Creating the most perfect, elegant, stylish, and glamorous wedding at a Luxury Wedding Venue does not happen by accident. It takes time, planning and extreme attention to detail to ensure that your wedding is "the event" friends and family are discussing for years to come! As a savvy, sophisticated couple, you want to create a first-class and world-class event. Therefore, you will want a wedding day to be like no other and every detail to be simply perfect.
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32 STEP GUIDE TO WEDDING PLANNING
Luxury Wedding Planning Guide 2023
If you want to wow your guests with a wedding filled with touches of traditional luxury but need help knowing where to start, we are here for you. Below, we will discuss some of the UK's most luxurious and exclusive venues and look into all the details of planning a world-class event. We have also created a comprehensive 32-step guide to wedding planning covering every step of your journey.
5. Bespoke Tailored Wedding Suits
1. The Definition Of Luxury
Luxury means different things to different people, and we each interpret luxury from our own perspective of what is and isn't attainable. But the Oxford English Dictionary defines luxury as "a state of great comfort or elegance, especially when involving great expense."
Creating a genuinely luxurious wedding that will wow your guest is complex. Everything from the most significant element to the smallest detail must be considered & work together.
Creating a world-class wedding is more than just about money, although this will help! To have a true feeling of luxury, your entire event requires a cohesive sense of vision to bring it together.
2. Luxury Wedding Planning
As already discussed, a genuinely luxurious wedding does not happen by accident. It takes planning and attention to detail, which can quickly feel like a full-time job. So while you may already have the luxury vision and mindset, turning this into a once-in-a-lifetime event can be challenging. Even small weddings are filled with many little details that are often overlooked. With larger weddings, these can grow exponentially & with luxury weddings, every one of those details counts!
For many couples planning a luxury wedding, hiring a wedding planner is the most effective way of turning their vision into reality. How do you get in touch with a specific designer? Can I book a particular artist? Can I use my preferred catering? These are all questions that a professional wedding planner will be able to help with, plus many more.
Hiring a professional wedding planner can feel like an added extravagance for many couples. However, hiring a luxury wedding planner can save you money and get you access to exclusive luxury venues! They understand that quality more than quantity matters in planning your wedding and know how to bring your vision together without wasting money.
An experienced luxury wedding planner will not only have access to the venues, designers and suppliers you are already aware of. But introduce you to hidden and exclusive suppliers that aren't available to everyone else.
A professional wedding planner will help turn your dreams into a spectacular reality. They will work with you to curate a spectacular one-off event that is personal to you and expresses who you are as a couple. They will consider who you are, the feel you want for your wedding and any special activities or themes you want as part of your day.
3. Luxury Wedding Venues UK
Choosing the right venue for your wedding is a big decision. Once food and drink are included, your venue will likely be your budget's most significant spend. Therefore, choosing the right location to host your luxury wedding is a critical step that can significantly affect the feel of your day.
Once your wedding grows beyond a specific size and budget, selecting your venue on geographical location is no longer practical. Simply speaking, you may need to widen your search area to find the place that perfectly aligns with your vision, date and guest list.
Suppose you are employing the services of a wedding planner. In that case, they're able to scout the perfect luxury venues for your wedding. Once your ideal vision has been curated, they can use this information to find the perfect luxury wedding venue.
20 LUXURY WEDDING VENUES IN THE UK
To help plan your once-in-a-lifetime luxury wedding, we used all our experience to create a list of the top 20 luxury wedding venues in the UK
4. Designer Luxury Wedding Dresses
It isn't unreasonable to want to feel like a celebrity at your wedding. After all, it is most likely a day you have been dreaming about your whole life. So it is only natural to imagine your guest will be wowed and your fiancé astounded the first time they see you in your wedding dress.
We are all accustomed to seeing Hollywood stars rocking the latest jaw-dropping couture gowns and one-of-a-kind custom creations. However, when it comes to weddings, celebrities often have access to some of the most jaw-dropping and dreamy wedding gowns imaginable! With the buzz surrounding celebrity weddings, it is no surprise that stars frequently return to the best of the best in the wedding industry. Working with A-list celebrities, designers typically have months, if not years, to create their clients' dream wedding gowns and ensure every detail is perfect. Those with tighter deadlines can expect to be paying a hefty premium.
So you are planning your very own luxury wedding and looking for THE PREFECT DRESS; where should you start? What may surprise you is that many designer dresses are attainable without the A-list status. So if you are looking for a dress that will stun your guests and leave jaws on the floor, a celebrity wedding dress designer may be the perfect fit. The top names in wedding design know better than anyone how to cater to their client's needs, from ensuring the absolutely ideal fit to custom personalisation.
5. Gents Bespoke Tailoring
If the ladies are sorted, what about the gents? Unfortunately, high-quality wedding suits are frequently overlooked at weddings. Left to their own devices, most gents will lean towards off-the-peg or wedding suit hire. Often resulting in groom's and groomsmen's suits that could be better in fit.
So what are the options when it comes to suits?
- Off The Peg
- Made To Measure
- Bespoke Tailored
Off The Peg Suits
Off the peg, suits don't have to be inexpensive, but they are what the name suggests. You can walk into a shop, take off the peg (and after paying) walk out wearing it. However, even the most expensive off-the-peg suit has no personalised tailoring to fit your specific shape or size. Therefore, you must fit the suit for the perfect fit rather than the other way around.
Made To Measure Suits
Made-to-measure suits are the grey area between off-the-peg and bespoke tailored. These suits will require your personal measurements, which are then applied to a standard pattern. From this, the finished suit will then be crafted. While these tailored items are measured and cut to fit you, the degree of tailoring and customisation is limited.
Bespoke Tailored Suits
Often cited as one of the most luxurious purchases a man can make, a bespoke tailored suit is specifically made to measure for you. There are no standard patterns to which your measurements must fit. Likewise, there are no pre-determined constraints on materials or personalisation.
This will be a suit unlike any you own, measured to fit you perfectly, with the cut and drape sitting perfectly, no matter your shape or size. It is this that makes a bespoke tailored suit stand out instantly as something unique.
6. Elegant Wedding Details
Once your luxury wedding venue is booked, you will want to start looking at how to transform it with your personal touches. Choosing the details correctly can completely change how a venue looks and feels. Not only this, but when interwoven skillfully with other elements such as wedding invites etc., it gives your wedding a true luxury cohesion.
If you are looking to achieve a feeling of genuinely extravagant luxury. No item such as venue, theme, styling, flowers, music, or dress code should be considered in isolation. Each element must work together harmoniously, elevating the other higher like a fine orchestra.
7. Luxury Wedding Photography & Film
Your day is something that you will want to remember for posterity. Therefore choosing the correct film and photography team to expertly capture your day is essential.
At Fitzpatrick Photography, we are a husband-and-wife who set out over a decade ago to do something different! We wanted to help our couples move away from the traditionally uncomfortable, staged wedding photos we know so well! Instead, create memories, authentic, emotional and genuine mementoes of each day.
With over 10 years of experience shooting at some of the UK's best and finest luxury venues, our couples know they are in safe hands. To each wedding bring, we bring an unparalleled wealth of expertise that our couples know they can trust
No matter the size of your wedding or how detailed the planning is, nerves and emotions always run high. Knowing your team understands when to be capturing a moment and when to be there to support you is invaluable.
8. Luxury Wedding Cost
The concept of an "average cost" for a UK wedding is misleading. In fact, you can get married for under £100 at a registry office. Alternatively, budgets can quickly run into hundreds of thousands of pounds for a wedding you would expect to see gracing the cover of your favourite wedding magazine.
So at what cost does a wedding budget become average or even luxury? The financial site NimbleFins recently looked into this. They created a detailed report separating spending into lower, middle and upper-range brackets based on various polls from places such as Hitched.com.
So how much does a luxury UK wedding cost?
The report showed that most UK weddings fall between the lower and mid ranges. So anything above "average" could be considered "luxury". Still, the upper range typically saw budgets of £56K or £68K once everything was included.
| Wedding Costs | Lower Range | Middle | Upper Range |
| Wedding & Reception Venue | £500 | £7,600 | £10,000 |
| Catering (food) | £1,500 | £2,275 | £8,000 |
| Catering (drink) | £400 | £1,050 | £5,000 |
| Dress | £350 | £1,300 | £3,000 |
| Photography and video | £500 | £2,000 | £4,000 |
| Entertainment | £200 | £1,000 | £2,000 |
| Flowers | £250 | £500 | £2,000 |
| Engagement and Wedding rings | £250 | £3,000 | £10,000 |
| Cake | £200 | £500 | £2,000 |
| Transportation | £- | £500 | £1,500 |
| Stationary | £- | £500 | £350 |
| Attendant's outfits | £- | £350 | £800 |
| Groom's suit | £50 | £500 | £800 |
| Mother-of-the-bride outfit | £- | £200 | £400 |
| Hair and makeup | £80 | £150 | £1,000 |
| Headdress and/or veil | £30 | £70 | £250 |
| Shoes | £50 | £100 | £400 |
| Other wedding jewellery | £40 | £100 | £500 |
| Gifts | £- | £250 | £1,000 |
| Ceremony fees | £57 | £200 | £300 |
| Decoration | £175 | £350 | £2,500 |
| Honeymoon | £1,250 | £4,500 | £10,000 |
| Hen party | £200 | £470 | £800 |
| Stag party | £200 | £550 | £1,000 |
| Total Wedding Costs | £4,632 | £22,495 | £55,800 |
| Honeymoon | £1,250 | £4,500 | £10,000 |
| Hen party | £200 | £470 | £800 |
| Stag party | £200 | £550 | £1,000 |
| Total Costs, incl. wedding, honeymoon, stag/hen dos | £6,282 | £28,015 | £67,600 |
The number of couples spending between £40,100 and £50,000 on their day rose from 2 to 4% between 2020 and 2022. However, those couples spending over £50,000 rose from 5 to 6% over the same period.
9. Luxury Wedding Entertainment
Once you have your partner, the venue, the dress of your dreams and, of course, the rings. All that is left is to make the day come alive with fun and entertainment.
Getting the entertainment right at any wedding can be challenging, no matter the budget. No one wants to spend money only to see guests disinterested or, even worse, irritated by the entertainment. Thankfully most wedding entertainment has come a long way since the days of homemade mixtapes and a DJ playing cheesy hits on repeat. Today the only absolute limit is your budget. If you want dancing waiters, no problem. How about a gospel choir or fairground rides? You can have them!
So what are the steps to planning the perfect luxury wedding entertainment?
1. How To Consider Your Theme
2. Think About Logistics
3. Do Your Research
4. Think Beyond Music
5. Book Early
6. Consider Kids Entertainment
7. Trust Your Entertainment
How To Consider Your Theme
Planning is the key to bringing everything together to create an elegant feel for your wedding. As we have already discussed, planning should not be done in silos be with a holistic approach to your day. Instead, carefully consider how they work together in harmony to create something truly magical. For example, a string quartet may best suit a classical celebration. At the same time, a 1920s jazz band may go perfectly with a vintage feel. When picking your entertainment, consider the overall theme and feel you want from your day.
Think About Logistics
Another critical element is logistics. I.e. does your venue have space for a 12-piece orchestra or allow aerial acrobatics. Does your venue have noise restrictions limiting how late your band can play or at what volume? These issues can arise at any wedding, no matter the size or budget, so you want to be sure before anything is booked.
Do Your Research
If you are not hiring a wedding coordinator, treat your wedding entertainment like every other aspect of your day; research, research, research.
Once you have narrowed down your type of wedding entertainment, check out online reviews and ask your venue for their recommendations. Create a short list of possible options and then arrange to speak to them. You want all your suppliers to be on the same page and understand your vision for your day. This is essential to a stress-free wedding, no matter your budget, but the more people involved, the more critical it becomes.
Wherever possible, arrange to see how they perform or act. With some groups, it is possible to see them performing live. If not, ask to see recent videos of them performing.
Rember, check with your venue before booking for any conditions or restrictions that may be in place. Be sure to pass this information on early and check if it will affect the performance.
Think Beyond Music
Almost every wedding will include music at some point in the day, but today there are plenty of other ways to keep your guest entertained. Of course, when and what activities you want to include will depend significantly on your style and theme, but they can help to create that wow factor.
If you think about additional entertainment, consider magicians, comedians or caricaturists. All can add something extra to the post-ceremony drinks reception and even post-wedding breakfast lul. However, if you are looking for the real wow factor, circus performers, aerial acrobatics, and fire eating are all options.
Book Early
Just like everything else wedding-related, high-quality entertainment gets booked early! It is becoming increasingly likely for renowned musicians and entertainers to become booked out up to 12 to 18 months in advance. However, if you're considering someone even more well-known, you may need to start thinking even earlier! Leave booking your entertainment to the last minute, and you may not only find your choices limited but paying a premium for not booking sooner.
Suppose you are still trying to figure out where to start. In that case, a growing number of reputable agencies represent a wide range of acts. These agencies can connect you with various entertainers suitable for any wedding style, theme and budget.
Kids Entertainment
If you are not planning a child-free wedding, you will also need to consider entertaining the children. How you choose to do this will depend on the age and number of children likely to be attending. Along with professional children's entertainers, there are an increasing number of specialist wedding creche services available to oversee everything. Services such as these will be a massive hit with the parents. It means both mum and dad can relax, hit the dance floor and enjoy your wedding, something rare at weddings!
Trust Your Entertainment
Finally, once you have booked your entertainment, trust them. You have done your research, read the reviews and hired professionals. Therefore it is likely that they have performed at hundreds of weddings, know how to read a room and provide you and your guest with the best show possible. So while there is nothing wrong with asking them to perform a few favourite songs, they will know how to get everyone from your friends to your grandad up dancing.
10. Luxury Honeymoon Planning
If you have been together long enough to get engaged, chances are your honeymoon won't be your first holiday as a couple. Yet it isn't unusual for the stakes to seem somehow higher.
This isn't surprising. Your honeymoon will likely be one of the most expensive trips you take together. Once you factor in planning your wedding, and the stresses involved, you can understandably feel under a lot of pressure to get things right.
Planning your perfect honeymoon can be as exciting and stressful as planning your wedding. Of course, getting married is an excellent excuse to spend big on the trip of a lifetime. But before diving in headfirst, take a minute to sit down and consider the practicalities. Because just like your wedding, your dream honeymoon won't magically happen. It takes planning.
YOUR ULTIMATE WEDDING PLANNING GUIDE
To help with your wedding planning we have put together a comprehensive 32 step guide taking you every step of the way
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