Question 1

We're after a showstopping wedding; how can we make our money be seen?

Accepted Answer

Our motto isn’t to cut but to utilise. The weddings we plan aren’t cheap, but we have many nifty ways of making sure nothing is wasted and your guests have a fun day that looks beautiful. There are many places to find cheap deals and wedding-based bargains; Facebook groups are dedicated to it. But be careful not to fall into a shiny trap. A prime example is supermarket booze. While they often have great deals on wine, ordering from a wine merchant can be far more beneficial. Firstly, most offer sale and return policies, meaning you can return a certain amount if unused. Secondly, they’ll often tackle your chilling and delivery.While we’re on the subject of drinks, cocktails will get you a long way to happy, full dancefloors. You don’t have to go wild; one per person is acceptable. Pre-selecting two or three options your venue or caterer can easily and quickly make is a good option. If you have an Instagram account, you’re undoubtedly being fed millions of pictures of flower-filled weddings. Whilst stunning, arches alone can often be upwards of £2,500. Instead, consider something made from floor-based arrangements called meadows. These are unbelievably versatile and can become arrangements for the ends of your tables or the front of your top table, which can then be moved again onto your bar or in front of the band for the evening reception. As for your tables, ditch favours unless you have a super personal idea you know your guests will love. Seeds, jam jars and matches are always left, along with the menus and place cards you might have spent hundreds, if not thousands, on. But when it comes to things you shouldn’t scrimp on, the tiny, personalised details are at the top of my list. Cocktail napkins with a sketch of your dog, photos of you both in frames behind the bar or personalised poems for each guest are great options. These details make people laugh while connecting to you and your lives, which they’re all there to celebrate.

Question 2

I'm getting really overwhelmed with wedding planning, what advice can you share to help me manage my negative thoughts?

Accepted Answer

Wedding-related therapy has become a popular trend in the USA and has arrived in the UK. So, what is wedding-related therapy, and how can it be helpful? Wedding Therapies connects you with a BACP-registered counsellor/ psychotherapist who has undergone additional training in wedding-related issues. This service addresses issues you might encounter in your everyday life but magnifies in the lead-up to the big day. It offers a short-term programme of six sessions, designed to build confidence and soothe anxiety. It can provide counselling for individual therapy and couples communication skills based on your big day. Providing confidential support and strategies for your wedding fears can offer helpful resources to navigate the day. It can also assist you in reframing difficult conversations with loved ones, allowing you to be heard and reduce conflict. What led me here was that 15 months ago, I got married. As a psychotherapist and family practitioner, I have undergone a lot of therapy myself, and a fundamental part of my job involved reflective thinking. When planning my own wedding, I sought wedding-related therapy and realised it was unavailable. I needed to discuss the impact of family dynamics, body image, fears around being the centre of attention and the challenge of having difficult conversations about expectations. Not to mention dealing with disappointments, the common: 'someone cancelling the day before the wedding because their goldfish is sick'. It felt like all the issues I had faced throughout my life were converging on one day. I learned the importance of staying emotionally and physically connected to my partner, establishing boundaries, having an amazing support team I called 'my A-team' and focusing on what mattered to mute the negative thoughts. Wedding Therapies is not just for brides, my husband also went to therapy to help understand his public speaking fears. At Wedding Therapies, we're not reinventing the wheel, we're using different tools and resources from various theories to tackle challenges on your big day – therapy is like a gym for the mind. No one questions the importance of going to the gym to keep your body healthy, so why not keep your mind healthy during what is commonly known as one of the most significant periods of your life?

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