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If your big day is just around the corner, you may be getting down to the nitty gritty of confirming all the final numbers with the caterer and venue, finishing off making favours, as well as starting the wonderful part of beautifying yourself in preparation for the big day.
Even if you’re armed with the best schedule in the world (my forte by the way!) there are always a few minor things that crop up on the day that you can’t prevent or avoid. However, you can be prepared and plan for some eventualities.
Here is Hanami Dream’s wedding day survival kit list for brides and grooms. It is not an exhaustive list but contains some items that I have found to be useful to carry (or better still get one of your trusty attendants to) on your wedding day to combat any little hiccups.
There are plenty of pre-made kits on the market that you can buy to fulfil the need for an emergency kit. However it’s lots of fun to pick and pack your own things that are personal and relevant for you and your big day. Perhaps you could prepare some for your bridal party or maybe your bridesmaids might assemble one for you.
What would you add to this list? I’d love to hear any of your suggestions (in the comments below) for items you’d have in your wedding survival kit.
“(What) an amazing wedding! I was in awe of your planning, organisation and attention to detail. In fact all of us involved (were).
It was the slickest wedding I’ve ever attended…. And been to a few! It was also one of the most easy, beautiful and happy weddings.
You’re amazing at what you do and always with such heart felt passion and caring.”
Geraldine, Oxford Frocks – July 2016
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STARTING WEDNESDAY 10TH AUGUST 2016
Great street food and amazing pop-up restaurants have been on the rise in the foodie world for a number of years, so it’s not surprising that this trend has made it’s way in to the wonderful world of weddings.
It was fantastic to see such an array of highly talented local caterers and produce at last month’s Witney Festival of Food and Drink. This wealth of local products and producers was celebrated again at Blenheim Palace Food Festival and it won’t be long until Jamie Oliver and Alex James’s Big Feastival over the August Bank Holiday in Kingham in the Cotswolds. These events make me realise that we have some amazing food grown and made nearby in the beautiful Cotswolds.
A food revolution and revival has certainly been occurring over the last few years and our tastes, experiences and cultures are broadening our options and are making food a real focus and meal times a real event. The origins of where food comes from, organic products and responsible sourcing is becoming more transparent and giving people the opportunity to buy local.
Alongside the popularity of festival and bohemian style weddings, having catering vans to prepare and serve your guests on site is fast becoming a great addition to any outside wedding. These are not your football ground style burger vans, this is top end, street food done exceptionally well. They come complete and often travel with their own kitchen (keeping additional catering equipment hire costs to a minimum). These are all encompassing and absolutely delicious options to keep your guests’ mouths watering and coming back for more.
Nowadays, there’s a catering van to suit most themes, budgets and palates from all around the globe such as: pizza, burritos, sushi, curry, hog roast, waffles, fish and chips, jacket potatoes, doughnuts and crepes. Plus food catering for a selection of different dietary requirements (look out for a blog post on this topic very close to my heart coming very soon!)
So here is my pick of some of the top wedding catering vans in and around Witney (in Oxfordshire and the surrounding Cotswolds):
ChilliDogs cater for events, festivals and weddings with their handcrafted hot dogs and real-deal nachos, fully loaded with the ultimate chilli con carne and their infamous cheese fondue.
All their food is made using premium ingredients sourced from local suppliers. Their sausages for example are handcrafted to their unique recipe by a local smokehouse, their hot dogs are made from 90% British pork, double beechwood smoked for a deep satisfying flavour, their chilli is cooked for over 8 hours for the ultimate rich flavour. ChilliDogs don’t do compromise.
Gourmet nachos and hot dogs are great for weddings as they are great social food and cater for all tastes – from chilli cheese dogs for those with big appetites to simple classic dogs for those who like to keep it simple!
Goujon Monkey are an Oxfordshire based gourmet street food caterer offering traditional favourites with a modern twist.
They pride themselves on serving the finest quality street food available, using only the freshest ingredients. All of their food is cooked from scratch and served from a lovingly restored vintage Citroen H van.
With menus to suit different tastes including their hand prepared Beer Battered Cod, Goujon Monkey offer a unique addition to your big day.
When they’re not serving delicious food at weddings and other private events, you can find them at various festivals and street food gatherings in and around Oxford.
Set up 6 years ago by Momo, based in Oxford. She sells freshly cooked, hot Japanese food from her street food van. She moved to Oxford from a small place in Mie prefecture, Japan twenty years ago. Growing up in a Buddhist temple she helped her mother and grandmother prepare food for guests and learnt how to cook and present traditional Japanese food. She wanted people to know more about Japanese food, not just sushi! So she started selling ‘maki sushi’ which is home-made, rolled sushi along with other things like Japanese fried chicken, edamame beans, miso soup and traditional rolled omelettes at a local farmers’ markets.
Now more than hot food they trade from a street food van in Woodstock Road in Oxford (outside the old Infirmary, opposite the Royal Oak pub) with an expanded menu.
They are very proud that they offer true Japanese food. They can also cater for events and parties either at a venue or a private home. Their catering style is flexible so can be customised to suit your event.
Little Retro Kitchen is a brand new build catering trailer, inspired by American Airstream and has just reached it’s second birthday. They are based in Worcestershire, but can travel and cater for any occasion. They pride themselves on using local produce, and have the highest hygiene standard of Hygiene 5 rating.
Amongst other things, they serve Worcestershire Gourmet Burgers topped with local cheeses, wild rocket & onions. Cheese choices are Worcester Gold (creamy tangy cheddar), Chilli Cheese or Worcester Sauce & Shallot Cheese. Plus sides of fries and rainbow coleslaw. They also offer a Wedding Cheese Cake supplied with biscuit selection, chutneys & grapes, as well as wedding breakfasts with dry cured bacon baps.
Little Retro Kitchen is a great visual at any event, with their colour change lighting and illuminated roof sign, that looks great when it’s dark too.
@Little Retro Kitchen Party Catering & Events
Lucabuca was formed from a love of a good party & especially good food. Having been in the events industry for over 15 years it seemed natural to create something that could add an attractive & delicious dimension to weddings, festivals, pop-ups & parties. The love of fresh ingredients, authentic Italian food and taking pleasure from helping people to celebrate the special times in their lives enabled Lucabuca to be born. Add in bright red, sparkly lights telling everyone what we do, an authentic vintage pop up with our wood fired pizza oven, custom made gazebo, foliage, ladders & stools and you’ve got the perfect beautiful Italian detailed furnishings to add to any party!
The Souvlaki Brothers is owned and managed by two Greek brothers, Panny and Yiannis, who set the business up with one simple goal – to provide the most delicious Greek street food possible!
They believe in keeping things simple – make one product REALLY well. They specialise in souvlaki; a choice of chargrilled marinated pork, succulent lemon chicken or grilled halloumi wrapped in traditional fluffy pita bread with homemade tzatziki, fresh tomato and onion salad, a scattering of crunchy french fries, and a secret combination of herbs and seasonings.
This fresh, extremely tasty street-food has somewhat gone under the radar in this country up until now, and The Souvlaki Brothers are leading a charge to change that, with what they believe is the most authentic version of their favourite food (and maybe even some Greek dancing along the way…)
Quick to serve, portable and with minimal packaging, their souvlaki are perfect at events, festivals and weddings, providing a new and exciting food option for hungry crowds and a slice of Mediterranean sunshine!
And not forgetting this selection of other delicious helpings:
My tummy is rumbling just thinking about all this food! We are lucky to be surrounded by such great local products and producers of sumptuous meals to accompany our special occasions. #keepitlocal
Bon appetite!
So far in the series, I’ve introduced the three key aspects of planning a wedding that pretty much affect every other thing that is connected with your big day. These are who, where and how much (otherwise known as your guests, venue and budget). This group of three things are very much intertwined. Plus when you hold your wedding is connected too! As previously covered (in the who post), nearly all the decisions you have to make about your wedding will come back to one, two or all of the elements in what I class as ‘the holy trinity of wedding planning’.
This month I’m going to tackle the where element and your all-important choice of venue (and will look at the last element in the trinity of how much another time).
Finding the right venue that is available at the right time, for the right price, for the right number of guests will be one of the first (and trickiest) parts of planning your wedding. But once you’ve decided on this element everything else will seem like a doddle! Before venue hunting, have a rough idea of your budget and how many guests you want to share the day with you. (I told you that the where, who and how much elements would come in to play.) And have an idea of when you want it to take place too. See my top tips below to give you an idea of some other factors to help you decide the place where you’ll say ‘I do’.
Nowadays, the world is pretty much your oyster in terms of options available. If you’ve seen ‘Don’t Tell the Bride’, you’ll realise that you can get married in all types of places!
1.Where in the world
Maybe you don’t fancy risking the British weather and want to get married outside of the UK, to jet off or elope. Destination weddings are certainly an attractive proposition and usually mean that all the details get handled for you by the hotel where you are staying. Plus you get your honeymoon and wedding all rolled in to one.
However, it’s worth considering that going abroad could limit who can come to the wedding (here’s the trinity coming in to play again) as not everyone will be able to afford to attend or elderly relatives may not be well enough to travel. Plus, just remember that whoever does come will be with you for your honeymoon too! Guests would have to factor in more time to attend the wedding, so the time of year that you have your wedding may also affect whether they could come.
Before booking your tickets, you should also check the legalities of your chosen country as it may be more hassle than it’s worth to be legally wed in that country (translating of documents, time and effort etc) so you may chose to do the legal bit at home before or after the glamourous beach part. (Don’t forget to make sure your passport matches the name you are travelling under – it might be best to travel under your maiden name unless there is time to get your passport changed before you travel. (See my checklist of other documents and organisations to tell about your change of name.)
2.Pinpoint the location
Once you’ve decided on whether you’re getting married home or abroad, then you need to narrow down the location and think about:
All these factors will impact on travel costs and timings. Guests will need to consider whether they need to factor in overnight accommodation as well. Plus if your wedding is not near where you live you may not be able to visit the venue many times before the big day or meet with suppliers face to face to view products in advance.
Think about how far away the ceremony venue is from the reception venue in terms of distance but also timings. Depending on what time of day you’re getting married it may conflict with rush hour or school runs that could affect traffic and people travelling between locations.
Wherever you get married, if you are having a Church of England wedding ceremony, your Banns (an announcement of your intention to marry) need to be read in the parish where each of you lives as well as the church where you will be getting married (if this is somewhere different). So if you plan to attend the reading of your Banns, it might be harder if you have to travel far.
3.Formalities
What kind of day do you want? Perhaps you’ve already got your Pinterest boards at the ready (goodness knows how we ever planned anything before Pinterest!) If not, how do you envisage your wedding day? The style of wedding that you want will influence the venue you choose so think about whether you want something that is:
4.Legally speaking
You could have a religious or civil ceremony, or perhaps have a blessing in an amazing off-the-beaten track location and do the legal bit at another time. According to the Citizens Advice Bureau in the UK, at the moment you can legally get married in the following places:
In addition, owners of premises that are regularly open to the public (ie stately homes, hotels and civic buildings) can apply to hold civil marriages. Generally these places need to be in a permanent built structure and not an open air venue. So it’s worth checking with your dream venue to check if you could get legally married there.
5.Location, location, location
Whether you’re having a one-stop venue, or having the legal part somewhere else, you’ll want to have somewhere you can relax, eat and have fun with your guests after the ceremony. There are lots of different types of venues to chose from for your wedding reception including:
How far in advance you’re planning might open up more possibilities and how much you have to spend will offer different options. Plus the number of guests will complete the trinity of factors that will influence where you pick.
See my list of Top 20 venues in and around Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds for some local venue inspiration.
6.Size does matter
With your trusty (and let’s be honest probably controversial and stress inducing) guest list at the ready, you’ll be able to determine what size of venue you need. Other things to think about with your guests include:
The size of the venue will influence how many guests you can invite but you could increase the numbers by having an evening section that doesn’t require everyone to be sat down to eat.
7.Icing on the cake
So what’s really important to you? What are the things you won’t compromise on – those things that your wedding venue must have to make your wedding perfect?
What facilities or factors are on your non-negotiable list?
8.The fine detail
They’re probably not deal breakers, but there may be a few minor points that could sway your decision or would give a different day depending on the decisions by individual venues about their policies on:
Picking your venue may be time consuming but the effort will be worth it as the venue is probably the most expensive element of the day, so you want it to be right. Once you’ve sorted the venue (and set the date) then you can start planning all the other finer details. With the who, where and how much at the fore front of your mind, everything else can fall in to place.
More about the money side of things soon in the last element of the holy trinity of wedding planning: how much.
In Victorian times, it was popular for people to use hidden gestures to communicate their feelings and often they would covey these with flowers as they connected them each with it’s own meaning. It was an elaborate code for lovers or suitors to send messages to each other.
Another custom is to spell out the name of your future spouse using the initial letters of the flowers. Even Kate Middleton had Sweet William flowers in her wedding bouquet to Prince William.
Nowadays, you could use the meaning of flowers to help narrow down your selection for your wedding flowers. (Don’t forget to also consider what is in season, traditions and the colours of flowers too).
Here’s a list of some meanings of flowers to help with your wedding flower decision:
This is by know means an exhaustive list but just a starting guide to begin thinking about what meanings are associated with flowers for your big day. Take a look at some other blog posts on colours, seasonality and tradition of flowers at weddings.
As I’ve mentioned in a few recent posts, picking your wedding flowers can be daunting with so much choice. But you can narrow down your selection by looking at what is in season on your big day and you may be swayed by what the colour and meaning of the flowers are said to signify too.
Here’s a quick run down of some colours and what they symbolise:
WHITE
RED
ORANGE
YELLOW
GREEN
BLUE
PINK
PURPLE
Take a look at some other blog posts on seasonality, traditions and meaning of flowers at weddings.
When I was planning my own wedding, I had a vision that the church would be bursting to the rafters with copious amounts of flowers flowing from every flat surface. I wanted to go on one of our romantic country walks near where we lived and collect up armful after armful of beautiful cow parsley and adorn the church with swathes of the lovely white flowers. I wanted the feeling of a country day to be in abundance as the first impression for my guests. However, I had overlooked one very crucial fact (one which Dee McMeeking makes in her guest post this month). I got married in August and by the height of the summer there wouldn’t be any cow parsley gracing the lanes of the British countryside anymore. I had to rethink my plan and pick flowers that were in season at the time of my wedding. (Don’t worry my amazing florist made such great suggestions on flowers that the place looked amazing anyway!)
To help you start to choose your flowers, here’s a very brief guide to some of the most popular flowers and shrubs used at weddings and when they’re mainly in season in the UK (and therefore more readily available and at a more reasonable price):
SPRING
SUMMER
AUTUMN
WINTER
This is by know means an exhaustive list but just a starting guide to begin thinking about what is available for your big day. Take a look at some other blog posts on colours, traditions and meaning of flowers at weddings.
The tradition of wedding flowers is steeped in symbolism and there’s lots to think about in terms of colours, meaning and seasonality.
Flowers have been a part of wedding traditions since at least Greek times when flowers would have been grouped together in a garland to be worn on the head and seen as a gift of nature. It would also contains strong smelling herbs such as garlic or chives to ward off evil spirits. In the Middle Ages, garlands were worn entwined with ears of wheat to symbolise fertility. And with the rarity of baths, the bouquets were a nice fragrant distraction from any other lingering smells!
Nowadays, wedding flowers can compliment and reflect the theme, style, colours, tone and surroundings of the day. You can include flowers in your bouquet, corsages, button holes, table decorations, flower walls, displays at venues or as confetti or petals sprinkled by the flower girls.
Flowers are a big focus in 2016 not only in the décor but with hair accessories and headwear. Plus a new trend of ring corsages is emerging and the use of wild flowers like daisies. It doesn’t all have to be about the flowers, as foliage will be as important or instead of flowers in displays. Alternatives to traditional flowers are seeing the use of succulents in bouquets, on tables and given away as favours. Plus instead of the usual confetti, there is now a herb toss as another option which gives such lovely aromas to this part of the day.
Then once you’ve finished with your bouquet (if you’ve not thrown it to your single friends), there’s also a lovely new trend emerging of the ‘lonely bouquet’ where you leave your bouquet in a public place, with a note for someone else to find – thus spreading smiles and the joy of flowers to others. (Google it, I’ve not made it up!)
We have asked the highly talented (and award winning) Dee McMeeking to help unravel some of the mysteries of picking the right flowers, at the right time of the year, for your special day.
Photo credits: peony bouquet by Dee McMeeking, Photograph thanks to Nick O’Keeffe Photography
It’s one of those questions a bride to be will always be asked – “what flowers are you having?” and I know for some of you that can be a scary question! If you are blessed to know your hypericum berries from your viburnum then you will not need to read any further. But if your floral knowledge is more daffodils and dandelions then here is my quick guide to things you need to know about seasonal wedding flowers.
1) Flowers are seasonal
In theory that means that you can’t have certain flowers at certain times of the year. Think of it like Cadbury’s crème eggs or Easter Eggs – you don’t find them easily in shops in August or December! Flowers are the same. So if you have set your heart on a bouquet of peonies and you are getting married in the UK in November you may struggle. I say ‘may’ because the majority of cut flowers we use here in the UK are imported and most flowers are in season and being grown somewhere in the world, but that will make them more expensive.
Top tip: There are a couple of great apps that can help you out here – Flowerwheel, or Flowerbook. Both allow you to see when flowers are in season and more importantly photos and colours! So if your answer to the “what flowers” question is pink and white flowers, you can take this a step further and get some ideas with super search functions by colour.
2) Flower prices vary during the year
Flowers are one of those products where the prices will vary, sometimes quite significantly, at different times of the year. It’s as much about supply and demand as it is about seasonality. There is one big hot spot in the year that I have to mention – Valentine’s Day! The price of red and pink roses can treble if not quadruple just for that week. But other flowers can be cheaper than normal – such as orchids – purely because everyone is buying red roses.
When something is in season, it is naturally growing at its peak, the price is lower. So if you work with seasonal flowers you can get more for your money.
3) Using local flowers can save you money
More and more brides are opting for an informal look with their wedding flowers. The country garden “just picked” look where your flowers look more natural and less structured. If this is your style then you can do your own wedding flowers – certainly for your wedding reception, you might want a bit of help for bouquets and button holes. There are UK based growers who will sell you seasonal flowers “by the bucket” you just pre-order them, collect them, and then display them in your own personal style. Buying direct from the grower will save you some money and you will have very fresh flowers, often picked that day. To find your local suppliers check out this site http://www.flowersfromthefarm.co.uk/
Photo credit: ©iStock/jesshorsenaround
4) The colours of flowers change with the seasons
I mention this purely from an experience I had with a bride who was fixed on her colour scheme of navy and gold and her flowers HAD to match to these colours. Now even at the peak of any floral growing season you are not going to get gold flowers and navy is also a tricky one too! Especially if you are in February in the UK! So if you are getting married in Spring or Winter remember that you may have to compromise with your flower choices. My solution was to go neutral with the flowers – ivory, white and creams and then add her gold and navy in through adding details such as ribbons and containers. Sometimes you may just need to be a little creative with your colour scheme.
Photo credit: ©iStock/EvgenyBaranov
5) Where do I start with selecting my flowers?
Here is how I would approach finding out what is in season for my wedding flowers. First of all start with your wedding date and figure out which season you are getting married in. Search for “wedding flowers in season UK” now the UK bit is important because if you stumble on an American wedding blog in your search results what’s in season there may not be accurate for you! You will be surprised how many great guides there are already out there on blogs (just like this blog- check out these posts on seasonality, colours, and meaning of wedding flowers). Then I would pick out a few of these flowers that I liked and pop straight over to Pinterest and create a wedding flowers board. Search for “wedding flowers with xyz flowers” and see what emerges. When you have some visuals and you know roughly what is available at that time of the year you have enough research to either take to a florist or to source the flowers yourself!
Happy planning!
Dee McMeeking is the designer (wedding planner, wedding stylist & floral designer) behind Dee McMeeking Wedding Styling, a wedding styling & floral design business based in Warwickshire, UK & Dublin, Ireland. If you’re a creative with lots of great wedding ideas but need some help to bring your unique style to life on your wedding day, then contact Dee today at weddings@deemcmeeking.com. Dee works with clients from anywhere in the world and is waiting to hear more about your wedding styling ideas.
