style your wedding | the little lending company

Hello again Little Lenders,

I really hope the first part of this blog was useful and given you a few tips and pointers for styling your own day. Without further ado, here is part 2.

N – NOTE DOWN YOUR SUPPLIERS

Keep a list of the suppliers you’ll be using for your wedding day in one place. Also when they’ll need access to your venue so that you can let your venue know. It’s worth giving this list to someone who is on site the day before to check that everyone has been and a list of numbers in case something dosent go to plan.

0 – O.T.T

It’s OK to go a little Over The Top and add a little WOW factor (It’s only your blinking Wedding day!) Create a talking point with your decor, a big entrance or a ceremony focal point with a difference. Your photographer will love you for it too.

Image via 100 layer cake.

P – PINTEREST

Pinterest can be the greatest source of inspiration and at times the greatest curse. Once you have pinned and planned an idea you really, really love step away from the pins. There will always be more ideas than time! Go with what your gut instinct is telling you for your decor and you won’t go far wrong. And I always say simplicity can rule more often than not. A lot of the ideas you see on Pinterest have been created by teams of stylists and professional wedding hire teams with access to lots of tools and even machinery. If you think you can nail the look with your family and loved ones then go for it, if you think it’s beyond your skills set keep things a little simpler with the set-up.

Image source Ruffled Blog.

Q – QUALITY NOT QUANTITY

More is not more. Give your props, decor pieces and big ideas a space to shine.

R – READY FOR ANYTHING

Packing an essential ‘on the day Styling bag’ is a total must. You just know you’ll need to re-iron those table topper cloths again. Ours includes : Scissors, string, pins, cable ties, bulldog clips, gaffe tape and electrical tape, iron and thick towel and plenty of bin bags. Pack some glass cleaner and kitchen roll too to touch up glass wear. These are the items that you’ll definitely find yourself looking for.

S – SPACES

Make or ask for a floor plan of your venue and go to your venue to take photos from all angles. It will keep you on track when you’re planning something for a wall that actually has a door in the middle of it, or you’d like to plug some lights in but there is no socket anywhere near by. (Cue gaffa tape from your kit…)

Image via Style Me Pretty.

T – TEAM WORK

Sounds crazy, but assign a ‘set-up’ day team of friends and family to help. Delegate jobs out with rough timings for each task before you arrive at the venue; hanging the bunting, dressing the cards table (some pictures from your Pinterest boards for friends will really help make sure it’s spot on too)… Letting other people help with jobs will leave you more free to act as the head stylist make sure everything is just as you envisioned. Try to leave some time at the end of the day to do final checks so you can sleep easy knowing everything looks perfecto.

U – UNDERSTANDING SUPPLIERS

Picking suppliers that really understand you and your style is crucial and make your wedding planning heaps less daunting. Set up a meeting or go for a coffee with your photographer and florist to make sure you’re on the same page. All good suppliers will want to get to know what you’re about as a couple and what you really want. Then, really all you need to do is trust them to do what they do best.

V – VENUE

When picking your venue make sure it will compliment the styling that you have in mind. A rustic aesthetic is going to be really hard to achieve in a modern, urban building. It will save you lots of styling work and help you style simply and effectively if you choose a venue that has the feel you’re after.

Green Wedding Shoes.

W – WEATHER

If it all gets a little soggy have you thought of a back up plan? How much of your day are you reliant on being outside? Make sure you let your wedding caterer or co-ordinator know Plan B if the weather does take a U-turn and can help make the necessary changes to ensure a smooth turnaround of the day. No-one wants soggyy sandwiches or bottoms for that matter.

Rock my wedding.

X – ‘X’ MARKS THE SPOT

Sign your wedding well – Right from the roads leading to the venue. There is nothing worse than having a hidden beauty of a venue that no-one can find. It will create excitement on the drive through too.

Y – YES I CAN

Be confident that you can bring all the elements of your wedding decor together, you’ve been planning for months and it will all be totally rad. If things don’t look quite pin-worthy don’t fret, ask your florist or venue co-ordinator for their opinion as they’ll usually tell you what you could tweak with their creative eye.

Z – ZZZ

Take some time after setting up the decor to really take it all in. On the day it all goes so quickly, give your self and team a big pat on the back. Get yourself a glass of bubbles and hot bath then get a good nights sleep.

There you have it our guide to styling your own wedding day. Are you looking forward to styling your own day? Missed Part 1 – Find it here.

It’s going to be a whole lot of fun…
The Little Lending Co. x

So if you’re anything like me you won’t be able to contain yourself when it comes to the decor and styling of your day. I absolutely loved that part (hence setting up this little company.)
But theres quite a few things I wish I’d know before I started my wedding styling mission and so I’ve put together this A-Z guide for a quick look at just what it’s going to take.

A – ATHMOUSPHERE

Creating a brilliant, buzzing atmosphere is the ultimate achievement for any wedding day. Think about adding in lots of your personality and some good old fashioned quirk; through sentimental signage, alternative guest books or a cracking cake topper with something a little off the wall. Guests will enjoy all the fun details and really get into the spirit of your day.

B – BEAUTIFUL BLOOMS

A little bit of pretty goes a long way on a wedding day. Personally not into really girly colours and cute, twee details so adding some pretty through floral accents was the way I added my pretty. Pockets of florals on table plans and on props will make all the difference.

Artfully Wed.

C – COLOUR

Having a colour scheme in mind can really help to pull everything together. Right from sending your Save The Date cards, to bridesmaid dress colour and flower arrangements. Even if you just have a favourite object you both love at home, a pattern or print just keep it with you while planning and out shopping – you never know when inspiration may strike.

D – DETAIL

Make a list of all the areas that could be potentially styled at your venue. The Bar, Food stations, Cards/Gifts, Entrance and Ceremony aisle and work out where you’d like to make the most impact. Adding little pockets of detail to other areas like Welcome signage and order of the day boards, the dance floor and even the toilets will make your day something to shout about.

Image via Ruffled Blog.

E – EFFORT

It really will take up a lot of your free time, evenings, weekends and sometimes you can feel that the wedding decor is consuming your every thought. (And boys, this might start to craze you when every conversation is about the W-day) but just know that it’s worth every ounce of effort.

F – FAVOURS

Call in the favours, keeping in budget is all about begging, borrowing and sometimes yes even stealing what ever you can. (I remember rummaging in abandoned skips!) The same goes with skill sets crafty Carpenter friends, Aspiring artists, Budding Florists…Use who you know. Most people will love being asked to be involved in the day.

G – GRUBS UP

We’ve posted before about food displays in our Make your wedding decor Rock blog. It’s really thinking over (or having a pin session) on how you can add some interest.

Image source Green Wedding Shoes.

H – HOME-MADE

There are some AWESOME DIY tutorials on the internet, and make for personality in a truck load, but just be aware of the time it can all take. Don’t commit to too much before the big day, if the 1,000 origami paper cranes are only 100 don’t sweat it, you did your best.

Image via Ruffled Blog.

I – INDECISION

One of the hardest points of wedding styling is making those initial decisions about the day you want. Sit down with your fiancee and think about you two, your loves and style. Picking out the venue and the type of day you want your guests to have will really help things fall into place. Working out if you’re going to be walking bare foot through a meadow to a tipi ceremony or you’d much prefer an English stately house to sip Pimms in the garden can be one of the hardest decisions through all the planning. I love Coco wedding venues concept of choosing your venue through 6 of their style categories, Bohemian Beats, Rustic Romance, Costal Cool….Go for a gander, it’s great.

J – JUGGLING

Juggling wedding planning around life can be pretty tough at times. Have a look at our handy timeline and find out what really needs to be done when. Styling elements really are one of the last things to think about believe it or not (even though I know you started pinning table centres as soon as he popped the question.)

K – KICK START THE SET UP

Make the most of the whole day on the site dressing your venue. Basically, it takes longer than you think. Take a packed lunch and plenty of drinks too if you’re in the middle of no-where, nothing worse than loosing a couple of hours to search out food. Try to really think about what you’ll need on site.

L – LIGHTING

Again this is one of the key elements that will really set the mood for the day. Feature lighting displays and oodles of candle light just makes everything more magical. We can’t recommend enough adding lights outside for when the sun dips, candles in hanging jars, festoons or strings from the trees, it’s totally worth it.

Style Me Pretty.

M – MONEY

Keep a list of all the suppliers and contacts and when their payment is due, if you can pay suppliers off early it’s going to make it much less complicated than on the day payments. It’s the last thing you want to be worrying about (even if the Usher is sorting this for you, because lets face it, after a few Jagerbomb’s he’s not going to know where that cheque for the DJ is!)

So, did you find Part 1 helpful? What are you finding challenging with your decor styling details? Drop us an email at thelittlelendingcompany@gmail.com – we’d be more than happy to help with any dilemmas.

See you soon for Part 2.
The Little Lending Co. x