Wedding Planning Tips. Lee + Lisa Stockdale

Plan a stress free wedding with insightful tips from real couples who have already walked down that aisle. Wedding photography by Duncan McCall.

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Couple : Lee + Lisa Stockdale
Location : Tynemouth and Northumberland
Wedding Photographer Website : Duncan McCall
Ceremony Location : n/a
Reception : Slaley Hall
Wedding Date : 26th September 2014

Wedding Planning Tips

Agree on a budget and stick to it as best you can, as there are so many lovely things you can have but before you know it you've gone over the amount you agreed.

Don't feel pressured into pleasing everyone else when it comes to guest lists. It's about you two and therefore the people you want to have there should take priority over distant relatives you feel obliged to invite simply because they're relatives! This is tricky though haha.

Don't go overboard on a theme unless it's really important to you. Sometimes less is more and accents or nods to a theme are more effective.

When it comes to buying your wedding dress, trust your instinct but listen to the women who have the boutiques as they see women every day in all manner of styles and have a good idea of styles that would suit you. And don't discount a dress because it's not the colour you'd have. The dress I wore was originally in a dusky pink kind of colour which wasn't the colour I wanted but was exactly the style I wanted. Usually, the dresses can be made in most colours.

Don't be afraid to be specific with what you want. It's your day and most people only plan on doing it once so you want it to be right. Venues are generally really accommodating and will do all they can to make it what you want.

Don't get obsessed with planning,as it'll be a real comedown when it's all over! Plan something lovely for once the wedding and honeymoon is over so that you have something else to look forward to.

Remember that essentially the wedding is about you committing to one another. Everything else is a nice add on to the day. Don't forget the reason you're getting married.

Take 10 minutes to just be with each other and take it all in. I never really believed people when they said the day flies over but my goodness it really does! Take a minute to take it all in. Everyone wants a piece of you, so make sure to spend a little bit of time together (even if it's just 10 minutes)

Enjoy it! You've spent such a long time planning it so remember not to get caught up in incidentals and just enjoy the magical day you've planned.

We chose Duncan McCall Photography and we booked him 11 months before our wedding day.We chose Duncan because we immediately felt at ease in his company and thought that was important for our actual wedding day. The albums he showed us were of a really good quality and we loved the fact that the style was more informal. The effects on some of the photos were great and were a big deciding factor as to why we picked him. He's a really nice guy and there was no 'hard sell approach' that we'd experienced with other photographers.

My top tip for choosing a wedding photographer is to make sure you feel comfortable around your photographer. If he puts you at ease in your home when you meet him then you know he'll do the same on the big day. Some photographers we'd met previously were very fussy and too try-hard if that makes sense?

Wedding Ceremony & Venue

Our ceremony was in a church that Duncan had photographed in before which was great as he knew it well. It was important to me to try and get some shots of my home town (especially on the beach) and even though we were worried about time, Duncan made me feel that this was completely possible and that it wouldn't be a bother at all. The beach photos and the Japanese garden ones are my favourite. Our venue was Slaley Hall and again was somewhere he'd photographed before which was great. He knew where the best placed to shoot were and kept us on time all day so we didn't have to worry about it.

Wedding Dress Details

Dress details Art Couture Bridal at Tonia Ann Bridal in Washington

Wedding Shoes Details

Shoes details Can't remember! They were shoes I'd worn when I was bridesmaid for my sister! Soooo comfy, which is very important.

Wedding Flowers Details

Flowers details Bouquets and buttonholes from Greener Interiors (not great but ok) Venue flowers by Gwen (resident florist for Slaley Hall and fabulous)