Feeling overwhelmed with wedding planning? If you do this one is for you. I have photographed A LOT of weddings, and heres my top tips for planning your perfect wedding day.
A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHerS GUIDE TO WEDDINGS
Why do you need my top tips for planning your Hertfordshire wedding?
It all started with a question and the answer was yes. Everyone is thrilled with the news and the date was set. Now you embark on the ‘small’ task of planning your wedding day. But planning your big day is meant to be all lovely & exciting right?
where to start – top tips for planning your perfect wedding
If you are planning a wedding in Hertfordshire, you already know you are spoilt for choice when it comes to all things wedding related from wedding photography to venues.
And when it comes to planning a wedding there can be bumps along the way, here are my top tips for planning your Hertfordshire wedding, and how to avoid those bumps…
GET ORGANISED FROM THE START
Who doesn’t love a spreadsheet?
A good spreadsheet comes into its own when it comes to wedding planning, and I would wholly encourage you to embrace the world of Excel.
irstly, you should make a list of the wedding day essentials – no, this does not mean a six-tiered champagne fountain (yet). You need a venue, clothes, food and drink (& quite a lot of it), entertainment for the reception, flowers (not essential but common), and a photographer, of course 🙂
Which leads us nicely onto the next point…..
WHERE TO SPLURGE, & WHERE TO SAVE
If you are planning your wedding, I expect you have scoured over lots of wedding magazines by now. All displaying the most glorious of dream weddings. You bought the magazines to get ideas and be inspired, but now you’ve mentally spent your budget 3x over having been persuaded on all the wedding ‘stuff’ you didn’t even realise you needed.
he world of weddings is big business, with the UK wedding industry worth over £10 billion to the British economy, and the average Hertfordshire wedding in 2022 costing over £18k (we’ll ignore what happened to weddings between 2020-2021- thanks Covid)
The wedding industry wants to sell to you, and there’s a product or a service to make sure no second of your day isn’t covered. But do you need it? To avoid being sucked into overspending on all the extras write down the things that are essential to you.
The essentials we’ve covered above. You need a venue, some clothes to wear, food & drink, entertainment, a cake of some description, flowers, and a photographer so you can look back on your day.
From this list there are two areas where I believe you can still get creative and potentially save some cash
THE WEDDING CAKE
Some couples chose individual cupcakes over 5-tiered wedding cakes. Some have ‘mock’ tiers (and no, no-one ever realises). And even Colin the Caterpillar got a Bride.
And when it comes to cake, remember there is no hard & fast rule as to when you should cut and serve. Yes, tradition dictates that the cutting of the cake symbolises the start of the wedding reception. But you may choose to serve it at your drink’s reception, or as your pudding at your wedding breakfast to reduce food costs.
THE WEDDING FLOWERS
A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet – right? Can you tell your Hybrid from your spray rose? And you wouldn’t believe how many different varieties of ‘white-ish’ roses there are
The point is there is a flower for every budget. And there’s also a faux flower for every budget too. But if real flowers are non-negotiable then look at seasonal flowers as these will be much more budget-friendly.
Lamberts Flower Company in Welwyn Garden City provided the seasonal flowers for this Hertfordshire wedding at Tewinbury
And another seasonal bouquet for a Hertfordshire wedding in September at Hatfield House.
THE OUTFITS
The outfits are one part of your wedding you may want to splurge. Show me a girl who hasn’t at some point daydreamed about her wedding dress.
But, there are lots of ways to save here. Wedding dress boutiques have some fantastic sample sales where you can pick up a beautiful dress at huge discounts. My own wedding dress was a sample dress that I walked out of the shop with that day, off the peg, and took to a seamstress to tailor to fit me perfectly.
Also consider hiring Groomsmen suits, and looking to the high street for your Bridesmaids dresses. Shops such as ASOS, Monsoon and Next do some fantastic designs.
TOP TIPS FOR GETTING CREATIVE
Over the years I have worked with some seriously creative Hertfordshire couples who have organised unbelievably beautiful weddings on very strict budgets.
We have some beautiful grand wedding venues in Hertfordshire. And, we also have some gorgeous village halls and marquees that can be transformed with the right creative touch.
This couple transformed Tewin Village Hall to host their afternoon tea-themed wedding reception.
This couple got family and friends involved to help them with the decorations for their marquee wedding at Shenley Cricket Club.
ALTERNATIVE WEDDING VENUES IN HERTFORDSHIRE
And finally, as well as great wedding venues, Hertfordshire also has lots of great pubs and land available for hire, temporary wedding venues such as Tipi’s and pub gardens are becoming as popular as traditional wedding venues for a countryside chic wedding
GET SHOPPING SAVVY
B&M, Dunelm, and all Supermarkets can offer great options for table decorations. Your florist and venues will likely have these products you can hire but you can also get some great bargains for tealight holders, vases and table centres in the high street. We have some great town centres in Hertfordshire so please remember to support your high street as well as shopping online.
The key is to know your budget, and stick to your budget. Costs will spiral if you allow them to. So, allocate your budget to the things that matter to you.
WHERE NOT TO CUT CORNERS….YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER (you knew that was coming)
Where not to save – A photographer. Yes of course I’m going to say this – I want you to hire me.
But seriously, I have lost count of the number of times I have been told about photo disasters as a result of relying on a family friend who does photography as a hobby. I have been asked countless times to re-edit or fix wedding photos (and so you know photographers cannot and will not re-edit another photographer’s work, it’s a copyright infringement)
WHY DO YOU NEED A PROFESSIONAL WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER?
Wedding photography is a skill. I have been photographing weddings now for 14 years, and over that time I can honestly say I have experienced everything that can happen at a wedding. And more importantly, I have been ready for it.
Your photographer should have multiple cameras and equipment in case of techincal malfunctions (something that is very real and most photographers have experienced at some stage in their career).
A professional photographer can deal with dark venues and difficult lighting conditions. They understand timings and know how to work with venues, Vicars and wedding coordinators. They will have professional insurance, the right editing software, and will know how to edit images correctly.
Wedding photography nowadays is a pretty over-saturated market, there’s a lot of us out there, which is great for you as you have plenty of choice!
Look through a photographer’s portfolio, look at their style of photography and editing and take time to find the right fit for you. But please, please use a professional who knows what they are doing. You cannot re-take your wedding, and long after the confetti has blown away and the last bit of cake is eaten your photos will be your lasting reminder of what an incredible day you had.
THE MOST IMPORTANT TIPS FOR PLANNING YOUR PERFECT WEDDING DAY……
…..REMEMBER – ITS YOUR WEDDING DAY
This one is probably the toughest. Unless you are incredibly lucky, at some stage you will receive the opinions of others on your wedding day. It can be especially tricky when family members who have contributed financially want a say in your plans.
You may also feel a sense of wanting to keep up with other weddings you have been guests at.
Be clear from the start what is important to you both, and stick with it. It doesn’t matter what one of your friends did or had at their wedding day – what do YOU want for YOUR day.
So now it’s over to you to start planning. And when you get to the part of booking your photographer – don’t forget to look me up 😉
Happy planning!
TOP TIPS FOR PLANNING YOUR PERFECT WEDDING BY HERTFORDSHIRE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER
MORE FROM THE WEDDING BLOG
BOOK ME FOR YOUR HERTFORDSHIRE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY
0 Comments