So, you have made some key decisions for your wedding and now it comes time for the finer details, or as we like to call it, the fun part. This is the part when the hours spent on Pinterest are really put to use – the furniture, the design, the styling, and the colour pallet of your reception all combine to create the overall vibe and have the power to leave a lasting impression. Turing your vision into a concrete plan can feel overwhelming, so we have created a guide that you can follow, ensuring nothing is missed and your vision board becomes a reality.
For the “I have no idea where to start” wedding planner
Yes, you have been thrown into a new full-time job that people have actual qualifications for. This job, as you may be learning, can easily become an all-consuming commitment. It may not come naturally to plan an event for a collection of your nearest and dearest (and the obligatory guest list additions) so here are some useful tips that will help get you started:
- Have a look around your home. What colour is the majority of your furniture at home? What colours and tones of wood are you attracted to? Perhaps there are mostly whites or dark woods, natural, eclectic? Start here and this will help develop the look you will always be happy with. If you have chosen it for your home, it’s certainly a good place to start for your wedding.
- Begin with a key feature – the chair selection. For a sit-down wedding reception, the style and colour of the chair is the ideal place to start; I find that the rest will follow a lot easier from this central point.
- Visualise the event as if you were a guest. Imagine yourself walking into a reception and what you will need/look for. As a guest, you would be looking for where you belong, therefore signage and/or a seating chart is essential. If you are anything like us, you are looking for a champagne top-up so think about the placement of the bar. You may also want to empty your baggage and make your mark, so a gifts’ table and a guest book are next. Then, as the night progresses, other important features are the cake stand, the DJ table, and the speech lectern.
For the “give me a to-do list over a blank canvas” wedding planner
Some couples like the freedom of creating their wedding from scratch, others like a very clear plan to follow. It’s for the list lovers out there that we have created this clearly defined check-list, ensuring you have your wedding furniture covered.
You chose a sit-down affair:
- Entry furniture, easel, or signage
- Guest tables
- Bridal table
- Seating
- Gifts’ table, wishing well, signage
- Cake table
- DJ table (if required)
Additional pieces
- Bars
- Lounges
- Grazing table
- Desert table
- Backdrops or hanging installations
A cocktail reception is more your style:
- Cocktail tables, dry bar tables, or wine barrels
- Stools
- Lounges
- Gifts’ table
- Cake table
- Entry furniture or signage
Additional pieces:
- Bars
- Sit down tables
- Grazing table
- Desert bar
- Backdrops or hanging installations
For the “I’m all about the details” wedding planner
Sure, a concise list is great but if you are a details orientated person, you will want to know a little more. Having spent our careers in the events industry, and starting Heart Strings Hire and Style with a desire to see a more extensive range of event furniture on offer, we are over flowing with details on each piece.
Tables
Naked wooden or naked white wash – A choice of a wooden table suits all styles, from Hamptons to boho or rustic. White tables offer a more modern or fresh Hamptons look. White tables can even lend themselves to a boho theme given the addition of other style elements to pull it all together, like adding an oak chair collection for example.
Chairs
We have bentwood chairs available in dark wooden and white, as well as cross back chairs available in an oak wood or white. We also have bamboo chairs and wooden garden chairs. Our chairs can be styled into any theme if done correctly, but we tend to lean towards the bentwood for a more modern, sleek look. The cross back chair is for a more relaxed, classic, Hamptons, or country style reception. The wooden chairs are perfect if you are aiming for a rustic style reception. All chair designs can work for a boho theme.
Tip: Even if you are planning a cocktail reception, it’s advisable to cater seating for half of your guests at a minimum. Having the option to sit-down can be a welcome respite for many guests.
Gifts’ table
You may be simply expecting cards or you may have mentioned a wishing well on your invitation; however, guests can often arrive with sentimental present, so you need to have enough room for the odd present or two. Depending on the chosen style of your reception we can recommend our Tracy, rustic trestle, Miss Hill, Louise, or any of our Harlem tables.
Cake table
It could be a wine barrel, a cocktail table, or a small round table – there are more options for a cake table than you might think. You may also want to style your cake with a base flower arrangement or include other desserts on the table – in these cases, size matters.
Cocktail tables
At Heart Strings Hire and Style, we have a selection of modern cocktail tables to choose from; hair pin legs, modern cube shape tables, classic wrought iron base, all natural wooden, or white tops. Wine barrels can also make great cocktail tables. There are stools to compliment your table choice; bentwood, hair pin, Hamptons/country rattan, and white.
Bars
Choosing a style of bar for your wedding comes down to function and aesthetic. We have a large range of custom-built bars that range from sleek white to black with gold capping, natural wooden herringbone, and Hamptons white. Our craftsmen also have a wooden bar with pressed tin metal in the making, ready for the next wedding season.
Lounges
Matilda is our lux white wash wooden lounge collection which still hold the top spot as our most popular lounge setting. It’s a statement piece and comes with complementary cushions and throw rugs. Style it up with our new large lux beach house coffee tables or matching Matilda coffee tables. Rounding out the Heart Strings Hire and Style lounge collection, and we also have a modern Hamilton setting and a wicker option, the Marley, which provides a more relaxed atmosphere for your guests.
For the “It’s all a bit much” wedding planner
We concur. There’s a lot to think about and becoming a wedding planner is not everyone’s idea of a welcome second career. Our team can help you choose the pieces that will execute your vision or we can help by styling your wedding on the day. We also have a custom build option where you can design the piece you are searching for alongside our experienced craftsmen. We are all about taking the pressure off and helping you to find the pieces that fit your wedding creation. Contact us and we can help get the ball rolling.
So there you have it, a dive into the next stage of your reception planning. Clearly it’s an area of great passion for us; however, no matter what type of “wedding planner” you are, there are an abundance of people/resources available to help make the planning stage as enjoyable (and productive) as possible – starting right here.
