Guest Blogger and wedding planner Nicola Wray from Behind The Scenes Events was kind enough to take some time out of her busy schedule to write a post about DIY brides for us. We find so many DIY brides visit our fairs looking for inspiration and they often need the help of a wedding planner to help them achieve their dream day, so thought this would make great reading for you all...
With the recession firmly holding its grip on the nations purse strings the dynamics of wedding spending have changed over the last few years. Most wedding suppliers will agree that the state of the nation’s finances has not necessarily affected the numbers of couples getting married but what it has done is changed the way the wedding budget is spent. Depending on where you look the average spend on a UK wedding is between £15,000 and £25,000 but as the couple’s tighten their purse strings we are seeing this figure decrease steadily.
Brides are becoming more DIY savvy and budget conscious, gone are the days of extravagant spending, out of control finances and unnecessary purchases. Brides normally gain inspiration and ideas from three key sources; wedding fairs, the internet and bridal magazines. The focus of these sources has changed. Look through a large number of the wedding magazines on offer and you will see they are packed with budget saving ideas and DIY goodies. The real life wedding sections are full of inspiration from past Brides who have created their own stationery, favours, cakes, flowers and dresses. It is only natural that women want to pull off a day to match what is being reported on and make theirs bigger and better!
The likes of Pinterest, Facebook and the copious amount of wedding blogs out there have changed the thinking of Brides entirely. A world of creativeness can now be accessed through the click of a button. Facebook enables Brides to see a huge range of suppliers that perhaps they would have never traditionally found. A lot of these are new businesses set up in the past few years that are bringing affordable yet different products and services to couples. Brides can search Pinterest for original ideas that they can replicate themselves at very low costs and involve the whole Bridal party. The blogs are acting in much the same way as the traditional wedding magazines and showcasing what other couples did on their big day. The beauty about these blogs is they often team these real life stories with do it yourself guides, free downloadable templates as well as supplier information.
The nature of wedding venues has changed over the past few years to bring couples more choice about where to hold their celebrations. Venues such as barns, sports establishments, boats, village halls, historic houses, museums, marquees and even schools are now getting licenced or holding receptions as they realise they should be on the wedding band wagon! These venues often lend themselves to a less traditional look or are a blank canvas for the couples to work with. The negative can be the hire charge involved and the extra cost of facilities such as caterers so it is only natural that costs need to be kept down where possible. Low cost afternoon tea parties, asking the guests to be involved in bringing items for a dessert buffet or having a later wedding with only one meal mean budgets don’t get out of hand but the day is still as special as having a traditional format.
The UK is very much in the middle of a ‘make do and mend’ revival and weddings now reflect this. A return to traditional values is reflected in the television programmes we watch and the press articles we read. Brides are now drawing from the resources around them to use the talents of friends and family to pull off their big day with quirky, individual twists.
Here at Behind The Scenes we have reacted to this change in Brides thinking by ensuring our packages suit everyone. Our Venue Set Up and Styling package starts at £100 and means couples can take the worry out of setting up all ther hard work. We look to work with suppliers who are offering something special to couples without necessarily having the price tag to match! Many of these businesses offer DIY classes to help cut down the spending and let Brides stay in control of their special day. These classes are great to have for a hen do as they get all the guests involved! What all the suppliers have in common is that they are all eager to offer as much advice as possible and pass on as much enthusiasm as they can to ensure that each individual day is as special as it can be and will last forever in the memories of the people involved.
If you're a DIY Bride and think you may need some help with setting up on the big day then pop along to our next fair to say hi to Nicola and the BTSE team.
