If you’re anything like us, then as soon as we got engaged we just wanted to be married and so we set out to find a venue with an available date that summer! 8 months of planning followed and our day to say ‘I Do’ soon came round. Yes, those 8 months were a bit frantic and yes, looking back there are some things I might change with hindsight… but for us, being husband and wife was all that mattered.
If you’re hoping to get married this year, the affectionately named ‘Team E’ from Elmore Court are here to tell you it is indeed possible and they have some expert advice on how you can do just that.
Oh and if you take a fancy to this beautiful Cotswolds country estate then they have some fabulous late availability dates for this year, but you’ll need to be speedy friends!
Team E says…
Although wedding planning can feel like a gigantic task, it shouldn’t be a stressful experience, and we want you to really enjoy the planning process.
Getting married in a short time frame can actually ease stress by stopping you from getting too bogged down in the details, you can be decisive and go with your first/gut instinct (which is usually always right) and hopefully benefit from some great deals along the way too!
Go for a midweek wedding date
If you’re looking to marry within the next 18 months, chances are that weekend dates will be limited, but don’t fret, weekday weddings are massively growing in popularity, and with such great discounts on midweek dates we can see why.
Elmore Court have just released ‘Long Thursdays’ and this allows you, along with up to almost 40 of your friends and family, to make yourselves at home at Elmore the night before your wedding day, enjoy an intimate dinner in the Dining Room and wake up on the morning of the big day to a delicious breakfast before the real celebrations begin.
Set a budget (sorry!)
Not the most romantic topic, but it’s best to tackle this now. Prioritise spending on what is most important to you both. For some couples this is the venue and the food, for others it’s all about the entertainment, there’s no right and wrong; it’s your day so spend your way.
Select your wedding party
Make an initial guest list, and choose your trusted bride squad and groomsmen. These are the ones who’ll have your back, and the sooner you appoint them; the sooner they can get to work on organising your hen/stag dos and assisting with any wedmin tasks!
Choose a theme
Determine the style or theme of your wedding ensuring it’s personal to you as a couple. Decide if you want a formal, traditional feel or something more relaxed and laid back.
This is the really fun part, get inspiration from everywhere (not just Pinterest and Instagram!) but don’t get too swayed by other people’s opinions, your wedding day is a celebration of your love and what you’re all about as a couple.
Book your key suppliers
Choose wedding suppliers who have as a similar style to your inspiration boards as possible, it’s very difficult for a traditional wedding stylist to create a bohemian wedding look and vice versa.
Elmore Court work with some of the industries best; check out our suppliers section on our website for trusted recommendations. Working within a venue’s recommendations will help you find and book the right suppliers quickly!
Your wedding menu
Elmore Court have a team of talented chefs that use only the finest local ingredients, and with plans for some new menus and an even better kitchen garden, you can guarantee your guests will be wowed by the food here.
You also get invited to Elmore for a food tasting (it’s often more like a 5 course banquet) a few months before the big day… this is always a big highlight on the wedding planning journey for our couples!
Post save the dates
If you want to ensure all your guests can make it we’d suggest sending save the dates out as soon as you secure your wedding date, you can have fun with these by making something like a tea towel, a personalised postcard with a picture of you both, or magnet for the fridge.
Invites can go out a few months before the big day.
Find the dress of your dreams!
Go and try on lots and lots of dresses, even styles you never thought you’d like, so many brides tell us they didn’t like their dress on the hanger, or it was a style they’d never considered before.
Take your girls and go and have fun! Do this as soon as you can to ensure enough time for fittings.
Kit out the wedding party
If you don’t have time to shop around finding suits and dresses to suit everyone, why not give them a colour scheme and get them to choose their own? Mix and match bridesmaids and groomsmen outfits look amazing, even more so because each person is comfortable and feels really confident in their chosen outfit.
Just remember to order buttonholes and bouquets to compete the look.
Decide on a gift list
Make it available to all your wedding guests (through your invitations).
You might want to ask for contributions to your honeymoon or donations to a charity if you’d rather forgo the traditional wedding gift list.
Travel time!
If you’re short of time, and on a budget consider a mini-moon rather than a big honeymoon. You might then wish to jet away a few months later for a bigger trip – it’s always lovely to have something to look forward to in the future and really helps with the post-wedding blues.
You time
One of the most important things to factor in, and often the most overlooked, is you time. Making time for yourselves individually and as a couple away from planning your wedding is really important.
If you don’t already do daily meditation, yoga or breathing, aim to set aside 10 minutes each day to practice one of these things. Make time for candlelit baths, hair appointments, manicures, dinner dates, cinema trips or simply snuggling on the sofa with no wedding talk allowed.
Based on a weekday wedding in November. Includes accommodation.