Did you get engaged over Christmas? If so – congratulations!
Now that the busy festive period is over, you’ll probably be turning your thoughts to wedding planning. You might be feeling pretty overwhelmed. There’s a lot to think about, after all, bridesmaids and groomsmen, family, seating plans, the dress, the suits, the decorations, the flowers, where do you even begin?
As a beautiful wedding venue in the Lake District we have seen many couples happily wed and so are happy to share some of our top wedding planning tips for newly engaged couples.
Step One: Set a Date
This is, obviously, the most important step. It can be difficult to choose a date that works for everyone, so you need to allow plenty of time to negotiate – all the key people in your life need to be available, so it might take a bit of time to figure it out. Once you’ve officially decided, you can then start to figure out the rest of the details (and you can let your loved ones know with plenty of time to spare).
How will you choose a date? That’s up to you: is there a date that is significant for you, like your anniversary? Or your parent’s anniversary? Or the date you got engaged? (Christmas weddings are always magical.) Sometimes it’s quicker to eliminate dates you don’t want. For example, if you hate the hot weather, you might want to avoid the months between June and September.
Step Two: Find the Venue
For some couples, this is so important that it actually overrides step one – if you’ve had your heart set on a certain venue, like Broadoaks in Windermere, contacting the wedding venue to find out about available dates is a great first step. The wedding venue is a key part of your wedding planning as it will define most of your choices including things like where you actually say your vows, whether the venue will be exclusive to your wedding, and if the grounds are lovely enough for your wedding vows. Fortunately Broadoaks is a flexible wedding venue in the Lake District that can accommodate almost any number of guests, is close to a number of churches or offers the option to get married in the hotel itself and has stunning grounds for wedding photos. Once you have chosen a wedding venue, much of the other options for your day start to become clearer.
Step Three: Pick your Wedding Party
You’ve got the date, you’ve got the venue: who do you want by your side on your special day? Ask your bridesmaids and groomsmen in advance, so they can help with the wedding preparations if you need them.
Step Four: Plan the Day
Now is the time to think about the structure of your day. Think about the timing of the ceremony and the reception. Is there a long enough gap for photos? What will your guests do in the meantime? Will they be able to easily make it to the reception? What time do you want the evening guests to arrive? Grab some paper and a pen and plot out your day. This will help you to see what jobs you need to do (like book a band, order flowers, buy a cake …)
Step Five: Pick the Theme
Our last tip is to pick the theme. Get on Pinterest and Instagram to collect some ideas, but don’t go with whatever you think will be the most fashionable – pick something that really speaks to you as a couple. Once you’ve picked a theme and a colour scheme, everything else, like the clothes, the flowers, and the cake, and the favours, will fall into place.
For more advice or inspiration on getting married in the Lake District talk to the experienced wedding planning team at Broadoaks Country Hotel in Windermere and find out how they can make your day truly special.