Your Hampshire and Dorset Wedding - November/December 2020 (Issue 83)

Local experts on intimate weddings HOT TOPIC WE DID IT OUR WAY We may only be having a small wedding but we want to make the ceremony really meaningful and personal to us. Any ideas? Diane says: If you’ve chosen a wedding celebrant to officiate your wedding, you’re already well on your way to having a unique and personal ceremony. A celebrant can be completely flexible about the time and the location. As we don’t need to carry out the wedding in licensed premises, you might like your ceremony in a place that’s really important to you. Perhaps the place where you first met or a family garden, twilight ‘I dos’ in your favourite woods lit up with magical fairylights and lanterns or on the beach where you shared your first kiss. As long as we have permission, we can provide our service anywhere. You can write your own vows and your celebrant may ask what you love about each other and your dreams for the future, so they can share it with everybody on the day. Smaller ceremonies can be really intimate and even more special. Perhaps you’d like to involve your guests in a reading, performing a piece of music or even taking part in a group vow, all promising to love and support you through your marriage. Diane Bell | Celebrant | www.familytreeceremonies.co.uk We had to postpone our wedding this summer but are planning to tie the knot as soon as we can and then have a bumper party later next year. There will only be a dozen of us on the day but we still want to make it special and have a meal to remember. What would you suggest? Sally says: With a small intimate group you can focus on celebrating your day in style with your closest family and friends. It takes us back to the wow factor of a plated meal, which has been overshadowed in the last couple of years in favour of sharing platters and grazing tables. It also means, with fewer numbers you can splash out and really go the extra mile when it comes to the menu, maybe add extra courses, petit fours, your favourite cheeses and an after dinner drink or two. Plated meals can be vibrant, colourful and tasty and with fewer mouths to feed you could ask your caterer to provide a selection of different dishes for each course, providing restaurant-style dining in a private setting so everyone is happy.  Small round tables are best so households and social bubbles can sit together. Canapés can still be enjoyed but on individual platters for each guest. Sharing platters may be out but plated barbecue meals can be served to the table. The dessert trio is another option that’s now in its element while help-yourself dessert tables are a no go. So if you can’t decide on just one sweet treat, why not have three mini creations? Sally Ann Pickles | Managing director | www.vanillacatering.co.uk SPOILT FOR CHOICE www.cap turedbycrissi.co.uk www.lahu brandvisibility.com 88