Wedding planning tips from the couple who did it all together

All too often in the past wedding planning was seen as something for the bride to take the lead on.

Thankfully, times have changed and we love it when we see couples embracing the process of deciding all the details of their big day together.

Take Greg and Danielle as an example. The couple were due to marry in October 2020, 10 years after they first met.

When the pandemic put paid to their plans for a large guest list they simply pulled together and changed plans, working as a team.

“I think there’s still a perception that a lot of the decisions are expected to come from the bride and the marketing is often targeted in that direction, but there is a lot to look forward to as the groom also,” says Greg.

“It was very important to me to be involved.

“I had my own ideas about what was important for our wedding, such as an overall look and feel for the day, the pacing, and I wanted to make sure that whatever Danielle and I wanted would all help build up to the overall picture.”

Being together for a decade means Greg and Danielle know something about planning things.

Afterall, this groom proposed when they got the keys to their first flat.

“It’s always a great feeling to be planning together and have you and your future wife be pulling in the same direction, to be in sync, even when the world throws a few challenges your way,” says Greg.

“Then you know you can handle it together and rely on each other.”

Greg is a self-confessed foodie and it was important to him to find the perfect location for their wedding meal.

“Part of the prep for our wedding was during the year before (pre-pandemic) we visited a whole bunch of restaurants, some familiar to us, some recommendations from friends, just to try to find the right haunt for the night,” he says.

“We planned on sticking to [Glasgow] city centre and could therefore move between a number of venues as long as they were all close enough.

“As such we went on a dozen little dates to sample anywhere that looked like they might be a candidate for good private dining.

“As a tip, some cake places will also do cake and tea to help pick the flavours for your wedding cake, don’t miss out on a tea party!”

In the end, Covid restrictions meant Greg and Danielle enjoyed their wedding meal alone in their favourite restaurant Nippon Kitchen.

However, their wedding guests separated into small groups to enjoy dinner around the city in the other candidates they had considered for the wedding breakfast.

One element of the wedding Greg took a definite lead on was his own outfit.

“I had a strong idea for what I wanted my suit to be early on and it didn’t change much through planning, which helped set some of the colours for other elements,” he says.

“I had held the idea of what I wanted from suits while helping my friend Dave search for his suit a couple of years previously.

“When it came to actually finding and picking the suit, I drove my wife made because I was able to walk straight to the shop and was in and out in a couple of hours with exactly what I wanted.

“There are very few brides that can say that about their dress shopping.”