Wedding planner: I just love the ‘I do’ moment

But planning a wedding is no easy feat and can involve a lot of time and energy, not to mention worry for the bride and groom.

While that stress is, unfortunately, inevitable, there are people whose job it is to ensure that during the countdown to the big day everything stays on track.

Wedding co-ordinators act as a liaison between the bride and groom and all of the suppliers, whether it’s the caterers or entertainers, as well as ensuring that the logistical details are taken care of.

Rebecca Perry has been organising wedding celebrations for the past three years and now works as part of the events team at Hagley Hall, near Stourbridge.

The Georgian Palladian mansion, home to Lord and Lady Cobham, has been a venue for wedding celebrations for more than 25 years.

It hosts between 25 and 30 every year, ranging from intimate gatherings of less than 30 people in one of the state rooms to those catering for around 1,200 guests in a marquee on the lawn.

Part of Rebecca’s job involves showing couples around the hall so they can get a feel for the place and giving them a flavour of how the different rooms could look for civil ceremonies and receptions depending on their tastes and the size of their guest list.

Couples can make an entrance using the hall’s grand Perron steps into the White Hall, which features the Lyttelton family’s baby grand piano, and among the state rooms on offer is the Long Gallery with its chandeliers and views of the deer park.

Disco

For the evening celebrations, the hall offers an entertainment suite, including a disco room with a dance floor as well at an adjacent lounge and bar area.

Couples can also tie the knot as the nearby church, St John The Baptist, which sits within the parkland before having a reception at the venue.

The hall has become a popular place for Asian weddings and last year was the winner of the Best Alternative Venue category at the Midland Asian Wedding Awards.

From the time they’re booked, most events take between 12 and 18 months to plan but the venue does also get some last-minute requests with staff pulling out all the stops in a narrower time frame.

“We’re getting enquiries now about weddings for August next year but we might also get calls about weddings for this August,” explains Rebecca.

From flowers and food to music and entertainment, every detail is mapped out specifically to match the couple’s wishes.

“It’s all about what the couple wants. It’s not a case of saying you can have this or you can’t have that – we want to know what they want so we can make the day all about them,” says the 33-year-old, who previously worked at Aston Villa Football Club before moving to Hagley Hall in December to take up her marketing and events executive post.

She says her job rarely gets stressful and because they offer couples exclusive use of the house there will only ever be one wedding taking place at a time. “In some venues there are more than one wedding taking place at the same time, which I imagine could make it more stressful with a lot more to do and think about, taking the focus away.

“I like being able to concentrate fully on each couple getting married here,” explains Rebecca, who studied for a degree in hospitality and licensed retail management at the University of Wolverhampton.

Unusual

Couples can expect to pay between £3,900 and £5,900 to exclusively hire the venue between April and September and in December this year, with fees lower outside of the main wedding season.

The venue doesn’t offer wedding packages, preferring to let couples decide what they want – or don’t want – on top of that.

Rebecca says that she hasn’t had any unusual requests during her time at Hagley Hall so far and that a lot of couples tend prefer their nuptials to be in-keeping with the character of the 18th century house.

“You come off the main road and it’s like entering another world. There’s the grand house, the beautiful views of the parkland and church and the deer. There are so many nice places for photos.

“It’s a lovely setting and because Lord and Lady Cobham live here it has a very homely and warm feel which people like.”

Rebecca, who lives in Halesowen, loves it when a plan comes together.

“Even if has been stressful, I love event day and seeing it all come together and seeing the smiles on the couple’s faces,” she says.

“My favourite part of a wedding day is when the couple say ‘I do’, when all the stress, panic and nervousness of the morning is over and the couple relax and begin to really enjoy their day and you can see how happy they are.”

Heather Large