Velvet Magazine February 2016

Wedding
A Day In The Life Of A
wedding
planner
Becky McCarthy,
Wedding and Events Coordinator at Ravenwood Hall,
gives us an insight into her world
“There is no such thing as a typical day
in the life of a wedding planner, as every
wedding we host here at Ravenwood Hall
is unique, individual and special to that one
couple! So, here’s what a day could be like
for me…”
“I’ll be up at 7.30am, the first thing I do
is check the weather and hope it’s sunny.
My first job at Ravenwood Hall is to check
all the areas where the wedding will be
held to make sure they’re spotless. At
10am I will brief the team and we’ll all get
to work busying ourselves with the finer
details in the Pavilion and setting up the
tables. At 11.30am I will then pop over to
the hotel, if the bride is staying with us, to
see if she needs anything and to let her
know when she will see the registrar. All
couples must have a ten minute meeting
with the registrar before a ceremony at
Ravenwood. This is done in a separate
room to make sure the bride and groom
do not see each other! By 12.30pm the
photographer has arrived and the florist
is placing arrangements at the Summer
House. For a 2pm wedding, the groom
and guests start arriving at 1pm. Once the
groom has arrived with his wedding party,
I will go and have a chat. By 1.30pm I will
start leading the guests to the Summer
House to be seated. The ceremony takes
about 40 minutes. My favourite part is
when the couple are announced as Mr.
and Mrs. The newlyweds will then follow
me over to the Pavilion, where we have
Champagne waiting. Here they will greet
their guests and have photos, whilst we
serve drinks and canapés. Once all guests
are seated for the wedding breakfast I will
announce the couple to lots of ‘Cheers!’
Around 4.30pm my team will be in place;
some will be serving wine and bread
as others start to serve the starter. At
6.30pm, once the wedding breakfast is
finished, it’s time for the speeches.
Then we will busy ourselves clearing the
room ready for the evening. At 7.30pm
the party really gets started; I will make
sure that the DJ knows the time of the
first dance and when to announce the
evening buffet. I will stay for the entire
evening and start collecting the wedding
gifts. At 12am the party will come to an
end. I like to have a little chat with the
newlyweds, make sure they are happy and
taken safely over to the hotel, before I go
home and put my feet up!”
We are celebrating 30
years of planning spectacular
weddings from 1986 to 2016.
To read more, head to:
www.velvetmag.co.uk
Ravenwood Hall
Rougham, Bury St Edmunds,
Suffolk, IP30 9JA
Tel: 01359 270345
www.ravenwoodhall.co.uk
Article by Georgia Watson
Velvet Magazine | Feb 2016 117