How to keep your wedding guests happy

Wedding guests:

• Table centrepieces are a key element to dressing your room although they can sometimes cause issues for your guests. Choose low floral arrangements or something high with a thin stem so that the main arrangement is above eye level. This will make it easier for everyone on the table to see and talk to each other, helping them feel involved in the conversation.
• If you have a long break between your ceremony, photographs and wedding breakfast try to arrange some entertainment to keep your guests occupied. For a summer wedding you could look at large garden lawn games e.g. Croquet, Giant Jenga, Connect4 or a treasure hunt with the children.
• In addition to entertainment, it is also important to provide some refreshments especially on a hot day and a few canapes if your budget will stretch to it.

Older guests (Nan and Granddad):

• If you have a number of elderly guests at your wedding, smart seating arrangements can help to keep them happy. Once you move from the wedding breakfast to the evening reception it is important to make sure you have seats available for those less able to stand. In addition, a good idea would be to seat older guests away from the evening entertainment.
• Weddings are usually made up of a variety of people both young and old with very different tastes. It is wise to chose music from all eras to cater for everyone's tastes. You may like heavy metal but will it fill your dance floor? Why not ask your guests to suggest their favourite song as part of the rsvp process and that way you know you have something that everyone will like.
  
• Sometimes older guests will want to leave early. Maybe consider playing songs for the older guests early on in the evening and then move to other music as the night goes on.

Children:

• If you're inviting children to your wedding it is important to put thought and careful planning into making the day special for them. The day can seem long and boring to little ones and this could ultimately lead to them being disruptive. Think about the different elements of the day and arrange things to keep them occupied like having games during the reception drinks and activity boxes on the table (e.g. Event Smiles) during the wedding breakfast.
• To cater for them the entire day you could hire creche facilities like Artful Splodgers or smaller elements could include paper table cloths with crayons so that they can draw and colour during the dinner, edible table centres like strawberry and chocolate trees, goody bags and entertaining favours.

Ushers & Bridesmaids:

• You and your groom are of course the most important people on the day but it is important to remember that it is also special for the bridesmaids and ushers who you have asked to share this very special day with you. When arranging your seating plan try not to split them up from their partners during the wedding breakfast. That way they will still be able to perform the duties that you have asked of them but they will also have that special person to share it with them.
• Arrange for your ushers to be given a drink upon arrival at the reception venue especially if they have to wait outside in the heat to welcome your guests.

Parents:

• Remember to thank your parents for all their hard work and support.
  
• Give each of them a role for the day so that they feel involved. The Father of the Bride usually has the job of walking the bride down the aisle, while the Father of the Groom could be Chief Usher and both mums' could be witnesses.

Suppliers:

• Fed suppliers are happy suppliers! Arrange with your venue to provide a meal and refreshments for your suppliers especially those who have been working long hours like your photographer and videographer. You do not have to spend a fortune on this and most venues are willing to offer a less substantial meal than what is being served to the guests e.g. a platter of sandwiches.
  

Photo credits:
Croquet: White Box Weddings
Drinks: Project Wedding
Heart: Artful Splodgers
Strawberry tablecentre: Designer Wedding Days

Ideas for your first dance #1

There are some couples who have a special song whether it was the one that was playing the first time they kissed, the background music on their first dinner date or the song that was playing during the proposal. What happens if you do not have a special song? Finding a song that accurately reflects how you feel when you have your first dance can be difficult so here are a few of my favourites:

1 From This Moment On - Shania Twain
2 Unbreakable - Westlife
3 When you say nothing at all - Ronan Keating
4 I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing - Areosmith

Without a doubt, and because it was my first dance song so has a special place in my heart, my favourite song is Shania Twain 'From This Moment'.

Look out for more ideas for your first dance song soon. Why not tell us what song you've decided on for your first dance....

Beautiful blooms on a budget

Flowers can take up to 5-10% of your wedding budget so it is no surprise that they can turn an ordinary room into a striking wedding venue. Having to budget with your flowers does not mean that you cannot create the wow factor. Here are my top tips to help you get the most from your flowers.

• Check with your florist which flowers are in season as these will be cheaper. Even if you have your heart set on a particular flower there will normally be an alternative which looks similar and is cheaper e.g. Lisianthus rather than Roses, Iris rather than Orchids.

• Choose a few selective flowers to fit in with your specific theme and then use greenery to pad out your arrangements.

• Opt for large flowers which will take up more space within your arrangements and therefore you will need less of them e.g. hydrangea or Gerbera Daisy.

• If you have chosen a venue where you need tall flower arrangements on the tables this could end up taking a large chunk of your budget. Try having some small arrangements alternating on the tables with the tall ones and this will reduce your budget while still maintaining the height in your room.

• Find ways to re-use your arrangements more than once during your day e.g. move your church/civil ceremony flowers to your wedding reception to double up as table arrangements or favours or use the bridesmaid bouquets to decorate your cake table.

• Identify a realistic budget and be very specific when discussing this with your florist and they should be able to come up with ideas to fit within this.
  

• As a Mother of the Bride/Bridesmaid treat, arrange to go on a flower arranging course and do some of the flowers yourself. Depending on the scale of flowers you are looking for you need to make sure you are not trying to achieve too much so be realistic e.g. make your own button holes or the bridesmaid bouquets.

• Consider cheaper alternatives to flowers for your table arrangements e.g. potted plants for a summer fete themed wedding, tea pots and cup/saucers (which can be bought relatively cheaply from your local garden centre) that you can plant yourself or get a family member to help or fruit centre pieces which can double up as dessert or candles (depending on whether your venue will allow these).

• Providing you have a few green fingered relatives, ask them to grow flowers for you in the run up to your wedding. Flowers grown in pots or tubs can be used to decorate the grounds of your wedding venue and single stem flowers can be used in bouquets, as decorations for your cake or as favours tucked into napkins.

• If you are getting married in a church and there is more than one wedding on your day see if you can speak to the other brides to see if you can agree on the style/colour of flowers and then split the cost.
  

Photo credits:
Iris - Northern Shade Gardening
Orchid - Myspace
Lisianthus - Valley Flowers Inc
Rose - CJ Images