How To…

Photography Credit: Rachel McCall Photography (Rachel bought her beautiful dress from an independent designer on etsy. More info when I blog the full wedding soon!)

This is a bit of a contentious issue with brides-to-be, but it is something I feel quite strongly about. I know you’re not all going to agree with me on this one, but just hear me out for a sec would ya? I understand how hard it is to plan a wedding on a budget, and I know know know a lot of you would prefer to DIY the majority of your big day than pay someone to do it for you – believe me, I was in your position once. I also love DIY weddings to the MAX and would never want to promote the fact that you need to spend a bomb on your wedding if you can’t/don’t want to.

However what does upset me, is when I see DIY brides copying the design of independent wedding suppliers and making their own version of it. Although you might not think about it (after all it’s your wedding right?…and you’re just one teeny tiny little person, who are you really gonna hurt?) but in the majority of cases that designer will have worked long and hard to come up with that original concept or design… and probably also works their butt off to make a living doing something they love (again, believe me, I know how hard it is to run your own business!) Do you ever wonder what might happen if no one paid them to do the work they were brilliant at?

If everyone did the same and just made copies of the things they saw but maybe couldn’t afford, where would all these amazing designers end up? Quite simply, they’d go out of business and all we’d be left with would be the soulless mass market shit. Boooooo!

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Photography Credit: Svetlana Batura (full photo shoot on the blog next week)

Arriving in style is easier than ever these days, with some great companies around offering unique wedding day transport ideas. If the traditional horse and carriage or vintage Bentley isn’t your style then there’s no need to fret! “Dear twitter & facebook,” I asked this week, “What advice would you offer to a Rock n Roll couple struggling with the idea of how to get to their wedding…?”

Bethan Beej Jones I’m not not trying to do anyone out of any business but ask around your friends, you’ll be surprised who has a cool car lurking in the garage you can borrow!

Jaye Cole Think creatively – there are so many fun ways to get to your big day. I am still waiting to photograph a bride arriving on bicycle handlebars or being pulled in a red wagon. If you are close by – why not stomp it?

Zoë Kane Don’t do it if you feel like you don’t need it! Too many people say they are having a car for the photos. Try a bike, or walking!

@annaandthering If you get married and have the reception in the same place -voila no transport required. I’ve saved you £500+

LoveGetsSweeter If there’s a lot of distance between ceremony& reception DO think about your guests! Maybe hire a retro bus or at least give directions!

Kay Michelle Armiger-Burke If you’re having trouble finding money in the budget for a traditional wedding car then local taxi companies usually have executive taxis that are BMW’s or Merc’s that are a much cheaper alternative. Also they usually provide ribbons for the car for free too. Much cheaper than a traditional car but looks just as smart.

Marie-Claire Hernandez Graulau I once saw a couple (and the invitees) walking from the church to their reception venue being lead by an Eastern European Gypsy band. You could not help but dance with them. Way more memorable than a car if you ask me.

And to give you a  few more ideas, here and some of my favourite transport ideas in some of the weddings I’ve featured recently…

♥ Ronnie & Craig restored their own VW Camper van
♥ Laura & Rob hailed a pink taxi
♥ Sybil & Jon (and all their guests!) got in the back of a trailer pulled by a tractor!
♥ Kristy & Patrick paraded down the road with their guests
♥ Lucy & Michael hired a London bus
♥ Mary & Sam caught a boat!
♥ Leigh & Aaron themed their wedding around their love of bicycles
♥ Laura & Thilde rode on a bike and sidecar

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Photography Credit: Emma Lucy Photography (Full wedding to come next week)

Something we all look forward to when attending a wedding is the grub right? So how can you keep your guests’ tummies happy on your big day (because let’s face it, you’ll probably be too nervous/excited to each much yourself!)

@loveillustrated Don’t let good food down with bad wine – if your caterers offer reasonable corkage charges, use them & buy in bulk.

@jojomillington Always feed this photographer (Kat:It’s also a good idea to feed the photographer first. Let’s face it, you don’t want photos of you eating in your wedding album do you? If you feed them last, by the time they finally get to sit down it’ll be time for your speeches!)

@CherryPieLane Pick what you like & don’t worry about everyone else – there will always be someone who will moan about your choice anyway!

@Charlotte_Fi Make sure you have a tasting beforehand, especially to much sure all the courses go together and so you do’t end up with any weird combos

@Tattybojangles People will always remember bad food.

Lindsay Johnson Buffets are ok. Just make sure you use pretty dishes!

Angie Lynn Mozingo Get something you (and the majority of your guests) actually like, not something fashionable. Also, if you have children invited keep them in mind. I don’t mean to say plan your main menu around what the children would eat, but as your caterer if they offer a children/picky eater’s menu as well. Also see about having an alternate dish incase of any allergies. This is why I personally would advise a buffet.

You guys have been great with the tips this week but I just wanted to add a couple of my own too…

♥ How about having a pot-luck meal where you ask guests to bring their favourite/signature dish for an eclectic and yummy buffet experience?

♥ If you’re not having extra guests coming to the evening reception you can probably scrap the evening buffet. By the time 9pm rolls around (and after a few cheeky drinks) most people probably won’t be hungry again so don’t feel bad for skipping the extra food. I’ve found that when there is evening food I end up eating it for the sake of it and just because it’s there! You’ll have the pennies and most people won’t notice the absence. How about spending the money on something cute for the guests to nibble on instead like a dessert table, candy buffet or ice cream/popcorn/candy floss machine!?

♥ If you have a lot of vegetarian/vegan guests, why not consider making the whole wedding vegetarian friendly? Maybe you don’t want an entirely vege/vegan menu but vegan cupcakes and desserts can be yummy!

At the risk of sounding like a raging alcoholic, but in favour of embracing inspiration outside the confines of the wedding industry/land of the blogs/the internet hole, this week I turn to the philosophy of Mr Hendricks to illustrate my point.

“Loved by a tiny handful of people all over the world”

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Photography Credit: Emma Case Photography (full wedding on the blog next week!)

I often get emails from brides (and a lot of the time grooms) asking for recommendations or advice on wedding entertainment/bands/DJ’s etc. Now shameful admission time - despite being called the Rock n Roll Bride my taste in music is appalling. It’s not cool* and it’s certainly not worthy of advice-giving. So again, I’ve turned to twitter and facebook to help me out of this sticky spot.

If you have any extra tips you’d like to add to this list, simply comment below!

Michelle Jefferies Make sure you have an emergency contact number for on the day. I couldn’t get hold of our disco for the week before the wedding. It wasn’t until the morning of the wedding, and i still hadn’t heard from him, that i resorted to putting a a comment on here asking if anyone knew him to ask him to contact me….15 mins later he called! Grr!

Leanne Calver Always go and see your band or DJ perform

David Perkins If possible have your band play the first dance it helps make it extra special

Esme Rolph In my own experience, Dj’s are brilliant, but if you have dance-floor shy guests then nothing will get them to dance more than a really good live band, live music definitely cant be beaten in terms of atmosphere. .. my band were amazing at our wedding and kept the dance floor filled all night long!

Kate Bremner Make sure you’re aware of any noise restrictions before booking the venue!

Sarah Vogel My friend had a caricaturist at her wedding 3 weeks ago, he was amazing and did 175 drawings that night! People were queuing.

Emma Shaw What’s better entertainment than a photo booth?!

Jaye Cole Live bands are fab – but make sure to have a ‘quiet’ area put aside. Some guests will not have seen each other for a long time (even decades) and will want to be able to catch up with each other and live bands are hard to talk over.

MsTiffanyBlue Ask people who go to a lot of weddings who they recommend. Our MC goes to heaps and he gave us the name of a great band!

*unless you count Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and 80′s power ballads as cool…

It sounds kinda iccky to think about it (no one likes to think they’re blowing their own trumpet!) but keeping a file/folder/notebook full of the notes or emails praise you get  - from friends/clients/anybody can really help you when you’re not feeling so great. Maybe you’re having a week where nothing seems to be going right, where people are annoyed with you left right and centre and where it seems the world is coming crashing down around you…well open up that folder and get reading. It will put a smile on your face I promise.

It is so easy to focus on the negatives – the bad press, the bitchy comments, the self-deprecation and to forget all about that amazing email you got from an ecstatic client or phone call from a proud friend.

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Photography Credit: Devlin Photos (full wedding on the blog soon!)

Today’s business and wedding note kinda have the same basic message and I think they are both actually pretty interchangeable – i.e. applicable to both wedding planning and running your own business. I’d love to know what you think in the comments below…even if it’s to tell me I’m off my head…

FYI I also totally stole/was inspired to think of these ideas from Noa of Feather Love Photography, who’s workshop I attended this week. She rules. More on this on the blog soon.

Take inspiration for your wedding from the world around you not just other people’s weddings that you see on wedding blogs or in wedding magazines. Doing this will prevent you from simple copying or recreating someone else’s wedding vision. Blogs or in magazines are fabulous when planning your wedding but also remember to go out into the real world and work ou what you really love in ‘real life’ and bring that into your day.

Your inspiration also doesn’t have to be literal. Take your inspiration on board in a more abstract way. If you like something ask yourself why. Is it a colour, a texture, a feeling that you’re drawn to?

Don’t look at other people’s work who are in the same field as you. Subconsciously (or sometimes unfortunately consciously) we are influenced too closely by people we admire and simply end up copying them. Wedding photographers don’t spend hours looking to other wedding photographers for inspiration, wedding bloggers don’t get ideas from other peoples blogs, stationers don’t be inspired by paper… Be inspired by a tree/a breeze/a shape/a piece of writing (for example) What inspires you in real life. Bring this into your work not an idea you saw though a peer.

Indirect influence will create a more authentic and unique business. In an over-saturated market (I’m pretty sure every wedding industry professional I know would back me up and say there are a LOT of people doing wedding photography/stationery/jewellery/dresses etc) the thing that makes you stand out next to your competition  is you and what makes you different.

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