Bad Weather. What to do?

The weather so far this Summer has been rather disappointing to say the least, and as I write this it is absolutely pooring down in Essex. I find myself worrying as every weekend comes around, thinking of my poor brides. You can plan everything for your wedding down to the finest detail but you cannot plan the weather.

What you can do is be prepared. How?? When you are choosing your venue, look for indoor photo opportunities, so that whatever happens outside you will have plenty of places to go to get some lovely photos.

Think about some lovely umbrellas. You can get some really pretty wedding umbrellas which you can provide at your church or venue. If you are having your wedding in a marquee, at home what about white wellies. You certainly won't get muddy feet with these on.

There are also a few logistical things to think about if you are having a marquee at your home and the weather can affect them. Parking for your guests, try to have an alternative to a soggy field, otherwise they might be there for a while! Where are your portable toilets going to be located? think about an undercover walkway to them or if you can't do that don't have them too far away in which case an umbrella will be fine. You can also get some fabulous ones now that can be in a different section of your marquee.

You can't plan the weather but you can makes some contingency plans should it rain.

 Credits
www.shoeawa.com
ladywithawhitedress.blogspot.com
elliesweddingaccesories.com
www.weddingsgo.co.uk
alyssajulblog.com

The Royal Chase Hotel, Enfield

Last month I was invited by Emma, the new business and development manager to have a show round of The Royal Chase Hotel on The Ridgeway in Enfield. Now I've driven past this hotel a million times but never been in before and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw.
The hotel is set quite high up with breathtaking views across the Hertfordshire countryside. There are three suites in which to hold your wedding reception or party, all three are licensed for civil ceremonies.
The hotel has a very boutique feel. It's family owned and I think because of that it has a very cosy feel. There is a large suite holding up to 200 people with a huge dance floor, its own large bar area, outside terrace and entrance, so even if there was another event at the hotel, you'd never know as you are completely self contained. Then there is the suite, which again has its own bar, outside terrace and separate lounge area and finally the pavillion which is outside and I absolutley loved this as there is so much you could do with it interms of decor and styling. Perfect for an outdoor Summer wedding or party.
The hotel has a bar, refurbished restaurant and an outdoor pool, plus lovely gardens so plenty of photo opportunities. I left the venue with hundreds of ideas running through my head and I can't wait to show clients around it.

Top Tip - An easy way to save a lot of money.

You want the wedding of your dreams but the budget is tight. Fear not, get a wedding planner in Essex to help you put together a realistic budget and to advise you on where you can save money.

A good way to cut out a cost is don't have an evening buffet, what no food for the evening guests? Not exactly,  sit down later to the wedding breakfast and then you won't have to provide any further food. I'm not be mean, just read on.

I think having the meal in the evening is lovely especially when the days are slightly shorter than they are now. By aiming to sit down at say 6pm you will roughly finish the formalities by 8.30pm with dancing starting at 9pm, so there is no need to provide an evening buffet, which is often not eaten anyway.

What you do have to do is be quite strict with your guest list as the likely hood is there won't be any evening guests, or if you really want to invite friends and family in the evening, invite them to join you for drinks to celebrate your marriage. If the invitation say's from 9pm for drinks its quite clear that there won't be any food.

The problem is with evening buffets at venues is they will expect you to order food for 80% of the total day guests plus up to £20 per head for any extra evening guests. This can soon add up, but thinking carefully about timings you can still have the day you dreamed of and keep to yout budget.

Happy planning

Official photos of Jo and Dave's rewal of vows and 40th birthday party

Last month I had the pleasure of planning a special celebration at Redbrick Barn in Rochford for Jo and Dave who wanted to surprise their family by renewing their wedding vows and celebrating their 40th birthday's.
The couple originally married ten years ago in Gretna Green when Jo was expecting their first child. She wanted to be married before Lily arrived and so the two of them headed to Gretna Green using two people they hadn't met before as their witnesses. Ten happy years later, and another addition to the family, Harry, they decided to have the wedding that they had always dreamed of and so I was bought in to help them bring together this very special celebration.
A big thank you to the suppliers that made the day possible, Richard and the team at Fuud Ltd, John and the boys at Vicarage Marquee's, Helen and Olly at Redbrick Barn and Garrett from Inverve photography. Here are some of the official shots.

Top Tip - Who to Invite

Over the next few weeks I'm going to post some tips to help you with your wedding planning. Just little things that can make a big difference to your day and help eleviate any unnecessary planning stress

Top Tip - who to invite

Its always difficult deciding who you both want to invite to your wedding, sit down with your partner and get him to write down all the people he would like to invite and you do the same. Match up your lists and the people that appear on both are definates. Then look at the others together, remember if you aren't paying for the wedding you may have to invite some people that might not be high on your list, but discuss this with relatives. What you do want on your wedding day is to look around the room and be surrounded by the people who you want to share your big day with.