12 Months Before:
• Think about your colour scheme and any theme you might like for your wedding. At South Farm we offer our couples a beautiful blank canvas to add their own finishing touches, no matter how simple or elaborate! We have had weddings with wonderful themes from vintage tea parties, garden fete and music festival to Alice in Wonderland themed weddings! Or you may want to keep it simple, either way you can enjoy a beautiful barn wedding in the settings at our outdoor wedding venue.
• Think about sending out Save the Date cards, this is not essential but perhaps a good idea if you are getting married at a time of year when lots of people might be on holiday or around Christmas time or if you have lots of guests from overseas that might need to think about travel plans to attend your Big Day.
• Think about suppliers you would like to use for your wedding; you might like to think about booking your photographer, videographer, florist, stationery supplier, cake, decorations, Master of Ceremonies, entertainment and music. Good photographers in particular can get very booked up. It is worth researching and booking early and your venue should be able to recommend suppliers. At South Farm we have suppliers in all categories that we can recommend, these are people we know well and have worked with regularly and we are happy to highly recommend – it’s definitely worth thinking about using a photographer who is recommended by your venue as they will know the venue well and be able to advise you about the best places to have pictures taken on the day.
• You also may want to enlist the help of talented family and friends… if you happen to know a DJ or a florist for example you may want to ask them if they will provide their services for you on the day. At South Farm couples are not limited to using our recommend suppliers though we are very happy to provide recommendations if you need them.
• Shopping for the all-important dress!! Research wedding dresses and suppliers and book appointments. This bit is so much fun!
• Look into outfits for the groom, groomsmen and any pageboys and dresses for your bridesmaids and flower girls. Don’t forget also to think about shoes and accessories nearer the time!
• Also seriously consider booking wedding insurance for any unforeseen eventualities. Hopefully you won’t need it but it’s definitely worth considering!!
9 Months Before:
• Book your musicians, you will need to think about music for your ceremony, drinks reception, during the meal and your evening party. At South Farm you have the option to play the music for ceremony, drinks reception and meal through our sound system so do check if your venue can do this. Make sure your outdoor wedding venue has the facility to play music outdoors as well as indoors. You may want to put together your own chosen music on a CD or MP3 format. Most couples do book a band or DJ for the evening celebration and these can get booked up early so it’s well worth looking into in advance.
• Make sure all your suppliers are booked or at least shortlisted. Important suppliers to consider are;
Photographer
Videographer (optional)
Cake maker
Florist
Wedding dress and suits and Bridesmaid dresses
Stationery
• Look into décor options to suit your scheme and colour theme. Some couples book a company to decorate their venue who will also supply the décor.
• Think about accommodation for your guests, at South Farm we can accommodate 24 guest on site, including the Bride and Groom, and we have additional accommodation for another 6 guests at very local Fenbridge Farm. We can also recommend lots of other bed and breakfast accommodation and hotels in and around the local area for your guests to use.
• Book your Honeymoon! Exciting!!
See our next blog, which will be published soon, for your wedding countdown with 6-3 months to go!
