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Here is a selection of Q&As from Your Kent Wedding magazine whether it be about flowers, hair and makeup, fashion, wedding themes, health & beauty, cakes, stationery, legal advice. If you would like your question answered by our experts, please email it to editor@yourkent.wedding
To view more expert advice on a different topic, please select one from the list below.
Ceremonies
| Q | What are couples doing differently in 2024 when it comes to planning their ceremony? |
| A | Martin Fox-Roberts says: Three words: alternative, unconventional and pink! I see couples wanting to really push those concepts of an alternative and unconventional wedding, and truly make the ceremony central to the party and their celebrations. It's an exciting time for celebrants as we can really get creative. It's not only the ceremony, where couples are looking to be innovative, but they're seeking out alternative venues too. It's great to see more traditional venues, pivot and start to cater for the new styles and ways of hosting weddings. In addition to a party style ceremony, the colour pink seems to be on the way up! Yes, this particularly includes the guys − hot pink is hot! – this goes for outfits, décor and flowers. With a hint of orange, green and gold, your wedding is sure to really stand out − imagine those photos − so, funk it up by going pink! |
Martin Fox-Roberts, Proud Fox Ceremonies
The Beauty of Nature
| Q | What is your advice on planning an outdoor wedding? |
| A | Karina O’Donnell says: Outdoor weddings allow you to take advantage of the natural beauty of your surroundings, whether this is a beach setting, mountain backdrop or stunning gardens. Being somewhere that has meaning to you can create a more romantic and intimate setting for you both, and obviously makes for stunning photographs. Weddings held outside often offer more flexibility in terms of the number of guests you need to seat, as well as in your choice of décor. You can really bring your personality into the ceremony too with stunning floral arches and backdrops, which really fit the scenery. You can save on décor and lighting costs too as the natural beauty of your surroundings can provide a lot of the ambience. Spending time outdoors has been shown to have several health benefits, such as reducing stress and improving mood. Plus, an al fresco wedding can provide a more relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere for you and your guests. Choosing a unique setting can create unforgettable memories to cherish for years to come. It's important to remember that outdoor weddings bring their own challenges though, such as inclement weather or accessibility issues but with proper planning, they can be beautiful and memorable. |
Karina O’Donnell, Simply Ceremonies
Festive romance
| Q | How can we incorporate our love of Christmas into our ceremony? |
| A | Kate Mitchell says: What could be more fun than a Christmas wedding and there are so many ways to incorporate the season into your ceremony. Here are a few ideas: Use hand-fasting ribbons in Christmas colours. Hand-fasting is so romantic as you loop the cords around both your wrists and tie an unbreakable knot – it's the origin of the phrase 'tying the knot.' You can use ribbons or cords, and for an extra Christmassy touch, why not add some small tokens to the ends such as baubles or decorations? Great colours to consider when choosing your Christmas-themed wedding palette are red, green, purple and gold, as well as snowy white for your hand-tying. Christmas unity candles. Use festively-themed candles for your ceremony. As the warm light of your individual candles reaches your joint one, you're united forever. Use Christmas-themed colours infused with the scent of Christmas. Fill your quaich (loving cup) with your favourite Christmas tipple. After you exchange your vows, take it in turns to hold the quaich to each others' lips, taking your first drink as a newly-married couple – Christmas bliss! |
Kate Mitchell, Celebrant Kate
Loud n' proud
| Q | We don't want our ceremony to be the boring part of our day that everyone has to sit through in order to get to the party! How can we make it as fun-filled as the rest of the day to reflect our personalities? |
| A | Martin Fox-Roberts says: First and foremost, it's important that you're at the centre of everything from the very start to the very end. The experience should be unique to you and will always remain with you as one of the happiest memories of your lives. I believe in giving my couples choice when it comes to such an important part of the day. After all, the celebration starts with the ceremony, not after it! For example, I offer you the chance to opt for myself, as The Foxy Celebrant or as Maria Hurtz a devilish drag queen! Maria is available as part of the "Drag you up the aisle" package. This is your show, putting you both centre stage and we can do anything! To make the ceremony as fun-filled as you wish, you could dress up, lip-sync, or break out in a fierce dance routine. And don't worry, if there are young people around, we can keep it PG too. |
Martin Fox-Roberts, Proud Fox Ceremonies
The bonds of love
| Q | We've heard about some of the rituals we can have during a celebrant-led ceremony from hand-fasting to candle-lighting, but what's the difference and how do we know which is right for us? |
| A | Karina O’Donnell says: Using rituals within your wedding ceremony is a lovely way to add some personality to kick off your wedding celebrations. Hand-tying and unity candle ceremonies are currently two very popular elements chosen by couples and they're used to symbolise different things. A hand-tying represents the bonds of marriage. You may recognise the term "tying the knot" and couples have enjoyed this ritual for hundreds of years, celebrating with the use of ribbons and/or cords, usually binding their hands together expressing joint vows and maybe involving family members. A unity candle ceremony involves the use of individual tapers that work together to light a larger, family candle. The candles represent the individuality of the couple and uniting together to light the larger one represents the joining of two families. Additional loved ones can be included too, perhaps there are children from previous marriages or you may wish to involve parents or grandparents. This is a great ritual for those who want to celebrate the larger family unit, bringing everyone together. Having a celebrant-led ceremony gives you so many options for using rituals within your wedding, including those that have a personal meaning to you. In fact, there's nothing to stop you creating your own version, which could become a wonderful family tradition in the future. |
Karina O’Donnell, Simply Ceremonies
The most wonderful time of the year
| Q | We're both obsessed with Christmas! How can we incorporate it into our ceremony, without being tacky? |
| A | Karina O'Donnell says: A great way to incorporate Christmas into your ceremony is to consider a mini unity candle ceremony. This involves three candles, one held by each partner (representing the two families) and then one, which will stand alone to symbolise the union between them. Often, the mothers will light the couple's taper candles before the couple light the larger unity candle together. The choice is yours, and if your wedding is joining families including children, additional candles can be used to include them too. Flames are said to symbolise love and passion, so in the context of a wedding they show the love a couple have for each other. If your venue permits, you could give each guest a candle with the first being lit by the celebrant. They then pass the flame to the person sat next to them along the front row until everyone has a lit candle. It is then the job of the last person to light the couple's. This would look quite magical at Christmastime. |
Karina O'Donnell, Sinply Ceremonies UK
