Who better to ask about the art of styling than one of Sydney's top wedding venues and hotels, The Park Hyatt Sydney. Chloe Kilgour, the Hyatt's wedding executive reveals her secrets on how to style a wedding with 5-star quality.
Chloe: " One of the very first things you should think about when planning any aspect of your wedding is what style or theme you are going to go with. Will it be a country wedding, or will you be exchanging nuptials on the sand? Having a general theme will help with everything from choosing your dress to finding a cake.
The main thing to ensure in the initial styling stages of your wedding is that your theme suit both the season, and the venue. This said, there are a couple of aspects that are often overlooked in the design process:
Lighting - "¨The soft whimsical lighting that comes to mind whenever you are picturing the scene in your head does not create itself. Lighting options vary as much as themes, and can either make or break the ambience. Make sure that you speak to your venue coordinator about what can be achieved with lighting, as many event spaces are often quite restricted in terms of what they can allow you to do in this aspect. Some venues do not allow an open flame in the room, which will not work if you had your heart set on long table lined with romantic candle clusters. Your venue coordinator will be a great help with this, as they are very familiar with what best works within the space.
Flowers - "¨Second to lighting, flowers play a huge part in dressing the venue. If you pick a certain flower for the bridal party, it is good to ensure that in some aspect, it carries through to your reception. Flowers need to complement the venue.
Time and budget allowing, book an appointment with your florist and venue coordinator, and arrange a walk through of your event room. Florists are experts in their field, and will be able to best advise on what colour scheme and style will work best within the space. Always make sure you do a lot of research to avoid any disastrous situations on the day - if you've decided on tulips but your wedding is in January, you may need to think again, as your flowers will need to reflect what is in season.
Table Settings - "¨One of the very first questions you should ask your venue coordinator is the inclusions of your wedding packages, not only from a budget perspective, but also to help you in planning what more you need to do to theme your tables. The way you dress your table will influence the whole look of the room and is very dependent again not only on the theme you have selected, but also on the budget you are working with.
Take into consideration whether you would like a stationer to print your menus and place cards, or whether your venue is able to do this for you. Will you be having a runner along each table, would you prefer long rectangular tables or smaller round tables, are you likely to be opting for traditional floral centrepieces or is there perhaps something more unique and contemporary that would better suit?
Again, the best thing to do is research your ideas and find inspiration. If you have something that you are able to show your event coordinator, they are more likely to be able to assist in determining what you can do to transform the event space to be reflective of the big ideas you have for your big day."
Further information visit Sydney Park Hyatt or contact our wedding specialists on +61 2 9256 1431 or phsydney.events@hyatt.com
Thank you Chloe for sharing your expertise and styling wisdom with us. I am sure our brides are inspired for another weekend of wedding and reception planning!
Kate x