The Build The Day blog
Latest · PlanningHow Many Hours of Wedding Photography Do You Actually Need?
Photographers sell their time by the hour, so the question is not which package but which parts of the day you want on camera. Here is how to work out your hours from your own timeline, what you lose at each cut, and what to ask before you sign.
CeremonyCeremony Music: Walking In, Signing and Walking Out
Ceremony music is four short moments, not one playlist. Here is what to choose for each, what a registrar will and will not allow at a civil ceremony, and how to make sure the right song starts at the right second.
Planning & TimelinesSchool Holidays and Your Wedding Date: Half Terms, Term-Time Fridays and Teachers
Autumn is when a lot of couples pick a date for next year. Before you sign, check it against the school calendar. Here is how half terms, term-time fines and the teachers on your guest list change which date works best.
Guest ExperienceSparklers, Fireworks and Lanterns at Your Wedding: What's Allowed
From October the evenings are dark early, and a sparkler moment or a few fireworks start to look tempting. Here is what UK law says, what your venue will probably say, and how to plan it so the photo actually happens.
Seating & CateringFinal Numbers: When Your Venue Needs Them and What Late Drop-Outs Cost
Every venue and caterer will ask for your final numbers, usually a few weeks before the day. After that date, a guest who drops out is still on the bill. Here is how final numbers work, what to check in your contract, and how to give a figure you can stand behind.
Seasonal WeddingsWinter Weddings: What to Plan Differently from November to February
A winter wedding costs less, books more easily and looks lovely by candlelight. It also gets dark before four, needs somewhere for eighty coats and depends on who grits the path. Here is what changes when you marry between November and February.
Seating & CateringAutumn Wedding Menus: What's in Season and What to Ask at the Tasting
An autumn wedding gets the British larder at its fullest, but most couples choose the menu at a tasting months earlier, in a different season. Here is what is good from September to November, and how to make sure the plate you taste is the plate you get.
BudgetingWedding Venue Contracts: What to Check Before You Sign
The venue is the biggest thing you will sign for, and the contract is the part nobody reads properly. Here is what to check before you pay the deposit, from minimum spend and access times to what happens if the date has to move.
Planning & TimelinesWedding Fairs and Venue Open Days: How to Get Something Out of Them
Autumn is open day season, and most couples only ever view three venues. Here is how to walk into a wedding fair or an open evening with a plan, what to ask while you are standing there, and what to write down before you get back in the car.
Seasonal WeddingsAutumn Weddings: How to Plan Around the Light
September loses nearly two hours of daylight and the clocks go back on 25 October. Here is how to build an autumn wedding timeline backwards from sunset, so the photographs, the speeches and the evening all land where you want them.
Seasonal WeddingsYour Wedding Rain Plan: What to Sort Before the Forecast Turns
September is one of the busiest wedding months in the UK and one of the wettest. Here is the wet-weather plan worth having, the questions to ask your venue now, and the small things that make a rainy wedding day feel deliberate rather than salvaged.
Wedding FashionWhat to Do With Your Wedding Dress After the Day
The dress is still in its bag behind a door. Here is what it costs to clean and keep, why the clock matters more than anyone tells you, and the honest options if you would rather sell it, alter it or give it away.
Wedding Websites & RSVPsChasing Wedding RSVPs: What to Do When Guests Don't Reply
Your RSVP date has passed and a third of the list has said nothing. Here is why that happens, what it costs you, and the exact order to chase in so you get to a final number without falling out with anybody.