I put a question to my Facebook group and said, “I want to create a blog that can answer some of your burning questions, so please throw any questions into the comments box and I will answer them!”
As you can imagine our members went crazy and I think I will have to do at least two blog entries as there were so many! However today I’m going to answer eleven of your questions, lets's dive in!
How do I choose my hairstylist and makeup artist?
OK so before actually booking them, how do you know that they are going to suit you and that their style works for you?
Guys Instagram is your best friend here, your hairstylist and makeup artist should be using Instagram as pretty much a portfolio, nowadays that’s what a lot of people use it for. So, go and check out local people in your area using hashtags, for example, I’m based in Surrey so I might use #surreyhairandmakeupartist and see who is coming up, then have a good look through their feed, is it something that sings out to you? and you think yes, that is totally my style? If it’s not move on, find somebody else.
Have a think to yourself, do I want natural hair and makeup, or do I want something that is a little more glam? Do you have a Pinterest board with the styles that you are drawn to, then do they connect with the suppliers that you are looking at?
You can always book a trial as well with the hair and makeup artist that you are interested in it will be an additional fee, but you can book them in and trial them out and see if they are actually a good fit for you.
So don’t panic there are definitely ways to work out if they are the right fit for you but go with your gut, go with their portfolio that is going to give you a really good understanding of their style and if that is what you are looking for, then it is usually a good match.
Who pays for the bridesmaids and mother of the bride’s
makeup and hair?
Now, guys, they do not have to have a hair and makeup artist, it’s a decision that you can choose to add on if you want to so don’t feel like you have to have a hair and makeup artist that’s going to do the mother of the bride and the bridesmaids. You might decide that you are going to have a hair and makeup artist just for you and the bridesmaids and mother of the bride are going to do their own.
If you don’t want to do the above that’s also fine, you can have someone come in and you can pay for it if you have the budget and you want to treat them, or you can say to them would you like to have your hair and makeup done professionally? if so I can find out the cost for you to have it done, and they can pay.
Don’t feel that you have to pay for this because you really don’t have to. There are no set rules here simply have an open conversation with your girl team and see what they want.
Wedding flowers
I had a couple of questions come up about wedding flowers, I think the best way to answer this is to point you in the direction of a video I created on wedding flowers as there are so many questions to answer, I think the best tool is for you to have a look at my video below as you will find loads of information that I’m sure you will find really useful!
How do I go about planning an introverted wedding?
This is a great question guys and my biggest piece of advice here is to perhaps look into having an elopement or an intimate wedding. Intimate weddings are usually up to 30 people, they are a lot smaller and intimate, they are a lot more detailed and more about your love story and there is less of the extravagance.
People who choose this option usually don’t feel comfortable parading around in front of their friends and family, for some of us it’s a lovely experience however for some people they just feel a little overwhelmed and intimidated and they don’t want to walk down the aisle in front of everybody and so on, so perhaps an elopement or an intimate wedding is the right way to go.
There truly are some amazing planners and suppliers out there who work specifically in the elopement and intimate wedding category so definitely do some research and you can get some amazing advice.
What happens with the table turnaround between the
wedding breakfast and evening reception?
Firstly, I’ll just clarify what the term ‘wedding breakfast’ actually means as I get asked frequently by our US brides and grooms. Put simply this is just what we call the wedding meal or dinner here in the UK.
So once the wedding breakfast is finished, if you are using the same space for your evening reception, dance or party, then you need to ‘turn the room around’ this means that you need to remove some of the tables, not all of them just enough to make space. This is very much dependent on your venue and how big the space is and how many guests you’ve got.
With so many variables the best advice is for you to have this conversation with your venue as they will guide you with how many tables you should remove. It is likely that you would normally remove at least half of your tables and just leave a few for guests as you don’t want all of your guests to be seated during the evening reception if you have a dance floor, you probably want them up dancing! Your guests won’t get annoyed that they don’t have a seat as long as you have enough seating for the older members of the party that is usually enough. Again, a great conversation to have with your venue which is key here.
Is there any alternatives to having a dance floor?
This is a great question, one probably aimed at the couples who are a bit more introverted or perhaps don’t like dancing and maybe don’t really want to have a party in the evening. So, a few suggestions here would be firstly, this doesn’t mean that you don’t have music it just means you don’t need a dance floor. I would definitely recommend that you do have music in the background and at every stage throughout the day because it just creates a great atmosphere and mood and it’s amazing!
I knew a couple who had board games on each of their wedding tables and I thought this was such an exciting idea, probably due to the fact I am a massive board game person, I love a game, so you could have really fun traditional games from when you were kids, like Buckaroo and Operation, for example, you can station one at each table and your guests can move around and play different ones.
Additionally, you can hire in a company that put the games on for you such as casino games. There really are lots of different options such as mini indoor golf etc. Think more activities as opposed to dancing. I hope that helps and gives you some fun ideas.
What time shall we have the evening food?
A lot of people worry that it’s going to be too late but trust me that 8:30pm - 9:00pm is the perfect time for evening food. Most couples will have their evening guests arrive between 7:00pm - 7:30pm with your first dance usually happening at that time followed by the cake cutting, your guests will get themselves a drink and then the evening food will come out not long after. This is usually perfect timing as your evening guests will probably have had a snack beforehand, and it really isn’t expected that there will be food served any earlier than 8:30pm - 9:00pm.
Remember that your day guests will not want food any earlier than 8:30pm - 9:00pm as they have likely finished the wedding breakfast at around 6:00pm - 6:30pm and will need a little break before the evening food to soak up some of that alcohol, or just to snack on if they aren’t actually drinking. So don’t panic this is not too late it is the perfect timing!
How do I include a parent who has passed away?
This was a really lovely question that obviously applies to any family member or anyone that is important to you. Ideas which I have seen before and that some of my clients have used are having a memory charm on the bride’s bouquet, this is a really lovely way to include that person, I know someone who had a charm with their father on it and when she walked down the aisle she had him with her and I just thought that was lovely.
You may also decide to do a memory table, housing photos of anyone who has passed that is really special to you that can’t make it on the day. It is really nice to have a little table set up to just remember those guys and pull them in and include them in the day.
What do I do for a photo booth backdrop?
This is a trend that has come up over the last few years, so don’t feel you need to have it. If you do want to have that then that’s amazing and there are lots of ways you can do it.
You can hire a flower wall if that’s what you want to do or you can literally just have an area in your venue that you feel has a really great backdrop, say a cool brick wall or if you have a neon light that you have hired for the wedding, don’t feel like it has to be flower wall, it’s just an area that you think has a cool wallpaper or even perhaps use some of the flowers from other parts in the day to create a bit of a backdrop and a nice area for your guests to take some great photos.
Do I have to pay for my guest's transport home?
This was a really interesting one and the answer is absolutely not! I don’t know anyone who has done this, but again if you want to and have the budget then that is such a lovely gesture and I’m sure your guests would absolutely thrilled, however, you really don’t have to do this.
You know my ethos here guys ‘you do you’ there are no hard and fast rules, you make the decisions that best suit you, the wedding that you want and your budget.
How do I reduce stress during my wedding planning?
This one is actually a question I do get asked a lot so I do have a video specifically aimed at this topic below, this will help as there are lots of pointers I can give you on this topic.
I would say however that the number one thing to reduce stress would be, to make sure you are organised and give yourself time to allocate towards your planning. I am actually in the process of creating a really cool resource for you guys, I am so excited about it I think it’s my best digital product I have ever created, and I have a great feeling it is going to be a best seller because I am essentially creating for you every step you need to take during your wedding planning with a full timeline!
If you have my checklist which I give you guys for free which is really good, this new tool is ten levels up from that! I literally give you the full timeline with every single step for each supplier and the whole process. I just know this is going to be a total game-changer for your wedding planning which in turn will make things so much less stressful as I am literally handing it all to you on a plate! Please do watch the video mentioned above as this will give you some amazing tips!
So, there we go guys that’s eleven questions answered from my Facebook group, there are still so many more so I will keep you up to date and answer them as soon as I can. Please do get involved with my Facebook group as I answer lots of questions on there and we have an amazing community, and everyone is helping each other plan their weddings and it is incredible.
Happy Planning
Lauren xx
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Photos:
1: by Olivia and Dan
2: by Mindy Coe Photography
3: by Olivia and Dan
4: by Mindy Coe Photography
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