Involve All Five Senses in Your Wedding Planning and Design

SEND SENSES WILD FOR MAXIMUM EFFECT

When styling or planning a wedding or any event, I always take into consideration all five of the senses; each one has it’s own stimuli which can add to the overall impact, perception and success of the design. When you combine all five of the senses together it creates a more powerful sensory impact for you and your guests, allowing them to engage fully and completely take it all in.

Image by Kamila Nowak

SIGHT

The visual aspect of your day will be the first impression people have and it will set the scene for the rest of the event. Sight can be incorporated into your wedding by use of a colour scheme, or even by the choice not to have one! Colour applies when thinking about bridesmaid dresses, flowers, table linen and countless other aspects of your big day, by using a range of tones and textures of the main colour you can add interest for your guests. Other visual aspects to explore when planning your wedding include the layout of the room, the style of the lighting and even the level of light in the room. All of these can totally transform the overall appearance of your event.

Another way to incorporate sight is to have a ‘first look’ before your ceremony, yes not very traditional but incredibly emotional and a chance to embrace the true meaning of a wedding day, also a perfect opportunity to capture some incredible images.

The biggest tip I can give in relation to ‘seeing’ on your wedding day, is to soak it all up. The sight of your best friends beside you getting ready in the morning, the sight of your loved ones as they see you in your dress for the first time, the look in your partners eyes as you arrive and all of the familiar faces you will see surrounding you in that moment.

SOUND

The main way to incorporate sound into a wedding or event is to involve music. A difference of musical style and song choice for different elements of the day itself can allow you to change the mood completely from the ceremony, through to the evening reception.

If it falls within your budget I would always suggest considering live music to my couples. Whether this be a string quartet or acoustic singer for the welcome drinks and canapes or a max-energy band to get the party started, the visual aspect of being able to see the music being created adds another layer to the impact.

SMELL

There are obvious ways that scent is involved in your wedding day or event, the floral arrangements in your ceremony space, the florals in your bouquet and a favourite ‘flavour’ of candle you have lit on your tables. Another incredibly important scent to consider is that of each other, some couples choose to gift a scent to their other half on their wedding day so that new scent will forever remind them of that day others choose to wear a scent from a moment in time, a memory that will have the couple reminisce all day long.

As an experienced wedding planner I would suggest never overlooking the fragrance of your event, settle on a theme and look at what is naturally already at your venue, choose items and scents that will enhance that. With the right suppliers you can make your venue smell exactly how you imagine it to, whether that’s the smell of freshly cut grass in the summer or something more luxe, such as fig and cassis.

TASTE

One of the most highly anticipated parts of any wedding is the food! What makes this slightly tricky is that, what is incredibly tasty to one guest may be the worst nightmare of another and taste is very reliant on odour, texture and temperature. In general, unless you are having a heavily themed or influenced wedding avoid high spiced foods or ‘comfort foods’, clean and simple flavours will have a more appealing impact. Your caterers should be able to assist you in achieving your desired feel when it comes to food choices and be able to combine the five main tastes of sweet, bitter, sour, salty and umami for maximum impact.

A feast for the eyes can also work in your favour, creating a decadent dessert table, on display to all guests or having unusual looking canapes are just some ways to prick up the ears of your guests and combine their sensual experience.

Image by Rebecca Kerr

Image by Rebecca Kerr

Taste can also be incorporated in drinks; in your champagne and wine options. Having a special drink or cocktail available is a popular way for couples to implement a signature taste to their big day.

TOUCH

A sense that has often been overlooked when planning, although when used correctly it can give your event vision a major upgrade. From unusual paper stock for your invitation suite to the fabric of the Groom’s suit - incorporating textures into your wedding styling is guaranteed to add an extra layer of intrigue for guests.

There are four kinds of touch sensations that can be identified; cold, heat, contact and pain. When planning you need to consider the temperature and how you intend to keep guests warm or cool dependent on the season.

It can feel totally overwhelming when you start your wedding planning journey, trying to combine your many Pinterest boards with not only your budget but also what suppliers you have locally to you. I can help you with this, not only do I offer a full planning service, I also offer a styling and set up option to help couples with the aesthetics of their day.