Krzysztof and Jill are both nature lovers, spending as much time as they can outdoors. And since they live near - and were getting married near - the coast, we decided to do a sand vase ceremony within the wedding. Sand ceremonies emerged as a new tradition around 40 years ago, often used in weddings to symbolise two people making up one family. One team.
Read MoreVicki and Simon’s was a wedding where talents were used, in the loveliest way. Simon’s brilliant sister Niamh was on piano, playing an instrumental version of You Set My World On Fire while Vicki walked down the aisle. Simon’s own fantastic illustrations of their pets (Maui the tortoise and Clio the dog) were on the signage and stationery around the venue. I think that’s a first for me: seeing wedding artwork that’s been done by the groom.
Read MoreIt’s such a lovely thrill if I find out someone recommended me to the bride and groom, then it’s an even lovelier thrill if I get to meet them. Arriving at Lisa’s parents’ house, where she was getting ready with her girls, I was thrilled from my tits to my toes because I got to meet the person who’d recommended me: Lisa’s sister Mel. And she was not only a babe but a twin mum.
Read MoreImportant places were a theme in this ceremony. As well as falling in love in Cambridge, subsequently sharing a life in London, and regularly visiting Gran Canaria (the scene of their engagement), I also talked about the significance of the north east. Carl’s home turf. A place that holds many happy memories of visits over the years. And the place they were both drawn to as a wedding location.
Read MoreIt’s funny because I’ve now done a good handful of weddings there but none have felt the least bit samey. I don’t want to blow the horn for celebrants too hard, but f- it, this is my own blog. It’s so fun and brilliant and memorable when every wedding feels completely different because every couple is different and deserve to be celebrated in a unique way that feels genuinely them.
Read MoreI’ve never done a wedding this laidback and I’d be surprised if I ever do again; I’ll give you two exhibits of evidence. Exhibit A: Frankie referred to it as their “wedding-type-thing” from the off. I like it, very vague. Very cool. Very anti-establishment. Exhibit B: for our first two video calls - and I’m sure she won’t mind me saying this haha - Frankie forgot to show up.
Read MoreThe ceremony was full-to-cauldron-brim with witchy goodness, because Bethany loves her spooky, celestial, yogic stuff. And it was full-to-brim with raw emotion too, because this is a couple who weathered hard times in their twenties.
Read MoreReading lovely contributions from the bride and groom’s very closest people - both figuratively and literally, sat on the front rows - was one of my favourite parts of the ceremony. I can get to know my couples over zooms and irl cocktails and quizzes, but who truly knows them better than the ones who’ve been there for decades?
Read MoreIt’s unusual for me to not meet my couples in person before their big day, but it does happen every now and then if they are on the opposite side of the country. Well, Megan and Joe were wedding planning from the opposite side of the world, and only arriving a matter of (busy, wedmin-filled, family-filled) days before their wedding…
Read MoreThe first time I met lovely Amber and Rob, and their lovely little girls, in their lovely garden, I was offered homemade blueberry cupcakes and sun cream, shown plastic horse after plastic horse, we discussed our favourite Bluey episodes and it felt more like a playdate then a wedding planning meeting. In a good way. They made me feel so at home.
Read MoreAlex and Hana are so chill, and Hana is hilariously sarcastic. But she was visibly trembling as she arrived at the top of the aisle, it was very sweet. I did my best to relax her; I always want my couples to feel authentically themselves at the front, and able to enjoy it, but it’s easier said than done when dozens and dozens of people are staring at you!
Read MoreI loved The Octagon Barn. It was an indoor-outdoor hybrid space which was brilliant - the best of both worlds - especially on a hot day. We were outside, but completely covered, one barn wall open to the elements so a lovely breeze circulated but nobody was sitting in direct sun. I always worry for the older folks in direct sun. And the babies. And the baldies. And myself - I get adrenaline-sweaty as it is.
Read MoreI was looking forward to this one (or hoping, first, to get the job!) since the minute I first spoke to Alice and George and they explained their plan to marry on the bandstand in Battersea Park. The bandstand in Battersea Park! Fits right in with my need to make everything in life feel like a film.
Read MoreSasha and Chris were keen their wedding felt like real life and wasn’t a posh, quiet event for grown ups. So, in the ceremony, there were kids galore. Kids on laps, kids escaping laps, kids having a little cry and being shushed back to quiet(ish), and kids being kids. Brilliant and unpredictable and part of the fun.
Read MoreThe bride walked down the aisle, mum on one arm and dad on the other, to one of the most beautiful pieces of music from - perhaps - an unexpected source. Disney’s Encanto. If you’re a parent you’ll recognise it…
Read MoreHave you heard the wedding day phrase “a wet knot is harder to untie?”. I didn’t realise but it actually originates from Hindi tradition, with rain seen as a symbol of good luck and a strong marriage. I suspect The Brollys didn’t need rain, or luck, on their wedding day for everyone in that room, witnessing the wonderful, warm, hilarious way they interact, to know their marriage will be strong.
Read MoreThis was an unusual wedding for me, in that Jessica and Oliver didn’t actually book me. I was standing in for my celebrant friend India, as she had an urgent hospital appointment. It was my absolute honour (as the Eldest Daughter I love to be helpful) and there’s something about this job where it doesn’t matter what the scenario, you just want the couple in question to have the most joyful, least stressful day humanly possible.
Read More“Hals über Kopf verliebt” is the phrase I will always think of when I think of Florin and Lucy. And how they met, dancing; literally spinning into each other’s lives. And how they celebrated their wedding in an explosion of colour and tears and joy. Hals über Kopf verliebt. Head over heels in love.
Read MoreEmotions were high and happy as we began the wedding. Then factor in that Hannah’s ridiculously talented friend Maddy (and her ridiculously talented brothers Niall and Laurie) sang to the bride and groom in the ceremony, and I was struggling not to cry. I’d already welled up watching them rehearse before the ceremony.
Read MoreMy dad asked me this weekend “what’s been the most fun wedding you’ve had this year?”…and this is the one that sprang to mind. Khristianne and Glen. The One Where They Let Me Choose Their Surname. But it wasn’t just my involvement in picking their name. It was EVERYTHING.
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