Judy + David at Stourton Estate | June 2025
I’m a sentimentalist, but I feel like there’s something special about getting married on the longest day of the year, the summer solstice. The idea, perhaps, that because Judy and David picked that day they had the gift of extra time to celebrate, extra sunlight, extra hours to call “day” on your wedding day. For this wonderful wedding we were under towering trees, deep in the woodland at Stourton Estates. The trees were a merciful addition for this June day that ended up being not just the longest, but one of the hottest days of 2025.
And I’d say the theme of David and Judy’s wedding was just basically how obsessed they are with each other. Obsessed. Which, as a wedding celebrant, is fine with me! I had so much beautiful material to work from because they kept telling me what they meant to each other! I actually get emotional thinking about it.
Photography by my pals From The Smiths
There were other important things threaded into the day and their ceremony too, like honouring Judy’s Polish heritage. And making sure the couple’s beloved pets (Pip and Maple the dogs, and Chonk the guinea pig) got at least twelve mentions.
So, yes, although the pets weren’t there they were very much there in spirit. In vibes. In numerous mentions. And, speaking of spirit, to keep with Polish tradition the bride and groom “enjoyed” (can you enjoy straight vodka?) a shot after their vows and ring exchange.
When I tell you I only had two (TWO) Polish words to say in this wedding, you wouldn’t believe how nervous I was to get the pronunciation right. Polish is hard as a non-speaker, and I was absolutely dire. I really wanted Judy’s extended family, visiting from Poland, to feel included but I have to say they were looking at me quite blankly when I fumbled their beautiful mother tongue.
This was my first ever time doing a handfasting ceremony in a wedding which, if you’re not familiar with the practice, is an old tradition where a couple’s hands are tied with ribbon and as they pull each side a knot appears. Tying the knot, literally.
Determined I would get it right, I roped in (no pun intended) two bridesmaids to practise on, the morning of the wedding as everyone was getting dressed and ready. I did my best ribbon-draping-hand-tying-dooberry-whatsit on Judy’s very helpful friends in an upstairs bedroom and told the pair, after they’d been handfasted amid hanging dresses and hair straighteners, “afraid you’re legally married now in ancient Scotland”.
As well as my faves From The Smiths there as the photographers, another married duo I absolutely love Hello There Films were there as the videographers. It’s so fun working with people you not only get on with, but whose work is so exceptional you want to recommend them to everyone anyway.
One aspect I’m always aware of with a celebration of marriage, is it’s often the case that a beautifully joyous day will be tinged with the sadness of someone missing. Many of my couples have a parent or grandparent they want to honour in the ceremony, but for Judy it was her brother Adrian. There was a chair - as you’ll see in the photos above - saved for Adrian with flowers and the sweetest picture of Judy getting a big-brother piggyback. And, in the couple’s love story part of the ceremony, I spoke about how David has been the one to bring light back into Judy’s life. Whereas once she felt a real darkness, since meeting David they now celebrate her brother’s birthday together each year, and David (who never got a chance to meet Adrian) will listen to Judy’s stories of him. That’s such wonderful, healthy love.
A love that says “Yes I love you on this happiest, longest day of the year…but I’m here for all of it”.