The first Whirlwind Wedding booking we ever took left only 19 days from the date of the booking to the wedding itself. On the day, both the Bride and Groom and the venue's Wedding Coordinator said the day could not have been more perfect if they had spent two years planning it.
Not everyone has or wants the luxury of time to spend planning their wedding but that doesn't mean you need to compromise on any aspect of your special day. Here's our guide to planning your perfect wedding day in just a few weeks:
1. Book the Wedding venue
This is arguably the most important part of planning a wedding and most of the UK's top venues are booked up several years in advance. However, even those venues will have occasional postponements. If you haven't already done so, have a look through our venues and see what great dates we have on offer.
2. Book the ceremony and inform local Registrars
Once you have booked a wedding venue you will need to book the ceremony. If you are having a civil ceremony, contact the venue's local Registrars to arrange a time for them to come out and perform the ceremony on your day. If you would prefer a church wedding then you will need to arrange this with your church. The only real time constraints on a Whirlwind Wedding is that you must give your own local Registrars 15 days notice of your intention to marry in order to obtain the necessary marriage license. Book the ceremony time and inform the Registrars as soon as you can.
3. Send out your invitations and order place cards
Invitations to wedding guests are usually sent out 6-8 weeks before the wedding so for many Whirlwind Weddings you will still be able to send your invitations out within the usual timescale. Even if you have less time and are booking a midweek date, you should look at it in perspective- three or four weeks may not seem like much time to plan a wedding but it is certainly plenty of time for your guests to organize a welcomed day off work!
All Whirlwind venues produce their own wedding stationary which can be printed and ready to send out in just a few days.
4. Compile gift register
Many couples now place their wedding lists with stores that cater for online shopping to make it easy for your guests to shop for your wedding presents. Popular shops for wedding lists include John Lewis www.johnlewis.co.uk , Debenhams www.debenhams.co.uk , Argos www.argos.co.uk and Next www.nextweddings.co.uk. It is often a good idea to include details of your gift register with your invitations.
5. Your Wedding and Bridesmaid's dresses and accessories
Once only available in specialist bridal shops, it is increasingly possible to buy good quality and stylish wedding clothing and accessories from department stores and high street retailers. House of Fraser www.houseoffraser.co.uk, Harrods www.harrods.com , BHS www.bhs.co.uk , Debenhams www.debenhams.co.uk and Monsoon www.monsoon.co.uk all have fantastic selections of Brides, Bridesmaids and Mother of the Brides outfits that can be bought and altered in just a few weeks.
Also the Bridal shop- Berketex Brides www.berketexxx.com has recently launched their 'ready to wear' selection in their London, Glasgow and Sheffield stores.
Don't forget to hire the men's suits too- good places to look for these include Moss Bros www.mossbros.com and Austin Reed www.austinreed.co.uk.
6. Book flowers, photographers, cake, car hire, hair dressers and make up artists
These are all important but booking them need not be stressful. Your Whirlwind Wedding venue will be able to provide you with full list of their favorite suppliers- those who have been tried and tested at your venue and come highly recommended. So if you don't already know someone to provide your flowers or wedding day photography- don't panic, there is plenty of time to book these.
Decorative chair covers are more and more popular and colour coordinated ties and table sashes can ensure your venue matches your colour scheme perfectly. Speak to your venue for details of in house chair cover services.
7. Buy wedding rings
Don't forget these! Places like Ernest Jones, www.ernestjones.co.uk and www.weddingringsuk.com will be able to provide you with some ideas.
8. Book accommodation for the night of your wedding
All Whirlwind Wedding venues can provide overnight accommodation for the Bride and Groom and guests as well as lists of nearby accommodation and the names of reputable taxi firms to get people there!
9. Meet with venue to plan catering and timings for your day
Every Whirlwind venue has designated Wedding Coordinators who will meet with you before your day to help plan menus, timings and running of events on your special day. They will also be present on the wedding day to ensure your day goes exactly as planned. If you only have a few weeks to go before your big day, it will give you added peace of mind to hold this meeting as soon as possible.
10. Book your honeymoon
Get in touch with tour operators to help organize your honeymoon. Companies such as Kuoni www.kuoni.co.uk, Sandals www.sandals.com
and Late Deals www.latedeals.com are great for honeymoons and you may even get a great deal there for booking at late notice!
11. Hen and stag parties
Give your Bridesmaid and Best man their jobs of organizing your Hen and Stag do's- one less job for the Bride and Groom. They can pick up some great ideas and accessories at www.hen-den.co.uk
12. Get in the mood with wedding web sites and magazines
Wedding web sites are great for picking up last minute tips or just online chatting with like-minded Bride and Grooms. Look at www.foreverafter.co.uk for dresses, invitations, gifts and information www.weddings.co.uk for competitions, real-life stories and advice,
www.confetti.co.uk for expert advice and services directories, www.weddingplanner.co.uk for tips and advice on planning and suppliers and www.net-weddings.co.uk and www.theweddingindex.co.uk for advice and suppliers for all aspects of your special day. There are also some great wedding magazines available such as Wedding Ideas www.weddingideasmagazine.co.uk which has great fashion and beauty advice and practical tips for your special day.
13. Enjoy your day!
It will be a busy but enjoyable six weeks running up to your wedding day and hundreds of couples have already proved that it is possible to organize your dream wedding day in this time and make it a fabulous memory to cherish for the rest of your lives.
Best wishes,
Whirlwind Weddings
