Small is Beautiful

You have had your wedding date planned  for 12 months or more and a matter of days before your beloved date Covid-19, a worldwide pandemic took hold. Your wedding date that is etched on your wedding stationery and forever engraved in your mind is no more and you have a new date. A date you are not as attached to but a date that brings happiness to so many people around you. This is the perfect opportunity to re look at you wedding plans and strip back the excess. As Coco Chanel put it “Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance”

Firstly, I think it is important to look at what you can expect from Lysaght as your wedding venue. As a team with the guest’s best interests at heart, we want you to feel safe at our venue while we deliver an exceptional wedding day. Rest assured we have been anticipating your wedding day as much as you have. We are a Covid-19 secure venue, and before you even book your wedding day you will notice the new signage across the venue. We have social distancing reminders, a brand-new sanitiser station on arrival as well as sanitisation stations outside each room. We have an electronic sign in post for track and trace on arrival with someone to meet you and help if needed. We take everyone’s temperature as they arrive. Our cleaning procedures have been improved and increased especially on high touch points. We use an anti-virus cleaner to clean these high touch point areas for ultimate protection. Staff will wear visors; these will be decorated with a neutral wedding theme so we don’t look too alien.

When you book your small wedding with us, we will set up a Whats App group for your guests. Your guests will all be invited to join and can ask questions via the group. We think this is a personal way for your wedding planners and team to get to know your guests and vice versa. We can also send subtle reminders out via a Whats App during your wedding.

If you are having a ceremony at Lysaght your guests will be sat in their house holds with 2 meters distance between groups. Your meetings with the registrar on the day will be conducted in a separate room and social distancing will be adhered to. The registrars will be behind a table for the ceremony and 2 metres away from the bride and groom. We can arrange your ceremony in the ballroom for up to 42 people including the officiant and you, the Bride and Groom. We can put out extra chairs for people who are unable to attend and even place photographs of people on empty chairs to signify their presence.  A boxed pen should be provided before the wedding for signing of the register. We can provide low volume music for you to walk down the aisle, sign the register and exit or you could have a string instrument playing. We can even consider a solo artist to sing your song for your big entrance. For guests who are unable to make it we can live stream your ceremony on a private platform. Photographs can be taken outside in our beautifully updated courtyard.

If you are joining us for your wedding breakfast your guests will be seated in their households at tables with 2-meter distance between other households. We have developed our very own app to order drinks and we will be providing table service to all your guests. The app is simple to use and can be found using a QR code. We can arrange background music for your reception, you can have your speeches and cut your cake. Your all-important first dance will still take place as your loved ones capture this special first moment as husband and wife. We will be serving food to your guest’s tables and anything else they may need. After your meal you have half an hour to say your farewells. I know this seem like an abrupt end to your day but hear me out. Going back to traditional weddings the Bride and Groom always leave early to be whisked off somewhere special for their honeymoon. This could be the perfect opportunity to say goodbye to your loved ones and enjoy some time to reflect on what an amazing day you have had. Relaxing with a spa treatment or a couple of drinks in a bar even get yourselves away for a few nights to really embrace your next adventure.  

We have covered the what to expect part of your wedding day at Lysaght I now want to show you the positives of a small wedding day and get you excited to start planning. With a smaller group of guests, you can make your wedding personal to you as a couple and this is what the day is all about, the happy couple embarking on a new adventure together. Personal touches such as handmade individual favours for each guest will add a touch of sentimental value, rather than the bulk wedding favours that are usually left behind. The Bride and Groom could have a polaroid photo taken with guests and compose a personal message for each one. Place cards can hold special memories for the guest or a message of thanks for sharing the day. The couples favourite foods could be listed on the menu and a little story behind the choices all add the personal touch you just don’t get with a larger wedding. Why not have a toast to your marriage with a signature or favourite cocktail or your favourite wine. These touches are impossible with a large group of people so embrace the intimate setting and use it to your advantage.

The décor will be key to the atmosphere of your small wedding. Keeping things simple but elegant will give guests talking points but the attention should be on you. Lots of greenery is a subtle but lovely way to inject some colour to our ballroom and simple floral displays with accents of warm colours especially for the autumn and winter seasons would look perfect with the foliage. Lighting is important to create atmosphere. Think warm white fairy lights to soften the space. While the ballroom is a large space which is great for social distancing, with a lower number of guests it can look very spacious. Dimming the main lights and using soft white LED candles can create a warmth to the space. Talking of space there will be areas you might want to fill. We have a large love letters company on our suppliers list, why not get your new surname to pose with for photos after all, this day is about joining two lives together with the important people close by.

Your wedding day will go so fast. Even if you savour every single moment you will want more. We tell all our couples to make sure you take the time to enjoy the day. Most of our couples have said they would love to do it all over again. Now if you look at your wedding day you have had the ceremony and the reception but why not have the party next year? You could celebrate your one year anniversary among your extended family and friends. I know allocated spends sometimes restrict this from happening but here at Lysaght we have created a package that would allow you to get married for 30 guests, have a meal for 30 guests and then a large party a year later with a projection of your original day. this would allow you to wear your dress again and celebrate in style with all your friends and loved ones who were unable to make the original day. We will even arrange a complimentary drinks reception to start your party off in style as no good story ever starts with a salad!

If you are thinking about any of the above options for your wedding day, get in touch with our events team.