With Summer 2015 well and truly here in the UK, you may be starting to get excited and be ramping up the planning for your Summer 2016 or even 2017 weddings. It is never too soon to set the planning into action – you want the run up to your big day to be as stress free as possible, so make the most of the time you have to get things in place now.
Our top tips 5 tips for the perfect summer wedding are based on outdoor events and the particular things you need to think of when arrange your wedding ceremony and reception outdoors.
Wedding photographer
Getting to know your wedding photographer well in advance of your wedding can make a huge difference to the quality of your wedding portraits. Being at ease with a person that is sharing such a special moment with you will mean that you are relaxed and composed when your photographs are being taken. This allows the photographer to see the real you, your emotions and expressions instead of a camera conscious and uneasy person. We highly recommend several meetings with your wedding photographer before the big day.
We spoke to Katy of Clapham based photographers, Katy & Co who gave us this great tip to arrange with your wedding photographer. “Get your photographer to visit your wedding location a few days prior to the wedding. They can then find the best spots and vantage points to take your portraits. Ideally they’d visit at the same time of day as your wedding photos will be taken – that way they can see how the light and shadows play with the landscape and buildings.”
Glass Hire
For the US based brides, hire = rental. This is one of the details that’s really important to make sure of. You’ll doubtless have the catering sorted out, have chosen your meal courses and the wines for toasts etc. Don’t assume though that the caterers are providing the glassware, many don’t. Even if you are hiring an outdoor bar, make sure they are providing the glassware for your toasts. Some companies will only be expecting to provide the glasses for the drinks they serve to guests after the meal and toasts.
Marquee
Take the advice of your marquee or reception venue hire company on the size of marquee you’ll need for the number of guests you will invite. Make sure there is adequate room for a dance floor and the band / disco too. All good marquee hire firms will be able to assist you with a dance floor, tables and chairs – though they may add to the cost of the marquee hire.
Toilets
Depending on the venue you may need to hire toilet facilities for your wedding reception. This might not be the first thing on your mind when you’re planning your wedding, but it shouldn’t be the last either. Can you really see yourself going to the toilet in your beautiful wedding dress if the toilet is something similar to the ones used at Glastonbury festival? No. You need nice, clean portable toilets that you and your guests will be comfortable using in your finery. Our top tip here would be to consider investing in ‘luxury toilets’ which are a million miles away from those you’d find at a festival! We spoke with Fred from Event Washrooms who stated to us, “we hire out a lot of toilets to those planning a wedding and they’re the perfect way to add that extra special touch of luxury! Why settle for second best when your big day will only take place once?”
Catering
If there’s one thing that can make or break a wedding reception, it’s the catering. Don’t leave any aspect of the catering details to chance or rely on the catering firm to do what they think is best. Most of all check what facilities will be available to the catering staff at the venue. Are there any kitchens available or a space where they can set food aside under cover? Is there running water at the site? Seriously, we recently heard of one wedding inside a castle ruins – unfortunately there was no running water at the site – something they didn’t discover until the caterers arrived.
We hope that this article has given you some really useful pointers for your wedding planning. Don’t see them as yet more things to do before the big day, but rather as things that will help your big day be everything you’ve ever dreamt of.
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