Here are a few tips to help plan your wedding day. Remember that putting a wedding together means hiring independent separate companies who all work at one single event – your wedding day. Experience and task clarification is essential when planning your wedding. Here are some basic guidelines:

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

Be sure to have your photographer tour the venue with your On the Day Co-ordinator before they start shooting. The grounds are quite large at Greenock Manor so they need to do a walk of the grounds to firstly understand the boundary of the property and then also find interesting areas to take potential pics. This may be seasonal – so different areas may flower at different times.

Choose a team of 2 Photographers. This way there is less chance that your wedding photographer misses out on ‘the great unexpected fun shot’ and also helps cover the wedding from 2 different angles. Your photographer team can then shoot the groomsmen getting ready at the same time that the bridesmaids are getting ready. A Wedding Photographer that is a team of two is always better than a single photographer on site.

Make sure your Wedding Photographer has a copy of the Wedding Timeline on her or his phone.

WEDDING FLOWERS

A good tip is to re-use the ceremony flowers for the Wedding Reception area once the ceremony is complete. This way beautiful extra flowers can be appreciated for your whole wedding and not just be used for 45min during the wedding ceremony

Zip ties in white or green ideally work best to fix floral wedding decorations to the various areas and wedding props at Greenock Manor. Remember your wedding florist needs to be on site no later than 2 hours before the ceremony – this will enable your photography team to take good pics once the venue has been set up – and before the guests arrive.

DJ or WEDDING BAND

Ideally as they are in charge of sound – they should also be responsible for Master of Ceremonies. Their duty will therefore be to use their PA system with microphone to make all your chosen announcements of the day. For smaller weddings of 50 or less guests a PA system is probably not essential.

Examples of Announcements are : the bridal party’s re-entry to the reception area after photography hour has finished (give some thought as to whether this will be only the bride and groom OR the full bridal party?) the first dance, throwing of the bouquet, when dinner is served or the cutting of the cake is to occur, sparkler send off, last call for the bar etc.

Since they are making all the announcements – yes they need a copy of your wedding timeline on their phone.

WEDDING CATERER

This is usually your 2nd most expensive investment and cost for the day. It is absolutely essential the catering team stays until the event ends and assists with cleanup and full trash removal at the end of the night. They are usually hard workers and have experienced servers ready to attend to your guests needs during dining, cocktail hour, drinks and desserts. Ask your caterer if they can provide a bar tender. Professional and experienced service will most certainly add to the professionalism and elegance of your wedding. Even the most down to earth, cozy country wedding will benefit from attentive and caring service.

The caterer needs a copy of your wedding timeline! Don’t forget to tip your servers (kindness goes a long way)

WEDDING OFFICIANT OR PASTOR

Be sure to ask your officiant if they can attend your wedding ceremony rehearsal. This usually takes place within a week of the wedding, however with our Weekend Getaway Wedding Package the ceremony rehearsal is held on the Friday evening.

Possibly invite them to attend cocktail hour just as a thank you.

RALLY THE TROUPS

The closest people to you know you best. Allocate some small basic tasks to each of them – sometimes allowing family or close friends to help in some way means a lot to them. For example, at my sister’s wedding my grandmother who was in a wheel chair at the time – held the rings until the Pastor asked ‘Who here has the rings’ A small task that meant the world to her. If your new mom in law or aunt wants to pick up champagne for mimosa’s – remember that if they helped in some way – this may mean a lot to them. Including is always better than excluding 😉

SWITCH THE STRESS BUTTON TO OFF (at 8am on the day of your Wedding)

There surely isn’t anyone who decides they want to be stressed on their wedding day. Ultimately this is a day of happiness and the memories will be cherished always – irrespective of  ‘timeline discrepancies, small mistakes or things forgot’ If you have the people around you who you love and you have good music – what in all the world could be more important? This is a time where one needs to switch the stress button to OFF and the happy button to ON!

CHOOSE AN ON THE DAY WEDDING CO-ORDINATOR

Ideally this person needs an endless supply of Redbull and a pair of roller blades. Now that I have your attention – be aware this is a job for a fit and hard working person – they will be running non stop while everyone else is relaxing.

Their job is to manage the Timeline and last minute unexpected changes that may occur – and to brief the other vendors and co-ordinate the evening. They generally also keep an eye that safety measures are followed and that people hired to do certain jobs are following through with their tasks successfully.

They will also help you with the ceremony rehearsal so that the bridal party and family feels confident of what to do on the big day.

Country Wedding VenueWe wish you every blessing for your special day at Greenock Manor and continued happiness as you both start your life together. Any questions or any way we can help please get in touch with us by clicking HERE

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