’ and ‘could haves.’ The ‘must haves’ are your mandatory guests consisting of your nearest and closest friends and relatives. These are the ones you can’t imagine getting married without. The second category is the ‘like to haves’ – these include your wider circle of good friends and the relatives outside of your immediate family (think cousins, uncles, aunties etc). Finally there are the ‘could haves.’ These are the seat fillers that make up the rest of your available spaces. Ironically, these are probably the ones that will require a disproportionate amount of thought and may consist of friends from work, family friends of your parents, more obscure relatives etc. These are the people you don’t see as often and quite frankly wouldn’t be too disappointed if they aren’t available to come to your day celebrations. For everyone else – providing you aren’t getting married abroad or too far away –
Who should you invite to your wedding – a brief guide to your wedding guest list Read More »
Pre Wedding, The Big Day, Wedding Planning Tips
In the south of England, we’re blessed with some of the best wedding venues in England and the UK. But with so many on offer how do you narrow down the choices? Well, let us do it for you with highlights of some of the best wedding venues in England and Wales. Here are 11 of our tried and tested favourite wedding venues from across the south west of England and Wales. With everything from stately homes to renovated barns, lakeside retreats, country estates and castles. With our rundown of the best wedding venues in England and Wales, we are here to help you choose your perfect romantic wedding venue that is waiting to be discovered by you. Orchardleigh Nestled on a 500 acre estate in the Somerset countryside just outside of the trendy town of Frome, Orchardleigh House is a fantastic former manor house built in 1856. Restored to its former glory by a local businessman, the manor house offers Gothic styling, luxurious accommodation and a host of great photo opportunities. Acclaimed as one of the regions finest wedding venues. Orchardleigh holds a late licence to keep the party going until the early hours, has its own helipad, lake and island church and offers the ability to extend your wedding into a 2-3 day celebration. The real beauty of the estate however is that it houses two separate and completely different wedding venues on the same site. The Walled Garden – also known as Elmhay Park and the Orangery – is light and airy, comfortably holding up to 150 seated guests. The outdoor space is fantastic, housed in its own walled garden with a large patio and lots of space for guests to enjoy on the various lawns. Ceremonies can be performed within the grounds. There is the choice of the nearby chapel and two outdoor spaces available, all of which are licenced for civil ceremonies and partnerships. A great do it all wedding venue, with a choice of old or new. Our favourite is the Walled Garden but you can’t go too far wrong with either. Visit Orchardleigh’s website for full details. The Gathering Barn A relatively new wedding venue in England, The Gathering Barn is a renovated barn sat on a working farm in a beautiful hamlet called Monkton Deverill – handily just a stones throw from the A303 in Wiltshire. Make as much noise as you want and make the place your own! The wedding venue offers exclusive four day hire from Thursday morning to Sunday afternoon. With self contained accommodation sleeping 6-8 guests, there is also room to house your most important wedding crew. Cosy, rustic and renovated beautifully, the Gathering Barn serves as a blank canvas to bring in your own suppliers to enjoy with family and friends. Set around its own U shaped courtyard, there is plenty of space to get married on site (or in one of the many nearby churches.) The venue can supply a bar for you to use – with no corkage fees – or bring in your own suppliers to run it for you. Somewhat of a hidden gem, this is the perfect place to make your own fun filled memories for your wedding weekend. We can imagine The Gathering Barn getting very popular once word gets out. Brinsop Court I’ve only attended this venue once, but it was love at first sight! A 5* Grade 1 property, cited as one of the worlds top 100 wedding venues. Brinsop Court is a magical English country manor sitting in 800 acres of rolling Herefordshire countryside – one of the most picturesque and best wedding venues in England. Dating back to the mid fourteenth century, Brinsop Court is loaded with astounding period features. The wedding venue has its own spectacular moat and breathtaking photo opportunities wherever you turn. Available for two day hire to really make your own. Brinsop Court has luxurious on site accommodation for up to 33 guests and its own romantic private cottage for two with a hot tub. Perfect to relax after all of the wedding shenanigans! I visited Brinsop Court three or four years ago, and despite visiting hundreds of other wedding venues in England since – this one has really stood out in my memory. Have a look for yourself here. Gants Mill A beautiful family run wedding venue in a cosy corner of Somerset, Gants Mill pitches itself ‘as if you had a marquee in your own back garden’ with all the freedom that this entails. Bring in your own suppliers (with no corkage.) Get married in the gazebo and then relax and dine in the marquee, surrounded by beautiful well kept gardens. Run throughout the summer season with weddings only on Saturdays (with the occasional Wednesday.) The demand for Gants Mill speaks for itself with few dates left for 2022 already. Husband and wife team Greg and Elaine take care of things, with the friendly and welcoming Greg managing the front of house operations whilst Elaine puts her green fingers to action in keeping the glorious gardens in bloom for your guests to enjoy. Located just outside of Bruton in Somerset, we’ve been visiting Gants Mill since 2013 and its easy to see why The Independent named it as one of the UK’s 50 best wedding venues. A charming and enchanting wedding venue with the old mill as the backdrop for the day, book your own beautiful slice of the west country and get in touch with Greg and the team. Canada Lodge We love a visit across the bridge to Wales – with its gorgeous countryside, friendly and welcoming people and an array of fantastic wedding venues. Canada Lodge is no different and stood out as a Welsh wedding venue to remember. Nestled in a picturesque rural area besides a shimmering crystal blue lake, this is a country idyll a stones throw away from Cardiff. The perfect romantic wedding venue retreat for the most important day of your life. With luxury cabins
Find out more about the top four factors you should consider when choosing your wedding venue.
