All the Wedding Tips shared on The Wedding Taylor Christmas Countdown! 

So… to celebrate my first Christmas as ‘The Wedding Taylor’, instead of doing #blogmas I did a Christmas Advent Calendar for you all! 

One Wedding Tip a day from the 1st December until Christmas Day…

And here’s a round-up of all the tips we covered!

• 1st December: 
  • Day 1’s Top Tip: Make sure to avoid ‘Wedding Blackout Dates’ – BEFORE you book your venue – make sure to check your calendar and location for any significant events that are happening on that day! Not just for 
    • A friend’s birthday 
    • Or a Christening you’re supposed to be attending Things like… 
    • A Charity Ball at your Venue? 
    • A Market Fayre that means a road is closed! 
    • A Local Holiday – A Concert / Show 
    • Racing / Sporting Events nearby…the list goes on!
    • Basically anything that may affect traffic, parking or local hotel availability If you’ve already booked then check now just to make sure and let your guests know in advance so they can arrive/book earlier… it’s always best to be prepared! 
• 2nd December:
  • Day 2 Top Tip : Create a separate Bridal Instagram account to share your Wedding Planning Journey – a fab online keepsake! You can make it private so your guests can’t see anything, and you don’t spam your personal account with wedding detail overload! You’ll also get to connect with loads of other Brides who will share their inspo and ups & downs with you! You’d be surprised how many Brides do this! – insta is the perfect Bridey Hangout! Don’t feel nervous about it – just go for it! It’s an amazing online community & support system! And to all the Bride Accounts: Ladies… drop your Instagram handle below so the new girls can follow your page!
• 3rd December:
  • Day 3 Top Tip: When booking any supplier, always make sure to ask about Suppliers Meals! Some suppliers state in their contract that you must provide them with food (this could just be a sandwich and a soft drink) but some state hot food (so this could be a main course or something from your evening buffet – slightly more expensive). Not all suppliers will ask for this and although it might not be a massive issue… it could quickly add up to one of those ‘hidden costs’ that you notice on your later invoices from your Venue – especially if you book a full photography team and a five piece band (for example)… so it’s always best to ask in advance so you can budget for this accordingly! I would always recommend providing food for any supplier who will be there for the duration of the whole day… whether they ask for it or not (it’s always nice to be nice!) 
• 4th December: 
  • Day 4 Top Tip:Chairs!If you’re hiring chairs for one part of your wedding day, can they be used again in another area to make the most of your money? We had chairs inc. for our reception but had to hire chairs for our ceremony space (we chose Chiavari’s)… However I hated the Venue chairs that were included… so I asked if the ones we were hiring could be moved to our reception space after the ceremony was finished… they originally said no… but I pointed out that if I’d hired them for the day then surely they were mine to use as I wished, they added on a small transport fee for moving them between spaces (which was expected) but I got my chairs… and made the most out of them in the end! (As we say in the North-East: ‘Shy Bairns Get Nowt!’) 
• 5th December: 
  • Day 5 Top Tip: Guest List Calculator! So you know how much Money you have to spend on your wedding… but you don’t know how many guests this means you can afford to invite! Use this simple calculation to help you: 

Total Budget – Fixed Costs 

———————————————

Cost-per-head estimate 

= No. of Guests you can realistically invite! 

• Your ‘Fixed Costs’ inc. anything that isn’t affected by No. of Guests (i.e. photographer, wedding dress etc.) Your ‘cost-per-head’ will inc. all items such as: food, drink, favours, invitations, chair covers etc. Happy Budgeting! Let me know if you have any questions… (Did I mention I LOVE a spreadsheet!) 

• 6th December:
  • Day 6 Top Tip: Candles! So this may sound like a really simple one and I’m sure a lot of you already have this covered… but I see SO many Wedding with plain white candles as part of their decorations… Adding coloured candles that match your colour scheme can elevate your decoration to a much more sophisticated and cohesive level and is therefore such a simple (and cheap) way of upping your Wedding game! – (especially if you’re doing your own centrepieces/decorations).
• 7th December:
  • Day 7 Top Tip: How to Pee in a Wedding Dress! A strange topic… but definitely a question I get asked a lot! Here’s how: 
    • Pick the biggest bathroom stall 
    • If you have multiple toilets available consider putting a ‘Bride Only’ sign on one of them… always ready (and clean) for when you need it! 
    • Face the back wall and ‘straddle’ the loo
    • Take a bridesmaid to hold your train! 
    • Or… if you prefer your privacy… use the ‘IKEA bag hack’.
• 8th December: 
  • Day 8 Top Tip: Social Strategy! Make sure to inform your guests of your plans for social media… Are you having a totally ‘unplugged’ day, would you like to be the ones to share your first photo as a married couple online, or are you happy for them to share your photos online to their hearts content? Either way, you need to let them know EARLY in the day – the earlier the better… you wouldn’t want your plan to fail right from the word go! The best way to do this is via an announcement by your ceremony officiant. You can also use signage, indicating your plans or displaying your ‘Wedding hashtag’ for all to see and use! 
• 9th December: 
  • Day 9 Top Tip: You should always get a USB or Online Gallery of your Wedding Photos inc. in your Package… But always ask your Photographers how long they will keep your photos ‘backed- up’ for in case you lose them/corrupt them/accidentally forget your gallery password etc.! Some might only keep them for a couple of months or up to a year (in order for you to buy prints etc. from them). But some might keep them backed up for years… which is FAB! This means that you can drop hints to your family and friends that they can always go back to your photographer at a later date if they want to buy you Prints as Anniversary Presents!
• 10th December: 
  • Day 10 Top Tip: Why not schedule your Wedding Make-Up Trial for the day of your engagement shoot? That way… not only will you look absolutely fab… but you’ll also be able to see how well your make-up photographs and how it wears/lasts throughout the day! (You could also do the same if you’re having a Bridal Shower!) Hope you’re enjoying all the tips so far! Which has been your fave? Also, make sure you’ve entered my Christmas Advent Giveaway for a little Christmas Treat! 
• 11th December: 
  • Day 11 Top Tip: I’ve already mentioned setting up and Instagram account for your Wedding… but how about setting up a wedding email address to go with it… That way you can use it for all your wedding brochure downloads and give it to your suppliers meaning all your WEDMIN i.e. correspondence, quotes, plans etc. can easily be found all in one place! You could even create it in your soon-to-be married name, so that you can continue to use it after the wedding! (Remember to get your old emails forwarded across to your new address… for more info on changing your name see my blog post!) 
• 12th December:
  • Day 12 Top Tip: Make sure to ask your Wedding Photographer if they are using a ‘Dual Slot’ Camera… this is SO important as it means that your photos are being backed up as they being taken!… can you imagine if the memory card corrupted and there was no back up copy… all your wedding photos would be instantly lost! 
• 13th December:
  • Day 13 Top Tip: This may sound a bit strange but… DON’T wear a bra on the morning of your Wedding! If you have a backless, low back, strapless or illusion dress you WILL end up with strap marks! (These might be able to be edited out of your professional photos but will show on guest photos and your wedding video!
• 14th December:
  • Day 14 Top Tip: One of the MOST commonly forgotten things when Wedding Planning is… forgetting to plan where the Groom will stay the night before!! It sounds so obvious but it happens ALL THE TIME! It’s more common when the couple have an exclusive venue booked for 2 nights, they will always put both of their names down for the Bridal Suite the night of the wedding… but also the night prior too 🤦‍♀️ Always remember to allocate a separate room for the Groom… then he can swap rooms with your MOH (who will most likely be with you the night prior) for the night of the Wedding.
• 15th December:
  • Day 15 Top Tip: If you want to keep on top of what’s ‘on-trend’ in the Wedding world for the upcoming year… Then always make sure to check out @pantone ‘s ‘Colour of the Year’ – Colour(s) that will be seen on Runaways and in magazines everywhere and therefore bound to be a massive hit with weddings! This year we have not just one but two!… 
    • ‘Ultimate Grey’ & ‘Illuminating Yellow’! 
• 16th December:
  • Day 16 Top Tip: Thinking of offering a Bar Tab for your Wedding? (but worried you don’t know how much to put behind the bar)… Use this simple calculation as a starting point: Ask your venue for their average drink price… Then estimate: 
    • 2 x Drinks per person for the Drinks Reception 
    • 1 x drink per person per hour for every hour after. 
    • (Obviously first take in account any drinks already inc. in your package e.g. a Reception Drink and Wine with the Meal.) & VOILA! You have your estimate! 
• 17th December: 
  • Day 17 Top Tip: If your venue has a strict confetti policy consider including this on the information section of your invitations (or on your wedding website). Whether it’s a NO confetti policy, or biodegradable/natural petals ONLY… it’s important to let your guests know in advance… there’s always at least one Auntie or Grandma who brings confetti in their handbag… and the last thing you want the morning after your wedding is a hefty fine to pay as your first job as a Mrs! (Usually around £150ish!)
• 18th December: 
  • Day 18 Top Tip: PLEASE DON’T FORGET… to clean your engagement ring the night prior to your Wedding! There will be SO many pictures taken of your hands and your ring throughout the day… you want it to be sparkling! Also remember to put your engagement ring on the other hand for the actual Ceremony… so your partner can put that new WEDDING RING on your finger! 
• 19th December: 
  • Day 19 Top Tip: Make sure someone (most likely a bridesmaid or your M.O.H.) knows IN ADVANCE how to ‘bustle’ your Wedding dress! Because by the time you actually come to do this on the Wedding day most of you will probably have had a few too many glasses of wine and probably won’t be able to figure it out!… so maybe have a little practice the night before, just to make sure! 
• 20th December: 
  • Day 20 Top Tip: Have you considered ‘condensing’ certain items into one?… for example: 
    • Adding names to your Favours so they can also be used as Placecards? 
    • Or having your Favours as part of your Table Plan? 
    • It means you will probably end up spending less per person overall but will end up with a more ‘high-end’ look!
• 21st December: 
  • Day 21 Top Tip: Put together a ‘Bridal Box’ filled with all the little Bridal details you would like to make sure your Photographer captures on the morning of your Wedding… things like: 
    • Your Garter
    • Perfume, 
    • Jewellery
    • maybe even your invitation suite etc. 
    • You could even pop in some ribbon (in the same colour as your scheme) to make your photos look extra pretty and bring it all together! What would you put in your Bridal Box? 

• 22nd December: 
  • Day 22 Top Tip: Remember to freeze a slice of Wedding Cake for you and your partner and eat it together on your 1st anniversary! Why not make it a tradition and contact your Cake supplier to see if you can buy Mini Samples from them in future years to come! 
• 23rd December: 
  • Day 23 Top Tip: Make sure to actually ASSIGN your Bridesmaids different tasks… so often Brides just expect their Bridesmaids to just act like Bridesmaids… but here’s the thing… they don’t do this as a profession, so they probably don’t know what they’re doing (and it’s a big job!) For example if you have 4 Bridesmaids ask: 
    • One to check your appearance (make-up/hair/straighten your dress for photos etc.) 
    • One to make sure you eat/drink throughout the day (Water as well as alcohol!) 
    • One to look after decorations (Checking candles are lit…plus making sure your guests actually sign the guest book etc.) 
    • One to watch keep an eye on ‘that Uncle that’s had a few too many!’ (Or keep any unfriendly guests apart!) 
    • This will make them a lot more confident in their roles and ensure everything is taken care of! 
• 24th December: 
  • Day 24 Top Tip: My favourite tip is to book a FREE consultation with a wedding planner! And here’s 3 Reasons why! 

1. First of all it’s FREE so you have nothing to lose! 

2. You’ll get to chat about your Wedding to your hearts content! 

3. It will give you the reassurance that you’re on the right track… and find out if you’re missing anything! 

And that’s it… Christmas Advent complete!

I hope you all found these tips helpful…. Let me know which was your Fave! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

Lots of Love, 

Mrs T x