Top Tips for Styling your Big Day

Here Charlotte the stylist at Fine & Dandy tells us her top tips for styling the perfect wedding day;

Create a Vision Board

This doesn’t need to be as fancy as it sounds, however a vision board is always a good starting point, and a handy tool to refer back to during the wedding planning process.  Try to include a colour palette, floral design, table décor, stationery and any key details within your board.  A Pinterest board is a good way to create this, or you can simply tear images and pages from magazines and make a scrapbook-style board.  Whichever you decide to use, it is great way to communicate your ideas and style to your wedding suppliers, so they all have the same shared vision.  

Fine & Dandy TOP TIP - Don’t be afraid to let your vision board evolve during the wedding planning process! 

Cohesive Colour 

Start with a colour palette… Which colours do you both love?  Does your venue have a specific colour scheme, which you will want to compliment?  

A cohesive colour palette will create design synergy throughout your wedding, however this doesn’t mean that you have to pick one key colour and stick with it.  Focusing on one individual colour and using it throughout, can end up looking forced and contrived, with a cheap-looking end result. 

The perfect way to create an elegant and luxurious feel, is to use ‘tones of colour’ within your design.  If you love the colour grey for instance, try also using tones of ivory, mauve, mink, slate and antique silver within your decor, to give a decadent and authentic overall look.  Also consider metallics within your colour palette… do you have a preference towards gold and brass, or silver and pewter?  Or you might not want to use metallics at all, and prefer the elegance of glass and cut crystal? 

Enhance Features

The chances are you chose your dream wedding venue, because you loved it so!  Whatever it’s style, whether it be a beautiful country house or a rustic converted barn, consider the existing features within your venue and enhance them.  Feature fireplaces, statement windows and sweeping staircases are all great focal points to add those finishing touches, such as candlelight and florals.  And don’t forget about suspended décor! 

Focus on key areas within your venue and create zones.  These might include a welcome area, ceremony backdrop, feature top table, cake display, and chill-out area, and you might want to include key details from your vision board within these zones.   

Fine & Dandy TOP TIP – Utilise your venue décor & props wherever you can.  You might only be spending 30 minutes in your ceremony room, so if you’re using lanterns down the aisle or flowers on a fireplace or ceremony table, see if it is possible to move them and re-use them in your reception space later on.  

It’s Your Wedding… Do it Your Way!

It might seem obvious, however this is so often forgotten.  Your wedding day is your day, and should be all about you!  

Try not to get swept away by wedding trends, and focus on what you love and your style.  This will give a much more authentic feel, and regardless of budget, guests always love a wedding which has personal touches here and there.  A simple way to add personal influences is within your on-the-day stationery, such as seating plans with table names rather than numbers.  Bespoke name settings, wedding favours, interactive guest books, photo areas, and remembering loved ones, are also great ways to add warmth and personality. 

We see so often, couples trying to create a wedding which they feel they should have rather than creating the wedding which they actually want, so don’t be afraid to break the wedding mould and think outside of the box. 

Seek Help from the Experts. 

Your key wedding suppliers are all experts within their own field, so lean on them for advice and support.  As a wedding stylist, I always say ‘no question is a silly question’ and ‘don’t be afraid to ask’.  We’re all here to help, and to make your wedding planning process as easy and stress-free as possible.  Hiring a wedding stylist can also be beneficial to keeping within that dreaded budget.  It is so common for couples to panic buy unnecessary items in the latter stages of the wedding countdown… and hiring a stylist will help avoid these needless costs. 

Fine & Dandy TOP TIP – When choosing a wedding stylist, go with your gut feeling…It is important that your personalities mesh well, and you need to be confident that your stylist is going to invest as much time and love into your wedding as you are!