How to Plan Like a Royal

If anyone has seen recent news about the Royal Wedding there's little doubt that it has been planned with military precision. Even the arrival of the guests is planned by the minute to accommodate road closures, Royal protocol and security issues. Catherine and William's big day looks something like this, as reported on bbbc.co.uk/news

• Between 0815 and 0945 - The general congregation will arrive at the Great North Door of Westminster Abbey.
• From 0950 - Prime ministers and governors-general of various Commonwealth countries, the diplomatic corps and other guests arrive at the Abbey.
• 1010 - Prince William and Prince Harry leave Clarence House for Westminster Abbey.
• 1015 - Prince William and Prince Harry arrive at the Abbey.
• 1020 - Members of foreign royal families arrive at Westminster Abbey from Buckingham Palace.
• 1020 - Kate Middleton's mother, Carole, and brother, James, leave the Goring Hotel for Westminster Abbey.
• 1025 - Minor members of the Royal Family leave Buckingham Palace for Westminster Abbey.
• 1035 - The Duke of York and his daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, leave for Westminster Abbey along with the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Princess Royal and Vice-Admiral Timothy Laurence.
• 1038 - The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall leave Clarence House for Westminster Abbey.
• 1040 - The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh leave Buckingham Palace for Westminster Abbey.
• 1048 - The bridesmaids and pages leave the Goring Hotel for Westminster Abbey.
• 1051 - The bride, accompanied by her father Michael, leaves the Goring Hotel for Westminster Abbey.
• 1100 - The marriage service begins and is relayed by speakers along the route.
• 1215 - The carriage procession of the bride and bridegroom with a captain's escort of the Household Cavalry, followed by the Queen's procession with a sovereign's escort of the Household Cavalry, leaves Westminster Abbey for Buckingham Palace.
• 1230 - The bride's carriage procession arrives at Buckingham Palace.
• 1240 - Members of the Royal Family and members of foreign royal families arrive at Buckingham Palace.
• 1325 - The Queen and the bride and bridegroom, together with their families, appear on the balcony.
• 1330 - Fly-past by the Royal Air Force and Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

So how is this relevant to a "normal" Bride and Groom? Actually there's a few tips that anyone planning a wedding can follow. It is well worth considering the exact timings of the day even for a small wedding. This is vital to ensure that the day runs smoothly and everyone involved knows what needs to be done and when. Our How 2 I Do Wedding Planning Workshops offer an interactive timescale planning tool that allows you to track the timings for your day and to also delegate responsibility for certain areas to key members of your wedding party. We have received great feedback about how useful this tool is to ensure that everything goes to plan.

Here's a few more great tips from How 2 I Do on how to Marry like a Royal...

• Make sure that as the Bride or Groom you are not responsible for doing anything on the day - delegate tasks to your Best Man, ushers and Bridesmaids and make sure they have contact details for key suppliers
• The Royal Wedding may be rainy. Have a clear contingency plan for wet weather such as big umbrellas and an indoor photo and drinks reception location
• Plan timings with precision and make sure you know how long it will take to drive to the wedding venues, how long the speeches will be and how long the photos will take
• You may not be marrying a real Prince but make sure you feel like a Princess and be sure to have all of your beauty essentials on hand to be "close up" ready at all times
• You don't need to follow Royal protocol but brush up on Wedding etiquette such as how the top table should be laid out and in which order the speeches should take place (Father of the Bride, Groom and then Best Man)
• Why not take inspiration and go for a Cool Britannia theme with lots of Union Jack Bunting and a street party style reception
• Prince William will be having a special chocolate biscuit cake so why have fruit cake if you don't like it or for more variety have tiers with different cake flavours
• Kate Middleton has a very individual look and likes to be perfectly groomed and stylish rather than cutting edge fashionable. Make sure that your wedding look reflects your personal style so that you are a highly groomed version of yourself.

For more planning help, why not come to one of our Wedding Planning Workshops. We have two new dates available in June and July and 20% off if you book this month. Visit us at www.how2ido.co.uk/workshops for more information.

News from our April Wedding Planning Workshop

Our first How 2 I Do Wedding Planning Workshop took place today and it was a great success. Our Brides and Groom to be arrived at the fabulous Avon Gorge Hotel (http://www.theavongorge.com/) and were welcomed with pastries and cool drinks as we overlooked the amazing sun baked terrace. We started with some introductions and then went on to look at where to begin planning.

Our next step was trying out the interactive budgeting tool, which everyone thought was really useful. Our money saving tips were also well received by all. We demonstrated our handy timescale planning tool, which allows you to know what needs to be organised and when it should be completed. It can also be used for timings on the Big Day. All of these tools are in the Wedding Planning pack that everyone can take home to store their planning documents in, along with a printed 21 page summary of the day and a pen.

Next we did a fun exercise to help pick a wedding theme. To do this we looked through wedding magazines and cut out any pictures that we liked and stuck them on to paper to make a mood board. Melissa made a great classic board with lots of creams and a retro feel, while Francesca opted for lots of blues and silvers. Here's one we made earlier...

After making our mood boards we looked at choosing venues and gave everyone some great ideas for venues that they had not heard about before such as the Clifton Lido. After a break for some tea, coffee and sunshine we covered entertainment ideas, food and drink, picking photographers, ceremony legalities, roles and responsibilities and had a question and answer session.

Francesca who took part in the workshop with her Fiance Jeff said "I thought the workshop was extremely informative, fun and creative. It calmed me and my fiance down about the whole wedding experience. I will be spreading the word. Thank you very much. You made us feel special about our special day."

Melissa who is planning to get married in either 2012 or 2013 said "The whole afternoon was very informative and useful. I now feel confident to begin planning my Wedding. Stephanie has some great ideas and was able to answer any queries I had. I would recommend this workshop to anyone starting out planning their wedding."

If you would like to come along to our next workshop, visit us at http://www.how2ido.co.uk/ for more information.

The Avon Gorge Hotel is liscenced for Civil Ceremonies and has two inter-connecting reception rooms downstairs that have direct access to the Terrace with it's stunning views on the Clifton Suspension Bridge. There is also a larger room upstairs with its own bar.