Getting Married This Summer? Here Are Some Wedding Planning Tips From De Salis & Daughter
The summer wedding season is upon us, bringing with it both the delights of family and friends coming together, as well as the demanding duties of actually planning a wedding.
Family duo, De Salis & Daughter are up-and-coming wedding planners who work together to curate events infused with originality and high-end aesthetics. Your Coffee Break had the pleasure to meet with Anna (mother, based in the South of France) and Marina (daughter and head planner, based in the UK) to get their advice on how to create a memorable, stress-free summer wedding.
From May through to September, it seems that we here at Your Coffee Break have a wedding to attend every weekend. Anna and Marina said, “The summer months are also our busiest because usually this is when all the planning and preparations come together. By now the cake, photographer, flowers and everything else have already been booked, so it’s all about ensuring that any loose ends are tied up.’ In order to provide their clients with the highest quality of service, Anna and Marina take on a limited amount of weddings at a time, “We’ve noticed a lot of people getting engaged in the winter months, around Christmas and New Year, so most weddings get booked for the next summer. Many couples plan weekend weddings that start on a Friday, and continue for the entire weekend. We look after each client individually, to ensure we give them all our full attention.”
When planning what is often considered the ‘happiest day of the bride’s life’, the pair take a strategic, uber-organised approach. “First and foremost we encourage our clients to get the venue booked and send out their invitations straight away, to ensure availability because the summer is a busy time for everyone.” So they’ve definitely got the venue covered! But in terms of the theme, although many brides already theoretically have their dream wedding planned out, De Salis & Daughter help bring it to life. “Clients usually come to us with a very basic idea of what they want, but that’s enough for us to build a landscape of ideas to work from. They all want to create a wedding that is uniquely theirs, and display their own sense of style, personal taste and add touches that reflect their personalities and relationships, so we help make that a reality. It is important to maintain a constant flow of communication throughout the planning process. We create a private sharing folder with each client where we share ideas, sketches and photographs. We use a budget calculator at the start of the process which allows the client to prioritize their most essential needs and allocate their money, and we refer back to this when we approach new tasks to avoid confusion.’
With the most popular venues for summer weddings including country houses, gardens and marquees, we asked if planning an outdoor wedding in England is just too risky? “Anything is achievable if you plan ahead! Again, we suggest booking your venue as soon as possible, that way you can investigate all your options ahead of time. Discuss all the logistics with the people who run it, they will know what works & what doesn’t from previous events, and it could save you a lot of hassle.” And with the unpredictability of our not-so-brilliant British weather, the ever prepared pair always have a backup plan, “The weather is always a big threat, especially in the UK, so experience has taught us to always be prepared. Our backup plan usually involves having an emergency indoor space, decorated and prepared in advance, in case the party needs to be moved inside (90% of the time this comes in handy!) You can liaise with the venue in advance to make sure it is well lit and accessible when needed. Alternatively, if the weather is too hot (unlikely, but you never know, we once had an event during a heat wave) make sure you have a ‘cool down area’ on standby, and supply your guests with ice and water, sunscreen, recyclable fans or parasols (these also double up as interesting decorations!)”
Although each wedding the YCB team has been to had a unique and personal feel to it, there are some handy go-to themes for those struggling with ideas, especially for summer weddings. “‘Vintage glamour’ is one of the most popular wedding trends, and has been for a while but aesthetically detailed films, such as The Great Gatsby that are so rich in colour, detail and inspiration are certainly a great help for clients to visualize and reference their ideas for a wedding. ‘Shabby Chic’ and ‘Rustic Countryside’ weddings are also very popular, and allow some creative interpretation for every couple, so no two events are the same. An increasingly popular trend detail is the candy buffet, or confectionary stall where guests can help themselves or take some home as favours. This is always a fun element to have at your wedding because it allows you to get creative with your sweet choices, containers, spoons and decorations.”
Colour schemes are also a huge part of planning a wedding for any bride-to-be. “We see a lot of pastels in the summer (mint, lilac, rose) and occasional flourishes of gold or silver embellishments, which adds instant glamour to any colour palette.” Although it is unlikely that a bride will choose ‘on-trend’ bridesmaid dresses in the colour of the season, to avoid them looking dated in the photographs years later, choosing a colour scheme for your venue and decorations is a less daunting task if you select colours that compliment and correspond to your venue and theme.
De Salis & Daughter aim to provide a stress-free wedding planning experience so that their clients enjoy the best bits of the process, and feel comforted that the rest is in good hands, and by combining their creativity and organisational skills, they ensure that each wedding they work on runs smoothly and looks beautiful!
Find out more about De Salis & Daughter and how to get in touch, on their website www.desalisanddaughter.com, or via Twitter @danddaughter.
