So you’re Engaged… Now what?
Planning your Wedding Starts Here.
Congratulations and welcome to Planning your Dream Wedding! You are now joining the ranks of the confused and bewildered of the newly engaged. Whilst you’re basking in the glory of that proposal, you are about to leap off the precipice of the crazy Wedding world! Welcome to planning your Wedding.
First of all, get ready for the eternal question you will hear for the next year – “How’s the wedding planning coming along?”. I can bet my bottom dollar you might want to scream when you hear that for the 400th time in a month.
But do not fear, here’s a countdown of stuff to do now you are officially engaged to get your wedding planning off to a great start.
First, choose a venue. It still blows my mind that good venues get booked up a year to 18 months in advance… that’s right people, don’t think you can walk into a beautiful rustic barn thinking you can get married on a Saturday in September this year because chances are, it’s booked up for the next two years solid. If you’re happy getting hitched on a Friday or a Sunday however, you might be in luck, but don’t count your chickens just yet. Finding the right venue for you is the first step. Whether you want a sumptuous luxury high end hotel, a country estate, or tipis in your family garden, you first have to decide how big your guest list will be. That intimate little wedding you had envisaged, might suddenly morph into a big old knees up for 150 people, so make sure you have an idea of numbers before you start hunting out suitable venues. And don’t forget to book a registrar… or, if you fancy something a bit more personal, do the paperwork a few days before and get yourself an incredible humanist celebrant in the form of Zena Birch. She will make your wedding vows fun and downright emotional. Some of my favourite rustic barn venues include Healey Barn, Wharfedale Grange, East Riddlesden Hall, the Normans, and Camp Katur. You can check them out here.
If an urban, city, warehouse wedding is more your bag, there are some awesome spots especially the Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green, the West Mill, the Barbican and Victoria Warehouse.
If luxury is more your thing, Allerton Castle, Claridges, the Savoy, or any manner of wonderful luxury wedding venues are available. From big stately homes, to country estates, iconic city centre hotels, to Scottish castles. Whatever your style of luxury wedding, there’s a venue for you.
Once you’ve chosen your venue and confirmed a date, there’s a matter of catering. There are some amazing options out there including street food, fine dining and sharing plates depending on your vibe. Some venues will insist on you using the in-house chef, some will give you the option of choosing from a list. One of my all times favourites is the boys over at Hog and Apple – they serve everything from full scale four courses to hog roasts and everything in-between and their service is second to none.
So what’s next? Why photography of course!
Choosing your photographer is going to be a tad difficult when it comes to planning your wedding. Wedding photography has changed so much in the past decade and now you have the option of fine art, natural, documentary, traditional and even film options. So the first thing to do is decide what kind of style of photography you like, narrow your choice of photographer down to two or three, talk to each of them and then book the one you love. Again, like venues, a great photographer will get booked up early so don’t hang around thinking you can book it six months before the wedding. And please please do not entrust your photography to your mate with a good camera.
All this of course is just the tip of the iceberg… there’s stationery: save the dates, invites, order of the day etc, then wedding styling and floristry (, THE DRESS, the suit, the bridesmaid outfits, ties and cufflinks, accessories, the band (we love a bit of New York Brass Band and Back Chat Brass), the DJ, a make-up artist and hair stylist, wedding transport (if classic VW’s are your thing, go check out Dylan from my good mates Liberty Campers)…. well the list is endless. You can find all my favourite suppliers right here.
But if all that is proving too much to handle, get yourself a wedding planner. Sue White at White Wedding Company is your girl – she can arrange everything whilst you sit back and wonder what all the fuss is about.
Happy Planning!
Yorkshire wedding photographer, Toast of Leeds. If you’re getting married in the future in yorkshire or you’re having a destination wedding, get in touch by visiting my photography website at www.toastofleeds.co.uk or you can find me on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. I photograph weddings across the UK and Europe in tipis, barns, country houses and iconic hotels. For more information and to check availability, contact me now.
