How to make your wedding as grand as George and Amal’s

3 October 2014 by in Entertainment, Lifestyle

Yesterday Catherine purchased the latest edition of Hello! magazine and this morning we were impressed by the wedding of George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin, and were particularly taken by the Oscar de la Renta dress, celebrity guests and perfect setting.

We have learnt many things from George and Amal’s wedding: tuxes never go out of style, everyone looks good in a boat, and restrained beading can work wonders. Luckily for all you lay people wishing to have a similarly memorable day, Infinite Ideas has a book, Perfect Weddings, which is filled with helpful tips on how to make it the best day of your life. One thing you have to get right is the location. So if you can’t afford to have it in the Aman Canal Grande hotel how do you decide upon your venue?

What will suit the kind of ceremony and reception you want? Your location should be a reflection of your overall theme. If it’s formal, your local grand hotel may be a suitable location (and should be licensed for civil weddings), with plenty of space for ceremony and guests. But make sure you have free rein to make your own choices – they sometimes insist on using their own favoured caterer. And check there’s enough parking space.

george wedding

If you plan to hold a church wedding, you may need to book up to two years in advance for the date that you want. If you want something a little more unusual, such as a ceremony with your own vows in a ruined castle, try a quiet registry office and a second ceremony; that way you are free to make all your own style choices. Make sure you have a dry run well in advance of the big day. You must make sure that you know which door the band will use, and that they also know which one it is, unless you want everyone moving tables to allow equipment to be lugged through your reception meal. Will the fire regulations allow for the hundreds of tea lights you have planned to dot all around your tables? Is there room for you to greet your guests? Can they make sure that there is a safe place for the wedding gifts to be left, or can they be locked away and collected the following day by your parents if you are going on honeymoon straight from the reception?

For George and Amal, the theme was undoubtedly Hollywood glamour and it definitely delivered. Their location was old school Hollywood at its best, full of pomp and ceremony, completely over the top but managing to stay on the right side of ridiculous. We would have loved to have gone, but we’re guessing that the venue capacity was just too small.

As for the problem of transport, there’s no need to worry when it comes to Venice, just make sure that your guests are put into a water taxi and haven’t fallen over the side and it’s all taken care of. Venice is a great city to hold a wedding in as there’s no issue of having to delegate the designated driver. Everyone is free to get as drunk as they like so long as they watch out for the canal.

Venue: check. Transport: check. Designer dress: we’re pretty sure Oxfam has a stock of used designer wedding dresses that you can rifle through and hopefully pick up a bargain.