Décor and design at weddings seems to be one of the trickiest things to get right on your special day, and there are also lots of cool new trends in décor used at weddings, so it's hard to keep up to speed. We asked one of the experts for her advice on what's hot and what's not...

Christina Holt of Wedding Concepts answered some of our questions:

What colours are 'in' for weddings at the moment in terms of décor and design at weddings? Are trends seasonal (summer/winter) or is there a general trend?

Generally colour trends follow the overall international design trends. Currently the recent black and white trend has been pushed aside for more muted, earthy colours.

Shades of cream and white with colourful splashes are another trend — and texturing plays a big role (using layers of fabric, larger prints and textured material).

Of course you will always find the more predictable colour schemes such as pinks and creams — nowadays they are combined with light grey and sage green.

A more contemporary design approach is in vogue.

Does the colour scheme and décor have to change depending on the wedding venue? If so, how?

Absolutely! Firstly, the personality and unique style of each couple dictates the overall look — the venue of choice then usually lends itself to a certain ambience, look and feel too.

No wedding is ever remotely the same. Venues also have different layouts and by creating lounge areas, outdoor pre-drinks spaces, setting up dance floors, tent extensions or simply a striking dinner setting, each venue becomes an extension of the bride and grooms distinctive vision.

Not every couple knows what they want straight away — it is often during the planning that we present more exciting ideas that work better and do the venue and setting justice.

How does one choose the flowers for a wedding? Are there any factors to bear in mind?

Flowers are obviously seasonal but once an overall look is established, one can work around seasonality quite well by choosing similar flowers to those that might be unavailable. A good floral designer has seasonal options available and makes you aware of these during the planning. Popular flowers such as rose or indigenous fynbos elements are available all year.

If one is trying not to spend too much money on extras like table décor, do you have any tips for them to make a table setting look beautiful without spending a fortune?

Yes one of our key responsibilities as co-ordinators is to work within a reasonable and feasible budget and tailor the décor accordingly. If one needs to work effectively with a smaller budget there are numerous way of doing so:

  • Less is often more: Use a variety of single stem flowers in clusters or across the full length of a table — instead of a large centrepiece. This is one of the latest design trends anyway.

  • Invest in striking tall single flowers such as exquisite orchids (of which you would only need one two) and enhance them with effective lighting. This is a brilliant way of creating a theatrical effect at night.

  • Use striking containers instead of vast amounts of flowers — they can be hired and are often less expensive than large arrangements.

  • Work with additional elements to create interest on the table — such as personalised menus/stationery, floral touches on the place settings.

  • The best way to create a magical setting at night is with careful lighting. Rather invest 50 percent of your flower budget in flowers and the other 50 percent in effective, professional lighting. This can be anything from a chandelier above the table to white paper lanterns clustered above the dance floor, to a battery operated lightboxs under your glass vases. For an outdoor setting don't forget garden lighting — you don't want to be looking into darkness.

Does anything differ in décor depending on whether it's for a day or night wedding?

Yes it does. Lunch weddings are currently very popular and require less or no lighting and not always dancing. Shade is important for outdoor lunch weddings whereby you would have to budget for heaters and warmth for outdoor evening weddings.

Flowers have a different effect during the day — as the light is different and generally there is a sense of informality at day-time functions.

Evening weddings often stretch across four spaces. These are the ceremony area, pre-dinner drinks area, the reception area, and the dancing area for the party. At lunch time you will often just have the first three parts of the celebration.

Set-ups for evening functions can, more often then not, begin early in the morning on the day of the wedding. If it is a lunch wedding you need to book the venue the day before to start the set up accordingly.

In summary: Whilst a lunch-time wedding might be less expensive in some areas, you will have to take into account other things such as set up the day before — that may bring the two budgets almost on par again.

If one is limited to a small space at the wedding venue do you have any tips?

If you fall in love with a venue that caters for fewer guests than you might expect, there is only one solution: You have to cut your guest list or find another venue. It is vital to make sure that the space works for you and your wedding-day flow. There's nothing worse than being cramped into a small space.

At Wedding Concepts we create a 'to-scale floor diagram' for our clients that highlights table and dance floor layout — this is one of the most important starting points to make the décor work too.

With space restrictions, rather work with one or two long banqueting tables as opposed to individual tables. This definitely saves a bit of space. Make sure your desired table shape has the right size (rectangular come in 1.2m and 1m depth — so you can save space by simply ordering the right size table).

Also ensure that waitrons have enough space for the service and position the table in such a way that they do and the path to the cloakrooms is not obstructed.

You may consider having a dance area in a separate space (outside or in an adjacent room) — this can work well.

Any ideas for seating arrangements?

Keep it comfortable at all times during the day. Outdoor lounge areas during pre-drinks and/or around then dance floor are the latest thing. Informal seating does not need to be provided for all guests, but merely serves as a highlight — especially during the social hour.

Creative seating can be implemented during the ceremony as well: Wooden benches, hay bails, formal white chairs with a chair back detail — anything is possible. Chairs, sofas, ottomans, daybeds, period furniture, quirky unique chaise-lounges… anything goes, and is guaranteed to wow your guests.

Anything else?

The entire wedding planning process is a design experience in its own right — down to finding the prefect musical entertainment, photographers, culinary choices, stationery and so on.

Work with a professional co-ordinator to help you with this design and 'vendor matching' process. At Wedding Concepts our role is not only to alleviate you from the stress of having to do everything yourself, but more importantly, guarantees you a professionally site-managed celebration on the day.