Marry like a celebrity: event planner Mark Niemierko's must-have tips for a successful day

Photos: Keith Appleby, Jeremy Enness, Eddie Judd, Mark Niemierko

 

 

A wedding day is likely to be the biggest event you will ever plan. Months of budgeting, planning and cross-checking go into making what will hopefully be a perfect day. But couples – brides, in particular – can get so focused on their dreams that they forget they’re actually hosting an event.

 

As a wedding planner, I like to remind couples that the most important element of their wedding is their guests. If they’re not looked after, watered and fed, they’ll go home miserable, saying it was the worst wedding they ever attended. Without happy guests, you have no atmosphere.

 

 

It’s worth remembering that going to a wedding can be a chore for a guest: the outfit, the travelling, the hotel reservation, the present. So it’s crucial to make your wedding really inviting. Imagine you’re hosting a dinner at home – inviting your loved ones to celebrate a special moment in your life.

 

So how do you achieve the most memorable wedding possible? The answer is simple: service. It’s the people working on your wedding who will make the greatest impact. You might serve mediocre food, but so long as it’s served efficiently, with charm and a smile, you’ll get away with it. That applies to everyone: from the welcoming hotel doorman to the charismatic barman capable of getting 100 espresso martinis out in a flash.

 

 

There’ll also be suppliers and a big team behind your wedding that your guests won’t get to meet. One thing is key here: you want your florist, caterer, production crew, DJ, band and photographer to want to be at your wedding. Keen and excited. Achieve that and they’ll deliver your dream. 

 

Brides can sometimes think it’s their right to become a stereotypical bridezilla and not be polite to the people making it all happen. From long experience, I can confirm that a lack of manners will spoil your day.

 

 

When my suppliers have a consultation meeting with a wonderfully charming couple, I’ll often get a text or email afterwards, saying, ‘They are so nice. We want the wedding.’ Throughout the planning experience, the couple will get added-value service and efficiency by simply having a friendly, polite attitude.

 

The result of that, of course, is a better wedding day. Very often, during the set up, I’ll find the production team going above and beyond. Why? ‘Oh, Mark, we decided to add in those extra lights. Tell them this is our wedding present.’ Sometimes that goodwill will run through a string of suppliers, who all happily add extras at no cost because they like you so much.

 

 

Of course, if a supplier isn’t delivering, you need to put your foot down. But that’s what your planner is for. I always tell couples that I’m the horrid mother-in-law you don’t have, so let me sort out difficult situations and any issues during the planning. You be the cute couple everyone wants to work for. They get far more value behaving this way.

 

Long live the charming bride – and goodbye bridezilla. 

 

 

Mark Niemierko (020 7580 5010) shares his trade secrets at the Niemierko Wedding Academy Mentor Masterclass, which helps equip its students with the tools and contacts to become wedding planners of quality in the future. It costs £6,950 for a five-day mentoring masterclass, or £245 for a career consultation appointment.