How to Get the Most Out of TWLC on Your Wedding Day

The day of your wedding can be an extremely overwhelming day, the anticipation of the day finally arriving after years of planning can certainly take its toll, emotions are high and there is an underlying sense of anxiety to ensure that everything is perfect. But, our best piece of advice is to breathe. To take it all in and savour every moment. Perfection is a hard standard to obtain, so please do not feel disheartened if something doesn’t go exactly as you imagined. Perspective is a great thing to try and remember when you’re in the midst of your day, and that is - you’re marrying the love of your life, at your dream venue, surrounded by all of your loved ones. This is a momentous day and you shouldn’t lose sight of why you are both gathered there in the first place, and that is to marry your best friend, make wonderful memories and embrace every moment.

In saying that, however - here are a few Love Club tips and tricks to bear in mind throughout your day, to ensure that your gallery is as magical as it possibly can be.

Morning Preparations

The morning of your wedding is filled with so much buzz and excitement, that before you know it the whole morning has slipped you by in the blink of an eye! Here are a couple of things you can prepare the night before in order to make sure all the special little moments and details are captured beautifully.

Set aside any little trinkets that you want capturing. A list of these could include; your perfume, any jewellery, any special items that you may have been given (i.e. your something old, new, borrowed, blue etc), if you and your partner have got each other any little gifts that you want documenting in a picture, or any glasswear - set all of these aside so that we can incorporate them with your other morning images, including your flowers, shoes and dress.

If you sent out any wonderful invitations, then why not order a spare one and bring that with you to your venue, we can set out a flat lay of them which make for a really good starting point for your gallery.

Another great time saving and effective piece of advice would be try and keep an area in your room clean and tidy so that you can use this space in order to put your dress on, you want to make sure you have plenty of room free from any clutter and mess. Also just general tidiness (as best you can!) overall is great, just then there is nothing messy imposing in the background of your candid images whilst you and the bridal party get ready.

First Kiss as a Married Couple

When the time has come that you may finally kiss, make sure to hold this for a few moments so that we can ensure we have caught your first kiss on camera - also, if you’re feeling really overcome with love and lust, KISS AGAIN! This way we will have plenty of opportunity to capture this special moment.

Confetti

By doubling up on your confetti is a huge bonus for a few reasons. Firstly, we have the luxury of doing more than one confetti shot, just in case the first attempt was evaporated by a gust of wind, for example. Also, there really is no such thing as too much confetti thrown over the newly married couple in order to capture that colourful, lively and full of life photo.

Whatever your set up is for the confetti shot, be sure to stop and share a kiss - whether you’re walking down an isle of your loved ones as they’re showering you with rose petals, or you are in the centre of all your friends and family as they gather around you in an arch - cheer, smile, laugh and kiss. The confetti shots are fun and colourful so have fun with it!

Your First Dance

Try and be conscious of where the camera is for your first dance, we want to capture your faces looking at each other, and your embrace of one and other, while at the same time, we don’t want to be chasing you around in circles and ultimately ruining this moment for your guests.

Speed

Throughout TWLC direction on your wedding day, try to do everything at a slightly slower speed. Whether we ask you to do a twirl, or walk towards us, or kiss - take your time. Slow it down. Allow us to capture the moments in a romantic and intentional way - and although you may feel a little awkward whilst doing so, just know how naturally and beautifully they truly translate to the images.

Guests

Have a little word with your guests on the run up to the wedding informing them to ‘ignore the photographer’, ask them not to clam up or change what they’re doing if they see the camera pointing in their direct, as we want to capture images of your guests enjoying themselves, laughing and clinking glasses with each other, and this happens most authentically if they can ‘ignore the photographer’ - for the most part anyway!

Penny Saving Ideas

Flowers -

Ahh flowers, perhaps one of the main styling choices that will really set the tone of your theme, vibe and atmosphere. However, as wonderful as they are, those little petals can soon start to add up. In order to save some pennies on the flower front, without compromising on your vision for the venue, why not do some foraging on the run up to your wedding?

Spring - Summer

Ok, so this time of year may be slightly harder to forage for, due to the law in the UK that makes it illegal to pick wild flowers if you’re out in nature - HOWEVER, lets think Bluebells, Daffodils, Cornflowers, Fern, Lavender, Poppies - if you’re able to plant some of these Spring/Summer wild flower seeds ahead of your big day and then pick them in time, they would make for the perfect little table fillers, pop them in some nice little vases, or up cycled jam jars, to add a pop of colour and gorgeous smells. Maybe have a nice little word with the parents, or grandparents, I am sure they would be more than happy to take on this lovely task on the run up to your big day, and they would take so much pride in doing so!

Another little tip to bulk out your table decor, little jars filled with strawberries, Blackberries and raspberries to add that pop of colour and true British Summer feel.

Autumn - Winter

Now, this time of year allows us a little more flexibility whereby we are able to really live our best foraging life. Here’s a few ideas you might want to try. Collect a mixture of twigs all different shapes and sizes, you can fill larger vases with these and wrap around some copper-wire fairy lights and pop in any large, sparse corners you may have. Fallen autumnal leaves to strategically scatter down either side of the isle. Conkers, Acorns, Cranberries, Satsumas, Cloves, placed in little bowls or jars for a truly cosy feel, and authentic wintery smell. PUMPKINS.

If foraging might be the way to go for you, make a morning out of it, invite your bridal party to help and take yourselves for some well deserved lunch and Prosecco once you’ve conquered the forests!

Celebrant Vs Registrar

I think this question is being asked more frequently now when it comes to booking your ceremony and deciding on who you should get to orchestrate your wedding day. So keep reading for information surrounding the differences between the two, some pros and negatives, and some slightly bias opinions. It may just help you to figure out which is the best choice for you. Please bear in mind, these are all the thoughts and opinions of TWLC, all of the comparisons below are based on getting married at a venue outside of a registry office.

Registrars tend to be a lot more regimented and you really can’t afford to be the ‘fashionably late’ bride, as registrars usually have 3, 4, maybe 5 weddings in one day, and they can sometimes threaten to leave if you’re going to be eating into their schedule for the day, so when booking a registrar just bare this in mind. Registrars are perhaps a more traditional or low-key option. As far as I am aware, you are able to choose from number of scripts, a 10 minute one, 20 minute one, 30 minute one. So if you’re a couple who is absolutely dreading standing in front of friends and family and having to say a bunch of things, with all eyes on you - then maybe a shorter registrar service may be for you. A slight negative of this, is that a registrar service can feel impersonal, especially when comparing them to a celebrant, as the registrars don’t really know you at all before your ceremony, as opposed to a celebrant who takes the time to get to know you as a couple. One pro of a registrar (especially in England) is that they can conduct legally binding marriage and civil partnership ceremonies at any building or space that is licensed for civil weddings.

A wedding celebrant is a professionally trained and fully insured officiant, with the skills and experience in place to create completely bespoke and personalised ceremonies, where they will get to know your love story in order to create the perfect, most memorable and unique ceremony for you. You will be able to include any symbolic gestures or medieval traditions such as hand fasting, ring warming and unity candles - there really is no limit, only your imagination. Sadly, celebrants in England and Wales cannot legally marry you on your wedding day, the official legal documentation would have to be signed either before or after the wedding day at your local registry office - however, in Scotland, a humanist celebrant IS able to legally marry you there and then, and fingers crossed this transpires into England very soon! A celebrant can conduct your ceremony in your back garden, or on top of a mountain, once again, there are no restrictions when it comes to a celebrant wedding.

Managing the Weather

Ok, so welcome to the UK, where its sunny and warm in November, its torrential rain in August, and it freezes over in April - you may be in control of a lot of things for your wedding day, but absolutely NOT the weather. And here at TWLC, we cannot stress enough how important it is that you don’t put too pressure on the weather and you simply, embrace it. Whether you’re wanting a frosty sunny day, or bright hot sunshine, it's so important not to get your hopes up too much about the perfect weather, but rather lean into whatever Mother Nature throws at you.

If rain is forecast think about bringing some personalised umbrellas that either fit in with your colour scheme, or cute little bespoke Mr & Mrs brollies. Maybe a change of shoes might be necessary too if you’re wanting some wonderful outdoor snaps, but are worried about getting muddy - some cool wellies or walking boots might be something to consider. If you’re open to embracing the winter elements, just remember how atmospheric and moody this enables your portrait shots to be. Also, think about bringing a couple of extra layers, like a gorgeous shawl you can both snuggle under, or matching bespoke leather jackets.

If you end up getting hot sunshine and blue skies, then this is your PSA to remember to wear your SPF! Check with your make up artist that they have some to hand to apply on your last step of your skin care routine, otherwise, we can recommend Hawaiian Tropic as a really lovely SPF, that works extremely well under makeup, its hydrating yet really light weight, its definitely one to keep in your kit (even after your wedding day). Okay, PSA officially over, there are other little accessories that you could include for your hot wedding, that are not only practical but could enhance some of your photos and give them life and personality; fabulous sunglasses, an extravagant fan, or a vintage umbrella to keep the sun off your faces.