Elegant Country Garden Bride Q&A
We sat down with one of our amazing brides to discuss how she’s feeling about her upcoming wedding which is planned for August 2021…
How have you found planning your wedding during the pandemic?
At the beginning I found it relatively easy as I was planning during a time when the world thought we'd be back to normal by 2021. Due to the first lockdown in March 2020 I found I had the time to do a lot of research and reach out to those suppliers and companies that really caught my eye. However as the year progressed and it became clear that we may not be returning to normal anytime soon I found it increasingly difficult.
We were unable to get wedding insurance due to the pandemic and I found myself worrying if the suppliers would go out of business or if we could get our deposits back if we had to cancel due to Covid.
I'm now in a place where all the larger things such as entertainment, catering, bar, marquee, flowers and photographer are booked but I'm reluctant to start focusing on the smaller things as it's completely out of my control as to whether we will be able to go ahead with the wedding - I feel in limbo right now.
Whilst I'm remaining positive and I am still looking forward to getting married at some point I do think Covid has stripped away some of the fun and excitement of planning a wedding; I often wonder what it would have been like to try on wedding dresses with all my bridal party rather than just one and how it would be looking at myself in a wedding dress without a mask on.
You decided to have your wedding at the family estate - how are you finding that and do you have any pros and cons you’d like to share with us?
For this upcoming wedding, we're working with the fantastic Shades Canvas to create the perfect undercover setting in the grounds of a private family home - setting up everything from dining tables capes, foliage draping and hanging rings to bring height and elegance to the AV technical set up and dance floor
There are plenty of pros to having a wedding at a family home, especially during COVID. Our wedding will mainly be outside - the marquee sides can be fully rolled up meaning our wedding will be an outdoor venue, there is hope that we can have more guests if we are able to go ahead.
In addition to this we don't have the worry about a venue struggling with money trouble and potentially going out of business - my in-laws to be will always have their garden. This is also beneficial as it means we can amend the date of the wedding easily without having to worry about whether they'll have availability.
When planning the wedding it meant we could plan for larger numbers (fingers crossed this can still happen).
Another plus is we can do whatever we want with the space - it's completely flexible.
And finally I just think it's wonderful and sentimental to get married in a place that means something to us and not forgetting how beautiful the property is.
Cons
I think I forgot how much a venue can sort out for you - they often have links to caterers, bar staff etc etc. We have had to think of every minor detail from water supply to the bar, if there will be enough electricity to power everything, where the music will go, renting chairs and tables - all things venues generally have sorted out. This is where Anna and Sophie have been life savers, with their vast experience of working with events and solving problems such as this I felt in safe hands when they started to help us out. They took all of it in their stride and have helped me solve some complex problems easily. Plus their links to hundreds of suppliers meant I never had to look far if we needed something.
How has your wedding planning experience been? Have you enjoyed it? What have you loved most?
Overall I have enjoyed it however there were definitely some parts I found slightly stress inducing. I often get something I call analysis paralysis - when it comes to making decisions; I almost overwhelm myself with so many different options. When trying to find a florist I think I contacted around 20 different florists analysing the pros and cons of each for hours and then gave up when it came to actually making a decision. I find it hard to actually commit to a decision without a lot of reassurance that it's a good option and it's where our money would be well spent. As I have never planned a wedding before I found this particularly difficult especially as weddings can be so expensive and I was unsure on what prices were reasonable. This is where my other half comes in, he is wonderful at keeping things simple and is able to make decisions quickly. I was able to put 3-4 good options in front of him and get him to make a decision for us (haha)! This is another area that Anna and Sophie's expertise was invaluable. They were able to advise me on what was good value for money and also just to reassure me that what I was organising seemed a great idea and tasteful! I really trust their judgement.
Other than the difficulties in decision making, I have still loved the experience of organising a wedding. It's great to get excited about the day and think of all the great memories we can have. I've had a Pinterest board for what seems like forever and seeing it slowly come to life has been amazing. I can't wait to hopefully get to planning all the small bits as well such as wedding favours, cute signs, beautiful lighting etc.
To bring our brides floral vision to life we're working with the wonderful Cambell’s Flowers using lots of local foliage and flowers in keeping with our white, green and neutral colour scheme
How stunning are these sage green bridesmaid dresses by thth bridesmaids - a British based designer we're in love with right now!
How are you feeling about your wedding in August?
Overall I am still optimistic about the wedding going ahead in some capacity. Our original guest list consisted of 150 which I have come to terms with the fact that in all likelihood will not be the case. I am hoping that as it's an outdoor venue we could maybe be allowed 70 but we have made a list for 50 as well. I still have visions of me walking down the aisle and dancing with Al to our favourite songs; I have everything crossed. I understand that things are out of our control at the moment and we will just have to wait patiently and make decisions later in the year, probably around May/June time.
I know that because I have the help of Anna and Sophie I can leave it a little longer to make some decisions as if we hopefully get the go ahead to have the wedding in some form or another, I know they will be all hands on deck to help me and I can't tell you how much I appreciate that!
What are your top 3 most important things to retain if your day needs to change
Pizza van for Al
Some kind of band but I may save the one I've booked for a larger party next year and book a more casual band if the guest list is below 70 (I think an 8 piece band performing to 15 people could be strange).
I'll wear my dress whatever (I love it).
What are you most excited about?
Marrying the love of my life!
Spending time with family and friends
The music
The food and alcohol
How beautiful the venue will look
My dress
Have you found that you have had less input from family and friends regarding your wedding plans due to the pandemic
I kept it limited to how many people I asked for help due to knowing I can often overwhelm myself with too many options and ideas. So I mainly stuck to asking the advice of my mum, bridesmaids and Al's mum (all who I feel comfortable telling if I think something they suggest is a terrible idea). I don't think this would have changed if Covid didn't exist.
Will you still get married legally this year if you have to postpone your celebrations?
100% we will get married legally this year. Although I want to celebrate with as many family and friends as possible the most important thing to me is being married to the person I love and want to spend the rest of my life with. We can celebrate with family and friends another year. I've loved him since our first month of dating which will be 5 years ago from August so I'm just ready to marry him now. We've also booked our honeymoon for November this year and will be going on that regardless of a big celebration or not (if they allow us to fly).
“Just want to say a huge thank you to Anna and Sophie for all their help and reassurance.”
Bride’s question to us
Considering what is left to be done for the wedding - when do you think we should make a decision as to whether to move the event forward or not?
It’s a really tough question to answer definitively as this is a completely unprecedented situation and no one really knows when the country (or the world) will be in a safe enough position to go back to some kind of normality. We’re so grateful and completely behind the ‘What about Weddings?’ campaign and hope that the momentum this is gaining will at least force the government to give the industry some kind of guidance to the wedding industry in the next few weeks.
The best practical advice we can offer is to review the situation monthly and be 100% confident in the suppliers you choose to work with. For your wedding we are working with some amazing, trusted small businesses who want to ensure your big day is perfect and will not force you into making any rash decisions but work with you to find the best outcome should you choose to change your date. For instance, we have made sure that throughout negotiations with our incredible suppliers we have ensured that they have a ‘move the date’ clause in any contracts/agreements whereby they will carry any deposits over should you need to move your date at least once with no financial repercussions to enable you to make that difficult decision with a bit more piece of mind.
Our top advice would be to ensure you are keeping in regular contact with your suppliers every couple of months to check in and ensure they are aware of your current plans. Now we’re in the new year be sure to send them a quick message to update them that at the moment you’re still keeping your fingers crossed for August and to let them know when you’ll be in touch again to confirm or change your date.
In terms of timescales, in this unprecedented situation we’re working to new wedding timelines - at the moment we’re advising brides as far along as you in your planning and with our trusted supplier recommendations to make a decision around 2-3 months before your current wedding date. So for you, by the end of May/early June we will work together, looking at the current government advice and starting the journey of making a decision as to whether the wedding will go ahead as planned or to postpone until either later in the year or 2022.