Wedding Tips

CurranBun

Hi Everyone,
I saw a topic like this on one of the wedding sites and thought it a great idea for a thread... as allot of future brides and grooms on this forum...

Hoping anyone who is getting married / recently married etc wants to log their top tips to help brides / grooms to be, in organising their wedding, what to think of on the day, nice touches, handy tips, fun ideas.... all that sort of stuff...

As a Bride to be myself, i love hearing other peoples tips and ideas, stuff i just didnt think of or heard of!! , and allot of them are helping...

My tip - have a wedding diary / book.. i have all my contacts in there, ideas, appointments, bands, etc etc.. its my bible, as otherwise i wouldnt remember anything.. Any tips i get i jot them down there to look at over the next few months...
another thing i am thinking of doing is a theme for the tables, rather than table no's - then try coincide the theme as the wedding favours - ie types of flowers... name each table a flower and then the favour can be some seeds of that flower etc... just a starting thought...

So if anyone else has some tips, they would be much appreciated... and hope we get a good thread going

Kash

Some advice from someone who did it last year.

Try not to stress. There is no need - it will be fine on the day, and even if something small goes wrong, you really won't care.

Take some time out with your hubby on the day - you'll both be running around the place trying to talk to everyone, so it's nice to take a few minutes just for you.

When dealing with suppliers, be as bold as brass. For every single quote I got, I asked for 20% off and/or additional extras. I think there was only 2 that didn't give me some kind of discount.

Also, don't be afriad to do some DIY, it can really set your wedding apart.
Even though ours was done on a shoestring budget of 10k, including honeymoon to Thailand, our little DIY extras, such as bathroom packs, fingerprint tree, table plan and sand ceremony, meant that my Mum was getting comments for weeks on how the guests could tell there was 'no expense spared' which made me laugh. It takes extra time and effort of course, but it was so very worth it.

Congratulations - and enjoy the planning!

lazygal

Also married last year.

My tips:
Don't be stingy. People won't be in awe at the pricey flowers, vintage cars or ten bridesmaid, but they will remember being given one glass of bubbly and nothing to eat during the drinks reception, or being made to wait ages for the meal. Feed and water your guests, most of your money should go here.
Don't make people do huge drives on the day. All the comments we got because our wedding was in one venue with no need to drive for an hour to get to a hotel amazed us. People hate having huge gaps and having to drive. If you do make them drive to a hotel ages from the church/ceremony at least feed and water them on arrival.
Don't go over budget on things like your dress. It's not worth it the next day and most likely you'll never wear it again.
Spend a lot of time on who your photographer and videographer are, what you want them to do and what you expect for your money. We didn't want to be posing for an hour on the day, so got all our group and personal shots done in about 20 mins.
Don't have loads of speeches, people hate it. Nothing worse than thinking its all done only to have groomsman number four up with boring anecdotes from school that no one will find funny.
Keep things on a need to know basis. If you don't want opinions from aunty mary or the neighbours, don't tell them! Equally, don't feel obliged to invite people because your parents or you went to a wedding several years ago. A lot of people couldn't care less and won't be insulted that you didn't ask them.
Stick together with your new spouse on the day. Don't get dragged into long conversations with relatives you hardly know, keep moving and dance all night!

Sleepy

If you're doing favours, make sure they're edible or something like scratch cards. Otherwise they'll just end up on the floor. Nobody wants a candle with your names on it / flower seeds / 'novelty' pens, keyring or whatever...

Use Google docs for your guest list, hotel comparison spreadsheets etc.

silly

Sleepy wrote: »

If you're doing favours, make sure they're edible or something like scratch cards. Otherwise they'll just end up on the floor. Nobody wants a candle with your names on it / flower seeds / 'novelty' pens, keyring or whatever...

Use Google docs for your guest list, hotel comparison spreadsheets etc.

We didn't bother doing favours....waste of money IMO. But we did get 2 ferrero rocher trees made up, with 100 sweets on each. They went down very well.

Or you could name each table after a certain sweet and put little jars of those sweets on each table.

CurranBun

All brilliant tips... i agree on spending the money where it counts, we are spending most of our money on the photographer & music...
Everything else we are hoping to do DIY...
Allot of past brides have said to take time out with each other for 5 mins every now and then to just enjoy each other and the day, that is something we will certainly be planning to do...

cyning

silly wrote: »

Or you could name each table after a certain sweet and put little jars of those sweets on each table.

This is what we did... went down a treat. We also did keyrings for the Irish Heart Foundation because of a family history: it kept it personal too.

My top tip: if you have kids coming do up bags with stickers/colouring books/ sweets/taytos/lip glosses etc... mini magnetic board games work great too. Practically all my stuff came from Lidl/Aldi/Pennys/pound shops and went down a treat. It can be done really cheaply and keeps them occupied during all the boring speeches etc!

Try to eat and drink: I managed not to eat most of my dinner and despite the fact I had drinks everywhere I think I managed about three all night long!! Was starving by the time the finger food came out!

Finally: if you have a big dress (like I did) suss out where the handiest bathrooms are !!

slowmoe

Kash wrote: »

Also, don't be afriad to do some DIY, it can really set your wedding apart.
Even though ours was done on a shoestring budget of 10k, including honeymoon to Thailand, our little DIY extras, such as bathroom packs, fingerprint tree, table plan and sand ceremony, meant that my Mum was getting comments for weeks on how the guests could tell there was 'no expense spared' which made me laugh. It takes extra time and effort of course, but it was so very worth it.

Can you tell me more about the diy extras, what are they and how did you do them?

silly

cyning wrote: »

My top tip: if you have kids coming do up bags with stickers/colouring books/ sweets/taytos/lip glosses etc... mini magnetic board games work great too. Practically all my stuff came from Lidl/Aldi/Pennys/pound shops and went down a treat. It can be done really cheaply and keeps them occupied during all the boring speeches etc!!!

you cannot go wrong with www.littlestarparties.ie for those little things, I got loads for €20.

Also re: big dress, if your train needs to be pinned up, the shop usually put ties underneath for this, but more often than not they won't hold for the whole night. I was assured mine would, but it didn't, a guest had 2 nappy pins (big safety pins) as she had a feeling they would be needed as she did for her wedding.
Make sure one of your bm's have them, they are dead handy. You might need up to 4, the small ones won't work.

Shivers26

silly wrote: »

you cannot go wrong with www.littlestarparties.ie for those little things, I got loads for €20. QUOTE]

You are my new best friend Great value on that website!

My tips would be just try to relax and enjoy the planning
Don't tell people too much about what you are doing or you will get 'the face' if anything is remotely out of the ordinary
Don't stress about talking to everyone on the day, dance and have fun
If you are having hassle with suppliers - speak up!!!
Ask for discounts from everybody! Most will give something off or throw in extras no problem
I also keep a diary for all appointments, contact details etc (also a very long an complicated spreadsheet but I'm an accountant so I can't help myself )

I'll have to remember to spend time with OH on our wedding day. It must be so easy to get separated for the day.

2 months today!

Kash

slowmoe wrote: »

Can you tell me more about the diy extras, what are they and how did you do them?

No problem!

We had an orchid theme for the wedding, so early on, I bought loads of fake orchid heads (my only Bridezilla purchase - hubby questioned getting them shipped from Oz, and I had a "If we don't have them, the wedding will be RUINED!!" moment)

I then used them and our wedding colours on everything relevant, so the wedding had an 'altogether' feel to it - they were stuck to the invites, the place cards, the top of the favour boxes, the table plan tree - anything where they made sense.

The fingerprint tree was very popular - insteads of a guestbook, I got a print of a bare tree, with our names and the wedding date written at the bottom. On the day, I had little ink pads in coordinating colours (and baby wipes for clean fingers - very important with a white dress!) and my guests left their thumb print as leaves, and signed their names on their print. It turned out really well, and is a great souveneir of the day.

The table plan tree was a a couple of small branches that I spraypainted white, dotted with the orchid heads and then hung the table names and lists off - I went with numbers, but found romantic quotes that mentioned the number, and used them as the names (eg Love ONE another and you will be happy. It's as simple and as difficult as that.) - we only had a small wedding and there was only 4 tables, so this was not hard. It would be very difficult if you have 20 tables!

The bathroom packs were also very popular - they were really a last minute thing. I just popped together some essentials: breathmints, tissues, clear nail varnish, cotton buds, mini deodorants, moisturisers, condoms , painkillers etc in a little basket, and left one in each of the bathrooms with a little printed out poem saying to help yourself.

I did a tonne of other stuff, but don't want to hijack the thread - send me a PM if you want more info.

Penny Dreadful

silly wrote: »

We didn't bother doing favours....waste of money IMO. But we did get 2 ferrero rocher trees made up, with 100 sweets on each. They went down very well.

Or you could name each table after a certain sweet and put little jars of those sweets on each table.

Where did you get the trees made up? I'm getting married in June and have decided against wedding favours, not hiring a car (boyfriend's car is pretty fab as is so it will do), not getting a video, one bridesmaid only and no flowers for the mothers either.
We decided to spend the money on a champagne and canapes reception for guests on arrival at the hotel instead. However, I do like the sound of the trees. Were they expensive?

Kash

Silly, the ferrero rocher trees are lovely... so simple, yet so pretty.

You can make them with loads of other things too - lollipops, marshmallows, chocolate dipped strawberries (lovely for a summer wedding!) - anything you can stick a toothpick in

The only thing I would say about them, is to make sure that your pot base is heavy, and that your 'trunk' is securely attached to it, so that it doesn't fall over when people start tugging the goodies off. Plaster of paris and sand works well.

mikemac1

Every in a hotel is negoitable, everything.
Haggle like a cattle dealer :cool:
The hotel expects it and sure they haggled with their suppliers
Same goes with your other suppliers, they expect haggling so go and do it or get someone who can if you feel uncomfortable

Are you brining your own wine?
Have someone call around to collect what's left afterwards.
Over a year a hotel can collect hundreds of bottles and it's handed out to staff at Christmas.
If you want your wine back, come and get it.

CurranBun

Kash wrote: »

Silly, the ferrero rocher trees are lovely... so simple, yet so pretty.

You can make them with loads of other things too - lollipops, marshmallows, chocolate dipped strawberries (lovely for a summer wedding!) - anything you can stick a toothpick in

The only thing I would say about them, is to make sure that your pot base is heavy, and that your 'trunk' is securely attached to it, so that it doesn't fall over when people start tugging the goodies off. Plaster of paris and sand works well.

Hi Kash, do you know how to make these from scratch? id love to know how you actualy make the tree part?

Sleepy

http://macsflowers.blogspot.com/2009/11/how-to-make-sweet-topiary-trees.html

silly

Sleepy wrote: »

http://macsflowers.blogspot.com/2009/11/how-to-make-sweet-topiary-trees.html

They are quite easy to make like the link above. I'm in cork and know a place that makes them, pm me if that's any good to you.
Like said before, any sweets can be put on them.
If you know someone who owns a shop/business that might have access to a cash and carry you can ask them to get the sweets for you, I got my 200 sweets for about €40.

clint_silver

As mentioned, google docs all the way for planning.

also, for some amazing world wide ideas, go to www.stumbleupon.com, choose your favorites and stumble for marriage/wedding topics and youll come across the best websites for ideas that you'd never find otherwise. Be careful if you dont stumble already, its addictive.

Excited!

Thanks all for the great tips,

Would love to hear more DIY tips as anything i can do myself i would love to To save money of course but also id love to make it as personal as possible and do as much as i can myself. So any ideas or tips on invites, church decoration etc would be greatly appreciated.

Would Kash would love to hear how you made your ferrero rocher trees, and all the other DIY things you did, as they sound brilliant!

lazygal

We got our invites and orders of service from Reads Print and Design, then I decorated them with little diamonds and tiny flowers. Didn't take too long and they looked really good. Also did my own table decor. Got silk rose petals, ribbon and diamonte table scatter on ebay-googled images of candle centrepieces, got loads of white candles in Ikea and the tables looked fab, if I do say so! Lots of admiring comments on them on the day and far cheaper than having floral ones!
Also, we didn't bother with a cake, fancy cars, flowers outside a bouquet for me and my BM or favours and no one missed any of them. A lot of the traditional "must haves" are a bit of a swizz.

clint_silver

We got an invite to a wedding few year ago, opened it up and all these tiny plastic little star things fell out.

wife was hoovering the carpet for ages trying to get them up. she was NOT happy, did not see the funny side, did not see the romantic or special side to it and bride was cursed badly, and trust me, my wife NEVER curses anyone.

Rang a friend whom I knew would be going to the wedding, exact same thing happened, little plastic things all over the carpets and had hoover out as well. we rang our mate, the groom, he said he knew and he had tried hard to get her not to put the stars in with the invites but she was not for turning.

Moral of the story: if you want to annoy someone, put little star things in the invites.

Excited!

Good Point Clint!

Sleepy

Could be a handy way of reducing a guest list though

Kash

Sleepy wrote: »

http://macsflowers.blogspot.com/2009/11/how-to-make-sweet-topiary-trees.html

I used almost the exact same technique as Sleepy posted, with perhaps a bit less professionalism, and a mit more chance. Some comments based on my experience: instead of dowel, i've used a broom handle, wooden spoons, and even a copper pipe. I have a tendency to improvise You can decorate it with ribbon, wrapping paper - ivy is very pretty with the strawberry ones - whatever suits your event.

The ball/shape in the centre is important - you use the same thing as they use in flower arranging. Personally, I find the styrofoam ones better than the green ones - especially with heavier sweeties. As long as you push your 'trunk' slightly further than the mid point of your ball/cone then you should be fine. Again, it needs to be wrapped - or you have green/white peeking out, and it looks crappy after people start munching.

Choose your sweeties carefully - the ferrero rochers are popular, but won't look right if the rest of your wedding is purple and silver. So, keep an eye out in the sweets aisle for your colours - you used to be able to get the Qualioty Street favourites boxes in purple or green.

Then it's just patience, and trial and error. I would recommend doing a google image search for what you are trying to make so you can see whether you prefer more or less, bigger or smaller, cones or circles.

Actually, I use google image search for all crafty things, just for inspiration. Often you'll see something that will make you go "that would be perfect if..." and that's it - you have your vision. So it's great for things like invites, place cards, DIY photo booths, bird cage veils, or brooch bouquets - whatever tickles your fancy!

The most important thing is to have fun with it, and not to expect it to be 100% perfect. Imperfections can often be hidden quite easily - but if you get upset because you can't get it just right, then you'll give up very quickly!

Excited!

Thats great Kash, thanks.

Just wondering where would I get the ball shaped styrofoam/green oasis thing?

John Mason

CurranBun wrote: »

Hi Kash, do you know how to make these from scratch? id love to know how you actualy make the tree part?

really simple to make - i make them all the time

get a pot, a piece of bamboo, covered in ribbon,
stick some plaster of paris in the pot, add the bamboo.

when it has set, stick a styrofoam ball on top and away you go

i am out the door with orders for them

CurranBun

Thanks Gang, some great tips there and will defo be trying some DIY stuff.

Im going for a winter / christmas theme, so any more suggestions is much appreciated...

Kash

Oooh, winter weddings - so pretty!

Personally, I would shy away from the christmas element, but that's just personal preference. If you do embrace the xmas theme then there are loads of little things you could do:
Christmas Cracker place cards: http://www.kathryngreeleydesigns.com/blog/2011/12/quintessentially-british-christmas-crackers/classic-crackers-namecards/
Xmas bauble centrepieces: http://www.projectwedding.com/post/list/diy-beautiful-but-simple-centerpieces
Trees and masses of fairylights in the reception

For a winter theme, then pinecones are beautiful - you can use them in your centre pieces, and for your placecards, even your bouquet - check out the search to see how pretty the can be: https://www.google.com/search?q=pine+cone+wedding&rls=com.microsoft:en-ie:IE-Address&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7GGHP_enIE467&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=-fgfT4SQBMi3hAeIqKX5DQ&biw=1366&bih=641&sei=_fgfT6_HBdGHhQeCqpDLDQ
Candles are also stunning. If you're doing favours, then a really nice one is those hot chocolate spoons, they are basically a spoon or lollipop stick with chocoalte on one end, that you stir in to warm milk (or if you're me - dip into hot milk and eat ) They are quite easy to make too. http://www.makeandtakes.com/hot-chocolate-on-a-stick

Oh, I'd love to be doing this again

For the people who wanted to know where to get oasis balls - most flower shops will sell them, but I always used ebay.

CurranBun

Kash wrote: »

Oooh, winter weddings - so pretty!

Personally, I would shy away from the christmas element, but that's just personal preference. If you do embrace the xmas theme then there are loads of little things you could do:
Christmas Cracker place cards: http://www.kathryngreeleydesigns.com/blog/2011/12/quintessentially-british-christmas-crackers/classic-crackers-namecards/
Xmas bauble centrepieces: http://www.projectwedding.com/post/list/diy-beautiful-but-simple-centerpieces
Trees and masses of fairylights in the reception

God Kash, you are very creative, its much appreciated and everything is written in my big book now... I am certainly going to do a Classy Christmas / Winter Theme, most silver & whites etc. Going to do the baubles anyway, a friend who got married last year has 30 white lanterns for me to borrow, so im thinking candles or the baubles in them!! will see how they look.

going to put a few xmas trees up too, but keep them simple with just silver decorations.. i have white snowflakes too that im hoping the hotel will allow me to hang from the ceiling.. if not, i will figure something out..

xxx

Excited!

God Kash you really are in the know about these things!!! Thanks!

Curranbun when are you getting married? In getting married in November and im also thinking of a winter theme. Kash is right, Pine cones can look amazing.

My sister learned how to make evergreen, ivy and pine cone xmas wreaths from a martha stewart website and im thinking of incorporating them with some ribbon and spraying the pine cones with either silver or snow and decorating the church pews with them. I'll also probably do soem for the reception also. They are great because all you need is basically some fishing line, glue gun and glitter or snow spray whichever you want to decorate them with

Cathmandooo

Love all the tips!

For the Ferraro rocher trees, how far in advance can you make them before risking the inside going off when they've been pierced with a stick? I threw about 20 onto a polystyrene cup with cocktail sticks and have been eating one every evening to test they're ok (is that mad?). Up to day 8 now and they still taste perfect. I'm guessing they last a couple of weeks on the stick?

liliq

Going to have a wintry wedding too! Loving all the DIY tips, can't wait to try some of them

Kash

Cathmandooo wrote: »

Love all the tips!

For the Ferraro rocher trees, how far in advance can you make them before risking the inside going off when they've been pierced with a stick? I threw about 20 onto a polystyrene cup with cocktail sticks and have been eating one every evening to test they're ok (is that mad?). Up to day 8 now and they still taste perfect. I'm guessing they last a couple of weeks on the stick?

For science! Love it

Personally, I would always make them the week of the event - I find they can taste a little stale after 3/4 days. But buy the sweets whenever you see them on offer - Lidl are great for that!

Cathmandooo

Cool thanks! For science, yes

Tesco have them on offer at the moment but they go off in August 2012 which is before my wedding date so I'll wait a while yet.

John Mason

Cathmandooo wrote: »

Love all the tips!

For the Ferraro rocher trees, how far in advance can you make them before risking the inside going off when they've been pierced with a stick? I threw about 20 onto a polystyrene cup with cocktail sticks and have been eating one every evening to test they're ok (is that mad?). Up to day 8 now and they still taste perfect. I'm guessing they last a couple of weeks on the stick?

tbh if i would was you, i would buy glue dots and use them instead of cocktail sticks. sometimes the stick break and you get shred of wood in the sweets.

also you need to a sharp object to make the holes in the sweets (i use a cake skewer) and i have ended up with a few holes in my hands

lbcoconut

Hi, quick question, have a friend getting married in Nice in August who is looking for an English speaking wedding band from the area. If anyone knows of anywhere to look or anyone who may have been in the same situation could you please reply or pm me the details, any advice would be greatly appreciated!

carolinespring

clint_silver wrote: »

We got an invite to a wedding few year ago, opened it up and all these tiny plastic little star things fell out.

wife was hoovering the carpet for ages trying to get them up. she was NOT happy, did not see the funny side, did not see the romantic or special side to it and bride was cursed badly, and trust me, my wife NEVER curses anyone.

Rang a friend whom I knew would be going to the wedding, exact same thing happened, little plastic things all over the carpets and had hoover out as well. we rang our mate, the groom, he said he knew and he had tried hard to get her not to put the stars in with the invites but she was not for turning.

Moral of the story: if you want to annoy someone, put little star things in the invites.

The same thing happened when I opened a invite, all tiny little glitter hearts fell out. not as mad as we have wooden floors but for ages after was finding tiny bits of glitter all over the place. the large ones that say wedding/marrage/love etc are lovely as you cn just pick them up.

I live favours at weddings. Think it adds a little something to the day. We had a Christmas wedding and give Newbrige silver tree decs to all the ladies and mini bottlles of Jamesson to the men. Went down really well. We had a small welling (78) so could do that and I got the Newbrige at a very reduced rate. Also packs for the kids are great. We also had a kids entertainer and Santa also came and visited!!

I would agree to keeping guest fed and watered. nobody likes the long wait before dinner. Also camera on the tables. The best pic we have are from them.

A wish tree is also a lovely idea.