I’ve talked about many British wedding photographers on this blog but never any British wedding planners. So when Lousie of Bow Occasions got in touch asking if I’d like to share an article on why to hire a wedding planner it was a definite ‘yes please’ from me! Louise has several years experience in marketing and the events industry but it was by planning her own wedding (set for April 2012) that led her to set up Bow Occasions: a wedding and event planning company based in Kent.
Louise covers London & the South East but is happy to travel further afield to plan your all important day. For those brides concerned about the cost of hiring a wedding planner let me pass you over to Louise to assure you, all will be affordable…
Why hire a wedding planner?
Planning a wedding is technically a full time job in itself. Nowadays, the average wedding takes an average of 250 hours to organise. Before you know it, weekends, evenings and lunch hours become taken up with planning your wedding. Hiring a wedding planner will allow you to enjoy the planning process. Your wedding planner will keep you informed every step of the way ensuring that you are still in full control. Whilst wedding planners are used regularly in the US, they are unfortunately still seen as a luxury in the UK. The preconception being that wedding planners are only hired by those with big budgets – not true! Most of the time, wedding planners will actually save you money. As we work with suppliers on a regular basis we can negotiate discounts based on repeat business, whereas for a bride and groom, you only get married once. As well as helping with the organisation of a wedding, wedding planners are there to take away the stress that planning a wedding can cause. We will be there to support you every step of the way. What about if you want to plan your own wedding? What else can we offer? Bow Occasions offers a wide range of services including The Final Weeks, Wedding Day Management and also Venue and Supplier Sourcing. Wedding Day Management is a very popular service as it allows you to relax and enjoy your day knowing that a professional is there to take care of everything from suppliers not arriving on time to guests getting the wrong meal.
Perfect planning
The fact the wedding planner will save you money will balance out actually paying for the planner’s help. I think for those of us that are busy (which, let’s face it, is most of us!) a planner could be an ideal way to get the wedding of your dreams without the months leading up to the wedding being ruined by stress.
And to make hiring a wedding planner even more affordable Louise is even offering 10% off all bookings made between now and 31st December for weddings in 2011 and 2012!
A wedding planner’s wedding
As Louise’s wedding planning business started with a proposal I thought it would be nice for her to share her own wedding planning story with us…
My obsession with weddings began one gorgeous summer’s day in Turin, Italy when my darling other half, Dean, proposed. It was a given that we wouldn’t be getting married anytime soon as we wanted to buy our own place first and needed to save. We mentioned the year 2012 a few times in passing and soon came to set a month and year of April 2012. I honestly didn’t and still don’t know how I am going to wait that long.
We started looking at venues pretty much straight away and it wasn’t long before we fell in love with Winters Barns in Canterbury, Kent. Winters Barns is a gorgeous barn set in wonderful grounds and soon inspired our English Country Garden wedding. The L-shaped barns, with the ceremony room at one end and the reception room at the other means we can enjoy our wedding at the venue whatever the weather. The date is set for the 27th.
The style of wedding we are trying to create is a laid back, country feel. I can see guests mingling on the lawn (weather permitting) and playing garden games such as croquet and giant jenga.
We don’t really have a colour scheme as such but want to use bright colours so there will be purples, blues, pinks, greens… a bit of everything really. We plan on keeping the decor for our wedding simple, yet pretty and elegant, with ribbons tied around napkins and tea lights on tables. Flowers will play a big part in the decoration for the day whilst the use of scented flowers and herbs will add a light fragrance to the atmosphere.
For the wedding breakfast we plan to serve up afternoon tea complete with crust-free sandwiches, pastries, scones with jam and, of course, tea. A hog roast will then prepare everyone for the evening celebrations.
If I had to choose five words to sum up our plans for the wedding they would be pretty, casual, colourful, English and romantic.
If you want an idea of how this beautiful wedding will look then let me share Louise’s inspiration board with you…
Awesome inspiration board courtesy of the Bow Occasions blog
I love this inspiration board! I’ve been a fan of that Mori Lee dress for so long and the Maisie Fantasie cake looks amazing. I can not wait to see the photos of Louise’s country wedding!
A dream wedding
And Louise’s idea of a dream wedding to plan isn’t far from my dream wedding!
It would be a relaxed laid back festival wedding. My fiancé and I are regular Glastonbury Festival goers and although this isn’t a theme we have chosen for our own wedding, I think it would be a lot of fun. This would be great for a couple who has access to land. I would hire a PapaKåta tent and local bands could be hired to provide entertainment throughout the day. The food would be locally sourced as would the beer & wine. A great end to the day would involve guests pitching up tents on the land and ending the wedding in true festival style.
With PapaKåta tents, live music and the guests camping included in my own dream wedding I’ll be keeping Bow Occasions in mind!
Thanks to Louise for sharing her advice and wedding plans. I wish her all the best for Bow Occasions.
Debs
Vendor Details:
Bow Occasions website
Bow Occasions blog
Contact Louise
Phone: 07854 096772
Tags: planner
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