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Destination wedding couple kissing on beach

Top Tips for a Destination Wedding

June 9, 2010November 2, 2016 The Wedding Community Leave a comment

Michelle from Pierre Carr shares her top tips for a destination wedding…

A large majority of couples are now paying for their own weddings. Also, more couple are choosing to get married somewhere exotic with close friends and family looking on. The destination wedding has become increasingly popular.

According to Mintel, one in six, that’s 16% of British weddings, now takes place abroad. That equates to an estimated 51,300 overseas weddings, a massive 43% increase since 2003.

By mixing great weather with high standards of service, UK couples now realise that an overseas wedding can be the way to go. However, whilst many brides dream of a wedding abroad there are many reasons why many back out.

To help dispel these reasons here’s a list of tips on how to make destination weddings possible.

1. Cost

The average wedding in the UK costs £20,000. Your money can go a lot further abroad, depending on the exchange rate.

Look for Offers

Hotels have lots of offers. If you stay in the hotel for x number of nights you can get your wedding free. Or if your guests stay for at least three nights you can get your accommodation free. So check the possibilities at your chosen venue.

The Ties That Bind

June 3, 2010November 21, 2016 The Wedding Community Leave a comment

Ties. Actually, let’s narrow things down a bit: wedding ties. Actually, I’m in a digressive mood so let’s start not with ties but with handfasting. Did you know that in different cultures (notably European and pagan cultures) they represented the idea of marriage not just with tiny Shepherds Pie canapés and expensive dresses, but by tying the hands of the bride and groom together? Cool, huh?

Often each of the guests secured a cord around the couples’ joined hands. This symbolised not just their togetherness, but the guests’ complicity in joining them together.

I think that’s lovely. Just think, if you’re angry about how much you’ve had to pay for your hotel you could tie your cord really tight, constrict the blood flow in their hands and laugh as their hands dropped off. That’ll teach them to not block book the local Travelodge.

Wedding ties and specifically how to tie them is one of the things that as a groom you probably won’t think about until the morning of the wedding. At which point knowing how to tie a cravat, or execute the perfect Four In Hand will make you the coolest Mother Hubbard in the room.

The Great Speech Writing Guide – The Best Man

June 1, 2010November 2, 2016 The Wedding Community Leave a comment

About a month ago I a good friend of mine asked me to be his Best Man. Of course, I felt honoured he asked. But one of my first thoughts was “I’m going to have to write a speech. AAARRRGGGHHH!”

I have never been best man for anyone before, but I did of course give a speech at my own wedding. The groom’s wedding speech though, I believe, is relatively simple in comparison.

The groom is generally just expected to say a few thank yous, how much he loves his wife, how fantastic the bridesmaids look and what an amazing day it has been. But everyone expects the best man’s speech to be a witty and funny insight into the groom’s past. It should not only produce lots of laughs, but it should also not offend anyone. The best man’s speech should contain a fair amount of sincerity as well.

Don’t get me wrong, I was nervous about my groom’s speech. I am not a great public speaker and I would have preferred it if tradition had missed the bit where the groom says his piece. But I was in front of my friends and family, and was just saying what had come from my heart.

When the time came I was actually ok about it. I think the adrenaline of the day helped a lot and I just went with it. I did what was ‘expected’ of me and then sat down to watch my best man do a fantastic job of entertaining our guests with tales of my past misdemeanours.

Bride putting wedding ring on groom's finger

What Material Should You Use for Your Wedding Ring?

May 26, 2010November 21, 2016 The Wedding Community Leave a comment

There was an almighty kerfuffle recently over choosing which precious metal to select for your wedding ring. From the reaction it seems that blokes are almighty metal snobs and have thought long and hard about what to put on their fingers.

Perhaps the point is that as the only piece of jewellery many of us wear it’s something we put a lot of time and thought into. Either that or we’ve all seen Lord of the Rings wayyyy too many times.

So to bring you up to speed I thought it might be nice to look at some of the less-well known ring materials.

Wood

Yes, really. A wooden wedding ring is an option for the green-minded groom. Either on its own or combined with other precious metals (such as gold or platinum), it’s possible to craft polished wood into a striking wedding band.

The downsides are it’s far more vulnerable to damage and destruction than a metal ring, it has no intrinsic value and is more difficult to keep clean.

What’s the damage (based on a standard 4mm N sized band)? For a white gold ring with an oak inlay – £481.55

Wedding guests conga - A Wedstock Wedding in Hertfordshire

How Do You Enjoy Your Wedding Day?

May 19, 2010November 21, 2016 The Wedding Community Leave a comment

What a stupid title – it’s obvious how you enjoy your wedding day! After all, if you can’t enjoy your wedding day, you’re in a pretty bad shape for the rest of the days, aren’t you?

Well, yes. In theory. In theory on your wedding day you get to see all your friends and family. You get to dance badly, look great, and eat food and drink that you’ve selected to reflect your tastes. Best of all you get to stand in front of all those important people and declare how much you love your other half. What’s not to enjoy?

In fact, there are various reasons that the reality of the day doesn’t match up to the theory and you end up feeling short-changed.

Perhaps foremost among the day ruiners are wedding nerves. This could be a fear that something will go wrong, or you’ll forget something. In this case it’s the expectation of perfection that causes the problems.

The simplest solution to this is to get comfortable with the fact that your Perfect Day won’t be perfect. Someone will get too drunk, someone’s confetti will fall out of the box in a clump, and someone will be blinking on one of the photos.

But that’s all ok. Perfect is unattainable. What you’re going to have is a So-Good-It-Was-Practically-Perfect Day.

1. Cost

Look for Offers

Wood

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