Styling your Wedding Day with Knots & Kisses

- What does a wedding stylist do at a wedding? ⁠

That’s a really great question! So many people still get confused over what a wedding stylist is and does! I often find that people assume I’m either a full Wedding Planner or that I just hire out décor items and come and set them up on the day … when in reality the answer is very much somewhere in between!

For me being a wedding stylist is all about providing a service for those couples who are happy to plan the majority of the wedding themselves … Booking their venue, photographer, food etc. … but just really want someone else to take the décor side of things off their hands. To design and coordinate a scheme for their wedding and implement it for them.

- How do you work with your couples? 

So, to create the perfect décor and styling scheme for my couple’s weddings, once they’ve booked me, the first step is to have a sit-down and a full consultation about their big day. This can be in person or via Zoom but it’s always lovely to get out my fabric swatches, candle and card samples so we can really start working on colour schemes, textures etc. there and then! We’ll chat all about the technical aspects of the day … what you do and don’t want to include, what kind of food you’re having, if your venue has any restrictions … but we’ll also really go into how you want your wedding to feel! What are your favourite colours, do you want a relaxed or formal vibe, who you are as people and how we can get your wedding to reflect that.

And from there I’ll put together a detailed styling plan and quote – sourcing everything for you from my extensive little black book of suppliers. Then you can relax and I can take care of organising the hire items, creating any bespoke installation or stationery, organising deliveries, chatting to your venue and being there on the day to set it all up and derig so you can just relax and enjoy your day!

 - At what point would you come on board for wedding styling?  

It can vary. I have some clients who book me pretty much as soon as they’ve booked their venue (and actually a couple who have booked me before!) and that way I can work with from the very start, before any decisions have been taken or other suppliers booked. For couples who book me this far ahead it’s because they’re getting married on a bank holiday or a really popular date and/or have specific ideas as to what they want and want to secure all their elements well in advance.

But equally, I have several couples who have had their venue, catering etc. booked for a while and book me for styling the year of their wedding when they start properly thinking about all the little details and the décor.

I’ve even worked with couples who only have a couple of months to go and can still make their wedding look really special .. the only thing I would say about leaving it this late is we tend to have to be a little bit more flexible on exact items for things like glassware, cutlery etc. depending on what’s available.

- What are the top 2023 styling trends?

I love trends and am not ashamed to admit it. My theory is that all weddings will date in some way or another so why not embrace what you currently love and go for it!

In 2023 I’m seeing a step back from the Boho trend that’s been prevalent for the last few years … we’re heading back towards more big floral displays, and fresh rather than dried flowers … the bigger the better!

Also lots of gorgeous Bright Colour! Couples are being braver and, although neutral schemes of some sort will always be popular, I’m excited to work on some styling schemes with splashes of bright pink, lemon yellow and lilacs in 2023!

Finally, Pattern is making a comeback! I absolutely love working with patterned fabrics and stationery and after a few years of really minimal looks I’m looking forward to welcoming the return of patterns … I recently worked on a look where I mixed ikat, striped and foliage print fabrics in a green colour palette.

- What are your top three tips for couples styling their special day?

-Make your wedding about you! Don’t accept anyone who says you can’t do something because it’s not “suitable for a wedding”! If you want to incorporate your love of dogs and have dog print stationery, do it! If you hate white and want the entire bridal party dressed in black … absolutely fine!

-Make sure you have all the information you need about how your venue works and what they expect from you before starting to book or organise anything. Get a list of any restrictions your venue might have – don’t fall in love with tall tapered candles if your venue doesn’t allow naked flames. Make sure you have an idea of the table layout and how that will work for your number of guests. This will really help when booking in things like table linen and organising table centres.

 -Don’t just pick one colour and try and get everything to match perfectly! It’s impossible and you will end up tearing your hair out trying to find stationery that perfectly matches your bridemaids dresses when it’s just not necessary. As a stylist I can help you create a layered colour palette where we can use your favourite colour but give it base neutrals and other accents so there is a whole palette to work with.

What I always say to couples is you wouldn’t just pick one colour and paint all your walls and have all your furniture and cushions in that same colour in your house … so why would you do that for your wedding!

- How best would you describe your style and the kind of couples you work with? 

That’s a tough one as obviously, as a stylist, it’s part of my job to adapt to my couples style … however I’ve got to be honest nobody is taking a look at my social media feeds and coming to me for chair sashes and goldfish bowl centrepieces!

I like to work with trends so generally my clients are also trend lovers and like my own aesthetic which I describe as dark and moody with pops of colour!

But I like to think I’m easily adaptable and have worked on some really exciting light and bright weddings in the past … just hopefully putting a bit of an edge to them to make them stand out! 

- What are the benefits of working with a stylist? 

More than anything it means having your time back!

Booking me to help organise your wedding décor means I can not only help you collate that bundle of images you’ve been building on Pinterest into a cohesive scheme … but, because I can organise all of the hire items, stationery and bespoke installations, and bring on board one of my recommended florists, I can give you the time back that you would have spent on all the individual emails and meetings with all of those separate suppliers and you can actually enjoy the build up to your wedding!

And then of course you’re able to just relax the day before and the morning of the wedding and enjoy getting ready rather than running around hanging décor, putting out placecards etc.

Nikki - Knots & Kisses
Photographer - Ben Selway Photography
Florist - Emma Hewlett Floral Design