Read Our Q&A with Halcyon Halcyon [Wedding Planning Tips]

Now you’ve found a wedding venue you love the fun can start, planning your wedding! Have you decided on how you’re going to plan your wedding yet?

Even though we provide help and support with everything you could need to host your wedding, we still advise all couples to hire a wedding day coordinator to help the day run smoothly or work with a wedding planner if you would like extra help to manage every aspect of your wedding. Weddings can take 200 to 300 hours to plan but with an experienced wedding planner helping you, this time is greatly reduced, especially if the wedding planner has worked in the venue previously.

Andi Quinn Clawson was Shoreditch London’s general manager for 5 years before leaving to start HALCYON HALCYON with his wife Jayne. Andi and Jayne offer full end-to-end wedding planning, on-the-day coordination and wedding floristry services.

We welcome Andi and Jayne to share their expertise

Tell us something about yourselves.

Andi: We are Andi & Jayne Quinn Clawson, husband & wife, and co-founders of HALCYON HALCYON. We’re both originally from Belfast and have been living in London for the last 10 years. After working in the events industry for many years, we mostly found ourselves staring at our laptops with little opportunity for hands-on work. In need of a creative outlet, we gained a floristry qualification in our spare time. After this, we were inspired to set-up HALCYON HALCYON in 2018 as a company specialising in events, weddings and floral design. HALCYON HALCYON has allowed us to merge our floral design creativity with our practical event knowledge.

NOAH WERTH FILM & PHOTOGRAPHY / FLOWER DESIGN BY HALCYON HALCYON

How long have you been working on weddings and events?

Jayne: I started working in events in London in 2011. My role has mainly been as a creative event producer, producing a wide range of events; from small intimate dinners to huge award ceremonies and launch parties. I’ve been so lucky to have produced events for some amazing, forward-thinking brands including ASOS, Pinterest, Netflix, The Guardian, Nike and PlayStation. I really love working with clients, bringing their ideas to life, and encouraging them to push their boundaries. Anything is possible, and I love a challenge!

I started working on weddings in 2018 when HALCYON HALCYON was born, firstly doing wedding flowers and then merging our experience of producing events so that we could offer a full wedding planning service. I absolutely love that I’m able to use the experience and expertise that I have gained over the years to now offer these services through HALCYON HALCYON to both our private clients and our couples.

Andi: Similar to Jayne, I’ve been working within the events industry for the last ten years. As well as working as a freelance production manager, a lot of my experience has been venue-based. I’ve managed the sale and production of events across ‘dry hire’ and ‘wet hire’ venues in London, and this experience has been invaluable when working on the other side of the fence on behalf of clients. When you understand how a venue functions it’s easier to spot the areas where money can be saved and operationally ensure the event itself runs smoothly.

I was General Manager at Shoreditch London for five years. During this time, we hosted over a hundred weddings across Shoreditch Studios and Kachette, and I quickly learned about all the aspects required to host your wedding at a dry-hire venue. Not only did this help when organising my own wedding, but it also gave Jayne & I another service we can offer to couples.

What services does HALCYON HALCYON offer?

Jayne: We work with corporate and private clients, on everything from product launches and photo shoots, to weddings and private parties. Essentially, we offer all of our clients two services; full event planning & production, and floral design. The two services can operate independently but often work well together for events, and for weddings that means we can help plan the wedding and also provide the flowers.

Specialising in dry-hire weddings, we offer couples a flexible planning service, which they can tailor to their individual needs. Couples can choose how much support they require, whether it’s full planning, our ‘pick ‘n mix’ service, or just on-the-day co-ordination. Our ‘pick ‘n mix’ service is very popular as we just charge for our time and always negotiate the best deal for couples, which can offset the investment in planning. We have a great list of preferred suppliers we can recommend for all elements of the wedding, from stationery to catering; however, we also believe in finding the best supplier for the job so couples aren’t limited to this list.

In terms of floral design, we see ourselves as non-traditional floral designers. We love creating unique, one-off arrangements, and always seek to use unusual materials in order to achieve this. We both really enjoy being challenged to create floral installations, the bigger the better for us! And not only specialise in wedding flowers but also for events, photoshoots and window displays.

What’s your favourite part of a couple’s wedding day, planning or the wedding day itself?

Jayne: We enjoy the planning process as this is when you really get to know the couple. We love going on this exciting journey with them and creating an event which is a true reflection of their personalities and their love story. Our favourite part though is the wedding day itself, it’s such an honour to be part of someone’s special day and to see it all finally come together. There really is such an amazing buzz and energy on the day that you just don’t get at any other event.

What makes HALCYON HALCYON different from other London wedding planners?

Andi: There are lots of great wedding planners in London but there are a few things that make us unique. Firstly, we’re not just wedding planners. We have a wealth of event experience in different sectors and a great ‘little black book’ of suppliers that goes far beyond weddings, which really benefits couples who want to get married in a dry-hire venue. Being able to do the wedding flowers also really helps with the overall look and feel of the wedding, as we’re involved in the design process from the very start. Finally, we’re a recently married couple who have gone through the entire process from start to finish, so we can relate to any stresses or concerns our couples might be feeling.

Jayne: I also think our ability to offer a fun, relaxed, personal service sets us apart. We have an informal style and approach, and never make any couple feel pressurised into doing anything. We always give couples the space they need to make decisions. We pride ourselves on our personable approach and usually end up making good friends with a lot of the couples we work with, which I think is quite a unique offering in a professional role.

NOAH WERTH FILM & PHOTOGRAPH / Flower Design by HALCYON HALCYON

What are the benefits to booking a dry hire wedding venue like Shoreditch Studios or Kachette?

Andi: Dry-hire venues, like Shoreditch Studios and Kachette, give couples an opportunity to curate their perfect wedding day from start to finish. You will have exclusive use of the venue and can choose each and every element; from the overall look and feel of the space, right down to the napkin designs. Every couple is different; your wedding day should not only be a reflection of you as a couple but also as individuals.

Most couples find the biggest benefit is the flexibility around catering. At a dry-hire venue, you’re not restricted to the standard hotel fare of chicken, beef or fish. You can go fully vegan, have street-food, sharing platters, food trucks etc. served with your favourite wines and craft beer.

Both Shoreditch Studios and Kachette have the added bonus of being licensed for ceremonies. Couples can have their whole day at either venue without the worry or added cost of transporting guests around. For couples who want to party late, you can also extend the licence past midnight.

COVID-19 is having a huge impact on many couples’ wedding days from budget cuts to restrictions on guest numbers. What advice do you have for couples planning a wedding that may not be the same as they had envisioned?

Andi: Sometimes we have to remind ourselves the wedding day is only one day; it’s the first day of the rest of your lives as a married couple, and whilst it’s important to celebrate this, it’s good to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. It’s very easy to get caught up in the whole idea of the ‘perfect wedding’ with all your family and friends, but the current situation with COVID-19 means we have to adapt.

Some couples are changing their original plans, opting for an elopement or ‘micro-wedding’, followed by a celebration party at a later date when the government guidelines permit. Other couples are wanting to wait it out and have pushed their date back. Both are completely reasonable decisions. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of unknowns at the moment and things beyond our control. I would advise couples to have a think about what’s important to them and make their decisions from there. We’re always happy to talk through some options with couples in an initial free consultation.

What money-saving tips can you recommend to couples organising a wedding on a tight budget?

Jayne: Firstly, if possible, try not to get carried away with your invite list. Within some cultures, it’s not always possible to restrict your guest list to close friends and family, but this is an obvious way to keep costs down. Also, get your talented friends and family involved in cake making, invite design, DJ etc.!

Andi: After the cost of hiring the venue, the next big-ticket item for a dry-hire wedding is generally going to be catering and bar. As Jayne says, if you can reduce your invite list, you’ll have fewer mouths to feed. Similarly, the type of catering can also help keep costs down. Sharing platters or street-food instead of a traditional three-course meal, followed by a wedding cake for dessert made by one of your mates! Rather than providing a free bar all night, you could put an allocation behind the bar and after that’s gone it’s a cash bar. A cash bar doesn’t mean hotel prices, you can agree on a minimum spend and reduced costs with your supplier.

What do couples regularly overlook when planning a wedding?

Andi: A basic but important thing that is often overlooked is creating a fully itemised budget from the outset and tracking it throughout the entire process. Couples should bear in mind most suppliers will be VAT registered, so they need to make sure a line for this is included in their budget. Suppliers will often say ‘£XXX plus VAT’ rather than the total amount including VAT, so when getting quotes just make sure you know the total amount including VAT you’ll have to pay.

In terms of the wedding day itself, a lot of couples will overlook the logistics of how things will actually work. You've chosen your favourite song for the wedding procession, but who’s going to cue the music on the iPhone? You’ve written out a schedule, but have you factored in a realistic amount of time for photos, speeches, and foodservice? You've told guests where the wedding is going to be held, but have you let them know about transport options and parking, and provided clear signage on the day for them and suppliers?

You’ve done all the hard work of planning the ceremony and reception, but have you thought about the not-so-exciting de-rig at the end of the night? What’s happening with presents, table dressing, and any other leftover items etc.? All these things can be resolved easily, but it can add a lot of stress when these things need to be sorted on the wedding day itself.

Finally, couples often overlook the idea of having a wedding planner. Investing in a planner will save you time, stress, and ultimately money. You don’t necessarily need a planner to plan the entire day, but you might want a hand dealing with some of the things you’re not comfortable with or knowledgeable about (AV, lighting, furniture hire, suppliers etc.). If any issues arise on the wedding day the planner will be able to deal with these, and you will be able to enjoy your day to the fullest, blissfully unaware!

As a couple who got married recently, what words of wisdom can you offer couples on planning a stress-free wedding?

Jayne: Two of the biggest things that cause stress during wedding planning are money and other people’s opinions. Our advice would be to budget properly from the outset; make sure you have some contingency set aside, as inevitably, things will pop up that you would like that you might not have thought of initially. Lastly, try not to let other people’s opinions distract you or cause you to lose focus on what you’re doing. This day is ultimately about you and your partner and as long as you both are happy, that’s all that truly matters!

Thanks Andi and Jayne!

Need help with your wedding?

HALCYON HALCYON can help with full wedding planning, partial planning or on the day coordination.

Visit HALCYON HALCYON website
Email hello@halcyonhalcyon.com
Call +44 (0)7835 545820
Follow @halcyonhalcyonltd

For more dry hire wedding planning advice, read of our dry hire wedding planning guide.

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Check available dates and book a site visit on 020 7033 9006 or link@shoreditch.com

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