The UK Alliance of Wedding Planners - promoting professionalism in wedding planning

You have your website optimised, you are advertising, and you’re doing your PR so now the calls should flood in right? Well not always, you can’t just sit back and relax. You need to stay one step ahead; you need to be improving your lead strategies.

One way to do this is by networking so if there is an industry event whereby you can meet other planners or wedding related experts then try to attend. But don’t attend unless there are people there you want to meet otherwise you’ll resent the time out of the office. The UKAWP hold events throughout the year so keep checking our events page and look out for other events hosted by venues or caterers.

Additionally I advise networking within your local business community; after all, personal recommendations are far more likely to get you a consultation. There are many groups out there but I have listed some of the popular ones below so you can choose the most suitable for you:

Women On Top
Women In Business
Athena
BNI
1230

Top tips for successful networking

-    Attend regularly otherwise people won’t recognise or remember you
-    Take business cards with you but don’t hand out unless someone asks you as this is seen as poor etiquette
-    Write on the back of business cards given to you noting date you met, event & what they were like
-    Create a networking folder and put all business cards in there with your notes of course
-    Offer to present at one of the events
-    Be clear on what you want, leads for people getting married in Hertfordshire for example
-    Be interested in other people, you never know when you might need their skill/services

If there are any other networking groups you recommend please let us know. What works for you at networking events?

Today we welcome Simone Butterfield of Dimples Events to share her experience of trying to source environmentally friendly stationery:

With so many of us trying to do our bit for the environment, I was hardly surprised when one of my clients expressed an interest in an invitation that was “eco-friendly”.  Never did I imagine that it would pose to be such a difficult task.  The invitations that my client had seen were from an American based website; www.invitesite.com, and so with a clear picture in my head of what we were looking for, I set to work.

Although this invitation is not something that strikes you as a traditional wedding invite, it has this real country / rustic feel that suits perfectly the theme and design of the wedding.

I have searched relentlessly for a wedding stationery company that offer a similar design and have failed miserably!  One option I have is to source the raw materials from Daintree Papers and assemble them myself!  Fortunately the staff at Daintree Papers has been really helpful with my request and has even offered to help with printing.

The alternative options would be to use the seedling invitations range.  These can be planted after the invite has been received and flowers will grow from them, realistically though – how many guests will do this?  A large number of the guests are attending from overseas and I am not sure their climate will be suitable.

In my eyes the most eco friendly option would be to use email or SMS text messages – but it just deprives the happy couple of seeing the official invitation to their wedding.  Also, we have a member of the family that would disapprove and find it inappropriate.  Tradition goes a long way in some people’s eyes.

The irony of the whole situation, is that I have resorted to ordering samples from the USA – so while ensuring the Bride has wants she wants and we use eco friendly materials, I am leaving a huge carbon footprint to ship them here?!

The UKAWP recently distributed a press release of top tips prepared by members for publication …..

How to prepare your guest list and seating plan

Guest List

“When compiling your evening guest list, take into account how far guests will need to travel. If guests need to travel hundreds of miles, they’ll need to book at least one night of accommodation and this can be a lot to ask of guests invited to an evening reception only.”  Zoe Lingard,  Weddings by Zoë Lingard

“Don’t make any promises about who will and won’t be invited to your wedding before distributing your invitations. You might find that you lose touch with some people over the course of your planning (e.g. colleagues who move on) but feel obliged to invite them because you mentioned they’d get an invite at the outset.”  Zoe Lingard,  Weddings by Zoë Lingard

“Too many cooks spoil the broth - when arranging the guest list and seating plan we would advise only one person from each side of the family to be involved, you know your guests so with only a small amount of help this should make things a lot easier!” Peggie Anne Savage, Vow Perfections

“Create an A & B list, that way if anyone from the A list declines you can invite someone from the B list. Make sure you order approx. 15 extra invitations to save time. Think about family, friends and work colleagues.” Bernadette Chapman, Dream Occasions

Seating Plan
“A table plan is displayed at the entrance of the Reception  showing  guests to their relevant tables.  At each table a list of  those guests is written onto a pretty tag and attached to each chair with a  ribbon.  Each guest name is highlighted, together with a sentence about each of them, for example: ‘Astrid Tompson, sister in law of the bride – made the flowergirls dresses,  Margareta Johns – old school friend of the bride’ etc’. This creates a starting point for conversation and is a lovely way to introduce guests who are strangers to each other.” Carrie Watkins, Today and Forever

“To ensure the right people can see you on the top table, my tip is to think of each table as a clock face, with 1 o’clock having the best view of the top table and then 4,5 or 6 o’clock (depending on how many guests you have per table) with the worst, as they would have their back to you (ideal place for children!). Number the guests from 1 to 8,10 or 12 and then you can easily identify where they are to sit. This also provides useful information for your venue or caterer as they can readily see where dietary requirements are sat too”  Andrea Swift, Fabulous Day

“Middle is the New Top - long are the days of everyone sticking to the top table being at the top of the room at the wedding breakfast, we find our couples much prefer to feel part of the room with a centred bridal party table, this not only makes them feel like they can mingle more with their guests, it also means no guests feel like they are at the back of the room! Peggie Anne Savage, Vow Perfections

“Start with using an A1 piece of paper and ‘post it’ notes so you can easily move family members around before you finalise your plans.” Kay Carey, Heading Up The Aisle

“Keep an open mind, an innovative seating plan can often be the talking point of the day. The use of escort cards helps to generate people’s interest in the theme and allows for last minute changes to be managed.” Kay Carey, Heading Up The Aisle

“If some tables need to be taken down after dinner to make room for dancing, make sure that you do not seat elderly relatives on the tables that will need to be removed.”  Carrie Watkins, Today and Forever

We have now sold all the spaces on the London training course in March; we have a few spaces remaining for the Cheshire course in April so book now to avoid disappointment.

We might release a new date for London in May so anyone interested please email training@ukawp.com so we can place you on a first come first served list.