Your Cheshire and Merseyside Wedding - May/June 2020 (Issue 51)

www.mat thewrycraft.co.uk Our experts offer stellar wedding-planning advice HOT TOPIC WONDERS OF THE WORLD We’re big fans of international cuisine and would love to reflect this in our wedding-day menu. What can you suggest? A lot of couples are choosing less traditional options when it comes to their wedding breakfast, with street food and international bowl food proving particularly popular. The latter is flexible and allows guests to sample a number of different dishes that will take them on a culinary tour around the world. With this serving style, there’s also the added bonus of being able to choose multiple dishes, as opposed to a single main course. Our menus include a number of these options including lamb tagine with herb couscous and mint yoghurt, Thai crispy chilli beef noodle and papaya salad, and Sri Lankan king prawn curry. All use fragrant herbs, spices and dressings, ideal for couples who love a range of international cuisines and flavours. Whether you have fond memories of a trip that you’d like to recreate, or you simply want your menu to reflect your heritage and culture, work closely with your wedding caterer to create a bespoke menu that makes your day totally personal to you. James Behan, head chef at National Museums Liverpool www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/venue-hire/weddings CHANGE OF PLAN Our worst fears were realised when the government specifically banned weddings, meaning we’re faced with the disappointment and challenge of rescheduling ours. Can you offer any advice ? Of course, there’s a lot to reorganise, so it’s good idea to start prioritising. If you need to reschedule a wedding as a result of COVID-19, your top priorities should be as follows: ❤ The venue. Your number one priority is to contact the venue. Ask if there are any dates available later this year, or even next, and if any deposit paid can be put towards the new date. ❤ The photographer is your next port of call. Under the current circumstances, all wedding suppliers should be supportive, so get in touch to see if they can offer any flexibility. Don’t delay as they may book up well in advance. ❤ The dress. As clothing stores are also closed at the moment, your wedding dress supplier should agree to move your fitting to whenever it’s required. They should also be able to hold the gown for as long as necessary. ❤ Flowers. Bear in mind, if you were planning a summer wedding that’s become a winter one, you might want to begin rethinking your floral choices. Communication is key. Get in touch with suppliers, and if they really can’t help with the new date start search for good alternatives. I have a preferred list of suppliers and we’re here to help. Matthew Rycraft, Photographer www.matthewrycraft.co.uk A HELPING HAND We’re having to postpone our wedding due to the Coronavirus, how should we approach the suppliers we’d booked for our special day? With the uncertainty and soberness of our current situation, having to deal with postponing or cancelling your wedding is an unenviable task. Unfortunately, it’s also a difficult time for your suppliers whose income has completely dried up. Having spoken to many other wedding bands and suppliers we know that most have chosen to be as flexible as possible by retaining deposits for postponed dates. Some businesses have asked couples to advance at least a portion of the final payment so that they might be able to survive this period until they can start up their businesses again. Musicians have been particularly hard-hit, so this may be something worth considering when having these conversations. If you have insurance and can make a claim then do so, as it will help your suppliers too. When organising a new date, if it’s possible, consider rebooking on a day other than Saturday as it will allow your suppliers to take new bookings and earn more income next year to compensate for this year’s loss. What I can guarantee is that whenever your event happens, your suppliers will be focusing on making your day super-special, with extra vigour gained from finally being able to serve their clients again! Yew Han Baker, Musician www.funtimefrankies.co.uk EXPERT ADVICE 53