Dream Weddings Magazine - Devon & Cornwall - issue.28

cut out and keep
As this is likely to be the most
expensive part of your wedding
day, it’s important to set the
standard early on in your
planning. Popular venues get booked up
well in advance, particularly on Saturdays
during the peak wedding months so make
sure of your choice by booking as early as
you can. Do also make sure you confirm all
the details with the venue in writing, paying
particular attention to what is included in
the price.
Depending on your budget, you can have
anything from a buffet catered for at home
by family and friends to hiring outside
caterers for a church or village hall to a
formal sit-down meal at a hotel followed by an
evening dance.
A sit-down meal is obviously the most expensive
option, but there are all sorts of alternatives from
drinks and canapes to a buffet or even a barbecue.
Whichever you choose, do make sure there are
plenty of chairs for people to sit down while they’re
eating - standing up balancing a drink and a plate
while trying to eat is virtually never comfortable for
guests.
If you choose a hotel, do try to eat there and sample
the food before making your booking. Check such
details as corkage, parking space and whether the
hotel will offer a cake stand and knife and a room for
the bride and groom to change into their going away
outfits. Many hotels offer a package which includes
the services of a toastmaster and a complimentary
room for the first night of the honeymoon. Once you
have chosen your venue, confirm in writing what
you understand is included in the price.
Drinks for your guests will take up a large part of
your budget. It’s reasonable to assume each will
drink one or two glasses on arrival at the
reception, three or four glasses
with their meal and another glass with
the toasts.
A right royal reception
Whether it’s a small buffet for a few close family and friends or a lavish do at the
smartest of venues, your reception is the big celebration of your wedding - a
chance for people to share your happiness and an opportunity for you to thank
them for their presents and for coming to see you married.
Though champagne is the traditional
wedding drink, you can offer sherry,
Pimms or Bucks Fizz on arrival and wine
with the meal, saving the champagne - or,
indeed a good sparkling wine - for the
toasts. For reference, you will get between
10 and 12 glasses of sherry to each bottle
and between six and eight glasses of wine
or champagne per bottle. Do remember to
provide plenty of soft drinks for children
Chief bridesmaid
and adults who prefer them or who may be driving.
Allow between half and one litre per person.
There can be a long break between vvceremony and
reception while photographs are being taken and
some couples are now offering a glass of sherry
outside the church and perhaps live music to
entertain guests as they arrive at the reception.
The usual order of events at the reception is:
The receiving line
The meal
Speeches and toasts
Cutting of the cake (though some couples prefer
to do this before the speeches to allow it to be
cut and served)
Departure of bride and groom
If you are having a sit-down meal, it is essential
to have a seating plan. Try to put together tables
of people who you think will get on well
together. The top table seating plan for a sitdown
meal is shown below.
Don’t feel hidebound by what you think a
traditional wedding breakfast should consists of
Top Table Seating Plan
Groom’s father
Bride’s mother
Groom
Bride
Bride’s father
Groom’s mother
Best Man
PHOTO BY PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARION FRANCES
- nowadays anything goes, from bangers and
mash and jam roly-poly to pasta with wedding
cake for dessert. It’s also worth remembering
you may need to cater for vegetarians or guests
on special diets.
Do give considerable thought to the room and
table decorations and the lighting at your
reception. Flowers should match the theme
colours of the wedding and a little money spent
on atmospheric lighting can make an enormous
difference.
Favours for guests range from the traditional
small baskets of sugared almonds or fortune
cookies to little books of love poems.
Crackers and balloons always help create an
atmosphere.
If you are having a number of small children at
your wedding, it’s worth giving some thought as
to whether you can organise a creche - both to
stop the youngsters getting bored and to give
their parents a chance to enjoy themselves
without worrying about what their offspring are
up to.
WHATEVER THE SIZE OF
YOUR RECEPTION, it’s always nice to
have a formal or semi-formal receiving
line to welcome your guests. This
ensures that you get the chance to
meet everybody and accept their
congratulations.
The bride’s parents, as the hosts are
usually first in the receiving line,
followed by the groom’s parents, the
bride and groom and then the
bridesmaids and attendants.
D R E A M W E D D I N G S I N D E V O N & C O R W A L L • 4 1
Planning Makes Perfect