Top 10 Wedding Planning Tips | Tying the Knot in the New Forest
Are you newly engaged and ready to start booking your big day?
If so, you might just be looking for some wedding planning tips!
That’s where we can help. We’ve put together a list of our top 10 tips, to take the stress out of knowing where to start and set you on the right path towards marital bliss.
Can I DIY My Wedding?
Every wedding is unique, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a little help putting yours together to relieve some of the planning stress. One of our first wedding planning tips is to decide whether to go for a prepared package deal or commit to the Do-It-Yourself approach.
A package deal doesn’t have to be rigid, either - here at Balmer Lawn, we appreciate that every couple has different requirements and ideas for their special day, which is why we see our packages as a framework for you to customise to your personal preferences.
Build your nuptials around your own style, creating a bespoke celebration that truly represents you and your loved one!
Should You Hire a Wedding Planner?
Why not consider leaving the organisation of your big day to a professional? A wedding planner can provide all the support that you and your partner need to curate and secure every aspect of your celebrations.
With the pressure to get everything just right taken out of your hands, turning to a planner to coordinate your wedding leaves you to focus on creating unforgettable memories with your guests, so that everyone - including you! - enjoys a relaxing atmosphere on the happiest day of your life.
At Balmer Lawn, our dedicated Wedding Executive is on hand to work closely with our couples and support them throughout their planning journey.
What Is a Multi-Day Wedding?
A wedding is a precious opportunity for family and friends to commemorate the love between two people whom they deeply care for.
In the UK, wedding festivities are traditionally encompassed within a 24 hour period, but that need not always be the case. A multi-day wedding allows you to spend more time with your cherished guests, be it a casual and laid-back affair or a highly scheduled itinerary with planned activities or excursions.
Indeed, for couples who come from different cultural backgrounds, a multi-day wedding can be the norm. Each day of the festivities does not necessarily need to include the entire wedding party, however. Instead, some activities may be reserved only for the couple, the bridal party, and/or close relatives.
Wedding Planning Tips for Different Party Sizes
You’ll want to decide on your guest numbers early on in the planning process, as this will be important information to share with potential venues when you start to look around. This will help to narrow down the suites, room layouts and/or outdoor areas you are shown, avoiding overwhelm from the very beginning.
For instance, we welcome bookings for celebrations of various sizes. From quiet and intimate ceremonies for just you and your loved one (with two witnesses provided), to sprawling multi-day festivities for up to 140 guests, at Balmer Lawn we cater for everyone.
Where To Hold Your Wedding Ceremony
If you don’t have your heart set on getting married at your local church or other place of religious significance, the first question to ask yourself is whether you would prefer an indoor or outdoor ceremony. This will help to narrow down the right types of venues to consider.
Here at Balmer Lawn, we are able to host both your marriage ceremony and a subsequent reception thanks to our Civil Ceremonies and Civil Partnerships licences. With two classic indoor suites or a tranquil pavilion in the forest to select from, our hotel is always an idyllic choice for couples seeking a romantic and memorable experience on their special day.
Choosing A Wedding Venue
One of our wedding planning tips to keep in mind is to look around as many different venues as possible before settling on where you’d like to hold your reception. It’s often the case that the venues you least expect will be the ones to truly blow you away!
When choosing a venue it’s worth considering what else is included in the package offered, beyond the standard reception room and Wedding Breakfast. For example, we include a complimentary one night stay in our Luxury Honeymoon Suite for the newlyweds.
It’s also possible to have our hotel full of just your friends and family for your big day, with exclusive use of all 54 bedrooms, the restaurant, lounge area, leisure facilities, gardens and our two banqueting suites to seamlessly extend your celebrations.
Wedding Planning Tips by Season
Imagine standing at the altar and taking a glance out of a nearby window - what do you see?
Perhaps you look out upon a carpet of crisp orange leaves, or elegant gardens dusted with frost. If that’s the case, your nuptials are going to be taking place in the autumn or winter months, both colder and cosier seasons. Although the shorter daylight hours mean a smaller window of time within which to take your bridal party photographs, there are other payoffs, such as the typically cheaper venue hire leading to more funds for your honeymoon!
If instead, you see bright flowers nodding in a gentle breeze, with golden sunlight falling upon their petals late into the evening, this is likely indicative of a spring or summer setting. With warmer days and warmer nights, these are often busier times for venues and your costs will rise as a result. One benefit of marrying during one of these two seasons, however, is the abundance of fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers available for your menu and bouquets.
What Food is Served For A Wedding Breakfast?
Your special day is your chance to indulge in the menu of your dreams! It’s therefore essential to carefully consider the kind of food that you’d like to enjoy with your guests for the Wedding Breakfast.
Here at Balmer Lawn, we pride ourselves on our range of options to suit every culinary taste and dietary requirement.
For those wanting to honour tradition we provide an elegant 3-course menu, which varies throughout the year depending on the fresh produce available during that season. If outdoor festivities are more your style, our BBQ and Hog Roast offerings are a modern American twist on the classic Wedding Breakfast!
Create A Wedding Playlist
Have you ever been to a wedding without music? No, neither have we.
That’s why our list of wedding planning tips wouldn’t have been complete without mentioning the need for that all-important soundtrack to your memory-making.
From the newlyweds’ first dance to getting your groove on with family and friends at the reception, there are plenty of options for you and your partner to choose between. You can hire a DJ or a live band, or simply share a curated playlist of all your favourite songs through a speaker or surround sound system.
Add Personal Touches To Your Wedding
Last but very much not least, our list of wedding planning tips culminates with one of the most important: remembering to add your own personal touch to your special day.
Whether that be giant garden games to entertain your guests, having your wedding rings delivered by a friendly barn owl, or involving your beloved four-legged friends in your ceremony, there’s a way for everyone to put their own stamp on their wedding that says: “This is us”.
You are welcome to join us throughout the year for one of our renowned wedding showcases, a day of unrivalled opulence designed to inspire your big day.
Our wedding team will be available to share their best wedding planning tips, whilst anyone booking with us on the day of the showcase will receive a complimentary B&B stay as our special gift to you!
For a peek into what you can expect from us, take a look at our recent January Wedding Showcase.
And, if you like what you see, make sure to save the date for one of our next Wedding Showcases:
Sunday 3rd March
Sunday 19th May
Sunday 14th July
Sunday 22nd September
Sunday 17th November
