Today we start a new series of wedding top tips for our readers who are planning their own weddings. The top tips are put together from our fabulous wedding planner member companies across the UK on a variety of subjects and distributed to a range of media outlets over the course of the year. We are starting today to share with you tips already picked up by the media but equally valid and we hope useful for your wedding this year and beyond.
How to ….create a design/choose a design best for you
- Sometimes, the word ‘theme’ can inspire dread as people picture a medieval banquet, complete with costumes and boar head or a Disney day with full pink princess gowns. In reality, it only really refers to a colour, idea or couple of words that can help shape the aesthetics and atmosphere of the day. When designing your own theme, I recommend producing a mood board:
- Buy a few bridal magazines and cut out all the things that you like.
- Divide them out across the floor into colours or styles so you have a few piles of different ideas.
- Look more carefully through each pile and throw out anything that is a ‘like’ rather than a ‘love’.
- Compare each of your streamlined piles to get a sense of which you like the best. If there is no clear winner, start mixing and matching the photos to see if something more unusual comes to the fore.
- When you have settled on a few photos that inspire you (even as few as five) mount them with a coloured card that unites them.
- Stick them onto one larger board in a neutral shade (like white, black or ivory). Use blu-tac so that you can cluster the pictures into ‘ceremony’, ‘bridal fashion’ or ‘table decorations’ as you move through your planning”
- Pick something that you and your fiancé love doing together and use this as an accent throughout your decor. Whether it’s a hobby or a favourite location, a continued theme with a touch of personality won’t be forgotten.
- If you would like a design that reflects a culture, choose the colours that most represents them and have it as part of your colour scheme. For example, red is the traditional colour for a Chinese wedding. Why not have red flowers in your bouquet or red lanterns hanging from the ceiling or even some Chinese parasols for some fun East-meets-West photographs with your bridesmaids
- Take a look at the wedding planners on UKAWP and look at the planners’ blogs. Many wedding planners design wedding mood boards and share their vision of a great wedding design. Get inspired with the help from a professional or even better, many planners offer a wedding design service.
- If you don’t have a particular theme in mind, start with the colours. You may opt for two or three favourite colours and find that they give you the romantic blushing pink vintage theme, Monochrome and Diamonds can give you a glamorous design or maybe you are going for the bright and bold colours to give you a more fun and quirky feel to the day.
- Think about the overall style of day you would like. For example, are you looking for something traditional or quirky? Do you want it to be elegant and stylish, or do you prefer a more relaxed and fun atmosphere? This will help you when searching for a venue and suppliers, as well as decorative accessories.
- Some brides feel lost when it comes to choosing a colour scheme. There’s no ‘right’ colour for a wedding, so start by thinking about whether you have a favourite colour or if there are particular colours you like. Also think about the time of year when you are getting married – pastel colours work very well for spring and summer weddings, whilst darker colours complement autumn and winter celebrations.
- Visit the Covent Garden flower market to see flowers in season and make a day of it with your husband or bridesmaids and go to the spa or have lunch once you have done it that way the creation of the design can be a fun rather than arduous part of the process.
- Personalise the day – This is your wedding day so make sure you personalise it so that it is a true reflection of you as a couple. Think about your likes and dislikes, your hobbies and pastimes and pick out elements that mean something to you. Perhaps you enjoy cooking or travelling or even outdoor sports. Think about all of these influences in your daily life and consider them for a theme.
- Consider the time of year – Seasonality will help you to identify a colour scheme and even a theme for your wedding day. If you are opting for a winter wedding then you probably will rule out using bright colours such as fuchsias and bright yellow which are commonly viewed as summer hues. This will all help you to identify certain colours for your wedding day.
Editors Note:
The UKAWP (www.ukawp.com) is a fast growing group of the UK’s most professional wedding planners. Every member is thoroughly vetted for professionalism and adheres to a code of ethics. All the directors have worked on a wide variety of weddings in locations across the UK and are well known ambassadors for the industry. For more information on the alliance, training courses, seminars and membership, please contact Kelly on 01483 282858 or Kelly@ukawp.com.
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