Please come and critique my wedding plans!

[FunkyChunk]

Hi All,

I'm in the very early stages of planning our wedding for next September and would appreciate some feedback! Please be honest

We are looking at a wedding in the City of London. It works out cheaper as the venues only charge a min spend on weekends, so we are avoiding a hire fee. So, rough plan as follows:

Mid afternoon ceremony, 3pm? Coach/big red bus to pick up guests from central point near home (SE London). 25-30 minute journey to ceremony venue.

3pm Ceremony in hotel - near Tower Hill / Fenchurch Street.

5 min walk (or continue bus?) to reception venue in Leadenhall Market - Lamb Tavern pub.

4 - 5pm Drinks reception at pub which also has outside area in the market with canapes (scotch eggs, honey glazed sausages, crab fishcakes etc).

Photos - do NOT want to take long doing this, I hate having my photo taken and would rather be eating the canapes! Candid shots throughout the day will be better, I think....

5 - 6.30/7pm Dinner in the pub, speeches etc. Canapes to replace starters (hopefully), with a dinner of fish & chips and chocolate brownie with ice cream.

7 - 7.30pm Back downstairs to pub/market area for evening reception. Some more guests arrive, DJ to start playing in the back ground before...

8pm First Dance.

8.15 -10.30 Live band plays outside in the bar/market area, evening buffet served (sausage/bacon butties, cheese boards, wedding cake).

10.30 - 12.00 Back into basement of pub for DJ until late.

We would like something quite relaxed, not too formal. I really don't want the guests to have long periods of hanging around. We also don't want to go too overboard with the costs, but will probably also provide a photobooth for some entertainment later on.

Do you think its OK that we provide transport on the way to the wedding but not return? There is a major station which is about 10 mins from the venue which runs services to/from our area. Guests could get the train back or taxis for around £25-30.

Any thoughts?

PS: No cash requests on wedding invitations

PPS: A pic of the pub venue...

Sounds brilliant. Love that pub, love the market area. Very cool. Do it!

All sounds fab Agree with others that transport is nice but not necessary, but will make for some great photo ops! As others have said, taxis home for particularly elderly or fussy guests are easily arranged.

One word of advice - please please try not to scrimp on your photographer. By all means don't throw your money away on just anyone, but find someone whose style you like and who has good reviews. Your pictures will last a lifetime, and there's nothing worse than looking back and regretting not getting enough lovely pics or wishing you'd done it differently, because by then it's too late. I LOVE our wedding photos, and look at them often - but by contrast I have a friend who booked the first cheap photographer she found online, and she really regrets it, to the point that she sometimes gets quite upset when she talks about her wedding

£1000 does seem like a lot of money (it is!) but a good photographer is truly worth their weight in gold. You can also find someone who doesn't force you to buy a printed album from them - that way you can just get the high res images from them and have your own album printed, which is often waaaaaay cheaper and just as nice. If you need to, scrap the bus and make the saving that way...I honestly don't think you'd regret it!

Congratulations and happy wedding planning!

Sounds lovely!

Professional photos are absolutely worth the money, I was nearly put off by the cost and hating having my photo taken, but looking back am so glad we paid for someone. My tip would be to choose very carefully and if you want it to be relaxed find someone who takes great pictures and you get on with, so they feel almost like another guest.

Also, the canapé/photo/drinks hour might be a bit tight for time, photos take ages - could you extend this to 2 hours?

Makes me want to get married again!

If you don't have the bus for transport to the wedding you could always have it from ceremony venue to the pub? As someone else suggested, have a little mini tour of London.

Have you found a hotel to have the ceremony in? An alternative could be a registry office? There are some nice ones in central London and the surrounding areas.

I think the Lamb Tavern is lovely, I love city pubs (although I'm biased as I'm having my reception in a different central London pub in 2 weeks time )

Had a quick look over it.

Don't put on transport for guests to the ceremony. Totally unnecessary they will get themselves there. Walk the 5 mins between ceremony and reception unless it's raining. Venue is very central and easy to get to. I hate buses so would avoid at all costs of it were me as they make me feel sick.

It's difficult for me to critique the food as I prefer a formal and more wedding-y style so for example I wouldn't say canapés replace a starter but obviously not a big deal just what I would do if it were me. I would say it's too rustic but I'm sure it will be delicious. What drink are you serving? I think it's good if you can to pay for champagne and wine with the meal.

Have a contingency plan for rain with the outside area.

Times seem good and great that you're doing good for evening guests.

Venue looks really good.

Congratulations!

Sorry just read your updates so no worries about the rain. Make sure there are plenty of heaters big open spaces like that get very cold.

If it's just elderly guests you're worried about they can get cabs which are better than buses- really out of the ordinary to put on transport unless it's from the ceremony to the reception- you're not planning a coach trip!