Feeding your guests too much or not enough!
If you are planning a wedding at 12pm or 1pm, you can guarantee that your guests will not think to eat lunch and by the time the ceremony, congrats, photos and potential move to reception venue has taken place, it will be mid afternoon and they will be cranky, trust me! You then sit down around 3pm or 4pm for a wedding breakfast finishing around 5pm or 6pm only to serve a buffet for the evening at 7pm or 8pm going from starving guest to overfed guest and potentially wasting your money if the evening food is not eaten.
The solution? Well we have three…..
Start your day earlier - 10:30am/11am should mean you are eating by 2pm, followed by a “Cocktail Hour” and maybe some games at 4pm with your evening food starting around 7pm, everyones happy and you make the most of your money.
Start Later - If you start your day later say 2pm you can justify just the one meal around 5pm finishing around 7pm you could always add bacon butties or cornish pasties around 9pm for an evening snack at a fraction of a buffet price.
Graze - Canapes, Tea and Cake, Ice Cream what ever takes your fancy, just pop it in within half an hour of the ceremony and the guests will be content whilst you and new hubby enjoy!
Skimping on the Photographer - We are all for DIY weddings except when it comes to photography, using friends and family might seem a nice Idea but what if things go wrong? Could you forgive them if the photos didn’t turn out the way you planned? What about their feelings? It is a privilege to be chosen as a photographer for a wedding but if you are also one of the guests, but not able to freely mingle or have a tipple….? When choosing a photographer, first and foremost make sure you like them, they are spending the most important day of your life with you and you are reliant on them for great pictures, secondly choose someone whose images wow you, there are some great photographers in Devon and the West Country starting from only £450 for a full day so it needn’t be expensive.
Dire Decor! - You spend lots on your venue and have nothing left to decorate it with! You could have the most beautiful venue in the world but with no decor, flowers, lighting etc you will not create the ambiance you desire. We advise our couples to spend no more than 38% of their total wedding budget on ceremony and reception venue including food and drink as this allows plenty of cash to personalise the decor to reflect both you and your husband to be!
Being Beautiful! - You have spent thousands making your wedding day beautiful, a carefully chosen venue, ambient lighting, stylish decor, plus hundreds on a beautiful dress and accessories, so why would you scrimp on pampering yourself? In our experience Bridal Hair and Makeup is often an after thought, though this should be an important consideration right from the beginning. You want to look and feel your best, so whether you are using a friend or a professional, choose someone who understands what you are asking for, show them pictures of styles you like and always have a trial.
Entertainment - Nothing to do = bored guests! Wedding days are full of waiting around periods for your guests, whilst you have your photographs, whilst you are greeting other guests, whilst they are waiting for the evening entertainment to start. Again we would recommend spending less on venue hire to allow for great entertainment, maybe a harpist for the ceremony followed by a contemporary magician for some light entertainment in the afternoon and the Guest Factor to get your guests singing in the evening, or how about some singing waiters for your wedding breakfast followed by a caricaturist for the cocktail hour and a great band to get everyone dancing in the evening. There is so much choice out there, get creative and have a wedding day everyone will be talking about for years to come.