Unbridely - Modern Wedding Planning

Have you ever felt like your wedding planning is a test that you didn’t study for?

OR

That there are rules and expectations about weddings that you had no idea about until you got engaged?

If so, you are not alone.

The unspoken etiquette of weddings trips up a lot of unsuspecting couples and trust me when I say that more than a couple of disagreements have happened because of cross-communication and hurt feelings that come from someone...

There’s a saying in the wedding industry: “if you don’t have a venue booked, you don’t have a wedding date”. It’s all about putting a where to your why.

If you, like me, have decided to plan your own wedding and can't afford to take advantage of a professional wedding planner’s immense knowledge, experience and contacts list, then you want to go into the search for your wedding venue with your eyes wide open.

I have created a ch...

Is A Seating Chart Absolutely Necessary For Your Wedding? 

The short answer is, it depends.

While I know that’s not what you want to hear, it’s pretty freeing when you work out that ultimately, it is up to you, your fiancé and just a few other considerations as well.

Today, I’m going to teach you:

·    the pros and cons of having allocated seating and a seating chart, escort cards or place cards for your wedding reception,

·    the pros...

What do you think the most frequently repeated sentence about weddings is?

I reckon I know what it is: “It all goes by so fast”.

One of the most lasting ways to preserve your memories, emotions, thoughts and ideas is by writing it down. 

Today, I want to smash through the bullet journalling bullshit and the wedding binder bollocks and share with you:

-     the benefits and why you might want to journal during your engagement and weddin...

Last week in EP82, I broke down everything you need to consider, the pros and cons, before you decide to host your wedding in either your, or a very easygoing and generous friend or family member’s, backyard.

And today I’m going to share with you the task list that you will need to work through to make this magic happen with the least amount of angst, stress and sleepless nights possible, including gold nuggets of backyard wedding p...

Backyard weddings are back in a big way this season. 

And many engaged couples, or a generous friend or relative, with a decent size outdoor area, are considering planning their wedding in a backyard.

There are heaps of benefits to planning your wedding in a familiar, accessible, meaningful and flexible venue.

From the intimacy of keeping your loved ones physically close to you and spending more time with them to the relaxed atmospher...

Recently, I've been chatting with some wedding planners and venue owners about the wedding vendor code and how it can impact engaged couples, just like you, as you go about choosing, booking in, questioning and receiving the products and services that are presented to you. 

I want you to be aware of some of the downfalls that the vendor code has so you can make sure you are getting the full story about your vendors’ capabilitie...

Does this sound like you? 

• I can't express myself very well. 
• I'm no good at writing.  
• I'd be too embarrassed to read them in front of everyone.  
• What's the point in sharing them with everyone? My fiancé already knows how I feel and it's no one else's business anyway. 

Writing your own personalized wedding vows is more popular than ever. I'm always more than thrilled to help engage couples a...

So you’ve booked in your wedding vendors. 
Now what?

We want to go in with the best of intentions. 
We want to work seamlessly with them, have fun doing it and end up with a brilliant result, all while being as efficient as possible. Cause you're still working, right?

This podcast episode is a guidebook for you, about how to get the best out of your wedding vendors for sure,  but while motivating them, and empowering the...

It’s not always the things that you drop heaps of your budget on that will stick in your memory or make your wedding day special.

Sometimes it’s just giving yourself the time and opportunity for things to unfold that will give you the most authentic and wonderful moments and memories of your day.

So if you’re sick of dropping cash every second week towards a new trend just to make your wedding extra fun, unique or the most ...

There are now Unbridely Podcast listeners in over 100 countries and territories all around the world. But you’re not staying still for a moment, are you? Many engaged couples are opting to go overseas and enjoy a destination wedding somewhere new and exciting. 

SO this week I’ve sought the help of celebrants and officiants from New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, England and the United States of America I’m sharing with you what the legal...

Picture this, the week leading up to your big day, the weather forecast goes from a slight chance of rain to an 80% chance. Sure, you might have a plan B, but that's why it's a plan B, right? 

A rainy wedding day can sometimes be just a blip in your plans or cause a full-scale meltdown. It’s all about your perspective and how organised you can be.

So today, I'm going to break down: 

1. what you can do to prep...

Whether you’re a ‘sit by the pool all day with cocktails’ or a ‘ride through rural rice fields on a scooter’ kind of couple, chances are you’re one of the 75% of people who will go on a honeymoon after your wedding. 

There are endless options available to you, some at astronomical price points, so how do you narrow down your destination and accommodation and even more crucially, should you go on your honeymoon straight after your we...

When a bridesmaid says ‘yes’ to a bride, they must communicate clearly and early about expectations for commitment, assigned responsibilities and especially the costs. 

But it’s also essential for the bride to be aware of what she’s really asking of her family and friends when she excitedly proposes to them to be in her wedding party in the first place. 

The sentiment of friendship, closeness and fun that a bride may anticipate might...

Have you ever asked yourself why you want to get married (with the subtext being, if nothing really changes anyway)?

In 2019 according to the Pew Research centre:

“The decision to get married is a personal one, but for most married adults, love and companionship trump other considerations such as such as the desire to have children someday, convenience or finances.”

But there are some other legal aspects to consider too, including in ...

Given that I believe 99% of couples want these four things, this is what I'd like to get down to the crux of in this episode: 

• feeling calm, 
• feeling prepared, 
• being present, and 
• being receptive.

Calm, means an internal knowing that everything is going as it should. 

Being prepared means that you’ve designed a ceremony that fits you and your fiancé, rather than having something pushed upon you. Being able to assert yourse...

I’m pretty sure I’ve shared my very own DIY wedding flower disaster story with you before on the podcast.

But as the lessons are both timeless, relevant and in hindsight, pretty funny too, it bears repeating especially in the context of interviewing Liza from Fifty Flowers in the United States.  

Liza is a trailblazing entrepreneur, a hot yoga enthusiast and the owner-operator of one of the biggest, most education-supported, customer...

You want ease. 

You want to be surrounded by problem solvers. 

You want to have their technical expertise and people with great energy who will not only do their job, but help you to get excited too. 

You want to choose the right wedding vendor team the first time around because it’s also super uncomfortable to have to let a vendor go, and because of contracts, potentially costly as well. 

So to kick off this year, I'm going to te...

Ho Ho Ho Happy Engagement Season!

If you’re getting, or have just gotten, engaged, congratulations beautiful! Drink it all in and revel in your love bubble. 

As I’m meeting and chatting with more experts in relationships and psychology and reading about studies about the financial health of marriages and those that are most likely to go the distance, it seems to me that: 

A) we should’ve been given the heads up on this stuff in school...