Question 1

I'm feeling stressed and overwhelmed by the planning process. What are your top tips for planning a stress-free wedding?

Accepted Answer

It is essential to take regular breaks away from the wedding planning; for example, book a spa day with your besties or go for a long walk – whatever helps you both relax. Setting up a separate wedding email helps as it allows you to 'turn off' the wedmin when required and also separates it from day-to-day life reducing potential overwhelm. Do not feel you must do everything yourself – delegate tasks to your loved ones or wedding planner. Create a high-level timeline of what needs doing and when to create a structure for your planning. Spread key tasks before your wedding and remember, you don't need to do everything immediately. Most of all, wedding planning should be fun! Celebrate your engagement, spend a weekend shopping for wedding outfits, and get your besties around for DIY activities.

Question 2

We've just started wedding planning; what advice can you share?

Accepted Answer

You might have had a Pinterest board in production for the past five years, or you don't know where to begin. A great place to start is to sit down and list what you both adore, such as your favourite date night spots, hobbies, colours, food dishes and places you've visited. Forget wedding logistics for now, and let your creative minds wander! Write down all the people you want to share your special day with to give you an idea of numbers; this will help plan the costs, invites and capacities. Don't get too caught up in family politics at this stage – a rough idea will do for now! Start with a guide expense for each element of your wedding. All these costs should add up to the total wedding budget you have to spend. These will likely change up or down, but you'll know where to indulge more or cut costs. Your budget should ultimately be a live document showing your total, current expenditures while reminding you which suppliers must be paid what and when. Working back from your wedding date (or ideal month if you haven't decided yet), make a rough timeline of decisions and actions that must be made before then. Depending on how long your planning process is, you realise that you have time to make the right decisions for you both – don't feel pressured into rushing things. However, your timeline will also help set deadlines to ensure you stay on track so your lead-up to the wedding is stress-free. Setting these documents up as separate tabs on one shareable document like GoogleDocs allows you to access everything on multiple devices while ensuring you're both working from the latest version as it automatically updates. You could also include and allocate a list of needed actions to help equally share the workload.

Question 3

We're having a boho-style wedding; how can we incorporate this theme throughout our day?

Accepted Answer

Boho-themed weddings have an effortless, whimsical and romantic feel about them. Nothing screams bohemian more than a floaty dress full of lace with stunning long sleeves and a low back. A tipi can create the perfect set-up for your bohemian style while bringing in many earthy tones within the flowers, like bunny tails and pampas grass. These colours work well with many tones like pale peaches, greens and even autumnal colours. Adding vintage Turkish rugs, peacock chairs, vintagelooking sofas and throws can set off that free-spirited vibe when decorating your venue. Dream catchers and macramé also ooze that bohemian vibe and will work well within the tipi set-up. You could even use macramé for table runners. The choices are endless when choosing this theme; even a woodland would work perfectly and has a whimsical feel.

Question 4

Our wedding day is approaching, and I want everything to be perfect on the day. What advice can you share when it comes to creating a stress-free day?

Accepted Answer

The days leading up to your wedding should be an exciting and stressfree time – it's all in the planning. At The Dower House Hotel, we share our event orders with couples to ensure we're all on the same page regarding the big day. That way, our clients can relax knowing all the details are being taken care of. I usually attend weddings, meaning couples have a familiar face on-hand throughout the day. Creating a calming atmosphere for fun morning preparations is key, something we can offer thanks to our beautiful Wedding Dressing Room. Assign your wedding party with tasks that need sorting, like final touches or essential information to remember. They're there to support you during the entire wedding and not just the vows, so put them to work. You both need to be calm and stress-free on the day, so ensure your entire day is focused on celebrating your commitment to each other!

Question 5

We're planning to have an outdoor celebration, but I'm not sure where to start. Do you have any ideas?

Accepted Answer

It's important to establish where you want to get married when planning an outdoor wedding, whether that's on a farm, field, beach or other location. Consider the time of year that the wedding's taking place as seasonal weather might influence your day – getting married on a beach in January might prove a challenge. Once you've settled on a location, set yourself a budget for the wedding and research local venues that can host an outdoor wedding on their private land or allow you to use their facilities in conjunction with your preferred destination. The team will know the terrain plus climate and should provide some great advice, which can be particularly useful for an outdoor reception or a winter wedding as you'll want to protect your guests from inclement weather.

FAQs and expert advice about wedding planning