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Written by Poppy | Your Best Day Ever
For so many newly engaged brides and grooms, the initial wedding planning excitement can be dampened due to common worries.
Questions such as... What if something goes wrong on the day... Will people be upset if I don't invite them...
Below I will go through 4 common wedding worries and how you can make sure you have a stress
free wedding day and planning process.
Will my wedding look like my wedding Pinterest board?
I hear this all the time... "Can we recreate this pin"... "I've seen this pin"... "I have my wedding Pinterest board"...
Now, don't get me wrong, I have a Pinterest board for every occasion and I love it. I think it is the best place to go, to get lots of ideas, however, I will also be the first to admit that this wonderful inspiration site can be very misleading and can cause a lot of unnecessary pressure. Many of the photos are incredibly staged and intended for shoots, rather than for a real wedding or have lots of filters and presets that slightly skew the reality.
For example, lots of flowers, vases and crates positioned delicately on a bar may look insanely cool, but realistically, when you get a group of thirsty guests, leaning all over your beautiful bar, those vases won't withstand that.
H O W E V E R... on the other hand, I always think it is a great idea to home in on all your ideas or rather to get any ideas if you may need that burst of #inspo.
So, in conclusion, I believe that Pinterest boards should be taken as inspiration only and with a pinch of salt. Add your own twists and re-create YOUR own Pinterest wedding, not someone else's.
It is easily possible to create a 'Pinterest'/design-led wedding and in fact, I love to be design-led and create extraordinary floral arrangements and memorable creative twists, but let's use a combination of Pinterest and our own imagination to make this happen.
Will people be upset if I don't invite them?
The age old... "I have to invite so & so because we are inviting so & so ..."
My number one rule is that it is your wedding, so you are most certainly entitled to invite (and equally not invite) whoever you'd like.
Luckily, it is much more common and accepted that you won't be invited to every wedding.
However, if you are worried about people being upset:
Communicate with them - explain your reasons, maybe you are having a smaller wedding, your budget doesn't stretch to large guest numbers, venue limitations or any other reasons that you may have.
Consider inviting them to the evening reception if you would still like them to be a part of your day, but not quite prepared to invite them to the full celebration.
However, don't feel like you have to explain yourself. You can often get into a bit of a rut and potentially end up inviting them out of guilt! A good friend would be happy for you regardless and a 'friend' who causes a scene, well maybe then it is a good thing that they weren't invited.
What if something goes wrong on the day?
This is a very common and over-thought worry. Speaking from years of experience, you are in the most wonderful wedding bubble that you rarely notice if something small goes wrong.
My tips for ensuring things don't go wrong:
Hire a planner for On-the-Day Coordination - you will not have to worry about managing suppliers, checking that décor is set up in the correct places and that if anything was to go wrong, it is our job to fix it before you know about it!
Have backup plans - try to think of every scenario (or at least the most common ones) e.g. rain, numbers for taxis (in case transport fails), cake being knocked over (finding the best place to put it where it is still visible, yet not easily brushed past)
Remember that nothing can be that bad - your guests will turn up, the cake will be cut and you will get married!
Will people enjoy themselves?
Yes! That's my quick answer.
I truly understand the worry of wanting to keep guests entertained or making sure there's no long gaps between the canapes, wedding breakfast and reception. Guests do mingle and entertain themselves for periods of time, however here are some tips to help avoid those lengthy gaps:
Don’t allow anyone to go hungry - canapes and your wedding breakfast solve this problem
Always give them somewhere to sit - if you don't want your guests to enter your wedding breakfast area, then provide additional seating for guests
And if you have the budget and time:
Give them something to do - whether this is a singer to listen to or garden games
In summary, the main rule is to not worry, guests will always find something to do and as long as you don't have them waiting for, however following a timeline/schedule will ensure that you don't have unnecessarily long gaps of time.
For a quick idea, follow this rough guide:
Getting Ready: 3-4 hours (depending on size of bridal party and complexity of hair and makeup)
Ceremony: 45 minutes
Reception drinks & Canapes & Photos: 1hr 30mins - 2hrs
Wedding Breakfast: 2hrs - 2hr 30mins (depending on number of guests)
Speeches: 30mins (depending on number of speeches)
Evening Reception: 4-5 hrs
Note, the most common gaps are:
Before/waiting for the ceremony - provide drinks or a singer for entertainment
Between reception drinks and the wedding breakfast - provide sufficient drinks and canapes, entertainment or ensure that you have a plan for potential photos so they do not overrun too much
Speeches and evening reception - providing some form of entertainment helps and ensuring your evening guests arrive shortly after your speeches brings some change and something for guests to do.
So there it is... my answers to 4 common wedding worries.
My overall answer, there really isn't anything to worry about, on the day of your wedding, you will be in utter awe of the day you have created.
Of course, you can always get in touch with me and I will completely minimise any stress and will think of also the smaller details, creating your most stylish yet timeless day.
