Easily the biggest bridal expo ever to be presented in the Hunter Valley with over 100 exhibitors,  Hunter Wedding Grapevine’s Wedding Expo organisers Andrew and Amanda Wiltshire have again secured Newcastle’s  City Hall for its next January 2010 wedding expo.

And committed to the local bridal industry Hunter Wedding Grapevine now has exclusive use of City Hall for bridal expos in both January and September until September 2012.

In the industry organising wedding expos since 2005, I asked Hunter Wedding Grapevine their “Top 5 Wedding Tips” and “What Has Changed since 2005?”

Hunter Wedding Grapevine’s

5 Top Wedding Tips

1. Research and always use well known, established, reputable wedding suppliers and talk to your friends and relatives. Do they know someone? Questions to ask:  “What was great, what wasn’t?”; “What worked, what didn’t?” Did you know that a high percentage of established wedding suppliers’ customers are referrals?
2. Be wary of deals that are “too good to be true” – they usually are! Some businesses will offer the world and then don’t deliver. Remember, look for established businesses!
3. Don’t focus on low prices, request the best and most experienced suppliers – it’s well worth it in the end. And if you aren’t confident in selecting businesses engage a Wedding Planner who can do it all for you.
4. Locate and book your suppliers early as the most popular suppliers are often booked 12 months or more in advance. See Wedding Tip # 1. Start with the most important (to you) -  church, ceremony location, reception venue, officiator, photographer and then work back from there. Write yourself a checklist so you can mark everything off as you go.
5. RELAX – just enjoy the day!! All the hard work should be done.

5 Wedding Trends

1. More brides are sourcing their bridal gowns and bridesmaids dresses online.
2. Vintage wedding hire cars are not being used as much with the use of ’stretch’ limos like Chrysler 300s and Hummers definitely on the increase. Plus, a current trend is one ‘hero’ car with private cars making up the numbers.
3. Guest numbers have reduced by 10-20%.
4. Local wedding suppliers are becoming more “full-time” – the number only working weekends for a bit of extra money is rapidly diminishing.
5. Bridal Expos are more common and a one-stop shop for wedding couples organising their wedding. As mentioned above, the City Hall expos are now extremely large and varied and that improvement can only make the task of organising your wedding much easier and more convenient.

2010 HWG Wedding Expos

“Summer at City Hall”, Sunday January 17 – 10.00am to 4.00pm

“Autumn in the Vineyards”, Sunday May 2 – 10.00am to 3.00pm

“Spring at City Hall”, Sunday September 12 – 10.00am to 3.00pm

As a green wedding planner I’m noticing more and more traditional wedding couples are wanting ideas “How to green their wedding plus how to save costs on their wedding?”

They’re asking “How do we approach our venue coordinator if we want eco-choices without costing the earth?” and “How can we logistically reduce transport and costs plus make a positive impact on the environment?”

How To Save Wedding $’s

Event and wedding catering and transportation can be expensive. Thinking Green will save you money if you ask the right questions and employ the “Recycle, Re-new, Re-use” rule as part of your event and wedding planning.

Venue Catering

Choosing food that is grown or raised locally helps to support small and mid-sized businesses in your area, reduces transportation, labour costs and benefits you.

In NSW if you live in the beautiful Hunter Valley, Blue Mountains and Southern Highlands you have a myriad of green choices but what if your wedding is in a capital city? Are there the same environmental and cost effective choices?

8 Key Questions To Ask Your Venue Coordinator.

Here are 8 key questions to ask your venue coordinator:

1. Do you use locally grown or produced ingredients?
2. Are your suppliers certified organic growers?
3. Do you buy meat products from farms that raise their animals naturally?
4. Is your waste recycled separately – plastics, paper, glass, metal?
5. Do you use organic vegetables, meat, dry or frozen organic ingredients?
6. Can we bring in our own organic wines and beers?
7. Is your coffee and tea fair trade, organic, locally grown?
8. Are the paper napkins made from recycled materials?

If you have set your heart on a particular venue that does not support positive environmental catering choices and not willing to do so, consider off-setting your wedding researching the many carbon neutral websites on the web.

Transportation

Wikipedia says Green Transport refers to any means of sustainable transport with low impact to the environment, and includes human or animal muscle-powered vehicles, low-carbon fueled vehicles, any kind of vehicle using a renewable source of energy for its propulsion.

Unfortunately, hybrid limos are not yet available but there are still a few eco-friendly options for your wedding day. The best option would be to choose a site that eliminates the need for transportation by having the ceremony and reception all in one place. If that is not possible, choose your wedding ceremony and reception sites within walking distance of one another or travel by horse and buggy saving you heaps of dollars!

Wedding Day Budget Conscious Travel Options.

Here are 7 Wedding Day Tips  to save you dollars

• wedding ceremony and reception at the same location
• wedding ceremony and reception walking distance of each other
• arrive/depart by horse drawn carriage
• travel by rickshaw or bicycle
• hiring of hybrid cars or borrowing
• one car only (repeat trips) for both bridal parties (bride, groom, families)
• shuttle bus for guests

Innovative “Thinking Green” and reducing the wedding and event environmental impact certainly is a positive upward trend. I take my hat off to one on my innovative brides – she planned to leave her wedding reception with her new husband pulling her along in a Billie-cart.

How do you plan to save money? Are there any green suppliers you would recommend near you? Let us know below and share as we’d love to hear from you.

Happy Planning.

LEE CASS