Here is a selection of Q&As from Your Herts and Beds Wedding magazine whether it be about flowers, hair and makeup, fashion, wedding themes, health & beauty, cakes, stationery, legal advice. If you would like your question answered by our experts, please email it to editor@yourhertsbeds.wedding
To view more expert advice on a different topic, please select one from the list below.
Festive-settings
Q. My hubby-to-be and I love Christmas and want to incorporate festive nods into our ceremony. Do you have any ideas of how we could do this?
A. Kelly Hawes says: I love Christmas too, and I think there are many ways you could incorporate the season into your ceremony.
Include cinnamon potpourri bowls around the ceremony entrance to greet your guests with that wonderful Christmas smell that invokes many memories. Add some Christmas music in the background as well to get everyone in a festive mood.
Winter weddings have less daylight, so make the most of this by holding your service slightly later in the day, around 3 p.m to 3:30 p.m, when it's starting to get dark. Create an abundance of twinkling fairylights and candles to add a romantic atmosphere and make your guests feel cosy.
Think about the little touches too! Include holly in your centrepieces or mistletoe over the spot where you and your partner will say your vows.
Lastly, remember that celebrants can add any content to your ceremony; how great would it be to have all your guests joining in a Christmas sing along – even better if you can arrange to have a chorister lead the singing?
Kelly Hawes, Kelly H Celebrant
www.kellyhcelebrant.co.uk
Setting the tone
Q. How can a celebrant help us make the ceremony extra special?
A. Kelly Hawes says: Often, the main reason for using a celebrant is because couples want to add special touches to their ceremony and would rather have someone telling the story of who they are and the journey they've taken together. The experience is far from a traditional wedding ceremony that you might expect or have experienced before.
That said, couples often still want the usual highlights of a traditional wedding such as an entrance, exchanging vows, rings and the “I dos” – all of which a celebrant can include if desired.
As well as the personal story, a celebrant can add so much more. Add symbolic elements such as hand-tying, candle lighting or planting a tree. Or why not include guests? Maybe your parents will be involved by placing the ribbons across your wrists for the hand tying section or as part of a wine sharing ritual (one of my favourites) where they might offer you wine to drink as an acceptance into the family, which you in turn share with your partner for life.
Your guests should be listening to your ceremony while thinking 'this is so them' throughout.
Kelly Hawes, Kelly H Celebrant
www.kellyhcelebrant.co.uk
