Top 5 Wedding Planning Tips 2022
Being in and around Weddings every week, you pick up some tips!! I always feel that I like to help couples planning a Wedding as much as I can, even if they are not going to book with us. We have a fantastic Wedding Suppliers page, which really has some amazing Wedding friends there, well worth a look - we recommend these people becasue we know how good they are!!
I'll let you in to a little secret... I'm about to start planning my own Wedding! So where do I start? Well I feel I have a lot of experience and know a lot of people to get the ball moving, so here it is..
1. The Venue - You are looking for a venue, try and decide what style of Wedding you are going for. Is it traditional, vintage, retro, festival? and then see what is out there that matches. Obviously budget is a key component, but seriously ask around, even contact some suppliers early, especially photographers and ask their advice, the ones on our list will only be too happy to help, they will have been everywhere!
It is also important at this stage to consider your guests - how many in the daytime and how many in the evening? Its a difficult process grading your friends and family, but it has to be done, so do it early, have an idea of the minimum amount you can have i.e. the must-haves and then have a list of people who you want there as well and go from there. On this basis you can pick the size of venue and consider costs like catering etc.
2. Get The Main Suppliers Booked Early - Once you have the venue booked, get straight on to booking your main suppliers. Photographer is usually the first, but I would say entertainment is second. The Best Wedding Bands North West are booked 2 years in advance. My own band The RUSH has bookings in as far as October 2024 (Its Dec 2022 now!) and their are always dates in the diary that are much sought after. Bank Holidays obviously, but next year they are always darticular dates that we could have filled 20 times over. So bear this in mind and don't leave it too late as the band you want will have gone, and you want to have a good choice.
3. Use Your Suppliers Know-How - As you start ticking off the people who will make your wedding brilliant, don't be afraid to ask for their advice - do they know a good florist? what new things are people doing at their wedding to make it different. Ask all of them and they will only be too happy to help, they are a fountain of knowledge. I always have a part of my meetings where I say, 'Tell me about your Wedding - How is your wedding planning going? who have you booked so far? can I help? what are you short of?' its safety in numbers, we can all help in any way to make the process easier for you.
4. Get Contracts - Speaking from the entertainment point of view, the best and most professional bands have contracts nowadays, and I assume that the best suppliers will as well. Don't leave anything to chance, expect a professional contract and if one isn't forthcoming, then question why. Using a Entertainment Agency Manchester to book your music is a way of ensuring that you have no problems. Music agencies not only have great contracts, but they are also in a position, should anything go wrong (band member ill etc.), to solve the problem for you very quickly by either finding a dep musician or a dep act for you. Its peace of mind. Thats not to say that booking a band direct is more perilous, because it isn't, however just make sure that the band have a contract, the terms are satisfactory, and the document gets signed on both sides. You should also expect to pay a deposit of around 20%
5. FOR GODS SAKE ENJOY IT!!! - this should be the perfect day, a memorable day in your lives. Try not to get too stressed. There may be some things that don't run smoothly, thats fine, but try to remember its important that the main things go right, and they will and everything will be absolutely fine. You HAVE to enjoy it, that is exactly what its all about, otherwise there is no point at all.
