Planning Your Wedding
 When it comes to planning your wedding there's only one rule - work from a realistic budget.
Budget first and then theme next. Look at the type of wedding you are looking to create and then see if your budget allows - see the budget planner at the bottom of this page.
You will be able to book every service you need from wedding shows, don't panic if you have under a year, wait for the best wedding shows and it's possible to see everything you want in just 3 shows.
Wedding
shows are the best way of meeting the wedding professionals in your area. You will come into contact with companies
that are able to give you advice and help in making a confident decision.
We estimate
that you would not have to attend more than 3 of our shows to be able to book
all your desired services – in just three shows you could have seen nearly 200
companies!
Planning your wedding through shows will give you the wedding you really want, saving you time and money.
The wedding
industry is very “hands on” and companies pride themselves in being able to
offer you a personal service. Most
companies can offer you a service/product bespoke to your individual needs –
you are not buying a mass produced item – your wedding will be vastly different
to any other wedding and this is reflected in the flexibility of the service,
companies can offer.
 You can see from these pictures, taken at recent shows, that brides find it really helpful to discuss their wedding with the companies that attend shows.
It's a very relaxed atmosphere and the companies are very friendly.
 Car hire is one element of your wedding that is normally difficult to organise.
At wedding shows you will normally see a huge selection of cars and can easily make your choice. During the summer months these cars are out working on weddings and it's difficlut to view them independantly.
We would always suggest seeing a vechile rather than booking from a picture.
 Cake exhibitors provide you with a wealth of creativity and you'll be stunned by the fancy creation we have at wedding shows.
Most of these companies do not have buisness premises for you to visit and only participate in wedding shows where you can view and taste the cakes.
 We have a huge selection of new and exciting companies which provide you with the best service available. You will see the latest trends and fabulous new gowns.
You may also see companies that you wouldn't expect at wedding shows, but are equally important in completing your wedding plans.
 Whilst the internet provides us with a wealth of
information, wedding exhibitions provide you the elite wedding services
- face to face. Do I believe that you can successfully plan your
wedding without attending exhibitions ? - NO!
Okay, you're
reading this information on a website site and for that purpose the
internet is great but, your wedding is a personal day that will be
serviced by companies providing personal services - you need to meet
them face to face. You'll save time and be able to compare the many services and the people providing them.
Booking Order:
Venue/Registra/Church/Dress/Photographer/Other
services
BOOK YOUR VENUE FIRST - LOOK AT THE EXTRA COSTS
The
wedding venue is the first service to book. A booking will take approx. 50% of
your budget. Don't rush into a decision, look around at all the possibilities
first and make sure your completely aware of what the price per head includes.
Some venues offer you services by their own wedding suppliers, you have
the choice of your own companies so arrange to meet these preferred suppliers
and then compare them with others before making your choice.
Some venues
will want to charge you an extra fee for exclusive use of a particular room or
area. From personal experience I would look at the situation before agreeing to
this. "I could have spent £4k if I'd agreed to this at my own wedding but could
see that there was no possibility of the venue enforcing an exclusive area and
this charge and it was totally unjustifiable" Anita Mansell
If
you hire a particular suite and expect for that to be for your own use, get
this confirmed in writing.
Always get everything in writing as you'll be
discussing details that are often
verbal. Staff at hotels can often change
and over time details get forgotten. Send a quick email to the contact
confirming everything they've agreed to.
USE WEDDING SHOWS
Let's say you came to the Kempton Park
Wedding Show in Jan 2006. You would have seen 4 florist, 6 bridalwear
shops, 5 menswear, 4 cake companies - it quickly becomes obvious which
style you like - it's all about choice and lot's of it! At Kempton you
will meet more companies in two hours than you could have done in 2
months of constant appointments - and a few hundred email!
Once
you establish which company you would like to supply your
service/product - a small deposit will secure your booking. Make sure
you book a wedding company when you have decided, all to often couples
leave this decision until it's too late and you miss an opportunity.
Wedding budgets will vary, you can basically say that a wedding will cost you anything from £1,000 upwards. Some of the most successful wedding have been achieved on a budget of approx. £5,000 - it's all in the planning.
So, back to budget. Let's take Jan and Marks Wedding.
The happy couple have a budget of £15,000 and are two working professionals
- but have no experience in planning a wedding.... help!
The first thing to do is look at all the different services they want and then
attribute budget to this. One important aspect to remember is that a reception venue can take up as much as 50% of your budget.
GETTING MARRIED
Venue cost
100 guests at 60 pounds per head. 6000. 00
100 guests for evening buffet at 15 pounds per head 1500. 00
Hire of the wedding ceremony room ( for civil ceremony) 400. 00
Wine for toast and main meal 200. 00
Overnight stay for the bride and groom 150. 00
Grand total Total 8250.00
Register service - civil ceremony costs 250.00
Brides wedding attire (inc shoes, headdress etc) 800.00
Grooms wedding attire (hired) 300.00
Bridesmaids x3 (inc shoes,headdress etc) 600.00
Best man and ushers x2 (hired) 300.00
Stationery 300.00
Personal flowers (bride,groom, bridesmaids, ushers etc) 200.00
Venue decoration 300.00
Photography 900.00
DVD 900.00
Toastmaster 250.00
Cake 350.00
Disco 400.00
Live Entertainment 800.00
Favours and small gifts 200.00
Gifts for bestman/Ushers/bridesmaids/mums 200.00
Beauty and hair 200.00
Car hire 300.00
Wedding rings 500.00
Honeymoon 2500.00
Grand Total (including venue) £18,800.00
 So, with everything they wanted exceeding their budget, they had to decide to increase or trim their budget.
They decided to increase their budget and trim their services. They reduced their reception guests and trimmed down on other services. In total Jan and Mark's wedding came in at £16,000.00
Jan and Mark attended four wedding shows and booked every service through
the exhibitions.
If you take a look at the above list, it is quite typical of the wedding services
you will possibly need. There are no hard and fast rules about having all of these wedding services, have what is important to you and within your budget.
Prices will vary depending on the style and requirement you have.
 If you require any help, please do not hesitate to email us - we are here to help.
Email CAexhibitions@aol.com
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