Search Results

Where do I start with planning my wedding? After the euphoria of your engagement has finally sunk in the two of you will soon face a new challenge: where to start with planning the wedding. For most of us planning a wedding is a once in a lifetime experience and not one that you will necessarily know much about. You are certainly not alone if you are feeling daunted and out of your depth as you embark on the final steps on your journey to married life. Our couples often ask how long do I need to plan a wedding? The answer is that we have planned and executed weddings in a little as 5 weeks. Equally we have worked with couples over 2 years ahead of their wedding. It really is driven more by your preference as a couple, your guests’ availability and potentially how long you require to set the money aside for the type of wedding you want. Size matters The most important of all the decisions you will need to make will be the size of your wedding. Do you want to include everyone you know and throw a wedding that includes a rainbow of people from across all aspects of your lives? Would you prefer a more intimate wedding ceremony and celebration including only your closest inner circle? Or is an elopement just for the two of you your ideal wedding day, giving you a day just focused on the two of you with no one else to worry about? There are pros and cons to all of these choices. A large wedding has the benefit of being totally inclusive with no one being upset because they are not invited, equally a large wedding is not a cheap option, and often money stresses and planning can cause friction on the run up to your special day. A smaller more intimate wedding or an elopement will mean restricting your numbers and some people may feel put-out by your decision, equally you will have more control over your budget and can perhaps spend more per head on a smaller number of guests perhaps to include a few days away together. The primary decision that drives all else is your guests. Think carefully about who you really want around you on your wedding day and how much time you want with them. They are the people who will create the environment and vibe on your wedding day. No matter how amazing your venue, if it’s too big or too small for the guests you have in mind it can feel uncomfortable for all. No amount of floral displays can make up for the love and warmth you can feel from your guests. Equally if you feel that your potential guest pool contains "issues" that cannot be left behind on your wedding day. Let’s go there. We all know these issues are real and not so rare: family disputes or divorces can make bringing certain people together risky. Our advice is this. If there is any doubt in your mind that these people cannot put you first on your wedding day, leave them all out and focus your day on the two of you. You can always have a family based celebration or more than one celebration with your friends and family after your actual wedding day. Those that truly love and respect you will understand your decision, whatever it is. And money is a huge consideration Most of us must consider our wedding budget seriously. Once you have decided the ideal size for your wedding you will need to sense check this with your available budget. We urge you not to get into debt to cover the costs of your wedding. Every wedding we arrange is different and there are many variables e.g. size, time of year, whether accommodation is required. To help our couples shape their wedding day we provide example packages as a starting point including accommodation, wedding day co-ordination, wedding ceremony, cerebration meal, flowers, photography, hair and make up and the registrar or celebrant. We then work with our couples to tailor the package to suit their ideal balance between what they really want on the day and budget available. As a very broad guideline we suggest the following starting point for your wedding budget based on the venues we work with: Elopement for 2 - £1500 - £3500 Intimate wedding for 20 - £2250 - £8500 Small wedding for up to 60 - £5000 - £12000 You can see some example packages here and elopement packages here. The rest rolls from there Once you have made the big decisions - who to invite and how much you want to spend the rest comes down to prioritsing your budget against what you want on the day. Although we rarely see the parents of the bride foot the wedding bill in full these days, we do see parents and friends paying for extras as their wedding present to the couple. We see everything from doves being released by the coupe after the ceremony, evening entertainment, additional flowers and even the wedding cake. It’s a nice way to make people feel included in a day that will create memories for you and your chosen group that will last a lifetime. If would like to explore the options Petite Weddings can offer please do get in touch with Jane on 07411 117294 or jane@petiteweddings.co.uk. #wheredoIstartwithweddingplanning #wheretostartwithweddingplanning #HowlongdoIneedtoplanawedding #intimatewedding #elopement

Meet Jack and Chloe - a couple who planned their most romantic elopement wedding with us some months ago and wed last month. It turned out to be an intimate wedding to die for. Simple, relaxed and totally focused the two of them and brimming with love and laughter. We discussed a number of elopement packages with this lovely couple, providing fully costed options and actual availability around the time the couple had in mind. We discussed options and answered their questions by email and phone calls and this helped the couple choose their bespoke all inclusive wedding package. They chose to stay Fallen Angel, getting married at Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens. The couple enjoyed a night at Fallen Angel with their wedding day the next day. They got ready at Fallen Angel and Louise of Gorse and Thorn delivered their bouquet and button hole. They travelled the short distance to Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens to meet by Tom the events manager and their wedding photographer Joey Lamb. After meeting with the registrars who would conduct their legal wedding ceremony the couple made their way to the secluded garden pagoda through the beautiful gardens. Witnesses were provided and the whole ceremony was captured with Joey behind the camera. They enjoyed toast drinks in the gardens and photography both at Tremenheere and on the nearby beach. When they returned to Fallen Angel they enjoyed a beautiful three course meal cooked by private chefs, Indulgence Catering. The perfect way to round off an intimate wedding. You can see more of their awesome wedding day through Joey's lence here: To find out more about our elopement packages and intimate weddings contact Jane on 07411 117294 or email jane@petiteweddings.co.uk. #runawaywedding #elope #elopementpackages #allinclusiveweddingpackage

We're often asked if we book a runaway wedding package, what will happen if the sun is not thing on my elopement wedding day? If we've chosen a garden wedding, what happens if it rains? If you choose to get married in the UK this is a very fair consideration. The answer is - it becomes even more magical. Amy and Dan's intimate wedding day on 1 September this year was a day when we found the whole of West Cornwall wrapped in sea mist - know as "mizzle" locally! It's a hazard of living by the sea, and not something we'd usually expect at the end of summer in this part of the country. The one thing we cannot control is nature! As you can see this did not dampen Amy & Dan's spirits, and in fact gave their elope wedding day an ethereal fairy tale feel to it. The couple chose a three night stay at Fallen Angel with their ceremony at the award winning Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens. Both Fallen Angel and Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens lend themselves to everything that the Cornish weather can throw at them. As you can see here their day was simply beautiful! Here's some of the beautiful photography taken by Griffin Photography on the day and you can take a look here at the beautiful video made by Babalu Films. After their wedding ceremony the couple made their way back to Fallen Angel to enjoy a private chef prepared meal and a small naked wedding by Indulgence Catering. The perfect end to the perfect day. If you'd like to find out more about our runaway wedding packages you can read more here. You can also get in touch by emailing jane@petiteweddings.co.uk or calling on 07411 117294. #elopementwedding #runawaywedding #gardenwedding #elope #elopewedding #intimatewedding #runawayweddingpackage

Today we welcome Cornwall Celebrant Rebecca Morris to Petite Weddings, joining lovely Denise and Nicola, Cornish Celebrants on our select list of recommended suppliers. You can see links to their services here. At Petite Weddings love bespoke, intimate wedding ceremonies in perfect little spots chosen by our couples. It's not difficult to have exactly the ceremony and celebration of marriage the two of you want. That's as long as you know what your choices are, and how to go about arranging things. We help lots of couples arrange small weddings in Cornwall each year and in this blog we share some of the things we've learned that work really well, including how to get married on the beach. Read on if you'd like to find out more! When it comes to your wedding ceremony you have choices: - A religious ceremony at a religious building of your choice - A registrar led ceremony at an approved premises or town hall - An independent celebrant led ceremony at a location of your choice (where you have the landowners' permission) - Combining any of these above, but with clear time and space between the separate elements The majority of our couples choose either: - A ceremony conducted by local registrars in an approved premise OR - A legal ceremony for the paperwork at their local town hall followed by an independent celebrant led ceremony in a place chosen by the couple So what are the pros and cons of each approach? Let's take a ceremony conducted at an approved premises first. The first benefit of this approach is that it results in a legal marriage for the couple - an important factor for many of our couples as most do want their union to be recognised under UK law. There's a wide range of approved premises where you can choose to have your legal wedding ceremony. We work with a small number of handpicked wedding venues that understand and embrace the intimate wedding concept and these alone provide a choice from: a castle, a beach pagoda, a rustic barn, garden pagoda, a beautiful period Georgian house and the unique Skyspace Sculpture by James Hurrell. The choice is entirely yours. Each of these unique locations provides a beautiful place for your ceremony and in a setting that will allow you plentiful photography opportunities too. You are also able to stay and continue your celebrations at a number of these venues making your whole day stress-free and relaxed. It also removes any transport costs from your budget. The downsides of these registrar led wedding ceremonies are that although the ceremony does provide some choice in terms of words and format, you are quite restricted in terms of what you say to one another, music and readings have to be pre-approved by the registrars and you do not speak to the person marrying you until the day. You also have no choice over which registrars marries you. Many couples find this impersonal approach at odds with the whole vibe of their special day. Another negative about a wedding with a registrar is that you can only get married when and where they agree. Taking the when first, you can only get married between the hours of 10am and 5pm as these are the hours they work. Many of our couples arrange dusk of after-dark weddings and these just cannot be accommodated by the registrars. In terms of the where, you are restricted to the approved areas of the approved premise you select. Usually each venue has 1 or 2 rooms or areas approved. If you are to marry outside it must be in an approved permanent structure such as a garden pagoda. There are some lovely premise that can provide for this, but some couples want something a little freer preferring a beach, clifftop or woodland location or perhaps round a campfire at night. The options really are limitless. This is where celebrant led ceremonies come into their own. Your celebrant led wedding ceremony will start with a conversation with your chosen celebrant to discuss what you want from your wedding ceremony, ideas you have, who you want to include in your ceremony, e.g. your children or parents and what roles they could play, suggestions as to how to really make things personal and discussion about your ideal location and timings. There are very few restrictions that need to be considered other than ensuring you have the landowner's permission to conduct your wedding where you wish. Your celebrant will take care of this for you. Your celebrant will also draft your ceremony for your input and approval and will become very much part of your day even before it's started. This not only puts some of your nerves at rest through knowing who is leading your ceremony, but also opens your options up considerably, and means that you can say what you really want to say to one another, where you want, have a format you feel comfortable with and include any rituals e.g. tying the knot, that you want and you can be sure no one else has had an ceremony just like yours! The downside of these types of wedding ceremonies is that they are not legally binding. What most of our couples who choose this route do is take advantage of the cheapest way to complete the legal requirements to make a wedding legal by booking a time with their local registrar usually ahead of their wedding day to go in and complete the legal paper work with the registrar. You can book to do this very informally at the registrars desk and it feels very much like visiting your solicitor to make a will or sign conveyancing papers for house purchase. There is a cost to this ( basic wedding - currently £195 in Cornwall) and you will need to provide two witnesses to the legal element, but this does then free you up to enjoy the wedding ceremony you really want. We recognise every couple is different, and hope that this short article explaining the differences between the types of wedding ceremony you can choose will make it easier for you to decide what is right for you. If you'd like to find out more please email jane@petiteweddings.co.uk or call on 07411 117294. #CornwallCelebrant #howtogetmarriedonthebeach #Petiteweddings #smallweddingsincornwall

One of the many benefits of having a small wedding is that you are not restricted by a hotel or larger catering firm menu. As part of our all inclusive wedding packages our chef partners work with you to produce bespoke menus to suit you and your smaller guest list. It also means that you may be prepared to spend a little more per head to create celebration menus that cover more than just the wedding meal itself. In Cornwall we are blessed with fine local produce and amazing chefs who know just how prepare sumptuous feats from these ingredients. The chefs we work with are happy to work with you to bring provide you with exactly the menu you want to complete your special day. With something for everyone – from laid back casual dining to more formal three course meals and fine dining here's our pick of the dining options our Petite Wedding couples have enjoyed. Keep things simple and effective with Cornish Pasties and cold beers. Enjoy wedding day picnic baskets filled with local sweet and savoury treats to enjoy on picnic rungs on the beach, in the woods or in the gardens of your venue. Treat yourselves to seafood platters direct from source – enjoy the best of the local seafood served on sharing platters with home-made mayonnaise and local artesian bread. For the morning after Cornish breakfast served at your accommodation – a certain cure for any sore heads! Finish off your meal with a locally sourced cheese stacks with artesian biscuits, grapes, figs and homemade chutney. Always a winner – a local meat, fish and vegetable BBQ served with salads and breads. Another simple but effective meal option is BBQ lobsters and chips. Go small with your favourite tastes in canapé form – be it mini Yorkshire puddings with beef, fish and chip cones, mini veggie samosas or scallops and crispy pancetta, the choice is yours. A great crowd pleaser for later on in your day is Cornish fish and chips. And our take on a traditional wedding breakfast – a bespoke three course meal for your and your guests based on your own tastes, preferences and style. Our chef partners cater for vegetarians, vegans and can accommodate food intolerences – this should be the norm these days, but do check with your chosen catering service provider to make sure this applies. We hope this has whetted your appetite and proven that a small wedding is certainly not a compromise on quality and choice when it comes to food. To find out more about our Petite Wedding packages take a look here. #smallwedding #allinclusiveweddingpackages #weddingfoodideas #Petiteweddingcollection #Petiteweddingpackages

Where can we get married in the UK? Can you get married anywhere you want in the UK? Can I have a beach wedding in the UK? We’re often asked questions like these about where it’s possible to get married in the UK, and as a result we arrange unique wedding days in amazing locations. In this article we share our experience and some stunning ideas for your own unique intimate wedding day. Where can we get married in the UK? First things first things first, to get married legally in England, Wales and Northern Ireland you do need to have your ceremony in at approved licensed premises, a registry office or in a place of worship such as a church. Approved licensed premises don’t sound very exciting, but we promise you they can be. Just take a look at these. We work with a sculpture garden where you can choose to get married in their treetop garden pagoda or the unique Skyspace sculpture – see more here Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens. For winter weddings we have rustic barns with roaring log fires, an art gallery and vineyard to choose from. For wedding ceremonies that are not legally binding the answer to this question is slightly different – you’re able to have your wedding ceremony anywhere, as long as you’ve permission from the landowner. These type of wedding ceremonies can happen independent of a legal ceremony, or more usually in conjunction with a the legal process. How does this work? Well, usually couples wanting a more meaningful and unique wedding ceremony choose to complete the paper work required for their wedding either at their local registry office prior to travelling to Cornwall for their wedding day, or complete the legal process at a registry office of their choice in Cornwall ahead of their celebrant led ceremony – either on the same day or the day before. Just think of the process involving the registrar as being like a trip to the lawyers when you’re buying a house to sign all the paperwork, and your ceremony as the real opportunity to say what you want to say to each other, in the way you want to, and where you want to. We arrange lots of weddings like this every year. No two are the same. There is always such a personal feel to these special days - these truly are real weddings for real people. Can I have a beach wedding in the UK? Historically this has not been possible to have a legal wedding on the beach in the England, Wales or Northern Ireland, but there are now a handful of venues with private beaches where this is possible. We are lucky enough to be launching a brand new beach wedding venue – The Colonial on Cornwall’s North Coast set on its own private beach. Alternatively, provided you’ve permission from the landowner, you can have a beach blessing or celebrant led wedding ceremony on the beach. We can help you identify suitable options close to where you’re staying. Here are a few options we’ve come up with just today for a couple we’re working with to create a bespoke elopement next August: St Loy Beach - reached through the magical St Loy Woods (a 15 minute walk but so beautiful) - this beach rarely has anyone on it, it’s a bolder beach and beautiful as you can see. Perranothnoe Beach - slightly busier and likely to have people around, but still quiet, 5 minutes walk from car park. Porthkidney Sands - There will be people around, but this is a hidden gem, 5 minutes walk from roadside parking. All of our venues offer the opportunity for beach photo following your ceremony, which is something that lots of our couples opt for even if they don’t have their ceremony on the beach. We research all sorts of locations, woods, forests, ancient settlement sites and much more. Just let your imagination be your limit. It’s different in Scotland We’re based in South West England and so our focus is on helping couples from around the UK and the world get married here they way they want to. Having said that, it’s important to draw your attention to the fact that in Scotland you are able to get married pretty much anywhere you have permission from the landowner and your registrar is prepared to go to conduct your legal ceremony. Granted the weather is not necessarily as kind, but this can add to the experience rather than detract. Some food for thought! So, can you get married and where you want? As you can see, it’s not black and white. But it’s straightforward and the rules shouldn’t be limiting, they merely have to be worked with. There’s so many stunning locations in Cornwall to say your lifelong vows to each other and we actively encourage you to think outside of conventions and will help you find a place that’s just right for you two. If you’d like to find out more you can take a look at our stunning approved licensed premises venues here or get in touch to plan something more bespoke by emailing jane@petiteweddings.co.uk and set out your vision for us to help make a reality for you. #wherecanIgetmarriedintheUK #canyougetmarriedanywhereyouwantintheUK #CanIhaveabeachweddingintheUK

What’s a winter wedding like? Many people gravitate towards a traditional spring/summer wedding, commonly know in the industry as “the wedding season”. At Petite Weddings we don’t really have a wedding season, intimate weddings we arrange for couples looking for a special day with a difference happen all year round, and often with pleasing budgetary implications too. So what are the benefits of a winter wedding? Why book a winter wedding? How much is a winter elopement package? How much is a small winter wedding? We’ll answer these questions and more in this short winter wedding blog post. Why book a winter wedding? The reasons that we see couples opting for winter weddings are wide ranging. Some couples have a special anniversary in the winter months rather than the spring/summer. Others prefer the climate in Cornwall during the winter – this summer in particular has provided some interesting wedding cake and make-up challenges that go hand in hand with the hot weather we’ve enjoyed this summer! Sometimes it’s a matter of style and creating something unique, having your wedding “out of season” gives you access to a whole new look a feel – think winter flowers, foliage, moss and twigs, add fairy lights, furs, candles and sparklers. It’s certainly one way to make your wedding stand out from the crowd. What are the benefits of a winter wedding? There are many benefit to those who choose a winter wedding, so might say there are so many good reasons that it’s hard to understand why winter weddings are not more mainstream – I guess we shouldn’t shout too loudly about it in some ways as increased demand can mean increased price, so just keep these to yourself. Here’s our complete run down on the advantages of winter weddings that we’ve seen couples benefit from: Lower costs for like for like packages when booked in winter rather than summer. From our packages we can provide an example of a reduction of up to 75% in terms of cost at some venues. Definitely food for thought. In addition to this guest accommodation and travel by air or rail to Cornwall is also cheaper outside of peak season. More choice on dates – as venues are not usually busy with holiday-makers you will find that they have more dates to choose from for winter weddings. In addition, if your venue is not exclusive-hire then your venue is likely to be quieter. You are more likely to get your first choice suppliers for things like photography, hair and make-up, flowers and catering. You’ll also get a lot more individual attention as supplier work on small and larger weddings and are still impacted by the traditional “wedding season” – they will have more time for you ahead of your day in the winter months which only enhances your wedding experience. Winter rates usually last from November through to late March excluding Christmas and February half term weeks (although these are still way cheaper than summer holiday prices). We do get more sun and milder weather than the rest of the UK in the winter months, and particularly in March, you can get lucky and have great weather as well as a great price. Obviously there are no guarantees when it comes to British weather. We’re still working on this! Peace and quiet – lots of couples come to Cornwall for spring and summer weddings, often based on a love of the area forged from happy summer hols in the area as children. Lots of people still come on holiday to Cornwall in those very same months making for busier roads, packed restaurants and bars, busy towns and beaches. This bustle suits lots of people, but if you prefer traffic-free roads, deserted beaches and quiet towns where you can access the best restaurants then the winter months are worth considering. With shorter days and colder climes you can be really creative with your wedding theme to fit the season. We’ve had candle lit ceremonies at dusk (mid-afternoon in the deep of winter), bride in red cloaks, beautiful ivy and moss table runners with snow drops, winter twigs and fairy lights, fur wrapped brides and roaring log fires. You can really make your day your very own winter wonderland. Food and drink at a winter wedding can also provide a real point of difference – serve mulled wine/cider with warm mince pies and sausage rolls on arrival, for your wedding meal think hearty slow roasted meats and root vegetables, gluey sticky toffee pudding with warm custard followed by a cheese platter warm breads and port. Our chefs would be delighted to discuss winter menu ideas with you and can help you develop a menu to include all your favourites. So how much does a winter elopement or small wedding cost? It does depend in which venue, how many of you there are and what services you select, but as a ball park figure winter elopement packages start from around £1250 - £2500 in the winter months, with small weddings packages for say 12 starting at around £2600 - £4000. We can arrange winter weddings for up to 60 guests. How do I find out more about winter wedding packages? Just email Jane@petiteweddings.co.uk with a note of your preferred month(s), the number of guests including you and if there are any children their ages and any other preferences you have. I’ll come back to you with some fullycosted options with available dates for you consideration. Usually this is the starting point and we can re-work quotes where required until we have your package absolutely right for you. #winterwedding #whatsawinterweddinglike #whybookawinterwedding #whatarethebenefitsofawinterwedding #howmuchdoesawinterelopementcost

It was a real thrill to receive this lovely email today describing Rachel and Scott's first hand experience of a Petite Wedding Package. Thanks guys! "Hi Jane I hope you are well. We have now returned home after our wonderful week in sunny Cornwall and AMAZING wedding day at Cosawes Barton! I will be getting myself organised for proper thank you's but in the meantime I just wanted to drop you a line to say a MASSIVE THANK YOU for your contribution and help in what was quite simply the BEST DAY EVER! Thank you too for your lovely wedding card, that was such a kind and thoughtful touch (and a real surprise)." We had the most amazing day Jane! We couldn't have asked for anything better, it was absolutely perfect from beginning to end, just what we'd hoped for and some, and we couldn't have done it without you and your recommendations on the venue choice and all of our chosen suppliers. Cosawes Barton was just the perfect venue for us. The house/cottages and grounds are all so beautiful and with the sun shining brightly for the entire day, it made for our dream wedding, with the ceremony and celebrations all being able to be held outside - just exactly what we were looking for! The perfect English Country Garden wedding - with a relaxed, happy, fun and romantic vibe. Louise and Andy were superb hosts and together with Hazel (who was absolutely brilliant, so discreet but so on top of everything and in control) helped ensure everything ran so smoothly on the day. All of the suppliers you recommended were absolutely first class - making for a real dream team. Jo who did our hair and make up, was so so lovely and made Daisy and I feel at ease immediately, she was super helpful, very talented and made us both feel like a million dollars. Rebecca & Robin and the girls at Indulgence Catering worked so hard and produced some gorgeous canapes (even if I only managed to have just one - my biggest regret), a delicious 3 course wedding breakfast and the most gorgeous naked wedding cake that matched our brief perfectly and tasted just as good as it looked. Jen from Twigs and Greens. What a lovely lovely super talented lady. She was so helpful in the lead up to the day, with ideas and couldn't do enough to help. Our flowers were absolutely stunning and the lime walk up to the Arbor looked absolutely beautiful. Emma (Griffin Photography) who kept everything and everyone totally chilled and relaxed and provided us with some amazing shots of the day that we'll treasure for ever! Craig from Aroha was such a cool dude and again so chilled, we can't wait to see the fruits of his labour, which I'm sure will help us relive some of the day and again provide us with a video of memories we will cherish always. ......and Kaj. What can I say but WOW WOW WOW. He was fantastic, is so talented and was both discreet (guest arrival/drinks reception) and the life and soul of the party (evening reception). Despite only being a small group, he had everyone up on their feet dancing and some point during the evening. It would not have been the same without him, we are so glad we chose to have him play our wedding. So,THANK YOU SO MUCH JANE for all your help in the run up to the day and for your fantastic recommendations. What a talented bunch of people who all contributed to make our day one we will cherish always and on top of all that the sun could not have shone more brightly - how lucky were we? It really was THE BEST DAY EVER! Best wishes, Rachel Here's some lovely images by Griffin Photography of Rachel & Scott's fabulous wedding day. You can see more about Cosawes Barton Wedding Packages here. We'd love to hear from you if you'd like to explore this option further - just email jane@petiteweddings.co.uk or call on 07411 117294. #Petiteweddingpackage #Petitewedding #Petiteweddingday #Cosawesbarton

How can I make my wedding day special? It’s difficult not to be swept along by the deluge of trend-setting, powerful media that sets the tone and agenda of weddings. How many articles have you seen about losing weight for your big day, how much you should ideally be spending on your wedding day, what to wear, what flowers are in fashion, what the cool dudes are eating at weddings and so it goes on. This media-driven consumer-frenzy is by no means restricted to weddings, but that’s where we work and it’s hard to witness this level of pressure both financially and emotionally on couples before the long (and hopefully happy) joint journey that is marriage has even started. Let’s be clear, no one accepts your invitation to your wedding because of the venue you have chosen, the favours you give out, or the menu you decide on or just to see your dress. They come for the two of you, and if you are in any doubt about this motivation, immediately strike that person off your list. All too often budgets are blown, couples getting into debt and been party to some sad conversations relating to the couples’ secret disappointment in their wedding day. Sometimes, less secretly guests do not enjoy your wedding day. So what can you do to make your wedding day special? In this article we keep it real about all things wedding including winter weddings and elopement and hope to inspire you to be true to yourselves and own special day. Unconventional wedding ideas Let’s just recap. Why are you getting married? To please your mums? To ensure there’s a big party? To make sure the family gets together? For the dress? To make sure your wedding it better than any of your friends? You feel duty bound to have a big wedding with bells and whistle as you have been to so many of your friends weddings in this ilk? If you’re answering yes to any of these questions it’s probably best not to read on. This article is not for you. If however, it’s because you are in love with each other, want to spend the rest of your loves together and want those who really matter to you to be there for you when you make these life long promises then read on. We arrange over 250 petite weddings every year for couples for who these are their primary drivers for getting married and this article shares some of the thoughts and ideas behind the most intimate, relaxed and enjoyable weddings we’ve been lucky enough to be involved in over the past few years. We live in a world where it’s easy to forget that what makes your wedding special is the bond you’re sealing between the two of you and the promise you’re making to one-another. Nothing else really matters. The rest is finesse. Bring yourselves to the day It’s little wonder lots people dread a wedding invitation arriving in their doormat. The traditional wedding format insists on many people (your widest circle) and a pretty standard formula – get ready, ceremony, toast drinks, sit-down meal, speeches, cut the cake, dancing. The venues vary, but on the whole they include table cloths and matching chair covers (because the chairs underneath are ghastly), set menus to choose from prepared by the venue chef, rules about decorations and protocol, lots of drinking and tears in the toilets. Our experience with smaller weddings is a little different. Couples tend to bring much more of themselves to their special day. Here’s some of the loveliest ideas we’ve come across: Home-made table decorations - beautiful paper flowers made by the bride and her bridesmaids from the pages of the couples’ favourite book, succulents grown by on the couples’ dads to decorate the ceremony table and arranged down the centre of the dining tables, handmade table runners, jam jars of wild flowers collected by the wedding party on the morning of the wedding for the ceremony room and for the wedding breakfast. A photograph montage assembled on the day by the guests who have been asked to bring their favourite snaps of the couple to create this unique centre-piece to the day. Homemade favours – wild flower seeds collected by the couple and packaged up with a message to scatter the seeds somewhere special. Light a candle for relations or friends who are no longer with us along with a photograph in a beautiful frame – it’s a lovely way to remember those who we wish were with us still. Choose a very personal theme and make it large – if your first date was at a Mexican restaurant choose Mexican food, have a Pinata, choose some Mexican themed decorations, include some Mexican traditions – the bride’s dress is traditionally sewn by female family members, throw rice rather than confetti after the ceremony. Have an evening ceremony – this changes the vibe of your wedding day immediately. A dusk ceremony is super-romantic and can be followed by an exit from your ceremony through a sparkler tunnel provided by your guests, an evening BBQ with fire pits and toasting marshmallows and campfire songs. Consider a winter wedding. Think candles, furs, mulled-wine, hearty food and log burners. These weddings are not only romantic and intimate they are also considerable cheaper than summer weddings. Create your wedding playlist on the day. Ask guests as they arrive to add to a Spotify playlist choosing 2-3 tracks that really remind them of the two of you or one of you. Leave a gust book so that they can each write down what they chose and why so that the two of you can enjoy the memories forever. Write your own vows – you can only do this is you choose a celebrant led ceremony, but its so worth it. You can say what you really want to say to each other, and believe me there will not able a dry eye in the house (or on the beach). Have you children or grandchildren write their own reading for your wedding day. It’s always a winner and a way to make them feel very much front and centre on your special day which is often about creating families as much as formalizing a life long bond between two people. Elopement A number of couples get in touch with us when in the throws of post-engagement bliss they decide to go down the big traditional wedding route with hundreds of guests, wedding fairs and lots of advise from friends and family. When it all gets too much and a good few couples decide this is not for them and plan a runaway wedding, just for the two of them. Where it’s a beach hut wedding, a luxury stay in the ultimate escape for two by the sea with a garden pagoda wedding or a castle elopement we have a range of all inclusive elopement options that cost less than £3000. The focus of these wedding stays is the two of you, without any compromise on the special nature of your day. You ‘ll be treated like kings and queens and we even provide witnesses. Get in touch today by emailing jane@petiteweddings.co.uk #howcanImakemyweddingdayspecial #howcanImakemyweddingdayunique #unconventionalweddingideas #winterweddings #elopement

First Beyonce and Jay-Z, now Emma and Matt – vow renewal is the new vogue in all things marriage right now. And it looks like a trend that's captured the country's imagination But just how do you renew your wedding vows? Why do people renew their wedding vows? Do you need to get a license to renew your wedding vows? And how much will it cost to re-new our wedding vows? In the case of our two celebrity couples they had both hit their landmark tenth wedding anniversary – for others it’s a whole bunch of different reasons, ranging from not having the special day they really wanted when they got married through to celebrating marriage after the couple have been shaken by one of life’s storms, only to come through all the stronger. The undeniable thread running through all these reasons is love. What’s involved in a vow renewal ceremony? Whatever the reason, your vow renewal ceremony can be more meaningful and certainly more your own day than most weddings. The main reason for this is that the ceremony is not a legal one, bound by the usual legal constraints associated with legal marriage ceremonies. What’s more this means that those around you are usually far more relaxed about whether they are invited and what exactly your day is going to look like. The great news is there are no traditions and few expectations, leaving you free to create a day just for you. You need not even have any guests if you prefer the focus to be simply the two of you. Common to most vow renewal days is that you exchange promises to one another in a ceremony, sometimes with rings, sometimes without. Aside from this, your ceremony and celebrations can be as individual as the two of you. #howdoyourenewyourweddingvows #Doyouneedtogetalicensetorenewyourwedding #howmuchwillitcosttorenewourweddingvows #whatsinvolvedinavowrenewalceremony #Howtorenewyourweddingvows

Most of our couples consider and book a photographer for their wedding, and an increasing number of couples are starting to book videographers. Why consider a wedding video? With small weddings that are more intimate, more personalised and in the most stunning of locations, we are seeing couples inviting fewer guests but capturing the highlights of their day in film to share with those who were not able to be there with them. This is particularly true of elopement weddings where its just the two of you. A wedding video provides a much richer viewing experience than photographs, although these will always have their own special place in terms of prints and the all important wedding album. Couples not only enjoy watching this again and again themselves, share with friends and family but also with their future family. (Remember looking at your parents and grandparents wedding albums?) It's these rituals and memories that you are creating for your own family, and taking advantage of technology to capture you special day seems the next natural step. What can you expect? You can expect to have a chat with your videographer ahead of your wedding to agree key moments you want to capture, any no go areas, and the length of output that you want to achieve. Videographers can capture your whole day, then spend days afterwards editing and honing it down to a much shorter video of say 30 minutes. Equally they can purely capture your wedding ceremony and edit this down to a 10-15 minute video - or anything in between. Typically for elopements and smaller weddings we see couples booking 3 hours of videography on the day, with a 10-20 minute video resulting. You can expect this to cost in the region of £500-600. Videographers usually set your video to music of your choice. This is a great way of really understanding you two as a couple and the vibe you want them to capture. Have a think about this before you speak to your videographer. Take a look at this beautiful video by Craig Bracefield of Aroha Films to take a peek of what you can look forward to! #weddingvideographer #smallweddings #weddingvideo #elopementweddings

When we set up Petite Weddings we knew from personal experience and from talking to friends that we were on to something. Large weddings are often the expectation, but the reality is that the majority of us have more pressing financial priorities and this idealistic dream is out of the reach of the majority of us. On top of this having a small wedding means you can cut your cloth accordingly, create a small intimate wedding with a group of people who will be part of your life forever, and you most certainly do not need to compromise on all the special little touches that will make your day memorable and unique. This article here in The Guardian sums up a lot of the emotions and practicalities that the ethos of Petite Weddings offer and answer to. It's a good read! Take a look here find out more about our venues and packages #petiteweddings #smallweddings #smallwedding #intimatewedding