PLANNING SOS What are your top tips for planning a stress-free wedding? Remember that celebrating your love and commitment to each other is the most important thing. Don’t let minor details overshadow the joy of your special day. We totally get it; planning a wedding can be stressful! Remember, it’s your wedding day, do things how you want them. Planning early allows making decisions thoughtfully while avoiding last-minute rushes and panics. Determine your budget early on and stick to it while also identifying the aspects of your wedding that are the most important to help make decisions and prioritise where to allocate funds. Develop a timeline on the lead-up to your wedding to help keep track of tasks and payments. Breaking down the planning process into smaller, manageable steps can make it feel less overwhelming. We often get asked for recommendations for other wedding suppliers, and we only suggest companies we trust. Trust is a massive part of your wedding, and it will help your day run more seamlessly and give you a better, stress-free wedding experience. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from family and friends, or even consider hiring a wedding planner if it’s within your budget. Delegating tasks can relieve some of the pressure and allow you to focus on enjoying the process. Communicating openly is key! Keeping the lines of communication open with your partner throughout the planning process will set an amazing groundwork for your marriage and build trust between you. If you’re old school, keep your wedding-related documents, contracts and receipts organised in one place. Consider using wedding planning apps or spreadsheets to stay on top of tasks and deadlines if you’re more tech-savvy. Understand that not everything may go exactly as planned, and that’s okay. Be flexible and prepared to adapt to any changes or challenges. The only people who know how it was meant to go are you. Stephanie Longworth | The Secret Bridesmaid www.thesecretbridesmaid.com FINDING THE ONE I’m nervous about my first bridal appointment. What can I expect? Feeling nervous is completely normal! We often hear this, so we speak to our brides as much as possible before their appointment. If a client is very anxious, we recommend coming to the boutique to look around and ask us any questions or concerns they may have. This helps us get to know the bride and what she needs from her dress to complement her dream wedding day. When we understand the bride and her needs, we can select some dresses to start the appointment to ensure they’re not overwhelmed by all the styles when they arrive. It helps narrow down the style and fit too. We can pop on a dressing gown and choose more dresses together if needed. We ask our brides to bring their gorgeous selves and open-mindedness to their appointments. Sometimes, the dress they see online is the opposite of what suits them best, and that’s completely ok. It’s so fun to try on a wild card; quite often, that tends to be the one! Rosanna Meehan | Mimi Toko Bridal Boutique | https://mimitoko.co.uk BLOOMING BEAUTIFUL I don’t know anything about flowers, how do I choose the perfect blooms? We hear this all the time at Limewood Flowers, and it’s perfect! We can introduce you to various florals you may have yet to hear of that fit your theme and budget. Think of the light and airy corncockles or squirrel tail grass for a fluffy texture. Anemones are perfect for a bold and dramatic look in spring, or scented apple mint foliage is ideal to calm nerves. So, instead of picking specific flowers, try choosing a florist. Spend time looking through websites and social media pages to learn about all the different floral designs. Make a short list of florists whose style you love, and contact the teams to discuss your day. This will spark their creativity to recommend the perfect flowers for you. We have created wedding flowers for a chef where the foliage was edible herbs for a personal touch! You may love the countryside and would like wildflowers included. Maybe you love sunflowers but don’t want a bright yellow wedding; well, did you know there are pastel yellow, chocolate brown, and rusty red sunflowers now too? The bonus is that your florist can choose from the best available blooms for your date. Flowers in season are far cheaper – a peony in December can be three or four times the price in June! Fran Smith | Limewood Flowers https://limewoodflowers.co.uk https://veronikajoy.co.uk www.oliviaartandphotography.co.uk www.fieldphotographic.com EXPERT ADVICE 77
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTA0NTE=