Know your wedding words!

When you first start to plan a wedding it's easy to feel lost and a little scared of the process simply because you don't really understand what people are saying.

Friends who have been married may mention something or a supplier will describe a product but rather than say "I'm really sorry I don't know what you're talking about" you go with it and leave feeling disheartened and slightly lost.

When you work in an industry it can be quite easy to forget that people outside of that industry don't speak in the same way so I have picked a selection of terms that I hope will make things a little easier, and at least at the beginning will prevent a few blank looks.

Boutonnaire (Button hole)

Traditionally worn by the Groom, his Best Man and Ushers. This is normally a small flower or collection of flowers that is pinned to the left hand lapel of the jacket. You can be creative with this and if flowers aren't your thing you could incorporate other items that suit your wedding theme.

Bustle

Adding a bustle to your wedding dress means you can still have a big dress or a long train. A bustle is a small stitch that is sown into the underside of your dress so that when you're ready you tie it up and get your grove on, you can do it with ease!

Canapé

Canapés are small pieces of food, normally a savoury selection that is served with welcome drinks. They are a great addition if you are having a particularly long wedding day or when it is going to be some time before offering the Wedding Breakfast.

Celebrant

A celebrant is a person who performs your wedding ceremony. You may hear the term celebrant used to describe the vicar, priest or civil registrar however, you may also hear the term when describing a civil celebrant. In this instance the celebrant would not legally marry you, only conduct the service. A legal marriage would need to take place either in a church or by a representative from the registry office.

Charger

A charger is a large plate plate that sits underneath your dinner plate on a place setting. Quite often this will help finish the look of the table by adding colour or style.

Corkage

If you want to bring your own booze (or even in some cases non alcoholic drinks) a venue may charge you corkage. Normally it is a fixed fee per bottle. For example they may charge £10 per bottle of wine that you bring in yourself. For example if you bring 50 bottles of wine you would pay £500 in corsage and then however much you have paid the distributor for the wine. In some cases this works out cheaper but not always. It does however work well for venues that don't stock a specific drink that you like or if you can get bottles in bulk for a low price.

Corsage

This is a spray of flowers normally given to the mother of the bride and mother of the groom to wear on their wrist or pinned to their clothes. You may also choose to give one to other female members of your family or close friends who are not part of the bridal party.

Destination wedding

A wedding that is taking place abroad or far from where you live therefor you need to plan from afar. You may require a wedding planner to assist with a destination wedding as it can become stressful very quickly when you're not there to oversee things.