By Georgina Clatworthy

If you are looking for innovative wedding planning ideas then how about getting your entire wedding for free?  This is what happened to one lucky UK couple who booked their entire wedding day for free following a Facebook campaign set up by their friends.

The couple from Wales had enjoyed a 14 year engagement and had always dreamed of a fairytale wedding.  With ideas for their big day in place the bride entered a radio competition to win a dream wedding, but was unfortunately pipped into second place.  On returning home, the devastated bride was surprised to find her street lined with well wishers waving flowers and bottles of wine!

It turned out one of their friends had set up a Facebook page to appeal for donations towards the wedding costs and to local wedding businesses.  It worked, because the campaign took off and soon the couple had received numerous offers on various elements of their wedding planning, including donations and full packages.  In total they bagged a wedding worth £20,000 (around $30000) including a Georgian Manor House venue, complete wedding photography package, flowers, wedding dress and even a matching pair of gold and diamond wedding rings.

So could you adopt the same ideas for your wedding planning?  Well if your budget doesn’t match your wedding planning ideas then you could also try a Facebook or MySpace campaign.  Whilst there is no guarantee you will get the same response this couple did, you could be surprised at the level of generosity that exists.

Another tip is to harness the power of the internet and set up your own wedding planning blog.  Offer local wedding businesses some advertising space on your pages in return for discounts etc on their services.  With the wedding industry being ultra competitive many will be happy to grab some cheap advertising and of course customer endorsements go along way with other potential brides!  Consider it as a form of affiliate marketing for your wedding day!

By Georgina Clatworthy

Planning your wedding day entertainment is a great way of injecting your own personalities into the day.  Entertainment at weddings is traditionally resigned to a disco or live band, with perhaps some other form of live music during the formalities of the day.  But with a little creative though you could conjure up some wedding planning ideas for entertaining your guests that will wow them all night long!

Following on from my previous wedding planning ideas post, here are 5 more ideas for your wedding entertainment:

1. Surprise, Suprise

Hire in some opera singers to really liven up proceedings especially during the post wedding breakfast lull!  Think about asking a trio (or more) of singers to pose as waiters during the meal and to then surprise your guests by bursting into song once the plates have been cleared away!  Other surprising entertainment ideas include ‘living statues’ which include people dressed up as plants who surprise your guests by jumping out at them or merely making small talk!  Finally, hire in your favorite celebs – ok, so not the real ones but how about a host of celebrity look-alikes for your guests to rub shoulders with?

2. Game for a Laugh

Encourage your guests to mingle by planning some fun and traditional entertainment such as fairground rides.  Consider setting up dodgems, a helter skelter and even a merry-go-round.  If you really want a good laugh and you think your guests will be up for it, then hire in some sumo wrestling suits, gladiator jousting and giant slides.

3. Light Fantastic

Create a really memorable end to your day with a fabulous firework display.  Ask your venue first if this would be possible and look for companies who will lay on a display to suit your budget.  If your venue will not allow fireworks then go for a laser light show instead.

4. Roll Up, Roll Up

Bring all the fun of the circus to your wedding with some circus performers such as clowns, jugglers and acrobats.  Stilt walkers mingling with your guests should prove a big talking point and amuse the kids!  And for the evening why not hire in fire eaters, fire jugglers and fire dancers to really set your evening festivities alight!

5. Hey, Mister DJ

The days of the cheesy wedding disco are far behind us but you should still choose your wedding DJ with care.  Look out for those who offer a bespoke service for your wedding entertainment and can produce a playlist which is tailored to your personal taste.

By Georgina Clatworthy

Some of your best wedding planning ideas will need to focus on your entertainment on the day.  Whilst most will opt for music and a disco, a little extra creative input could see you put on entertainment for your guests which will leave them talking about your day for years!  Here are five ideas to get your guests in the mood to celebrate with you!

1. Viva Las Vegas: Whilst you may not be marrying in the Little White Chapel, you can still bring some Vegas magic to your wedding planning by adding some casino style games to your reception.  Consider ideas like roulette, blackjack and poker tables for some great fun and why not hire in an Elvis impersonator to really get your guests in the swing of things!
2. Traditional Classics: If you are after something more sophisticated for your wedding then why not ease your guests into the celebration mood with some elegant music.  Look into hiring a harpist or string quartet to play some serene melodies whilst your guests enjoy the cocktail hour or the interlude between the reception and evening festivities.
3. Cabaret Time: Treat your guests to a cheeky cabaret performance such as a songstress suspended from hoops on the ceiling or scantily clad angels who swing from enormous chandeliers and swoop down to refill your guests glasses when the Champagne begins to run dry!
4. Magic Acts: No not your children’s rabbit-out-of-the-hat magician but modern close up magicians who will wander around your tables delighting your guests with sleight of hand tricks that will have them guessing for months.
5. Retro Mania: Planning a wedding Fifties style? Why not hire in a jukebox for a touch of retro cool at your reception?  Hire in waitresses dressed up fifties style and serving fab ice creams and bring in a photo booth so your guests can have fun taking shots of themselves which they can instantly takeaway – a great idea for wedding favors by the way!

By Georgina Clatworthy

Planning a wedding can be a daunting prospect.  After your initial excitement at getting engaged dies down it is likely to dawn on you’re the mammoth task you have ahead in organizing the biggest party of your lives.  But if you are clever and adopt some creative wedding planning ideas, you can breeze through it all with efficiency and ease!

Firstly, you need to get organized.  You will need to a sturdy notebook which you can fit in your handbook so you can take it with you to all your appointments.  A little notebook is also useful when you need to jot down some ideas on the spur of the moment, or perhaps you have just thought of something important which you don’t want to forget.

Set up a spreadsheet on your computer to help you keep track of your wedding budget.  Your budget will determine everything where your wedding is concerned so you need to know how you have to spend, how much you can spend on each element and detail and when money comes in or goes out.

When it comes to planning your wedding and how it will look and feel, now is the time to be creative.  You may have been to many weddings in your lifetime to date, but how many of them stick in your mind as being fabulous?  Perhaps there are elements from someone else’s wedding that you would like to use on your big day or maybe you have a theme in mind that has got you buzzing with ideas.

It is worthwhile doing some brainstorming with your husband-to-be to discover what you both want from your wedding, what you would both like to have incorporated into the day and the style of wedding you would both like.  Discuss things like location, wedding date, size of the guest list and how formal you would like it to be.  From the notes that you make you can then create a list of priorities that include in order all things that are most important to your wedding day.  This list will not only help you to assign the budget properly but also to help you keep focus on what is important throughout your planning phase.

You can also repeat this brainstorming session with close friends and family, particularly those whom you would like in your wedding party.  Getting the opinion of others can highlight things that you might have missed and give you plenty of other ideas to think about.  It could also be beneficial to do these little sessions throughout your wedding planning, especially when you feel overwhelmed with details and have lots of decisions to make.  For instance, a brainstorm over your wedding favors could help you to isolate those favors which would best suit your wedding and to come up with some creative packaging and presentation ideas.

In essence wedding planning will see you making no end of lists and checklists as you wade through the mountain of tasks and details that have to be decided upon.  Keep your paperwork up to date and to hand so you can refer to it whenever you need to.  Discuss all your ideas with those around you and also take on board any advice and ideas others may give to you, you never know when someone might come up with a little gem!

By Georgina Clatworthy

Planning a wedding can at times seem like trying to find you way around a dark cave.  When you first begin, you will probably have very little idea of what you should do first, or who you need to be contacting to help you organize the event of your lives.  And whilst there is a wealth of free information out there on planning a wedding, it is the tried and tested tips from real brides that can give you the best wedding planning ideas.

Here are a few wedding planning ideas to help you make your way out of that dark cave and in to the warm glow of a wonderful wedding day!

‘Try to think of a theme because it will help give you ideas and inspiration for your reception’ – a theme is a great way of personalizing your wedding day and it really does help you to coordinate things like colors, wedding invitations, flowers and favors.

‘I made the invites myself and asked friends to help – they helped me with the photographs, flowers, the centerpieces and the table names’ – it is virtually impossible to organize your wedding single handed so get your friends and family to lend a hand.  If they have a particular skill or their job is of some use to you, then ask if they would mind helping you out with the wedding.  It helps to make your day unique and save money.

‘Trust your instincts, or your mom’s! My mom knew it was the wedding dress for me before I did’ – sometimes you will just know when something is right and when it isn’t, but it is also worth listening to the advice of others.  Wedding planning can have a habit of blinkering us to the bigger picture.

‘Make checklists and cross things off as you do them to avoid pre-wedding stress’ – there are many checklists available to download which will list everything you will need to do for your wedding.  Firstly these tend to be generic to any wedding so you will need to edit them to coordinate to your wedding.  Secondly it is a good idea to make a list each day with those days tasks on it, you can go into more detail this way and you are less likely to miss anything.

‘Be as organized as you can.  I planned our wedding for two years which meant I could shop around’ – whether you have two years or two months, shopping around can save you money and time.  Keeping good paperwork and notes, such as a planning notebook or file, will ensure you don’t loose any important numbers, contact details or information.

‘Try not to get up too early on the wedding morning so you are not too tired by the evening’ – with all the excitement of the wedding and probably some nerves too, a good nights sleep the night before may not be possible, but you should try to remain relaxed and calm on the morning of the wedding.  Becoming tired and grumpy by the end of the wedding breakfast is not what anyone wants and you need to be able enjoy the fruits of your labor after all that wedding planning!

By Georgina Clatworthy

Themed weddings have become a popular choice in recent times.  Once considered a somewhat tacky alternative, they have undergone a renaissance in the last few years & themed weddings now provide for a stylish & elegant wedding style.

If you are considering a theme for your wedding, here are some important considerations: 

Choosing your theme: Weddings are all about personal style & taste.  They are after all, all about the two of you so your wedding theme should be along the lines of something that interests you both.  If you both like a certain period in history such as medieval or maybe the 1930’s, then try to center your theme around that.  Maybe you both like sailing & have chosen the local yacht club as your reception venue, then you can incorporate a nautical theme into your celebrations.

Write down a few ideas but before you decide on the final one, read through the rest of this article as your choice of theme could depend on the ease on which you can pull it off!

Colors: For some themes you should stick to authentic colors associated with your theme.  A 1920’s theme would incorporate black & white as this was a key look at the time.  A medieval theme would feature rich colors like burgundy, forest green & royal blue. 

If you find that the associated colors will not work for you & there are no other obvious alternatives, then you may have to consider a different theme.  However, if authenticity is not that important to you then take some artistic licence & coordinate your own color choices, just make sure they will suit the scheme first – a winter wonderland theme in hot pink & brown just doesn’t work!

Decorations: Can you decorate your reception to sufficiently do justice to your theme?  Would the cost of pulling off the whole look take you way over budget?  The reason wedding planning advice says to choose your wedding theme at the start is so you can coordinate all the fine details to it.  Trying to work it the other way around is impossible!

For some themes decorations are easy & in plentiful supply, for others more research may be required.  Scour the internet for resources & ideas on your preferred theme & do the same for another theme idea as well so that you have a plan B to fall back on!

Venue: Your choice of venue can make or break your theme.  For some any venue could suffice & can be decorated to achieve the desired effect.  Other themes require a little more creative thinking.  Take the Medieval theme for instance, here a forest setting or a ruined castle would be suitable venues.  A Victorian ballroom is not. 

Attire: Themed weddings can call for an element of ‘fancy dress’ for them to work, but it really depends on your theme & how far you are taking it.  For an Asian themed wedding, many brides would forgo the traditional Asian dress but instead look for something that perhaps alludes to it – kimono sleeves or a large cummerbund style bow perhaps.  If you want to go the whole hog then you will need to look for so called theatrical style wedding dresses which are often based on period costume styles.  Another option is fancy dress hire shops or having your garments custom made.

 If you have chosen a period or historical theme then do some research first in to the style of garments from that time, also look at colors & accessories, as well as hairstyles. 

Finishing touches: These can range from wedding favors, invitations, entertainment, your wedding cake & your menu & beverages.  Again do some research & think outside of the box, especially if at first an idea is deemed unsuitable for a wedding.

Themed weddings can be tremendous fun not only to plan but also to attend.  By being creative, bold & personal you can achieve a fabulous wedding theme with all right elements.

 By Georgina Clatworthy

Wedding planning is an overwhelming experience.  One minute you are high on emotion the next your are tearing your hair out because the caterers you so badly wanted are fully booked or that dream dress is not available anywhere.

Little wonder then that many brides will seek solace & advice from wedding planning books.  For some these books can become their wedding bibles! Never far from view, with marked pages, scribbled notes on sticky pads & lots of loose cuttings falling from every page.  For others they are nothing more than a reference in times of need, nevertheless, a valuable one at that.

The following is a list of the top 5 wedding planning books according to Amazon.

1. The Step-by-Step Guide to Planning Your Own Wedding by Linda Wright

Synopsis
A self-help wedding planner with countdown calendar, step-by-step action plans and a comprehensive checklist section.
 
2.  Wedding Planning for Dummies by Marcy Blum & Laura F. Kaiser

Synopsis

Wedding Planning For Dummies, 2^nd Edition demystifies and simplifies all the details that go into the Big Day, providing inspiration and innovative ideas to personalize your wedding celebration and, of course, make it fun for everyone-especially you! This one-stop guide is all you need to:

• Design a comprehensive schedule for a snag-free wedding day
• Keep track of expenses with a wedding budget
• Negotiate contracts and surf online for deals
• Get those pesky financial technicalities out of the way
• Plan a weekend wedding, a themed wedding, and other celebrations
• Select a suitable wedding party
• Plan for various customs and rites
• Get the decorative effect you want
• Throw a great reception with music, food, drink, and cake!
• Handle gifts, registries, rings, photos, and the honeymoon

Packed with tips for saving money and common kitsch you should avoid, this is the ultimate guide to satisfying everyone on the Big Day. You’ll discover the confidence you need to make the wedding of your dreams come true with Wedding Planning For Dummies, 2^nd Edition!

3. Planning Your Wedding: A Step-by-step Guide That Will Take You Right Through to the Big Day By Judith Verity

Synopsis

An up-to-date guide to wedding planning, providing advice on what’s traditional, what your options are, how to manage tricky social situations, how to plan the wedding your way, stay inside your budget and cut down on stress.

4. Planning a Wedding Reception at Home by Carol Godsmark

Synopsis

With this book you’ll be able to event manage the day yourself so that all the details are covered and everything runs smoothly with the minimum of stress. Alongside all the more general advice and tips you’ll find information on:  Preparing a budget and getting quotations for the marquee or village hall.  Choosing the menu, including a selection of sample menus. If you’re cooking yourself, how to prepare and shop for the chosen menus. Buying alcohol, planning the bar and finding staff to man it.  How to hire equipment and gauge quantities of plates, cutlery, serving dishes, and tablecloths. How to find good staff and instruct them on their duties. Organising the music and ensuring sufficient electrical power.  Planning the big tidy up afterwards!

5. Easy Wedding Planning Plus, 5th Edition: The Most Comprehensive and Easy to Use Wedding Planner by Elizabeth Lluch

Synopsis not available.

 By Georgina Clatworthy

Asian wedding themes have been a popular choice for some time now.  Couples like the symbolism associated with the theme & the delicate colors & motifs make a beautiful & elegant wedding scheme.

If you would like your wedding to have a taste of the orient, then here are some style tips to consider. 

Colors

The most popular choices are red & black with gold or pastel pink, green & gold.  Other colors include orange, brown, blue & ivory.  Many of the accents you would want for your wedding will be available in the first two combinations, but you could consider a Willow pattern scheme of blue & white, although this may lend itself better to a country house scheme rather than an Asian one.

Red & black lends itself to a very formal affair, whilst the pastel shades of pink & green would fit a number of wedding styles including formal & casual.

Reception Decorations

This is dependant on the color choices you make, so I will deal with the two most popular here.

Red & Black – Throwing a scheme of red & black around the room, could end with the result of your reception looking like a cheap casino! So it needs some careful forethought.  I would use red table cloths & gold chairs.  Your table centers could be large pillar candles in white surrounded by black river pebbles or potted bamboo.  Choose black chinaware, red napkins & accent with black chopsticks – which could also double as your wedding favors.  Rest your place cards on the back of white china cranes which also could double as favors.

Pink & Green – Look for Chinese silk table cloths that are embroidered with these shades.  Again choose gold chairs.  The beauty of these colors is in their subtlety so neither can be too overpowering.  The addition of patterned table cloths will highlight the Asian feel otherwise it could just look like another pink & green wedding scheme & your guests may miss point.  Your table centers could include branches of cherry blossom or again white pillar candles.  The china cranes will also work here & you should choose white chinaware, in a contemporary style & plain pink or green napkins.

You can decorate the rest of the room with paper lanterns & strung blossom flower garlands.  An Asian tradition is for the bride to make origami paper cranes, which you could use as wedding favors or attach to filament & suspend from the ceiling.

Flowers

For a red & black scheme I would choose orange Chinese lanterns, red spider chrysanthemums & small potted bamboo shoots.  Ask your florist for advice on the best flowers for this color scheme.

For a pink & green scheme you can choose peonies, cherry blossom, chrysanthemums, orchids, water lilies.

Wedding Favors

You will find a world of choice when it comes to wedding favors, here are just a few options:

• Chopsticks
• Fans
• Paper or china cranes
• Mini bamboo steamers
• Fortune cookies
• Candles
• Miniature potted bamboo

An Asian wedding theme will provide with much food for thought.  Every element of your wedding can easily be coordinated & you can create a stunning & stylish wedding scheme with relative ease.  It is worth also reading up on Asian wedding customs as you find much inspiration in them & some unique ideas for your wedding.

 By Georgina Clatworthy 

There is nothing as romantic as a wedding & a wedding that incorporates pink roses into its theme is not only romantic but very, very beautiful as well.   If you are busy planning your wedding & thinking about color schemes & themes, then take a look at the following for inspiration.

The Venue

This scheme would work anywhere, but is particularly suited to a garden wedding or a venue with luxurious surroundings.  Imagine a beautiful ballroom with opulent gold rococo decoration.

Colors

Pink obviously! Try to stick to just one shade of pale pink or match colors as closely as possible.  Add in white or cream & accent with an antique gold color.

Decorations

Cover your tables with a cream damask cloth & choose gold chairs.  Drape garlands of roses around the room, along with hanging lanterns – either metal candle lanterns or paper balloon shades.  The garlands can be made from fresh flowers, but fabric versions would be cheaper & easier to work with.

Have your florist make up floral table centers in vintage style urns.  Finish your tables with gold charger plates, gold place card holders & gold kings cutlery.  Choose plain china, perhaps with a gold rim & have your guests sip champagne from crystal glasses.  You can also add in pink tea lights or votives.

Flowers

Pink roses & peonies, white or cream roses, baby’s breath & pearl accents.  Parrot tulips in pale pink would also look nice.

Wedding Favors

Look for things with a romantic theme, try pink scented candles in gold colored holders; pink & gold colored heart shaped chocolates in plain boxes topped with a fresh rose bud; gold colored bud vases or crystal ones in which you can place a fresh rose; pink crystal paperweights.  Other options could include cupcakes decorated with buttercream icing & topped with a pink sugar rose or a mini cake covered in pink fondant & topped with a rose.

Wedding Cake

I once saw a wedding cake which looked just like a rose.  Each individual petal had been made by hand & the whole thing took two days to assemble!  If this is out of your budget & let’s face it, it is probably out of most people’s budgets, then choose equally beautiful that is in budget.  How about a multi tiered round cake, covered with white or cream buttercream icing & covered with a cascade of pink sugar roses or decorated with one of those rose garlands mentioned earlier.  Have a chat to your cake designer as they will come up with something perfect & which will match all the other elements of your wedding.

This scheme gives you the opportunity to create something romantic & beautiful & which will fit with a number of surroundings.  You can create the opulent scheme described above or give it a more rustic ‘French farmhouse’ feel by using wooden trestle tables & chairs & dispensing with the table cloths.

It really is one of those schemes which can be dressed up or down to suit the style of your wedding.

By Georgina Clatworthy

Love & romance go hand in hand with weddings, so it is a natural choice for a wedding theme.

Here are a few ideas on adding some heartfelt touches to your wedding day.

•1.      A romantic Venue: Try & choose a venue that has some special meaning to you both.  Perhaps it was where you met or where he proposed.  Or maybe it is just a place you liked to visit together.  It doesn’t have to be a location in your home town either, if he proposed abroad then why not get married there?

•2.      Romantic flowers: The first choice here would be red roses, but weddings are about personal choice, so if you like a peonies or tulips choose those instead.  Remember your wedding should be a reflection of your personalities, styles & tastes.

•3.      Romantic readings: Ask someone to make a reading at the ceremony, perhaps a favorite poem or piece of prose.  Alternatively choose a favorite love song & ask the congregation to sing it with you at the ceremony.

•4.      Romantic feasts: Stick with traditional romantic foods such as chocolate mousse, strawberries, pink champagne & oysters!

•5.      Romantic music: Get everyone in the mood with some romantic tunes at the evening party.  Choose a range of songs from across all genres to appeal to all your guests, young or old.

•6.      Romantic ambiance: Create a romantic atmosphere with candles on your tables, use pillar candles in your centerpieces & scatter tea lights around the table.  If your wedding is outside & there is a large pond, lake or some other type of water feature, make it part of the decorations by placing floating candles on it & flower heads.

•7.      Romantic tables: Name your tables after romantic films you have seen such as ‘Sleepless in Seattle’, ‘Love Story’ & ‘Casablanca’.

•8.      Romantic programs: Include the story of how you met on your wedding programs.

•9.      Romantic first dance: Your first dance should be extra special so choose a song that has special meaning to you both.  If you are especially nervous about being the center of attention, then ask close friends & family to join you halfway through.

•10.  Romantic ending: At the end of the evening gather with your friends & family outside & release Chinese lanterns.  It is wonderful alternative to fireworks & looks amazing as the burning lanterns sail up into the nightsky.

•11.  Romantic decorations: Love hearts would be the obvious choice for accenting your reception.  Other choices would include whimsical cupids, birds, butterflies & ribbons.  Scatter your tables with fresh rose petals & equip your guests with bottles of bubbles so they can shower you with a rain of rainbow colors.