Top 5 Tips for Couples Getting Married About Their Wedding Day

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The below are my top 5 tips for couples getting married. Some are obvious. Some are not.

Wedding Tip Number 1: Pick Your Venue Carefully

This may seem very obvious but let me explain. Regardless of where in the country there are basically 2 types of wedding venue. The first is a large hotel that does weddings as well as every other type of function. The second is usually a smaller venue that specialises in weddings.In a larger hotel there will be several other events happening on your wedding day. They could have facilities open to the general public like a spa, bar, restaurant etc. This means the focus of the hotel is on many things even though you will have a point of contact looking after you. In larger hotels my experience is staff turns over more often so in the run up to planning a wedding your point of contact can change which can be frustrating for a couple.

In smaller venues specialising in weddings your wedding is the sole focus of the day for everyone in the venue. This means the space you are in is only for you and your guests. This makes the day more relaxed. Even something as simple as putting your bag or phone down means you don't have to worry about it. I also tend to find staff in smaller venues tends to stay a lot longer so in the course of your wedding planning you will be dealing with the same point of contact.

Key Point: If you pick a great venue the rest of the day should be no problem

Wedding Tip Number 2: Flexible Timeline

Have a timeline for your wedding. Start at the ceremony time and work back and forward from this. Think of it as a guide and not an absolute.If the ceremony is 2pm I can guarantee some guests will arrive at 2:05pm racing in the door. So being a few minutes late for the ceremony is fine. So if you are driving to the venue and it is 10 minutes away. Leave at 1:50pm. Don't leave at 1:30pm. You'll only be rushing all morning to be sitting in the car outside the venue waiting for guests to arrive.

Key Point: I have never seen a wedding where everything happens at the time it was supposed to. So no point in fretting about it.

Wedding Tip Number 3: Hire Professionals

Budget is always a concern and quite rightly so. Getting married is expensive but for the key components of the day hire the best people you can. Suppliers who work in the industry can be very experienced and bring all that experience with them to your day. They also work with each other to make the day run smoothly.With the best will in the world friends and family members may offer help and you may think it would be great for them to be a part of your day. Uncle Bob doing the photos, a friend being the celebrant. A family member singing at your ceremony. Doing each others hair and make-up. All I can say is from experience it rarely runs smoothly. Weddings can be stressful situations. Professional suppliers will see issues in advance and work around them as well as being professional at their own skill. Inexperienced people can crack when something goes wrong causing stress for the coupleKey Point: You wouldn't get Uncle Bob to fix your car if he's not a mechanic

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Wedding Tip Number 4: Speeches

Have them before dinner as everyone is at their table and engaged. Keep them short. 3- 4 people speaking is plenty. Have a good 5 minutes rather than a dragged out 10.Guidelines for speakers: Allow everyone one toast at the end of their speech. Co-ordinate the people speaking so they avoid repetition. Have one person thank the venue, bridal party etc, everyone doesn't need to do it. ChatGPT not allowed for any speech. Keep it personal and don't allow anyone to google "What to say at a wedding speech!"Key Point: Keep them short and personal.

Wedding Tip Number 5: After Dinner Entertainment

This is the one where you suggest it that everyone cringes. Singing Waiters, Magicians, Comedians etc. Trust me it works. After dinner everyone is a bit frazzled. It's been a long eventful emotional day. People will have had a few glasses of wine and the food coma will be setting in.

The after dinner entertainment always gets people back up to speed and raring to go for the rest of the evening. Consider it and you won't regret it