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Toni Davey
Toni Davey is a highly experienced and organised wedding planner. Contact: www.isisevents.co.uk |
Toni Davey answers all your Wedding Planning related questions |
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I'm looking for something a bit different
Q. I want to add some original touches to my wedding and I am looking for an alternative to name place cards. I have seen something called an escort card, but I'm not completely sure what it is. Have you come across this before?
A. Toni Davey says: Escort cards originated in the US and are becoming very popular as a stylish alternative to the normal place card.
You write a guest's name on the face of the card, and the table they will be sitting at on the reverse. Alternatively, if you have a two-part escort card, the table name can be written on a second card attached to the first by a ribbon.
Cards are arranged in alphabetical order on a table at the entrance to the wedding breakfast. Once guests have picked up their cards they can pop them into their handbag or pocket to look at later, or, if the ribbon is long enough, they can loop them over their wrist.
Escort cards can be as decorative or as plain as you like and you can make them a feature to your wedding décor. They can also be displayed in original and pretty ways. A couple of my favourites are to hang them on twisted twigs which have been sprayed in the colour theme of the wedding, or to attach them to a trellis with pastel coloured pegs - very charming country-kitsch.
On a practical note, escort cards have the advantage that they can be changed up to the last minute.
PHOTO BY www.photogenicimages.com |
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Style and Romance
Q. I would like something a little different to traditional flowers for my table centrepieces, ideally something stylish and romantic. Do you have any ideas?
A. Toni Davey says: Five-arm silver candelabra make wonderful table centres when placed on a circular mirror with tea lights at the base.
You can opt for traditional cream or white tall tapered candles, or buy coloured candles to match your chosen scheme. Of course, you could also ask your florist to twine some ivy and a couple of flowers that appear in your bouquet around each candelabra, which looks very romantic.
Always check with your venue first to make sure you are allowed to use candles; some do have restrictions particularly if the building is listed.
Last year we had a wedding where the bride chose tall, slim white vases containing white ostrich feathers which went brilliantly with her '30s-themed dress.
Once again you could match either the vase or ostrich feathers to your colour scheme, or perhaps both. Beware though, ostrich feathers can be costly so look around and don't go overboard when ordering. |
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Princess for the day
Q. I'm looking for a princess-style wedding dress, but there does not seem to be much choice and the few I have found I don't like. Can you help, please?
A. Toni Davey says: Princess-style wedding dresses are very popular and have become more so since Jordan's wedding a few years ago.
Take a look at the Pronovias website at their own collection where you will find three lovely wedding gowns, Rapsodia, Rala and Rebeca. Bridal Gowns at Jodi stocks Pronovias and they have branches in Canterbury, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells. Broadway Brides in Broadstairs and Burford Bridal in Herne Bay stock Mori Lee.
Don't forget to get the best value for your money, and once you have found the design that you like spend some time shopping around for the best deal but keep in mind that some wedding gowns have long order/delivery times and you will need to allow for fittings. Good luck with your search. Dress pictured by Mori Lee |
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Venue troubles
Q. I am getting married at a church in Chislehurst and wanted to ask you for some advice on choosing a wedding venue. I have been looking at venues for months, and really want somewhere that is, at most, a 25-minute drive away from the church. I also want somewhere with a grand driveway, stunning views and hotel rooms on site. The venue also needs to suit the table arrangements I have in mind. I've visited lots of venues but I'm having problems finding somewhere which ticks all the boxes on my 'must-have' list as I'm finding a fault in all the ones I've visited: some don't have the grand driveway and stunning views, others are lacking a grand entrance, and, in some, the main room is 'lacking something'. The one I like best only has Friday weddings available in 2009, and, although we really want to get married this year, I've always wanted to get married on a Saturday. How can I find my perfect venue?
A. Toni Davey says: Firstly, don't write off a Friday for your wedding day. You can sometimes get a discounted rate and it gives you and your guests the whole weekend to recover from the celebrations. In fact, you'll probably find that your guests will like a Friday wedding as it gives them a long weekend; just make sure you give them plenty of notice so that they can book the time off work.
Also, don't cross off a venue because it doesn't have the stunning views or a grand driveway you want. I think it's more important that the grounds are pretty, and you can probably 'dress up' the entrance yourself, for example by adding cream organza and white lights to any nearby shrubs and trees. I have actually created a driveway at venues in the past by simply lining the verge with some potted bay trees dressed with some beautiful white avalanche roses.
Likewise, if you feel that the main function room is 'lacking something' it can easily be dressed up to look beautiful by day and night, including adding chair covers, which will give a softer look and are really stylish. |
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Good alternative
Q. I like the idea of guests leaving good luck messages for us, but I don?t really like guest books. What else could we use?
A. Toni Davey says: A popular alternative to a guest book is a picture mount which can be signed by all your guests and then can be used by you to frame either a picture of you or a group shot of all your guests together on your wedding day.
Another idea is the front page of a wedding album which you can use for all those pictures that friends will send you of your big day.
Another nice idea is to buy some coloured card, enough to allow one for each guest or couple at the wedding, punch a hole and string it with pretty ribbon.
Leave all the cards on the guest table beside a bowl or box with a note asking guests to leave you a message as a memory of your big day. You can then keep these as a memento. If you are having your reception outside, you can ask guests to hang them on a particular tree or if it is in a marquee, why not ask them to peg them to a piece of ribbon? |
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Simple solution
Q. We are getting married soon and we know that both sets of parents are keen to have a traditional receiving line. We have 150 guests coming to the wedding and feel that it would just take too long and seems very formal, which is not really us. Is there a good compromise?
A. Toni Davey says: Traditionally receiving lines are made up of the bride and groom, both sets of parents and the best man and matron of honour or chief bridesmaid and as you say, it can take a while to get through the line, especially when there are so many guests.
Over the last couple of years I have noticed that more and more couples are not having a receiving line at all. This may well be because over time the traditional family unit has changed and often at a wedding parents on one or both sides of the family could well have new partners.
It is always a nice gesture to make sure that you do get to say hello and thank you to all of the guests who have attended your wedding to show your appreciation. So why don?t you and your husband create a mini receiving line consisting of just you two and greet your guests as they make their way into dinner?
Your parents could then approach each table either prior to dinner or after the speeches to say hello and thank you to guests for attending. You could also take this approach instead of a receiving line if you want to as it?s far less formal but still allows you to say your thank yous to everyone. |
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