A CELEBRITY wedding planner advises newly engaged couples on what not to do straight after their engagement – and to take some time to themselves.
Celebrity wedding planner Tara Fay has planned weddings for a host of stars including Laura Whitmore, Rosanna Davison, Kathryn Thomas and Andrea Corr to name but a few.
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With love in the air this Valentines Day, it’s easy for newly engaged couples to get swept away.
Over the past two years, many couples have been stuck on a roller-coaster trying to plan their big day.
The expert wedding planner, known for RTE’s My Big Day: Home or Away, reveals the worst thing a newly engaged couple can do is panic.
She said: “The first mistake that they make, once they get engaged, is they book a venue.”
“I will always say to my couples, stop the lights.
“Sit back, let’s talk about your wedding. What is it that you want?
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“What are the most important elements of the wedding for you? What are the non-negotiables?”
Wrapped up in the excitement of an engagement, many couples jump into planning mode and try securing a date immediately.
With her 24 years of wedding planning, Tara feels many couples feel pressured by friends and relatives to give them a date as soon as they are engaged, so they can plan their holidays and trips around it.
Tara explains that some couples should possibly tell relatives and friends that they are not talking about the wedding until a certain date, so they can reflect and discuss options.
Following the number of postponements over the past two years, 2022 will be a busy year for weddings, making it tempting for couples to jump ahead.
WEDDING DECISIONS
Planning a wedding post pandemic is certainly testing but Tara encourages clients to stop and reflect on what they really want.
The expert planner chuckled: “They adopt me and I never really leave their lives.
“I still keep in touch with people from 20 years ago.”
Once clients have clarified what they want, Tara makes a budget with them and estimates a cost per head taking into account dinner, drinks, stationery, favours – not just the cost of the meal.
The expert has seen hundreds of wedding disasters but some turn into happy memories.
She said: “There’s always things that happen at weddings that aren’t planned.
“Sometimes they’re happy coincidences, and they actually turn out to be the thing that everybody talks about in a good way afterward, sometimes not so much.
“Weddings are like a runaway train once it starts you can’t get off.”
The event planner recommends that most couples have a website where they can update guests instantly on restrictions, mask-wearing, covid policies and the exact wedding plans on the day.
Every year certain trends seem to pop up, whether it’s people dancing down the aisle or the bridesmaids choreographing a dance.
Tara advised: “We’re still going to see a lot of smaller weddings, where people aren’t going to have to apologise for having a smaller wedding.
“I think it’s now something that is accepted and people should do what works for themselves.”
The expert said: “I’m not a huge believer in trends because I think that it’s somebody’s own wedding and they should make it work for them not necessarily work for fashion.”
CHURCH WEDDINGS ‘COVETED’
The Dublin woman advised church weddings are still popular and maybe “coveted” over the next few years as brides scramble to get priests for the ceremony.
She said: “I think there’s always going to be a place for church weddings. I think the challenge over the next number of years is going to be the availability of church weddings.”
The wedding planner advises it is never too early to think about speeches.
Tara provides her clients with a speechwriter and the best speeches are five to seven minutes long.
She advises: “Speak as if you are speaking to your closest family member and your speech should be like a conversation.
“An unprepared speech takes approximately three weeks to prepare.”
BRUCE & TARA
Listed as one of the top wedding planners in the world by Harpers Bazaar, the wedding planner has planned over a thousand weddings but now takes on ten weddings a year.
However, she has teamed up with Bruce Russell to offer customised wedding packages that won’t blow the budget.
Tara said: “We believe producing your wedding is an honour and thus we handle it with the utmost care. Collaborating is key.”
Overall, Tara feels couples want to go all out for weddings over the next two years, in comparison to previous years.
She said: “There will be a riot of colour. People just want to just celebrate.
“I think florals will be big, they want to do the mad colours.”
FESTIVAL VIBES
More and more couples want the two or three days, with some aiming for festival vibes on day two.
She added: “They want to do installations, they want to do interactives, they want experiences.”
Tara revealed that wedding planners sometimes become counsellors as well.
She advised: “I think as a couple, be conscious of the energy that you’re giving out into the world.
“And for guests not to judge so quickly.”
She added: “Be kind because you don’t know what somebody else is going through.”
The expert also warns there are not just bridezillas but there are groomzillas as well.
The celebrity planner also teams up with Bruce Russell to help couples with their special day with packages starting at €49.95 and together have designed a host of high-profile celebrations around the world.
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