A complete guide to weddings

Just got engaged and not sure where to start with planning your big day? You're in the right place. We've helped thousands of brides and grooms turn their Pinterest boards into reality with the best wedding suppliers from across the UK. We can help you with lots of different areas of your wedding, from venues through to food, drink, photographers and florists - all under one roof.

Let's go step by step and take a look at how to make your big day utterly unforgettable.

Wedding venues

Venue

First things first, you'll need somewhere to host your reception. If you're going for a non-religious ceremony, many venues will also allow you to hold your marriage ceremony there as well, although you will need to check they have the required licence to do so. We've written more about holding your wedding ceremony in an unusual location too.

When it comes to venues you have a few different options - you can choose a venue that offers everything you need in a package, ie a set price for the venue itself, tables and chairs, decorations, DJ equipment, dance floor etc or you go for a 'dry hire' venue which means you're essentially just renting the space and it's up to you to find suppliers and fill the venue with whatever you need. It's really down to your personal preference as to which is best for you - some people like the simplicity of choosing a package from a venue whilst others want more flexibility to really make the space their own and so dry hire is a better fit.

Your venue tends to be the first thing you book when planning your wedding, and then once the date is confirmed with them you can start looking at everything else. If you need some inspo, we've gathered some of the most unique wedding venues in the UK!

Marquees

If you want a completely blank canvas, a marquee may be the way to go for your wedding. They come in all different types and allow you to decorate and lay them out exactly as you want, without being bound by a venue's rules or fixed room layout. You will need to find a field or similar to erect the marquee in, which will also come at a cost. We've got a beginners guide to marquees for you to find out more if you don't know where to start!

Wedding food

The wedding breakfast

In the past, pretty much everyone did a traditional 'sit down' meal, known as a 'wedding breakfast' at their reception. Nowadays, the options are far more varied and people are going for more non-traditional options like a fleet of food trucks to feed their guests. It's really up to you with how formal or informal you want to make your wedding breakfast - the only important thing is that you keep your guests well fed - there's nothing worse than everyone's energy flagging due to lack of food!

Whatever kind of catering you're looking for, the good news is we can help. Catering is our bread and butter and we have every kind of supplier you can think of, so if a traditional meal served to your guests at tables is what you want, that's no problem. If you want to serve up your wedding breakfast buffet-style and allow your guests to serve themselves, we can absolutely organise that too. Or, if food trucks are more your vibe then you're in the right place because we've got a handpicked selection of the UK's very best!

Late night snacks

Picture this - it's 10:30pm, the dance floor is packed with all your nearest and dearest but people are starting to flag a little and need an immediate boost of energy. Enter: the late night snack. You may want to think about a late night mini-buffet, or even bringing in one or two food trucks to add a little flair to your late night snack. Popular options are toasties, pizzas, 'dirty' fries and, of course, the classic bacon butty.

The bar

A focus point of many weddings, the bar is important to get right. If you're hiring a venue, you may already have a bar includd in your package, so no need to worry. If you're using a dry-hire venue or marquee, you'll need to sort a bar yourself.

You've got a few different choices to make here, starting with how you want to fund the bar on the day. With Togather, you'll have three options:

Open Bar: You pay for all drinks up front at the time of booking
Cash Bar: You pay a hire fee and then your guests pay cash for their drinks at the wedding
Mixed: You pre-pay for a certain amount, and then once that limit is hit guests pay for themselves on the day

The next decision is the most fun - what kind of bar setup do you want? You may just want to go for a straight forward fuly stocked, freestanding 'event bar' in your marquee, which will absolutely do the job. Or, you could add a little fun to your day with a Prosecco or Aperol Spritz horsebox for the drinks reception, or perhaps a cocktail truck complete with professional cocktail makers to spice things up for an hour or two after dinner! We've got endless setups and countless different drinks packages available so whatever you're looking for - straight forward or something a bit different, we'll have the perfect supplier for you. If you're wondering how much a mobile bar might cost, we can help explain that too!

Photographer and videographer

It's a cliche but your wedding day really will fly by in a flash, so you'll want some way to remember every little detail. Booking a photographer or videographer is a great way to capture all of the moments, big and small, to look back on for years to come. Depending on your budget, you can book photographers for anything from just a few hours through to the entire day. Some photographers and videographers work alone, but others come with a second shooter who can cover another location - say, one with the bride as she gets ready and the other with the groom/other bride as they get ready, or can capture different angles of the same scene e.g. in church or during speeches.

What's most important when choosing your photographer/videographer is that it's someone you get on with - this person will be with you during intimate moments of your day and so it's got to be someone you feel comfortable with and who you feel will just blend in to the background so you can be completely comfortable. It's important to meet your photographer before the big day if you can, to allow you to ask some important questions and also test whether you hit it off and want them around on your wedding day!

Florists

The type of venue you've chosen and your own personal style will dictate how much floral decoration you need to do. Some people want over the top floral installations throughout their venue - flower walls and arches and chandeliers - others want a more understated aesthetic and go for just floral centrepieces. There's no right or wrong answer and your florist will be able to advise on your options.

One thing you will want to think about is flowers for the bridal party. Bouquets, corsages and buttonholes are all great options to make the bridal party stand out from the rest of your guests.

Staff

With all your hard work that's gone into the planning, you want to be able to sit back on the day itself and enjoy it, so making sure you've got the right staff is important. Depending on the type of venue and set up you've gone for you may need to bring in your own waiters and waitresses or bartenders. We work with some of the top hospitality staffing agencies in the country so can help out with that organisation too!

Planning your wedding should be exciting and enjoyable - after all you'll only do it once! You should be able to relax and look forward to your big day and not have to sweat the small stuff. That's where we come in - the pressure to get it all right can be tough but we're here to make sure you're guaranteed a fantastic experience with all suppliers you book. If you're still looking for more info on how to plan your wedding, our ultimate wedding checklist might also come in handy!