Introducing Maple Rose Weddings

Welcome back to the Bodleian Wedding Blog. Today, we are switching things up a little and handing the reigns over to Hannah, from Maple Rose Weddings. In this post, Hannah will be shedding light on useful wedding planning tips and will be discussing the importance of a wedding that truly reflects your personality and style.

So a little introduction for those of you that haven’t heard of Maple Rose. My name is Hannah Snowsill and I have recently launched and become the owner and Director of Maple Rose Weddings, a luxury wedding planning and design service based in the UK.

So quickly, why Maple Rose? For me it was important to have a name that represents what I believe marriage is: The maple leaf depicts the sweetness and wonder of love in everyday life and the rose is the ancient symbol of love and beauty.

So there, Maple Rose was born.

I’ve been in the hospitality and event industry for the best part of nine years, and it’s pretty much all I’ve known. I’ve spent my career learning the ins and outs of weddings, something I have now fallen completely in love with, working for various venues, caterers, production companies, design management companies as well as freelancing for other planners. To be able to call myself a wedding planner, I had to ensure that I had the knowledge to produce the best possible results and days for my clients.

How would I define a successful wedding?

For me, any “I do” is perfect, however I strongly believe that every wedding should be unique in some way. Your personalities should show through in your wedding design, the food and even the entertainment. One of my favourite weddings was a for a couple who wanted to think outside of the box, keep it quirky and ensure their guests were looked after throughout every minute of the day. This meant I could really do what I do best and design and create something magical. The day was very pretty, we had beautiful pink, white and ivory flowers, a gold mirrored aisle runner, as well as various entertainment throughout, including a roaming band, magician and hoop acrobat. This theme ran through to the cake and dinner design and even the shot wall table plan! The entire design was turned upside down for the after party where we transformed the space into a safari jungle, complete with a zebra print dance floor, over 100 trees and plants as well as an incredible animal theme cake station. We wanted to ensure no detail was missed throughout, so we made sure the cocktails even had their own gold animal stirrers.

Make it your wedding

When planning and designing your wedding, Instagram and Pinterest are really helpful tools, however something that I hear a lot from couples is “I want this image”, “I want my wedding to look like that”, and whilst I can see these images and weddings were beautiful, this stops your wedding from being unique to you. Don’t just copy an image that you see. I always start from the beginning; tell me a little bit about you, how you both met, your likes/dislikes, where will you go on your honeymoon, your favourite colour etc. This is how I believe you should begin your wedding design, create a mood board of you as a couple before you create a mood board of your wedding. You got engaged on the beach? This doesn’t mean you need to get married on the beach, but why not included hints of the beach in your wedding design, creating a neutral table scape and have everyone’s name written inside a beautiful shell, instead of place cards and create a stunning photo opportunity for the evening party that reflects where you’re going on your honeymoon?

I have noticed that some couples try to design their wedding before choosing a venue. Whilst the design is important, the venue should always come first. You may decide on a striking wintery red and purple colour scheme and end up with a venue that has yellow wall paper that completely clashes with what you have in mind. Whilst your personalities need to shine through, your venue will inevitably dictate your wedding design, so keep this in mind when hunting for a venue too!

Whilst the design is important, the venue should always come first.

Do I need a Wedding Planner?

Whatever your decision, just make sure you’re both happy with it. So many times I see the families getting involved and friends telling couples “Well you have to have this or that” or wedding blogs telling you the “Must haves at your wedding 2021”. Whilst it’s amazing to have incredible support during what can be an extremely stressful time, that doesn’t mean you should ever feel pressured into a certain style or timeline. Do not settle for anything less than your perfect day.

If this all sounds a little bit stressful, then please do feel free to get in touch for a consultation. Or, have a read of “Do I need a Wedding Planner?” Just remember, this is your day, make sure the experience is enjoyable! Have fun!

Until next time…

A huge thank you to Hannah for sharing so many useful wedding planning hints and tips. We have fond memories working with Hannah and Bespoke Events London on the wedding mentioned in this post: Decadent Winter Weddings with Bespoke Events London.

Photo Credits:

Roberta Facchini

Blake Ezra

Anneli Marinovich

ARJ Photography

Website: visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/venue-hire/weddings
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