- Who lift’s the bride’s veil during the ceremony?
You’ve chosen your dress and to top it off you are wearing the most gorgeous veil – you feel amazing and you can’t wait to take those long-awaited steps down the aisle towards your groom and married bliss…but hang on! What happens when you walk down the aisle and meet the groom?… Who lifts the veil so you can have that long-awaited kiss on the cue of the words…‘you may now kiss the bride’?!
Well you have a choice! The Father of the Bride or whichever special person is walking you down the aisle can lift the veil once you reach the end of the aisle, you may share a kiss on the cheek and a hug (hold back the tears please ladies) before he hands you over to your husband to be! Or you can keep your veil in place during the ceremony, say your vows and then your Groom can lift the veil before that special all important first married kiss!
Alli, Senior Event Manager at South Farm said “There really is no right or wrong way. At South Farm lots of our couples want to embrace long-standing traditions but we also have many couples who want to throw tradition to the wind and have a day that reflects their own personalities and style. At South Farm you have so much flexibility and we are always there throughout the planning and on the day to help and advise you if you need us! So, no question is too big, small, unusual or quirky! And sometimes there is no right or wrong answer…it’s all about you, after all it’s your big day!”
- Who brings the confetti?
Ah well this is an easy one for us! At South Farm we provide all our couples with beautifully fragrant, dried rose petals to use as confetti. We will pass this around your guests on the day so you can make your entrance after your ceremony to a shower of stunning red rose petals! Or you can collect some from us before the day and put it in cones or your own baskets and bring it back to us on the morning of your wedding and we will make sure that everyone has plenty of confetti to shower you with.
Becky, General Manager at South Farm said “the confetti moment is a big favourite here at South Farm, couples have a choice of settings and backdrops to choose from, from the garden aisle exit, to a line of guests in the courtyard or a pretty confetti shower in front of the famous South Farm blue front door. Plus all our confetti is bio-degradable so it’s good for the environment in-keeping with our eco-friendly principles!”
- Ceremony Seating – who sits where?
Again, our flexibility and focus on you gives you the freedom to choose whether you would like to follow a traditional ceremony seating arrangement or follow another popular choice of asking your guests to sit wherever they like. You might want just a few special guests to have reserved seats but be happy for the rest of your guests to choose where they sit so you can even do a bit of both!
South Farm ‘s Alli said “some of our couples want to follow the traditional ceremony seating which has the brides’ family and friends seated on the left and grooms’ on the right. Others are happy to let their guests choose where they sit. We would always advise our couples that if they have ushers or groomsmen then this is a great job for them and you can ask your ushers to direct your guests to their seats. Some couples prefer the traditional approach but it’s also lovely when our couples use a chalk-board or a hand-made sign with a ‘pick a seat, not a side, motto – and guests will always embrace this! And of course at South Farm we are always happy to make sure seats are reserved in the first couple of rows for parents, close family and bridesmaids.”
- Who sits at the Top Table?
Traditionally the top table is reserved for the Bride and Groom, their parents and the best man and chief bridesmaids. However, more and more couples are looking for alternatives to suit the dynamics of modern families.
South Farm’s Becky said – “so many couples have different ideas about who they would like to sit at the top table. Some couples want a table filled with their closest friends and some couples prefer the traditional approach. Whichever you prefer we will advise you on table sizes and seating plans. We have oval, round and trestle tables that can be used for your top table and we can even offer a lovely ‘sweetheart’ top table which is just reserved for the happy couple… this is a choice some couples make, sometimes because of family dynamics and sometimes because they simply see the wedding breakfast as an opportunity to share their first meal as a married couple and take the time together to celebrate the moment in a more intimate way whilst surrounded by their guests!”
- How do I thank everyone for coming?
So again you have lots of choice. One thing we know our couples appreciate is taking the time to speak personally with all of their guests on the day to thank them for coming so we have a number of suggestions for ways you can do this on your big day. If you have a smaller wedding then it’s possible to speak to everyone personally during your drinks reception but if your numbers are larger and you are keen to make sure you speak to everyone individually on the day then you can choose from one of the following suggestions…
The traditional approach is the receiving line which usually takes place after drinks and before dinner. The Happy Couple and their parents will greet all their guests individually at the entrance to the Wedding `Breakfast…which is the most formal approach but means you will get the opportunity to personally speak to everyone of your wedding guests.
You can also choose the less formal opportunity to circulate during the meal where couples walk between tables usually at a lull between courses to chat informally to guests and thank them for coming. This is proving pretty popular these days and means you get to speak to everyone personally in a more relaxed way.
It’s important to remember whichever approach you prefer to let your venue know so they can factor time for this into the day and make sure your food and drinks service aren’t’ delayed and run to time.
If you are not keen on either of these then you can simply thank everyone during your speeches or incorporate words of thanks into your guest favours. Whichever approach you choose will be right for you and fit in with the style of your day.
We hope these answers have helped steer your planning for the big day! On the off-chance that you’re currently in asking yourself which would be the best Hertfordshire wedding venue, give us a shout – we’ll happily show you around!
