Giselle Smith, a wedding planner, joins the podcast to offer advice and insights on planning a wedding, including the various events that make up a multi-day celebration.
Wedding trends and pre-wedding events
o Offering a range of pre-wedding events such as showers and bachelor/bachelorette parties, trends shifting more towards extravagant and overseas bachelor/bachelorette parties with focus on experience and social media exposure.
o Couple's preferences and personalized experiences are more focused
Vendors and budget
o Engage a wedding planner as soon as possible, ideally within the first few months of getting engaged.
o The planner can help the couple navigate the wedding planning process, including selecting vendors and managing budgets.
o Early elements to consider are venue, catering, and florist to creating a successful and memorable wedding.
Themes and venues
o Ask yourself, what is the bride’s style
o Involving grooms and parents can be a challenge in wedding planning, but it's important to find interests match between the couple.
o Themes in weddings are trending towards more personalized and unique options, rather than traditional or generic choices.
o Consider earthy venues like a horse farms in Kentucky, including Hermitage Farm, which has a luxurious barn setup.
o Kentucky weddings often incorporate elements of the state's culture, such as bourbon and horses, and are popular destination wedding locations for both locals and out-of-town guests.
Catering
o Choose caterers based on reputation and personal experience, remember that catering affects the entire event experience, from arrival to post-ceremony refreshments.
o Use local ingredients and highlight Kentucky's unique culinary culture in wedding catering.
o Embed unique experiences like cigar rollers or interactive desserts, to enhance the overall experience for guests.
o Try a bourbon bar with an educated bartender, to educate out-of-town guests on local spirits.
Unique wedding experiences
o Consider a bourbon experience in the wedding reception, include a welcome dinner and tasting stations throughout the museum.
o Do tours of the horse farm between the ceremony and reception
Favors
o The evolution of wedding favors includes the use of custom gifts, koozies, and even small toy guns for a western-themed event.
o Gifting at weddings often includes personalized items, such as bottles of wine, custom cookies, or local products, and can be tailored to the couple's first date or special place.
Budget and guest count
o Couples who are getting married at an older age tend to have more refined tastes and prefer lower guest counts for their second wedding.
o Second weddings have bigger budgets and lower guest counts – both factors are essential in determining the quality of a wedding.
