As wedding planners, our role is to take the stress away from the bride and groom allowing them to enjoy the planning experience. 

Slowing down the pace

Our first mission is to let the bride and groom take a step back and enjoy being engaged. We do all the ground work, researching, chasing and negotiating behind the scenes while always leaving the final decision to our clients keeping them in complete control of their wedding day.

Controlling the budget

Although hiring a wedding planner has a cost, the overall spend need not end up costing clients more. We have applied our expertise to selecting the best suppliers for every budget, and have cemented excellent relationships with them. This way clients are guaranteed excellent service at the most competitive prices. 

Offering creative ideas and expertise:

At Orchid we are wedding designers as well as wedding planners. We pride ourselves on bringing our clients’ visions to life or finding one with them if they don’t already have one. We will suggest a “design” to create an overall look and feel for the wedding in keeping with the bride and groom’s requirements outlined in the briefing form.  With an orchid planner at hand, clients are promised a stylish and creative wedding, as well as original ideas and lots of attention to detail.

Being the neutral 3^rd Party

We act as the neutral third party between family members. Throughout the process the families will want to get involved and sometimes they may disagree with an aspect or another. Our role is to listen, understand the points of view and act as the mediator to suggest alternatives and put our expertise forward to ensure the best decision is made.

The lead up and the day of the wedding

Planning a wedding for the first time means our brides and grooms don’t always realise how many details need to be addressed in the weeks leading up to the wedding. Likewise, on the day of the wedding, the couple’s place is to be among their guests enjoying the celebration and being the centre of attention. They definitely shouldn’t have to think of letting the band know when it is time to start the first dance or liaise with the venue to start serving dinner. Having a wedding planner on board means everyone, including the family can be around the bride and groom and have the central stage they deserve throughout the day. We will manage and co-ordinate suppliers throughout the day, making sure the event is running seamlessly and to time. The bride and groom are left to enjoy their magical day without having to worry about anything.

Tip 1: Fix your budget and stick to it!
As the day comes closer your emotions will take over and you will start wondering how you could make your wedding even more special and unique…that is when you will start calling suppliers and upgrading your packages when really you cannot afford to. So stick to your budget and create your own unique wedding within that budget.

Tip 2: Your wedding venue can save you a lot of money!
Consider getting married on a week-day or “off-peak” season, it will be much easier to negotiate prices and some venues actually offer much cheaper packages for non-Saturday weddings.
Hotels are great venues to control costs. They usually have a lot of services available in-house and they are used to catering for large groups. Most of them will offer a honeymoon suite as part of their package and discounted bedroom rates for out of town guests.
If you can get ready, have your ceremony, reception and honeymoon suite all in the same venue think of how much you will save on transport!

Tip 3: Control your guest list
A common sense money saving tip is to reduce your guest list. The more guests, the more mouths to feed and to entertain and the more money you will need to spend.
If you cannot afford to invite everyone to the wedding reception don’t feel uncomfortable inviting after-dinner guests. They will be delighted to be included!

Tip 4: Choosing your suppliers
When it comes to choosing your wedding menu make sure you choose dishes that are in season as they will be cheaper. Do you really need a dessert course and a wedding cake? Pick a different flavour for each tear of your cake and double it as your dessert. Add a few platters of fresh fruit for your guests to pick at while they dance!
Choose a photographer who will provide all of your pictures on a high resolution disk. That way you can print, re-print and create your own albums at no extra cost. As most of your guests will probably have digital cameras, include a link to an online picture uploading website on the place name or menu and invite your guests to share their pictures with you!
Look for discounts and ask for discounts. The worst that can happen is the supplier will say no, but in reality most of them do expect you to negotiate a little on the price. It is fair play!
Don’t buy “wedding things”: purchase your bridal shoes in summer when the shelves are full of lovely white and light colored shoes. Don’t go to a bridal shop for your bridesmaids dresses; high street stores will be full of elegant dresses at prom season and just after New Year. And you might even get them on sale!
Use the internet to your advantage. Researching, comparing and asking for samples online might seem time consuming but it is worth it and you can do it all in the comfort of your own home! And remember you are not searching for “wedding things” which will be more expensive than the same item not listed as a “wedding” item.

Tip 5: Homemade is cool!
Get your family and friends involved and make a party out of preparing some DIY decorations for your wedding. Browse the internet for some fabulous ideas and hit your local arts and crafts store to get all the supplies you need. You can design your own invitations or purchase simple invitations from your printer and personalize them with diamante, ribbons or anything else you might like. Remember though the simpler the invitation the less it will weight and you will save on postage costs. Have a look at our wedding gallery to get ideas on decorations you can do at home!
 

At Orchid Events it is crucial for us that you keep complete control of your wedding budget. That is why we have created a bespoke tool called our online planner which allows you to control your budger and guest list online wherever you are and whenever you need to!

Choosing your wedding venue is probably one of the most crucial steps in planning your big day. If you have decided to be original and different then go for it!

There are many hidden gems and original wedding venues available in London and all over England. Here are just a few examples:

- For a wedding with English style in a unique and exclusive venue, it is worth contacting English Heritage or the National Trust of Scotland. Whether it be a famous historical building or a hidden treasure, many places you wouldn’t imagine can host weddings.
Have a look at Kate and Jonathan's wedding that we planned in a beautiful English Heritage Mansion in London

- You could also have a river wedding, either on a cruise boat or on a landmark ship such as the HMS Belfast or the RS Hispaniola, both in London. Another way of giving “motion” to your big day is to have your ceremony and wedding party on The Royal Scotsman, one of the world’s most luxurious trains.

- Some airports also offer unsuspected  wedding settings.

- Most museums and art galleries are also wedding venues. Why not have your wedding in a museum exhibiting your favorite artist’s master chiefs? We have planned event at The Victoria and Albert Museum. It is such a landmark venue and a beautiful setting it always wows guests.

- If you are football fans, consider approaching your favorite football club to exchange vows on your team’s field.

The best way of finding an original wedding venue is to keep your eyes open and contact places you wouldn’t normally think of. They might not be licensed for your wedding ceremony but they might well be able to offer you a spectacular wedding reception venue! This is what Heather and Jean Marc did when they chose Pinewood studios for their glamorous holywood inspired big day.

 The issue of children at weddings is always delicate and it takes a lot of thinking. While it is perfectly understandable that you don’t have roaring babies in your dream it is important to find a diplomatic way of explaining this as some parents might not understand why you don’t want their toddlers around! If you do choose to not have children at the wedding then as well as writing “Adult reception” on the invitation it is a good idea to call your guests with children to explain your decision. However, if the children are very young it is difficult to ask a parent to part from their new born to come and attend your wedding. I would suggest allocating an area at your venue where those parents with young children can have some privacy to take care of them. You could also hire the services of a trained nanny so that parents can enjoy the evening while their children are being cared for. Again discuss this with the parents over the phone prior to your wedding. A wealth of companies offer the services of nannies as well as children entertainers. By having both on hand at your wedding children can be taken care of whatever their age or needs. We suggest speakign to our sister company Music By Arrangement (www.musicbyarrangement.com) who can suggest excellent children entertainers that will keep all the little ones happy and entertained. A wedding can be a very boring event for a child and making sure they are entertained is probably the best way of avoiding impatient and grumpy children spoiling your big day.