Important steps to planning the perfect wedding with Alison

Here at The Abbey Hotel, we pride ourselves on delivering the very best experience for the Bride and Groom together with their guests to ensure their day is the one they have dreamed of.  Alison, our Weddings and Events Manager has been planning weddings for over 15 years and is on hand to help with the finer details of the big day, together with the Abbey’s Event Team they ensure the wedding couple’s stress levels are kept to a minimum at all times!

Ceremony;

Your first steps should be deciding on what sort of ceremony you would like – would you like a Church Wedding or Civil Ceremony?   This will have an impact on the venue that you choose and your timings for the day.  A Church wedding usually dictates getting married a little earlier as the service can last longer than a civil ceremony and you need to allow your guests time to get from the Church to your chosen venue.  If you are having an evening reception, I would suggest your day flowing nicely into the evening without a huge gap in the middle or feeling too rushed.  It is the day you have spent months/years planning and you want to be able to enjoy every moment of it without even thinking of the time!

Venue;

Once you have decided on your ceremony your next step should be booking your venue.  If you are planning on having a civil ceremony you will need to know if the venue has a wedding license.  Do you see yourselves having an intimate reception or lavish celebrations?  How many people are you looking to invite to the day and evening?  This may rule out certain venues.  If a venue offers wedding packages ask if you can adapt the package to suit your taste / budget or ask if you can create your own bespoke package.  It can be hard viewing a venue when it is not set up for a wedding, imagining what it will look like on your day and the potential of the room is not always easy.  Ask for photos or arrange a time to view when the rooms are likely to be set up or find out if they are having any upcoming Wedding Fayres.

Season;

Have you thought about your preferred month to get marry in?  Some venues charge a premium for July/August weddings.  Do you want your guests to be spending more time outside in the evening enjoying the evening sun or do you want the evenings to have drawn in a little so that guests are encouraged to stay inside and party?

Budget;

Have a realistic idea of how much you can spend.  If family members have offered to contribute, now is the time to press them for details of how much they have in the pot!  I always advise not to skimp on food and drink for the guests.  Well fed and watered guests are usually happy guests (and the first to dance to ‘Come on Eileen’), their contribution to the atmosphere of your day will pay huge dividends.  If you need to reign in your spending there are other areas you can do this in.  For example venue dress, for the larger items rather than buying your decorations there are lots of venue dress companies that hire out the items you may be looking for at a fraction of what it would cost you to buy – plus this saves you having to store them in your spare room for the next few years!

Detail:

Don’t get lost in the detail!  If you get hung up on small details you are only going to stress yourself out.  Relax and enjoy your day.

We believe choosing your venue is the most exciting part in the wedding planning process, and one that should be enjoyed instead of stressed over. If you are planning a wedding and looking for the perfect venue in Worcestershire, visit us at The Abbey to explore our beautiful wedding suites and gardens, learn about our wedding packages, and meet our dedicated wedding team. Along with Little Wren Company we are hosting a Wedding Show on Sunday 3rd February 2019! Perfect for Brides and Grooms-to-be looking for inspiration for their big day. It’s completely free to join and there will be a range of activities to get you inspired such as handpicked local wedding suppliers, a show around of The Abbey Hotel to allow you to see our event suites dressed for a wedding, bridal catwalk and over 20 exhibitors. For more information, call us on 01684 879193 or email [email protected].