Your wedding reported by The Wedding Reporter

Look how lovely and smiley she is!

I've been a wedding planner for nearly two years now. And I've seen a lot of supposedly 'fresh, unique' ideas in that time. But a certain someone we shall call Emma actually has a fresh and unique idea.

Essentially the wedding reporter does exactly what it/she says on the tin. I shall let her explain in her much more eloquent English...

How does it work then? Is the 'wedding report' like a story or more like a, well, report?

I try to think of them as romanticised reports - they have all the elements of the day chronicled through the eyes of a fiction writer. If there's a metaphor to be drawn or a pathetic fallacy to be found then I will most certainly be incorporating these into the report! It's essentially the story of the wedding day, so whilst I only write about what happened (I don't make stuff up!) I try to transcribe it in as literary way as possible so that your report would sit comfortably on your bookshelf somewhere between Austen and Keats.*


*Emma wanted to point out this doesn't mean she's comparing herself to Austen or Keats incidentally.

Do you fade into the background like photographers do and watch what's going on or do you engage and act more like a wedding guest?!

Although I'll always take a notebook with me to weddings this is primarily to jot down details (names, titles of readings, key events etc) as I try to actually experience as much as possible whilst I'm there and leave the writing until afterwards. Ideally I like to engage with other guests as I find this to be a mine of information. Whilst I endeavour to get to know the couple as much as possible before their day so that I'm not a stranger turning up to their wedding, I generally find that other wedding guests are invaluable in helping fill in the blanks. Additionally, by being immersed with them I think I can experience the ambience of the day better than if I stay objective and detached from the day. However, there are clearly times throughout the day when it is more beneficial for me to step back and observe the overall event in order to create a fuller picture for the purposes of the report.

And how does your pricing structure work? Is there a set fee or can you work with any budget?

My prices very much depend on the variables of the wedding details. I say that prices generally start from £200 but I'm very happy to negotiate with couples to try and get as much bang for their buck as possible. Initially, I wanted to offer the service as a favour, but realistically I needed to cover my costs. £200 is not a figure plucked out of the air, it comes from a break down of costs for an 'average' full day wedding, considering up to 10 hours attendance at the wedding and the subsequent 7-10 hours that a final report will entail, travel costs and so on. However, there is always wiggle room and I wouldn't want any bride to miss out because of budgetary restrictions so I do encourage anyone who's interested in a wedding report to contact me for a chat.

Thank you Emma for answering my questions! The Wedding Reporter is definitely a supplier I recommend and will be using when I become an engaged lady one day.

Everything in weddings is so visual it's nice to have something a bit more... wordy. So what do you think? Original idea no?

You can read more on her website and you really should follow Emma's tweets for she certainly is a witty wee lass.