Your wedding day is thought to be the biggest day of your life and we understand that can be a very daunting process! With weddings now costing an average of £20,000 in the UK there is a lot to think about when planning the big day! GASP! Not to fear Houston’s are here and we have comprised a wedding checklist with useful hints and tips to keep on top of your plans and stress free!

An easy way to incorporate all plans for a wedding is think of the 5 F’s! Family, Friends, Food, Fashion and most importantly FUNDING!

Family and Friends

Announcing to your family and friends that you are getting married is some of the most exciting news you can deliver so lap it up and enjoy every second of it! Family and friends are also guaranteed to be the most honest so they are often a good lot to take along when it comes to picking the brides dress, colour schemes, tartan if the groom is wearing a kilt on top of many other considerations. Siblings, parents and pals are bound to be the most reliable candidates in an event this big so don’t be afraid to ask for help leading up to and on the big day. We’re sure they would be delighted to play a part in the wedding!

One of the biggest responsibilities you can bestow upon friends is family is picking the best man maid of honour and bridesmaids!

The role of best man is a great honour, and you will forever be remembered as a part of the biggest day in the grooms life; no pressure there then! Many men playing the role of best man don’t know exactly what the job entails. That’s where we come in! Of course every wedding is different and the role of best man may be more prominent in some weddings than others but you want to pick someone who is reliable, who is guaranteed to keep the groom calm on the big day and of course he has to produce a killer best man speech! Oh and not forgetting his involvement with the stag do but we’ll get back to that… lets not stress the bride out too much just yet!

The Maid of Hounour and bridesmaids will accompany the bride down the aisle. The normal selection would be siblings, family or best friends. These are the ideal candidates to bring wedding dress shopping they guaranteed to be the most honest and helpful ladies for the job! Naturally they will all be involved in the brides hen party too so have them thinking up ideas for that whilst you plan the big day!

Food

Food is a memorable part of the day so you want to make sure you get something that will appeal to the masses! Scottish wedding have been known to serve some of the fanciest entrees whilst some people serve good old fish and chips from the chip shop and others have a buffet! So you will always have a variety of options to choose from. Often your venue will also cater for you so before you select your venue ask if you can see a sample of their menu, many venues will accommodate a taste session for you,  a try before you buy if you will! Another big aspect of the food is your wedding cake. Cakes are getting increasingly expensive so its always best to shop around. Is there a friend or family member on yours or the grooms side that bakes for a hobby? Its often a good idea to find someone who doesn’t bake professionally as you could potentially get a cake for a lot cheaper: now that’s food for thought!

Fashion

The bride wants the perfect dress so its advised to start looking right away give yourself an idea of different styles and of course the cost! If a lot of your dream dresses are looking too pricey you can now hire dresses from a lot of bridal boutiques for a fraction of the cost! Take friends and family with you when trying dresses to get an honest opinion it will help choosing that little bit easier when your mum insists you have to rule a few options out!

As soon as the groom has bestowed the honoured title of best man upon you, you need to start thinking about a kilt to hire or buy as soon as possible. This is one of the most important best man duties! When the groom has chosen his tartan it is important that the best man organizes the hires of outfits for the groomsmen. This includes fittings, collection and return of hires, etc. Traditionally, the groomsmen will wear the same tartan as the groom.

Here at Houston’s we know that women normally take charge when it comes to wedding planning and the groom may not even have a say in the cake, flowers, table plans or the venue. In fact; one of the grooms’ only tasks may be to find his chosen tartan and arrange his kilt; if this is one of the grooms few wedding tasks he simply has to get it right! The bride will often stress so here is a top tip for scoring some best man points; ask the brides opinion on tartan! The groom may have chosen a family or clan tartan for his wedding however many grooms nowadays will pick a tartan to coordinate with wedding colours. The best man should ask the bride for a sample of fabric from the bridesmaids’ dresses so that the groom can consider every option when choosing his tartan. This is a sure fire way to keep every best man in the brides good books!

Now unlike the beautiful bride who wears her dress once then either sells it on ebay or stores it in the attic, as a Groom if you choose to buy your kilt instead of hiring you are making a lifetime purchase. Start by using the Houston Kiltmakers Tartan Finder to ensure you are wearing the right Scottish tartan kilt, we have EVERY tartan in the world on display in our showroom so are spoiled for choice! In the interest of sticking to a budget Houstons give grooms a hire and buy option that allows you to buy your kilt and receive a free hire of the rest of your kilt pack which lets you build it up over time! Alternatively, if you wish to hire we offer a hire 5 and the 6th for the groom (the most expensive outfit) goes free!

Funding

The best thing to do before you start making your wedding plans is figure your budget so that you don’t over spend! Make a checklist of everything you need so you can prioritize your spending.

Venue, food, cake, brides outfit (dress, shoes, veil, jewellery), rings for the bride and groom, grooms outfit (highland wear/suit), bridesmaids dresses, grooms mens outfits, flowers, cars, band/DJ, invitations and wedding favors.

Subscribe to wedding blogs to keep up to date with ideas! Do your research  and shop around for prices. Ask friends for advice and who they used for their wedding. Sign up to mailing lists to make sure you are in the loop for offers. Do this for hairdressers, florists, venues, etc. Some hotels can offer wedding packages for great prices but as an alternative option in Scotland you can get married almost anywhere such as a church, a beach or a mountain! So consider all your options!

Probably the most famous best man duty is the stag do!  This is likely to be the highlight of the groom’s entire wedding experience (apart from the actual wedding day of course!). Top Tip: If there is one thing the Hangover movies taught us it is NEVER have the stag do the night before the wedding! The last thing the bride wants is a hung over hubby! Plan ahead and give you and your friends a few weeks to recover. It is popular to go abroad but don’t forget that Scotland is full of great outdoor spots and city nightlife! Don’t forget, kilts aren’t just for weddings! Why not organize a group hire for you and your friends for the stag do?Kilts make you stand out from the crowd and are a great conversation starter, especially if you are going abroad! Us Scots manage to make friends anywhere we go!!

Ladies can also wear tartan mini kilts so keep that in mind for the hen do! Again top tips would include doing this a few weeks before the big event! Get your bridesmaids and maid of honour involved to help plan a night you will never forget!

One of the days big finales is the speeches! This is the part when the men are under the spotlight. Best man: If you are nervous keep it short and sweet but remember to say how gorgeous the bride and her bridesmaids are and try not to embarrass the groom too much!

We always love to hear how you got on with the stag, the wedding…the whole wedding experience! So be sure to post any wedding pics on our Facebook page or tweet us and if you need help on how to wear your kilt then check out our video clips

To view our full range of products see www.kiltmakers.com and for hire wear go to www.kiltsforhire.com. For helpful guides on how to wear, transporting your kilt and kilt maintenance email us at [email protected]

The most important thing to remember is to try and not get too stressed. Truly enjoy the happiest day of your life and all the planning that goes with it!

We hope this has been helpful! Feel free to comment with any questions!