THE VENUE SPEAKS VOLUMES It doesn’t pay to overlook the setting you’ll be styling, not only when deciding on a theme and palette, but practicality too is crucial. Rachel from The Fantastical Events Company explains, “Picking a venue is not without its considerations. While there are so many beautiful hotels, castles, farms, barns and blank canvases to choose from in Sussex, it’s best to do your research to ensure there are no limitations in terms of what you can and can’t do on your special day. For example, some venues may insist on providing catering themselves. Others may have noise restrictions in terms of live music or DJs, only allow preferred suppliers or, if they’re in demand, may only give you 24 hours to set up and take down, which can be super-stressful. “Location is also very important. How far is the venue? How will your guests get there? Is there ample parking and accommodation nearby for those faraway relatives? If you’re opting for a festival-style celebration in a hired field more planning will be involved to ensure factors such as power, lighting, weather-proof areas, catering and guest safety are covered.” Draping can transform a venue into an intimate romantic haven, but there are elements you’ll need to take into account with regards your venue. Fiona Sharkey from Ashdown Events tells us more, “Don’t try to cover up something too big to hide. By draping you can sometimes just draw attention to the very thing you’re trying to disguise! Also, consider any air con units as we can’t cover those. “What’s more, a lot of ceilings are too low to drape and you’ll make the room seem a lot smaller by trying. Finally, be sure to manage your expectations. Budgets for those big glitzy venues in the U.S. are huge, if you don’t have a £100,000 budget best not look at the pictures!” The Fantastical Events Company © www.jessicabevanphotography.com EXPERT TOP TIPS Emily from Weddings by Emily Charlotte shares her expert advice on what to bear in mind when it comes to your venue and styling it. How will your day flow at the venue, which spaces will you use, and where will your guests walk to get from one location to the next? Look at what is (or isn’t) in situ at the venue: colours, patterns, textures, structures. Take photos so you can refer back to this once you get to the styling stage of your wedding. Look at both your plan A (good weather) and plan B (wet weather) options; will your décor plans need to change if you had to implement the latter or can they simply be transferred from one space to another? Check if there are any restrictions or specific suppliers that must be used in your preferred spaces; for example, don’t assume flower installations on existing fixtures will be permitted, if in doubt always ask to avoid any surprises after you’ve committed to a particular design theme. Request clear details on what is (and just as important, what isn’t) included in your venue. Do they offer a choice of tables, chairs, linens, glassware, crockery etc? Be clear on what is available to you within the fee, what may come at an extra cost and what will need to be hired externally. Weddings by Emily Charlotte © https://helencawte.com LOOKING AFTER THE PENNIES We’d always recommend that you sit down together and agree on a budget at the very start of your W-day journey, before you do anything else. Deciding how much you’ll devote to the venue styling will be an important part of that, not least because it’s an area in which you can all too easily get swept away. This way, when you’re looking at venues you can get an idea of whether you’ll be able to achieve the look you want within budget given the blank canvas you have in front of you. Emily from Weddings by Emily Charlotte has some suggestion on where to start. Know how important venue styling is to you. I love the flowers, stationery and place settings, so in an ideal world everyone would allocate a good proportion of their budget to the styling and décor, but for some it’s just not a big deal, so this is an area they’d look to cut back on. If it’s important to you, then be prepared to allocate a reasonable chunk. Sussex Florals © www.laurenbethphotography.co.uk 68
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