FROM the perfect colour palette to the filling of the cake, there are close to a hundred different things to consider when planning a wedding.
With so many important details to keep in mind, your big day will also end up as one of the most stressful periods of your life – and sometimes, despite the best efforts, the decorations can look far from elegant and or fun, leaving a tangy aftertaste of tacky.
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In order to make sure you don’t look back at your wedding photos with sheer horror, Kristina Kempton, a professional wedding planner from London, agreed to offer a navigating hand, revealing the biggest Nos to avoid.
Kristina has been in the industry for close to a decade and in the time has heard her fair share of requests from husbands-and-wives-to-be.
But whilst for the most part, she will be happy to make their vision come true, there are a couple of decorations and wedding elements she will outright refuse to do.
LARGE BOWS TIED TO A CHAIR
”The bigger, the better” seems to be the motto in almost every aspect of life – but, according to Kristina, you might want to resist that urge when picking the decorations for the big day.
”There used to be a thing where there’d be a very corporate style chair covered in some horrible nylon, gross fabric and then tied in some really hideous bows.
”To be honest, if a client came up to us saying that’s what they wanted, I wouldn’t book them anyway, because they clearly don’t have style in mind.”
The expert also reminds that the costs of having a chair covered with a chair sachet might be between £2 to £4 each.
”You can buy decent chairs for that amount – why would you have that horrible option when you can get a very simple white chair or white and gold chair, whatever you want to have?”
For Kristina, the chairs are ”almost insignificant” to what the couples has in the hall with the rest of the design – there are other, more important, details to splurge on.
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These, she explained, are the things guests will touch and see: ”The tables, the napkins, whether they’re monogrammed, whether they’re personalised, velvet bows around the napkins or a fresh flower tucked in, the cutlery, the crockery, the tableware…
”Guess will notice everything and they will pay attention to your linens and cutlery.
”Men or people who are less detail-orientated might not notice but I can tell you they will definitely notice if it’s some chunky old wine glass, that’s the first thing they will see.”
CLOWNS & ENTERTAINMENT
After having to postpone weddings for years due to the global pandemic, it’s only understandable the groom and bride want to go all out.
Desperate to go down in history as the best wedding their friends and family have attended, the newlywed couple will often resort to entertainment.
But while arranging various activities to keep the guests occupied throughout the long event is a worthwhile idea, Kristina believes there is a fine line between funny and cringey.
”I think if you wanted to have something and it was entertainment for guests, I would never have a clown for a start, that’s awful.
”People like to be entertained, but it needs to be done in stylish way – rather than people thinking why is there a clown dancing around the room.
”A clown or a magician – they are meant for a child’s birthday and not for anything else.”
More appropriate, in the expert’s eyes, are optical illusionists: ”People like that kind of stuff, it keeps them guessing.”
BUFFETS AND CHOCOLATE FOUNTAINS
Food and drinks – probably everyone’s favourite part of the big day, apart from the ceremony at the altar, of course.
With dozens of dietary requirements to takes notes of, as well as culinary preferences, it’s easy to be overwhelmed and resort to the seemingly easiest option – the buffet.
However, according to the wedding planner, ”the days of buffet are gone […] – and thank Covid for that”.
”Pudding stations and soup are chic […] but the old buffet where you help yourself with the food that’s left for hours…it’s had its day.”
Kristina also shares a similar dislike to chocolate fountains – once a couples’ favourite, these too, she believes, have to go.
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A SINGLES’ TABLE
On your big ”Yes, I do” day, you want everyone to feel love in the air, including divorced uncles and that one friend who’s vowed to never speak to another man in her life.
However, as much as you’d hope to make your wedding day a special date for another couple-to-be, Kristina insists on avoiding the temptation to create a designated singles’ table.
It’s not speed-dating. It’s a wedding.”
Kristina Kempton
This, she explains, is because weddings, with hundreds of random people, can oftentimes be overwhelming for many and people like to sit next to a face they’re familiar with.
A singles’ table, besides its best intentions, will only create unnecessary stress and tension between those sat around it.
”Would I do it? No. There’s no way.
”It’s not speed-dating. It’s a wedding,” adds Kristina.
”You need to do your table planning to make sure everyone feels comfortable – whether that’s different age groups or different friends from university or family friends.”
ASKING FOR MONEY
With an average total cost of around £31,000, your big day can also be your most expensive day.
As the living costs rising and there’s economic uncertainty looming around the corner, no one is keen to dig into their savings account to sponsor the wedding.
But as tough as the times are, that doesn’t mean the couple should resort to asking their guests to pay for attending the big day, Kristina believes.
”I think it’s absolutely disgusting and outrageous.”
Instead, she insists, go through the guest list and ask yourself if you really can’t imagine your wedding without that one person, a distant acquaintance from decades ago.
Chances are, she explains, that out of 150 people there will be roughly 50 you don’t speak to on a day-to-day basis.
With entertainment and food, the costs per head can easily go into hundreds, if not thousands.
”Why would you waste that money on people you’ve never met or one who don’t really being anything to you life?
”It’s a big cost to have a stranger there basically.”
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