HOLD ME CLOSE How can we add a festive touch to our wedding photographs? The festive season provides an abundance of creative opportunities to capture magical photographs. Here are a few of my ideas: The décor: Use seasonal décor and props, such as lights, lanterns, pine branches, festive garlands, flowers and signage, perhaps a wooden sign with a festive-inspired message on it. The ambience: Think about festive lighting effects such as sparklers and candles to create a magical ambiance. The confetti: Use biodegradable snow or white confetti. This is great for photos as it stays in the air much longer. The accessories: Think of a cosy winter shawl, a seasonal boutonniere or a festive bouquet ribbon. The setting: Catching the dew of the wedding morning, the frost, or reflections of an icy lake can be magical for creating a festive touch to your wedding photos. Also looking for reflections in the fairylights and festive ornaments. Beverages and extras: Sparkling champagne, hot cider, mulled wine, hot chocolate with Baileys, toasted marshmallows around a firepit and fireworks would all add to the ambiance. Check the time scheduled for your portrait and group photographs; the dark draws in sooner, so ensuring that window of time for natural light to make the most of the outdoor venue settings is key for the best outcome for your photographs. There are so many wonderful opportunities to get creative with your festive wedding. Talk about your vision for your day and your aspirations for your gallery with your photographer and venue; together you will create the most special, festive story. Tracey Davies www.traceydaviesphotography.com www.traceydaviesphotography.com LET IT SNOW We’re having a winter wedding and would love to incorporate the time of year into our cake. Do you have any flavour suggestions or decorations we could choose? The ideal flavour to choose for a winter wedding would be chocolate orange; it’s a staple to any Christmas stocking and is just delicious as a sponge paired with a creamy chocolate orange ganache filling. For your decorations, I always recommend sugarpaste; it’s simple, white and crisp. The addition of pearls will give it that extra bit of added sparkle. Amber Cox www.ambersbakesncakes.co.uk BOOGIE ALL NIGHT My wife-to-be and I are looking for entertainment that will appeal to guests of all ages. Do you have any suggestions? From experience, I’ve found that when planning your wedding, it can be easy to lose yourself and your initial vision for your wedding when you start worrying too much about your guests. Of course you want everyone to love every second of your wedding, but I always tell my to-be-weds how important it is to make sure the wedding is for them! At a wedding, we bring together a big group of people with different ages, backgrounds and interests, and it is easy to start planning a very complicated day if we focus on the different preferences of each of these guests. In my opinion, if you choose entertainment that you love, your guests will be joyful that you’re happy and will therefore also love it! Weddings are a celebration of two partners and the love between them, and if you plan a wedding that makes you smile, the people that are there to celebrate will also be happy. That said, choosing different entertainment for different parts of your day can help you cater to different ages. Personally, I offer a combination of classical and pop violin music, as I’ve found that having contrasting styles of music for different parts of the wedding means there is something for everyone and allows for greater personalisation of the mood and energy. At my own wedding this summer, we had bagpipes at the ceremony, followed by classical music with our food, laidback pop music later in the day, and finally a disco in the evening. We also had family and friends run a quiz about us, and we played The Shoe Game to honour my Danish roots. Shane Considine www.shaneconsidinemusic.co.uk www.bubearphotography.com www.lizaomalley.com 62
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTA0NTE=