For those of you planning your big day, you might have already realized that there are some things that take much more of your time and energy than you originally thought might.
I'm not talking about your dress or suit or your guest list, these are the things that you knew would take time, the things you already had mental space reserved for. The things I'm talking about are the relatively little details that surprisingly, and sometimes annoyingly, take a lot more time to decide and agree on.
Take name places for example. So you've spent hours and hours expertly placing people on the right tables, you've got Post It note colour-coded table plan wheels (incidentally a great way to sort your table plan) all over your house. You've finally done it. But how exactly are you going to present their names in a way that stays true to your wedding style yet still different and unique?
If you're looking to reinvent the wheel with this one, it's probably a good thing. You only have to spend five minutes searching on Pinterest's many wedding boards to see some amazing designs. A simple folded piece of card with a name written in calligraphy inside simply is not enough anymore.
Just a few brilliant ideas I've spotted: Scrabble letters spelling out names and mounted on the little letter holders, tiny T-shirts on tiny clothes hangers with names printed on the front which hang from a glass, a packet of printed Love Hearts or maybe an LED display embedded into a box with the guests names scrolling across them?
Of course there are more cost effective ways of telling people where they are seated: you could always get an antique mirror and have the list of tables written onto it, along with the guests allocated to each table, then let the guests decide who they sit next to. This mixes it up a bit.
Have you thought about your confetti? A trivial thing to worry about I know, considering the bigger picture, but believe me, there are loads of options. Not to mention the picture moment the right colour or sparkle can create!
And, what's more, some venues have different confetti policies. 'What's he on about?' you might be asking. But when we booked our wedding venue, they told us we were only allowed flower petals due to the clearing up time. Rice gets everywhere, and glitter is just too much. We could have paid more for a cleaning team if we really wanted something else though.
Find your local Hobby Craft or similar arts and craft shop; there'll be some good options there. You can get fake flower petals, which are obviously a cheaper option than real, but then there are loads of colour choices.
I've seen hand-stitched pom-poms in varying sizes used as confetti too, which strangely worked really well, and easy to clean up, and even huge bowls of sweets placed either side of the isle for guests to grab and throw. Fun, but maybe a little painful?
You can always go all out and buy glitter canons (not as scary as they sound) and have them go off at just the right moment. Speak to your photographer and they'd probably say this is their favoutite option. I can just see the photo now: both of you hand-in-hand, big smiles, running through a multi-coloured glitter waterfall. Gorgeous.
The last thing I'm going to talk about is your wedding ring. It's obviously something to spend more time on than confetti and place names, but people do underestimate the time it takes to actually decide on one.
Your engagement ring is usually picked out for you by your better half, but a wedding ring is something you both decide on. It should really compliment your engagement ring; to have something completely different might upstage the most important diamond on your finger.
But which metal to choose? And do you want more diamonds? How big do you want them? And what cut/setting? Or do you just want plain bands? Do you want the inside engraved with something special? What's your budget?
See, so many questions!
Remember this is the ring that will sit next to your engagement forever, so you want to get it right. A plain band in the same metal is a great timeless option, or you could have one made that actually fits around your engagement ring stone - almost like a puzzle. It looks gorgeous and works really well (especially with square and round cut stones).
There are some amazing wedding ring options out there, and again, Pinterest is a great source or inspiration. A lot of companies offer bespoke services too, so can match your engagement ring style perfectly.
Hopefully there's some helpful hints here, and remember to always allocate appropriate time for every single part of the wedding, even the smaller details!