I love getting questions from couples who are planning their wedding! Today I’ll be answering four questions from you guys and I’ve got a guest expert who will join me to answer one of them.
Today we are covering wedding dress shopping, last minute invitations, capturing the wedding from the perspective of the guests and creating a wedding sparkler moment!
If you have any questions you’d like me and our experts to answer in the next instalment of ‘Answering Your Questions’, then this is how you can send in your questions:
- Comment on any of our Instagram posts
- DM me on Instagram
- Email [email protected]
Thank you to Valda from takeNplace for joining us in this episode!
Episode breakdown
Wedding dress shopping
Aoife: Just looking for any advice or tips for wedding dress shopping?
- Do your research – understand your silhouette and what makes you look and feel beautiful.
- Give yourself lots of time – start shopping for your wedding dress at least eight months before the wedding.
- Choose your entourage wisely – whoever you bring along with you should understand your vision, be familiar with your rules (ie no comments about weight or size) and be able to tactfully provide feedback when asked.
- Don’t pay attention to sizes – bridal sizing can often be different to your actual size.
- But don’t shop too small – you don’t want to buy a dress that’s too small and then plan to lose the weight before the wedding.
- Come prepared – bring along a pair of heels, comfortable underwear and a strapless bra, and photos of dresses you like.
- Avoid: spray tan, too much makeup, and bringing too many people with you.
Last minute wedding invitations
Anon: Our wedding is 2.5 weeks away and we’ve finally gotten all RSVPs. We’ve had about 10 declines and I’m debating how rude it is to invite a couple of people last minute that I couldn’t invite sooner. Any tips on inviting last minute? I don’t have an evening guest list so I can’t just bump people up.
I’ve been a last minute invite to a wedding and I felt absolutely delighted! I had just started dating my now husband and I didn’t know the couple (his friends) when they sent out their initial save the dates and invitations, so when I got the call a few days before the wedding, I felt honoured that I was even included at all.
Here’s how to go about doing it:
- Avoid texts and emails – opt for a phone call or in person conversation instead.
- Say something like this: “I know it’s a little last minute, but we’ve had somebody say they can no longer attend our wedding and we would be delighted if you could come along!”
Tip: With 2.5 weeks to go, some people may feel like a Plan B, and only you know your guests well enough to know if this would be a delight or an offence.
Capturing your wedding
How can I capture my wedding from the perspective of my guests?
Answered by Valda from takeNplace:
You don’t want to miss a single moment of your day so a great thing to do is capture your wedding from your guests’ smartphones! The secret is to make it easy and fun – forget apps!
With takeNplace, you get a table card with a QR code on it, where you can display it for guests to scan. They can then upload photos and share their candid moments with you instantly. There is also an option to share all of these photos with everyone, by displaying them on a screen for everyone to see.
Sparkler moment
How can I create a fun sparkler moment?
- Check with your venue!
- Talk with your photographer and videographer – they need to be prepared ahead of time with the right lenses and in the right position. They might also have some advice from previous sparkler experiences.
- Enlist ‘team sparkle’ – every 25 or so guests will need a helper to give our sparklers and light them when the time comes. It could either be venue staff (just ask) or non-drinking friends.
- Plan on one sparkler per person – the more you have the more likely you are to have an accident.
- Give the cue – ask your MC or DJ to instruct guests on where to go and when.
- What to buy: long handled sparklers (70cm – 90cm) with burn time of 2-3 minutes, gas lighters (one per 25 guests), buckets of sand to put the burnt sparklers in.
Tips:
- Ask guests to leave their drinks inside.
- Hold the lit sparklers high and not across the guard of honour.
- Take off your veil.
If you have any questions you’d like me and our experts to answer in the next instalment of ‘Answering Your Questions’, then this is how you can send in your questions:
- Comment on any of our Instagram posts (@weddingsonline)
- DM me on Instagram (@weddingsonline)
- Email [email protected]
