Hey!
Hello.
It's back to that cold weather.
Oh, it's freezing. It's been
What would you rather? Really cold and sunny or rainy and warmer?
cold and sunny.
Yeah, same.
I hate the rain. It's just so miserable.
I know, I actually think this is like perfect wedding weather.
I do. Yeah.
can wrap up warm.
That's it. With
Sunny.
going to ruin your hair and your makeup.
exactly. Yeah. Ah, shall we get started? Another week?
week. Yeah, let's do it.
Hi, I'm Hannah.
And I'm Hayley.
And we are your wedding planning experts!
Here to spill the tea on the inside of wedding planning and everything that goes with it.
Expect our honest opinions, the real juice on what happens on a wedding day.
a few tips thrown in between.
And also just a chat between friends.
of course, make sure you hit that subscribe button
And
let's
get you wed! Woo!
Yeah.
So did you survive Valentine's?
did, I'm here to tell the tale.
She's here.
long week,
Was it?
a good week.
Aw, and then was you, I did think of you on Valentine's Day. I nearly messaged you saying like, Are you out doing deliveries? But, I was just blimmin busy here as well. So, yeah, I didn't, didn't get a chance to message you. Yeah, spreading the love.
Day.
Did you have any like, weird stories this year? Anyone be like, urf? Or did, you know, any get delivered to the old mistresses? Or, you know?
If there was anything weird that happened. I don't think so. It's a pretty normal year this year.
Pretty normal one.
weird.
Yeah.
Not this year.
weird.
think Yeah, no, nothing. No.
No, gone. Did you have a night, did you do anything for Valentine's after all of your delivering?
Um, we, I cooked us a Thai green curry
Oh, lovely. Nice. Yeah, nice.
It was
Nice.
was
Sounds good.
Oh, did you go out for your meal?
Yeah, we went out for dinner. It was actually a really busy one for me. So I had a, um, one of my couples were back from America. So I met them for a, like, pre meeting. Then we did their site visit. Then we did their tasting. So I was literally with them all day. So I didn't get home till, like, six. But we did, we booked a late dinner at like 8. Um, but yeah, it was really, really nice. It was so busy in there, like they were completely full. But yeah, food was nice, nice dinner.
Ah, but I was knackered. Cause you know what it's like, you had a busy day.
like
Um,
for me. I just
yeah.
been so busy. I just want to like sleep.
Yeah, that's the thing, isn't it? And then we had our first wedding of the year on the Saturday. So, I felt like it was literally like trying to squeeze something in between every because then I wanted to get to bed because I had to be up early to like leave for the wedding. So, you know, it was one of those weekends, really. It would have been ideal if it was this weekend, but then that's why it was that's why it was busy, because it was Valentine's.
You know, we normally have first wedding of the year on Valentine's weekend. That's very normal for us. So, I suppose, yeah, that,
And
yeah.
anyone that got engaged over
Yes!
Day.
point, yeah. I haven't actually seen many Valentine's engagements, have you? No. Yeah, normally
a few that come out of the woodwork, but,
I see a few pop up online or, you know like in Facebook groups and stuff you see people like, Oh I just got engaged, maybe, I suppose it was only four days ago, at the time of recording, so, maybe, uh. Maybe people are still chillin on their Instagram pos They're st They're still gettin ready for their Instagram post. Um, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. They gotta tell the
Thanks,
yeah! Oh, that's good! I'm glad it went well for you. Anyway, any anything else happenin in your week other than Valentine's?
Um, so I've just been booking in consultations, so I've got a wedding, well hopefully it will be in August. So they've contacted
Mm hmm. Mm hmm.
so I always love doing a consultation with people when I go out to meet
Yeah, it's nice, isn't it? I love that you go out in person, that is quite nice. I suppose it's easier for you, isn't it? I do everything on
Yeah.
for consultation until they book. Um, but I suppose for you, if it's local, being able to explain what you can do is probably easier in person, isn't it? And showing them pictures and stuff.
portfolio
Yeah.
Um,
can't really show much, it's just me, like, hey.
Hey, it's
On me, whether you're in front of your face or on the video like, hello. Yeah, I love
many people. It's all I ever did was go
that. Yeah,
a lot of the time now I get people, some people just want to like chat over email. This is what I
yeah,
I have a
yeah,
I
so true.
though as well. It's a easier for me. It takes out
Yeah.
to go out, but I don't mind it. I quite like
Do you think
and
that kind of gives you the edge, that you go and meet people? Do you think people, like, is it quite rare that you go and meet someone and then they don't book you?
Yeah.
Yeah, that's good. Yeah.
It did
Yeah. Yeah,
and it was like a sure thing and then they just ghosted me. Like after agreeing to pay the deposit and sign the contract then they
that's weird.
ghosted me.
Right, you, you've just reminded me, I wanted to talk about this actually. Sorry, just give me a little, little segue there. Like I actually just had a client rejection today, actually. As you said, maybe we shouldn't say, no, it's fine. No, do you know what? It was a hundred percent the right thing for them. And for me, because when I looked at it, although I wanted the wedding, it's on a really, really busy date this summer. I'm slammed this summer.
Technically, I should be fully booked for this year, but I thought, you know what, I could take on another plan maybe later in the year. Ah, squeeze another one in. And I really liked them. But they've gone for someone who lives near them, so they can meet up face to face and she needs that. She's the kind of person that needs that. I wouldn't have been able to, I probably couldn't have given her the attention that she needed. So actually, for both of us, that was the right decision.
But, what I will say is, yeah, it's a bit like, uh, annoying when you get a rejection. But I'm so glad when people tell me, and listeners, It's honestly not a bad, like, like I say, it made me realize when she came back and said, I was like, do you know what? Actually, when the more I thought about it, that was probably right for me as well. And it's honestly not a bad thing to like reject your supplies and tell us why. If it, you know, it can help us with our business and progress our business.
You know, if it's that, oh, well they're offering X and you weren't offering this, that can help us with our business. But also sometimes it's just like Like with that lady today, you said, you know, I found someone that lives, you know, really close to me so we can meet up face to face. Great. Like, that makes sense.
Exactly. And that's, that's it. You just want to know.
Yeah,
being
rather know. Yeah. Hello. Hey, I'm here still. Like, yeah,
I'm just like,
I'd rather just be, I'd rather just be told. And even if it's, you know,
It's
Even if it's that you just preferred someone else, you felt like you clicked with someone else, they got your vision more, you know, if it's a florist, they got your vision better. Just tell us, like, we are not gonna be offended. Like, yeah, you might feel a bit gutted if you really like them, but
We're
yeah,
So,
exactly. I'd rather that than just a ghost because you're sitting there thinking, oh, what did they, who did they choose? What did they go for? Was it me? Like, did I do something wrong? Or, yeah, you know,
Is it because
don't be scared. Think,
the drink they offered me when I came over?
So many people, I think, are scared to say no.
Yeah.
the thing, isn't it? With humans, and I think especially British people, we are so scared to say no. We're such yes people. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, we'll do that. Yeah, of course, yeah, I'll book you. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Why don't we just learn to say no?
actually it's
I'm just as bad. I could be like that. Like, oh, yeah, that sounds great. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we should do that. And I'm thinking, I don't have time to do that. No, I can't do that.
I'm gonna
Why don't I just say no? Yeah, why don't we just say no?
I
But yeah, sorry, that was a bit of a segue there.
Nah, that's good.
So, consultations getting rejected.
Yeah. Um, that's it really to be honest. It was just really busy. I'm just, to be honest, recovering from Valentine's Day. So I worked in
Yeah.
days and then I had to
You was a busy bee.
was working on my, obviously I had my own orders and everything like that, so that was a whole day's work as well, well more than that really, it was a couple of days, but it was um, it was good. I really enjoy Valentine's Day
Yeah.
it's lovely when you deliver flowers to someone, so I do the making and the delivering myself.
Yeah. She got the little look on their face.
and they're like, oh my god, these are so nice. I mean, it'd be awkward
Oh,
like, what's this pile of shit?
yeah, literally. So do you like, knock on their front door? Or is it like, do you deliver to work? Did you do any workplaces?
do any businesses this year But
Mm hmm.
have done in the past but which I hate doing well, it's not like I hate doing it That's the wrong it's pretty strong But I always get I got anxious going into like a big I've had to walk through like a whole office of people
I know, to find the one person to give it to them. Yeah,
feel a bit Awkward doing that
that's awkward. Do you think they'd just take them and be like, I'll give them to them.
Yeah, you just do it.
Yeah.
it was just um, people's houses, so it was
Oh, nice. And what do you do if someone's not home? Just leave it out on the front door?
Um, no, so what we normally do, someone's not in, is we post, I'll try the neighbours, if the neighbours can take it, then I'll, I'll post like a little thing through the door that says it's been left at like, whatever, like,
Yeah.
like with the
Yeah.
does same thing, but if I'm really
Royal Mail.
if they're not too far away, I'll just try again, because if
Yeah.
like, where they've Businesses if it's just the road I had one the other
Yeah.
I just went back and went back a bit later cuz and
Yeah.
so
Yeah. I suppose, really, their other half's probably not going to deliver, ask for flowers to be delivered to their house unless they know they're working from home or something.
you'd be surprised
that.
Honestly, people don't think about it. They just
Yeah.
it'd be like the first thing first thing I think would be like, oh, is that person gonna be in
Are they going to be home? Well, you say that though. The other day, we, apparently, I got told off when Martin got home because he was like, The man was trying to deliver the shower tray and you weren't answering the door. I was like, I was literally here. I didn't hear the door. Like, we don't have a doorbell either, which doesn't help, so.
loudly either do they?
That's what I said, I was like, he must have just been like, tap tap and then like, oh she's not in so just leave outside. Either that or he just didn't even knock because he wanted to just leave it on the floor because it was heavy.
Definitely.
How annoying.
that. They just lob them on the floor and then they
Yeah.
touch your door and then walk off.
Literally, literally.
But yeah, that was my
Ah.
It was good. It was, it was busy but um, I had a, it was good. It was very
Good.
full of flowers which I liked
Fulfilling. Fulfilling with flowers.
other than your client rejection, which was sort of a rejection but, It was, you know, there
It was beneficial. Yeah.
how was your week?
Yeah, it was good. It's been like super, super busy. So we were doing that tasting, um, which was, which was really good. It went really well and we got like so much done. Like her mum was like, Oh my God, this is really productive. Because basically the mum is like my main contact.
okay.
and the couple are like, They're, they're, they're, although they were obviously involved, they kind of left it to mum. So she was like, oh, you've got so much more out of them than, than I have been able to, because I suppose I just know the questions to ask. That's the thing, isn't it? It's just knowing.
being like that with you because you're like, impartial in some
Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
if you know what I mean.
Yeah, exactly. It's different with your mum, isn't it? And maybe she thought, like, she didn't want to be like, I want this, I want that to her mum, you know? Um, but yeah, so that went really well. It was good to re see, see the venue for them. Um, go and try all their food, which they were so happy with. I think it's one of the first things I've done this year where they're just like, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. Got all like the tableware organized, the linen done, so that was all good.
Um, so yeah, that, that was awesome. I also did a consultation with one of my couples, with them. Two different DJs, which I, um, wanted to bring up because I always think it's one of those things that, um, and a couple that I'm doing on the day management with actually kind of brief, breezed over it the other day. They were like, you know, supply me in, you know, for the key people, obviously we're not going to meet the DJ and stuff.
And I'm like, actually, I think it's like really good to be able to sit down with two, especially if you're stuck on which one's a pig and just hash out your questions,
That's a
get a good. You know, have a get, get, get a good vibe for what they can do. They get a good vibe for what you want. And I think it's really key. I think it's something like that, that sometimes people do just sign on an email and go, yeah, we'll go ahead. Cause they're happy with the price or whatever. But actually I think it's really good to sit and have a meeting with them. It takes 20 minutes, you know? Yeah.
We had a meeting and went over what music we like, what
But did you do that before you booked him
oh no,
or was that after you say this is to book? Yeah. I say, this is.
to be fair. So.
know. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
and I knew what his music was like, but actually, I feel like the music and like the, I was gonna say the disco, I don't know why I say that, the disco.
the one, the
Who
discotheque. She's nine at the school disco again. Penna 50p.
at the reception. The disco. It's uh, I
at the
the
discotheque.
is so important and what they
It is.
could play some, like, if you don't, I just don't
Yeah.
vibe with them that's awkward.
Exactly, that's what I'm saying. So I think it's so key for things like people always automatically you know have a conversation and a consultation with their photographer but things like DJ they think oh we don't and even like you like you said earlier some people are happy to just do email I think it's key like those
make
are really important things. Yeah, so yeah, I thought I'd just mention that. So we did that and they've got now a good feel of which one that they think is going to work for them. So that's awesome.
good.
did a site visit today. So part of our on the day management is we go and site visit, um, a few months before the wedding. So theirs is in June. Um, it's quite funny. So their house is stunning, beautiful land, really lovely views. And they have this old barn. And she was like, when I first met them, which was last year,
Yeah.
we're going to. make this into, we're going to turn this into a wedding venue. And I was like, okay, cool. And then she rang me a couple of months ago. I was like, we're not doing it anymore. We're having a marquee
Oh!
because there's such a lot of work and the cost,
better
she made me die today. And I had to bring it up because it really made me laugh. She said, Oh, she just, you know, it's never ending the costs, all the things and whatever she said. And who would have known? She said, I wouldn't have known. My other half wouldn't have known. But I tell you, who would know, is you. Because when I met them, I sat and went through all the costs of what everything was going to cost them.
And she was like, when you left, we were like, nah, it's not going to cost us that, it'll be fine. She went, well, who knows how much things cost. Has Hannah Rose, that's who knows. She was right. Me and Chloe were laughing so hard, we were like, I was like, yep. Yep,
It's my
uh, just, just sitting here, hair flick, hair flick.
ya.
I told you I know what I'm talking about. But I'm saying it is hard, isn't it? Like, that's like, and I kind of compared it to we're renovating a house at the moment and we're a bit like stringing figures out of the air where you're trying to put a budget together. Like it is hard, it is hard. But um, yeah, that did make me
you don't know, you're literally sort of clueless, aren't you? You're not
But she booked me purely for a session to go and visit her house and tell her what I thought would be possible and how much she'd need. Like a one off session she booked me and then in the end she booked me for on the day management. But you can't, like, that is, like, look how that worked for them. They didn't listen to me but now they've realised they shouldn't.
wish they did.
How funny. So yeah, um, yeah, busy, busy week. We've just taken on another new coordinator as well. So Phoebe started on Saturday at our first wedding of the year. So, um, yes. Oh, go, go, go. Really?
busy times.
I keep, I don't know about you, but I really feel like it's, and this definitely isn't because of the weather, but I feel like we're further into the year than we, like, there's part of me that's like, oh my god, we're nearly in March, but there's also part of me that's like, I feel like, I keep getting anxiety, like, oh my god, that wedding's really soon, and then I'm like, nah, Hannah, you've still got like three months,
I
like,
been
chill out.
on straight away though, this
Yeah, it has.
like, I didn't even have a quiet
There's been no give. Yeah.
It's just been so full on and I think, Normally you get like a few months of nothing don't you? Well not
Yeah.
tends
Yeah well that's, no that's true actually because we did our, the wedding we did this Saturday was the first one we'd done since October
Yeah.
like, you think between October and February that's that's like, what, four months?
Yeah.
So I hadn't done a wedding for four months. It did not feel like four months.
It's like
No.
back at it.
I know. I didn't even think about it. It just went straight in and I was thinking, Jesus, I might be a little bit ropey after four months.
Oh no.
I know,
You
I know, but.
where you left off.
Yeah, literally. Yeah, so, I, that was my week. I do need to have a little rant. I need to have a Hannah rant.
floor.
gonna, I'm gonna go for it and then it would be interesting to get your thoughts
Yes.
I've finished my rant. No, but I just wanted to say, Why has it become suddenly okay for people to judge other couples on what they are spending on their wedding? And when I say this, I mean like I've seen this in conversations with people, I've overheard conversations, and I've seen this on Facebook groups. Now this could be someone talking something completely un money related about their wedding.
So for example, Oh, I'm really annoyed because these people dropped out last minute and I'm spending 30 grand on my wedding and it just frustrates me. Or it could be, you know, something really un money. They're not even talking, they're not asking anybody's opinion on what they're spending. And all you see in the comments is people like, oh my god, can't believe you're spending that much on your wedding. That's ridiculous. Why are you spending that?
And it's the same as like, exactly, like what is it to do with them? And what, it's up to every couple what they want to have for their wedding. And it's the same as like, You know, if they're talking about catering price per head or, oh, we've booked our DJs costing us, I don't know, a grand. And then other people are like, what? Mine only cost 200 pounds. Well, mine only cost this. And I'm like, why are we suddenly in these wars and this competition of who is spending the least on their work?
That's why I feel like it's gone. It's like some of these groups that you look in, it's like, who's spending the least? Me. Okay. You won a gold medal. Like what?
Your
Like not everybody,
cost you 200 quid, I just want to say.
Well, yeah. And look, I mean this in the nicest possible way, but everybody has a different expectation of their wedding. Some people are happy to go and spend, I saw somebody say today their whole wedding cost them a thousand pounds. I highly doubt that, if they actually added everything up. Yeah. But some people are okay with that. Me? I'll be really honest, I would not be happy, probably, with a wedding that's going to cost me a thousand pounds. But that's just me. That's
And that's
Exactly!
opinion. So that's fine.
Exactly. Some people are happy to do that.
that's spending less. You wouldn't be like, oh, that's awful. Why are you spending so little on your
Yeah.
Cause
Well, you should be spending more. Like, you just wouldn't, would you? And I just think, and what I've seen on the back of this is suddenly this anxiety of people, and I even see it in my couples. Like, you know, the couples we work with, they are, you know, being quite frank, they are a higher, you know.
expenditure couple because they're booking a planner, you know, you've got, you have that bigger budget, but even they sometimes are a bit like, Ooh, we're spending, they almost feel like bad to be saying they want to spend this money. And I'm like, no, you, if you want to spend this money. And I had the same conversation with the couple, I went for the site visit. Don't feel bad for the money that you're spending.
If you can afford to spend that money, and you're happy to spend that money, anyone that's gonna get at you for spending that much money and say, well that's ridiculous, can't believe you're spending that one day, is probably just jealous. Because, just, why do people just not stay to what they know
to
and what they want?
lane, right? If you
Stick in your own Ha ha ha.
that's also fine
You're keeping the industry alive, people that are spending money.
you are
You're keeping me in a job, literally, like, you know, please keep spending. Um, yeah, I just, it's really, and I'm seeing more and more of this anxiety of people that are like, Oh God, I'm spending this much money on my wedding. Like what's everyone else spent. And they're always asking for like people's. Reassurance that they're okay to spend that money because so many people are judging people for spending money And I just don't think
it.
think it's fair
the day you get what you pay for as well and
Yes, you do
that and I feel
you do
Just because someone spent money, also you don't know the ins and outs of the story. So someone might be like,
Yeah,
spent 200 on my DJ or whatever, like, but then they might know that person, they might be a friend of a
so true. You're so right
doesn't, you never get
Yeah
on social
No, you could spend You could spend, like, my elopement, for example, cost probably less than a quarter of my main wedding day, but that was just me and Martin. So if we'd only done the elopement, I could have gone on there and said, I don't know, I'm just gonna pick a figure out of the air. But I could say, oh, we spent two thousand pounds on our wedding. But actually, I didn't, because that was an elopement for two people.
Whereas somebody that's spending fifty grand could have five hundred people at their wedding. Do you know,
Yeah.
yeah, that's such a good point. Like, what's the full story here?
don't know, and that's the thing, isn't it, with being online, is that you can be whoever you want to be, and you can
Yeah.
one's, who's fact checking, you
Yeah, you're so right.
go on there and start bashing you in comments about what you've spent and making you feel like you're spending too much or too little, but actually you
Yeah.
the context, and I just think, I don't know.
Yeah.
Um,
very true. You definitely get what you pay for. Oh, another little story on that.
oh,
I went for a site visit this week, the couple were like, I said, Oh, have you hired your linen? And they were like, Oh, no, we haven't actually hired any because we've just bought it ourselves. And I was like, Oh, okay. Why did you buy it? And they were like, well, because when we looked, it was the same price to buy it as it was to hire it. And I was like, What? And they were like, Yeah, Oh, actually, they came today. I was like, go and get them because linen to buy is really expensive.
Like, the linen that you hire, say a tablecloth's 15 quid to hire, they cost about 100 pounds to buy. Well, she went and got them, and they were like these really thin, polyester ones. And I literally, and I held it up and I said, just imagine, the tables, they're wooden, yeah? So when you put that on, look, and I held it to a table, I was like, you can see through that cloth. Like, you're going to see.
no.
was like, Oh, okay, well, maybe I buy another set and then we can double it up. And I was like, but by the time you've done that, you've doubled in your cost.
So
So you might as well just hire them. And she was like, yeah, good point. I was like, no, but you get what you pay for. You're so
Yeah, you do get what you pay for. Linen, like, when you buy linen off Amazon or something.
Oh my God. Yeah. They, they're like,
Didn't you
that cheapy.
or
Yes. And we couldn't even fold them because they just fell apart.
yeah.
just, you can't, you can't fold plastic.
reason people have a whole business hiring it out, and that's because it's
Literally, yeah, they're expensive. Yeah, they're expensive to buy. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah. Anyway, sorry That was my rant of the week and I thought Hmm
So I never went into detail what my wedding cost me, but it was, you know, it was expensive, but it
it was obviously expensive
it.
Cuz it was stunning
and,
Exactly.
our day and that's what we wanted to spend our money on. That's us, our business is my money and whatever, you know,
Also, I always say have you ever looked back at your wedding and thought we shouldn't have spent that money
Never.
see no one ever does
on that jacket than
I wish I had spent more.
More is
said as well To my couple and we've we've said this time and time again on the podcast But you as long as you're not getting yourself into debt You can always earn more money and you can always save more money
Yeah.
if you're not getting yourself into any kind of debt to be in this wedding then,
It's
you know
It's all
Yeah, it's all good It's all good in the hood, it's all good in the hood, so yeah. So anyway, yeah, I thought I would tell you a little bit, do a little bit of a lowdown on the wedding I did this weekend. First wedding
because
the year.
yeah, I'm really looking forward to hearing about this wedding because we kind of spoke about it, didn't we, when we were in Cornwall and you were telling me
Yeah.
but I'm just really interested to know how it went.
Yeah, it was a really, really nice day actually. It, it went, it went really well. I went to plan in the end ish. Um,
does with uh,
It was,
weddings.
does. Um,
non
it was, it was, uh,
they
were the nicest couple, really, really, really lovely couple. But I think what they, they were quite, I would say that an alternative couple, they, um, wanted, you know, something different, right? Non traditional, but she was Jewish and her family were quite Jewish traditional, I would say. So there was a certain expectation, but I don't think the expectation was discussed prior to the venue being booked.
I
So when they booked the venue, they very much, it was basically, I won't like name the venue or anything, but it was like a wine bar, essentially, um, kind of vibe, but it was a restaurant kind of vibe. In London, and it was one of these, it's under the train line, so you know you have the arches
Yeah,
in London, so you go in and they're like all arched buildings, you can hear the train going above you sometimes, yeah. So many cool places like that in London, especially restaurants, members, clubs, wine bars that you can hire out as venues. But what I would say about a lot of them is they are a lot more like laid back vibes. So all of the furniture in there was like little bar tables, stools chairs, and they didn't have, like, they actually said to us, we've only done a couple of weddings.
They've been very informal. So they're more at parties like people have got married elsewhere and then just had a party.
had
Yeah,
there.
the Disco Turk. Um, and they, you know, they've done a lot of events. They do a lot of gigs and things like that, but they were like, we haven't really done a proper wedding. And they were like, that's okay, because that's not what we want. We want it really informal. Then we, yes, we want a ceremony, but we'll do that in a separate arch and then we'll have this cool informal thing. Well, it kind of progressed into something else
became
became, it became something else entirely. It became a. very, like, not tradit it became a big ceremony with a, you know, a Jewish chuppah and it, which takes up a lot of space, and it became a sit down meal on banqueting tables with proper chairs, you know, but it was all hide in and all the linen was hide in and the venue were a little bit like deer in a headlight, is that the saying?
Yeah.
Because it's not something that they do.
And I turned up at this venue, 10am we were allowed to get in on Saturday morning, and I looked and The three arches that we were using were just full of the furniture still so the little chairs the little tables and I just was like And I knew I was kind of half expecting I kind of thought they might start clearing some stuff out But I was kind of half expecting it and I had already Kind of got myself prepared for this because I checked with the venue that they would have someone to help move
the tables. I'd got some of my team in a little bit earlier. I'd requested the caterer to send in people a bit earlier. But God, it was a big job, like, getting all of that furniture out. And them tables are heavy and they are dusty. Like, the thing with these venues are they're cool, but nothing gets moved and they're under the arches. They're under the train. Like, the grime that you get from these places,
no,
is
Eww.
Like, and it's that vibe, like all their lamps had like, mould on them essentially.
No,
Like spores, but that's the vibe. That's how it looks It's almost like, you know, the thick layer of dust and stuff and the candles with the wax dripping everywhere
okay to have a thick layer of dust and mold spores on things. There's vintage, and then
There's vintage this was very vintage this what i'm gonna say
a,
all their their wine bottles are just covered in dust you go to an old wine cellar, it's like that with all the thick dust on them and stuff Like it was like that But the bride then decided a couple of weeks later before, Actually I need this cleaned up. So I wanted to make sure that happened. Now ever since I haven't been able to breathe properly. There was like these dust chains hanging from the ceiling. Like, I really wish I had taken a photo.
Yeah.
alien. It looked like moss or something but it wasn't moss. And I said to the guy at the venue, What is that? And he was like, I don't know, just like grime and stuff on her cobweb.
What a great, what a great
This was out the, this was out the back, thankfully, not out the front. This was out the back, but it really freaked me out.
That is
It was like, thick, like, it looked like a thick black cloud.
Oh. Oh.
And he would just pick it up,
best,
just touch it, and I would just have it in his hand, and he'd be talking to me, and I'm like But, very cool. Very cool, very cool place. Really like, you know. Graffiti's on the wall, graffiti on the walls, open brick walls, really cool, like, you know, all their wine is on the wall, like, decorated around the space, and we've done a few venues like this now. I think that it's impossible to keep them clean, because of where it is, basically, essentially.
that but I
You know, you've got tubes going above you, like, it's never gonna stay
only
clean.
do
But you know what, we absolutely transformed it. It looked really, really cool afterwards. Um, but yeah, just, just a very different, I think from when they originally booked it to the end, the vibe changed, and I think that worried the venue a little bit, and we just had to pull it off on the day.
couldn't
The cater yeah. The caterer as well, you know, they work at the venue and they are very much used to like, you know, small plates, sharing style, put out a buffet kind of vibe, whereas they wanted a three course choice menu.
how
Yeah. Really well, the caterers were insanely good. I actually emailed him today. I said, I've been doing this for 15 years. You're one of the best caterers I've ever worked with. There,
good
single one of their staff was just desperate to do stuff. Hannah, do you need me to do anything? I'm just standing around. Do you need me to do anything? Do you want me to do anything? They did everything. They were so good. Like they were keen to, like they wanted to be get going and doing things.
what
And I was like, this is great. Yeah, and they knew the venue as well, which was key in that kind of place. But honestly, the guy that owned this wine cellar, it was literally like, we're carrying tables. Like, there's three arches that you use for the events, but there's loads. Like, they must have about ten of them, but they're all just empty. Like, I'm like, what are you doing with this space? Like, this must be expensive in central London, like, you know.
And then, we're carrying this furniture, and there's just bottles of wine on the floor. And I'm like, Uh, what's this bottles of wine and the guys, the guy that works there is like, yeah just be careful of that because it's worth a lot of money.
Oh my
They're just sitting on the floor, just in this like, wet, like a, like cellar.
That's so what like for them to sell. Like,
that's what I said and he was like, nah, he'll probably just drink it with his mates.
Well, that's so weird.
I know, I don't, I don't, I don't know, I didn't really understand it. Yeah, probably. And he just does the old defendant analogy again, yeah, probably. Um, but yeah, and, uh, yeah, it was just, it was a really, really cool day, very alternative couple, and I think they, they hit the nail on the head for how they, again, probably the wrong saying, but, for trying to merge that, keeping the parents happy, the parents had a way of, they had a great day, they were in a really good mood,
good.
but they got the things that they wanted, but the couple also got what they wanted, and it was very them. The day was very them. Do you know what they did? So they weren't getting married till later in the day. So they got free tickets for all their guests to a museum. And booked them slots. And then people would go to the museum and they all met up at the end of the museum.
really
I know, how cool is that? Because it's just them, they love that museum. I know, right? Loved that. Um, but we did
in somewhere like London or somewhere you've got
Exactly.
and things like
Yeah. Yeah, it was good. It was good. But yeah, I suppose one of the things I'd take away, you know, um, we were really, I mean, we've been doing this a long time, but for people that do book this kind of venue, really checking, because I really had to hammer it the final week before the wedding of, who is setting this up? Who is moving this furniture? Like I said, I knew I kind of preempted it, but I made sure we had those people in, you know, when is the linen being delivered?
Who is putting all this linen on? Because all these things you might think to yourself, Yeah, we've hired a cool wine cellar, we're gonna go down the day before and set it up or whatever, but actually, like, if you, to move all that furniture took us three hours between four, like, five of us.
long
No,
to take,
exactly. Then we had to set all the tables up, that's time consuming, setting all the chairs up, putting all the linen on, making sure it's ironed, things like that, really, like, make a logistics plan, because I've seen situations in the past where people don't get their linen. Like early enough and then we're standing around like we could be putting the linen on but
but you
Like it's not here. It's not been delivered, you know
also the thing, say if you do have a venue like that, or dry hire or something, then you're like, oh, I'll just get my friends to help. It's
Yeah, no
a proper operation that requires
really is you need a team Yeah, especially if it's a full, like, most London venues is, it's all on the day, so you 100 percent need to make sure. And you need to be really clear and concise on who is doing this, because I find this a lot with our end of the day management, is on the day the caterer is like, well, no, they didn't tell us we need to do that, and the venue are like, well, we don't do that, and then everyone's a little bit like, whereas I'm very much like, are you doing this?
Are you doing this? Like, who is doing this?
to know
And you need to be like that as a couple, because sometimes they're question couples, and they're like, Oh, I dunno. Di didn't think, I dunno, I haven't thought about it. You know?
like when I'm asking about, so, um, I get it all the time. So obviously I will stay, say if someone has stuff at a church or, um, where they're having their ceremony and then they want it moving afterwards.
Mm-hmm
yeah, the groomsmen are going to do it. And I'm like, so your groomsmen are going to move like these
These heavy flowers. Yeah.
like
their suits. Yeah. No, no.
like they don't realize they just think it's like moving a few flowers, but it
Yeah.
it
No.
like Karen
Yeah. Course. And then putting them in place at the other end, you know?
making sure that they look right. So i'm like it might be an extra. I don't know 200 pounds to pay Your for example your florist or something to stay and move that but that's actually money well spent because you're
Yeah,
gonna go where it needs to go
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
just you know
That's a good one, yeah.
your groomsman to move
don't, don't rely on the groomsman on that half cut. Um, yeah. Yeah. Um, but yeah, no, overall a success. It was a really good day. They were really happy. Had a great time. They're off on honeymoon now. So yeah, success. Another one in the bag. First one of the year. One, another little top tip. They emailed me panicking a few days before because they were like, we've bought all the candles and the holders.
We've gone to put the table, uh, the taper candles in the holders and the candles are loose. Because they're not big enough. And they were like, have you got, I'm so glad they emailed me. Because they were like, we're about to buy new ones, but just thought, have you got like a wedding planner secret tip? Yes, I do. It's called Stick'Em. It's like a little, a little pot. It's almost like Vaseline, essentially.
And you get your table candle, you swish, swish, swish it around in the Stick'Em, stick it in, and it just, yeah, like, it just doesn't even solidify. Because you can pull it out, but it just sticks them.
that a lot. And also, I, um, Another one, if you haven't got that as a hand, is a bit of kitchen roll.
Oh yeah, put it around, pad it
Yeah, because
Yeah, nice.
its form.
Yeah. Oh, what about tinfoil?
Yeah,
work well, couldn't it, if you squished it round?
you've got
Yeah, cos it, like, you can compress that, can't you? But yeah, kitchen roll's a good one. Tinfoil. But yeah, stick'em.
stick
can buy on Amazon as well. It's great. Stick'em. Stick'em up. I think it is just petroleum jelly, so I don't know if you could just use Vaseline.
if you could, yeah you're
Dunno, it says on the tin it's just petroleum jelly, I dunno. I was like, ooooh, putting on my lips.
yeah.
Oh dear, oh dear. Yeah.
good. What did they wear? Did it
Um, sssss,
dress or suit?
yeah, so he had a suit on, um, but he has long hair which I love, it really suits him, it's really cool. She wore, which when she told me, I'll be really honest, I was a bit like, uh, don't know about this, but she was like, I'm wearing a red suit. Honestly. She looked so cool. It was like a power suit. Yeah, and she had the veil on with it, and she had these big, bright pink, uh, platform shoes on.
yeah,
The suit was so nice. It was so her, she looked really, really good. And she had, her bouquet was really like overflowing, so she had, um, like orchids and stuff in it. And then she just had these long trails of like ivy, like to the floor. Like it looked insane. So with the long veil and the long tray trail of her, of her bouquet just looked, oh, it just, she just looked so cast, she looked insane.
of this bouquet. It
Yeah.
That's my
Yes. I will get you some.
bouquet and I'm a
Yes.
Big fan
You did! You did, yes. There you go. There you go.
like, like you say, some people can pull that kind of thing off.
Yeah,
I
they can.
a suit like that, people would just laugh me out. Like, no, what's going on mate? You look like you're here for a business meeting.
Literally, literally.
fat fighters.
No, she didn't. She didn't. It was very, like, nice, and the little, like, top she had underneath was really, like, nice, like, lacy, like, kind of vibe. Really, like, it wasn't, like, a work suit. It was, like, a night, like, a, like, a, like, a, like, Yeah, I don't even know how to explain it. I'll have to show you a photo.
Sounds
by the way, as well, I had a supplier, just, this is completely off topic, but had a, you know how you get, I, I get them all the time, emails from companies like, Oh, we'd love to work with you. Please promote our services. They'd obviously been on my website and they emailed me saying, I've just read about Hayley and Stowe House. What a stunning venue. And that it, that is, and you absolutely nailed it with how it came together.
So they've gone on my website, but out of all the weddings I've got
Yeah, I
they've picked yours.
That's
There you go. I thought I'd just let you know that in a bit of detail.
My vision
Your vision came together. Yeah, I love how they, they put it on me. I mean, I, I threw you a little few tips, helped you a little, little bit. Let's do it.
Shall we go onto listeners' questions?
Let's do it.
So, um, first up we've got, hello, just started listening to your podcast. Obsessed.
Woohoo!
thanks. I'm getting married this year in October. I'm really stuck on what color suits to get for my groom The theme is olive green, bridesmaids dresses are olive green, and it's a country manor, Bridgerton vibes, just
Yeah, Bridgerton!
ask.
We were talking about that the other day, weren't we? Yeah, I love olive green. That would have been the next, I went for the forest green colours, didn't I? But I love, I've actually just painted my lounge olive green and it's beautiful. So nice. See, I like that.
Love
What are you thinking then?
Suit color for, if they're in olive green, I mean.
I mean, it's a bit like how many colour suits are there out there. You've basically got black, grey. Yeah, you could go tweed.
Like a
if it,
I was thinking like a, maybe like a dark browny tweed with like a navy fleck in it. Something
yeah, I suppose if you've got Country Manor house, but I would say if it's Bridge and Vibe, surely you wanna go like full morning suit and then I would go
I just
either like
Sorry. No,
No,
I would go as far as saying I hate
no, I, I know what you mean. But if you go in Bridge and Vibes, that's the vibe isn't it? I mean, it's the Bridgerton vibes, isn't it? But, and in that, I mean, let's face it. Suits are black, grey, navy blue,
Yeah,
tweed. So, with olive green, I'd go black or grey. Although grey, I think you'd want to go a more warm grey, like a charcoal y grey because if you go a light, like a, if you go, if you go grey that's got a more like white tinge to it, it probably would dull your green down a little bit. Do you know what I mean? Like olive green's quite a warm tone, isn't it? Oh, I tell you what would look nice is the colour Martin had. He had that like cream colour suit, didn't he?
Yeah,
looks lovely with the green bridesmaid's dresses. Yeah, they were like stone.
Was it? Would
Yeah.
color?
Torpstone? Bridgerton vibes. Personally, I would go the full, like, top hat tails in a grey or black. I know you're not a fan, but if you're loving a Bridgerton wedding
yeah
With the string quartet, and she had the big vintage dress. And I just, very classic.
Yeah, that's true it's true no you make a good point I think I'm just like take a while for
It's not, not your taste, but I think you're right, and if this listener, if you're, that's not to your taste, I think Hayley's right in going like down the tweed with the, with the bits of green in it, almost. Martin actually had that for his, for our elopement wedding, and that was really, really nice.
look
Um, yeah, a bit country, because if they get married at a country manor house,
a country manor so smart like lovely waistcoats and
Yeah, they'll just have to look like the gardener boys from Bridgerton. The green keepers.
I'm
they wear the tweed suits? The little flat caps.
oh my god.
You can pretend to be eloping with the gardener.
Oh, saucy.
You know, like on, uh, on Downton Abbey when she marries the, like, the driver or something, don't you? Yeah, you know, that kind of vibe. There you go.
Hopefully
but yeah, I'd say either. I would say the only color I wouldn't say would go would be navy, but I think navy blue with greens is a little bit.
Yeah,
I always advise against navy blue. Yeah, I'm not a fan of the royal blue, pale blue suits. But yeah, I'd say black, grays, or like tweeds, or yeah, I do think a stone color suit would look really nice. Looks really nice. Oh, they're having an October wedding, so actually I think, yeah, you could be right, Hayley. The tweed could work really well.
tweed with like
Yeah.
the, in
With the green in there.
Tweed
Yeah. I'm trying to think where Martin got his suit from. I think he got it from Next, actually. His Tweed one.
streets do like a wedding
Yeah.
a um, formal range and a
Yeah, that's what that was.
so it's worth looking.
Yeah. Yeah, nice. Cool! Well, next up we've got, um, Hey, getting married this year and we would love to hear from any couples whether the groom is planning to take the bride's surname or any other ideas that people may have. Would be great to hear from your listeners on this. Well, write in listeners if you're, what your plan is. Um, I feel like this is becoming more popular nowadays, isn't it?
I was trying to get Richard to take my surname. I just was like, oh
You were Smith, weren't you? Yeah.
barrel it actually so it would have been
Wallace Smith.
but
Smith Waller.
Waller, or I was like, why don't
what, that sounds like what a smith. What a smith.
But
Oh, what a smith.
got any brothers, so he would be the only one that could, like, keep the family name.
Yeah, but right, I was listening, yeah, I was listening to someone talk about this the other day actually on a podcast. Interested you said that. And it's like, who gives a shit? Like, you ain't the king. Like, who
line!
No offense Richard, I love you. But, but you know when it's like, oh no, the name stops with me. Like, and?
So, what about my name, you piece of shit?
Like, what about if the, I know you've got a brother, but what about if you was two girls? Who would carry on? And, yeah, just like, who cares about carrying the name on? Does it really matter? Like, we'd get it in royalty if you're a lord, but.
if there's anyone out there who like really liked their mum's name and they wanted to take their mum's maiden name instead of like
Oh, yeah, that's interesting.
say like, I don't know, in years to come Lily got married and she was
Yeah.
want to be, I'd like to get
Be a smith.
whatever your surname is,
you can.
they would be like, well
Yeah,
I
but I,
done
um, I've heard quite a few. cases lately, whether it's on like podcasts I've been listening to, or seeing stuff online, and even with my own couples, where, yeah, you're right, they've literally made up a name. Or I had, I think I spoke about this before, I had a couple last year, where his mum had passed away, and they took her name, and then they double barrelled it with, I think, like, her nan's middle name or something, and basically made up a surname.
cool.
I know, and it's like a really, I can't remember what it is now, but it was a really, really nice surname that they came up with. And quite a few cases I've heard about that. Or like, have you heard about, um, I actually heard about this the other day, when it's like same sex couples, and they like, merge the two surnames. So yours would be like, with, or, Sola, Sola. That's a good, Hayley Sola. That's quite nice. Hayley Smola. Yeah. Or I would be like, I'd just be Roberts or Rose because,
Yeah,
because the start of our surnames were actually the same. Yeah. How bizarre is that?
could change it, but you can't!
Either way, if you split it, it makes both surnames.
Yeah,
But yeah, I've heard about people doing this.
that's actually
do you think?
quite
Yeah, well
mean, I wouldn't like it for myself because it'd be Whiff, but
Because you'd be a smaller whiff. I really think you need to go change your name
I'm
Haley Whiff.
of this now and I'm going to go and change it because I'm so desperate.
Lily Whiff.
my new name.
She's straight down the bank changing it.
guys!
she's got that passport application form at the ready.
Yeah. No holding
But yeah, I think it's, I think it's a great idea. I think if you add two names that work quite well together, why not?
not? Well let us know, listeners. Let us know what
Yeah,
your name.
let us know.
So does, this other listener wants to know as well, so.
Yeah, also, to the listener that wrote this in, if you want to send us your two surnames, we can come up with some great suggestions.
we can merge a name. If you want to be a whiff, or a smaller.
Oh dear. But guys, please keep your questions coming in. We absolutely love to hear from you. It really helps us to create better content. Obviously it's awesome anyway, but Yeah, we want to hear what you want to talk about, what you want us to talk about, questions you've got, things you're worried about, things you're panicking about.
No question is too small, or too obvious, or too silly, or, even if we've covered it before, like, we might have listeners that are starting from episode 50 instead of episode 1. Not that you should, you should listen from episode 1, but, um, yeah,
Yeah.
And please also remember to subscribe to us, leave us reviews, it really is helping our, um, stats and stuff, so, yeah, any help is appreciated, because we're giving you free content, so give us a review back.
Yeah. It's the least you could do.
Yeah, thank you so much.
Thanks so much for listening guys
guys!
we'll see you next week.
next week! Bye!