ASHLYN & HUNTER AT ARDINGTON HOUSE

My Jubilee weekend was absolutely packed with weddings and frankly, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Five weddings in one week meant that I was out and about with ceremonies at the Victoria & Albert Museum and Holywell Hall plus country venues in Berkshire and, a close-to-home wedding at Oxfordshire’s Ardington House.

Image: Cristina Ilao

Ashlyn and Hunter were incredible. From our first call, chatting across the Atlantic about plants and gardening to the day itself where these two wonderful people made their vows in the way they’d waited so long for, it couldn’t have been more perfect. The skies were blue, the breeze lifted the leaves on the trees and family and friends made it so clear just how much Ashlyn and Hunter were loved. It was a joy to be with them.

Image: Cristina Ilao

“We just wanted to thank you so much for leading our ceremony at Ardington. It honestly felt like a dream. After more than 2 years of trying to make it happen, it felt so surreal. The ceremony was absolutely perfect. And so many people (even vendors!) commented on how much they loved how the ceremony was laid out and our personal vows. It felt very inclusive and organic, and the ring warming was the cherry on top.

It sounds cliche, but those few days at Ardington were probably the best days of our lives. So thank you again for your part in the magic!”

— Ashlyn & Hunter, June 2022

Image: Cristina Ilao

Image: Cristina Ilao

TIPS FOR OUTDOOR WEDDING CEREMONIES

There are so many reasons why couples choose to work with a wedding celebrant. However, when I speak to my lovely clients, there’s one reason that comes up time and time again - outdoor wedding ceremonies. As a celebrant-led wedding can take place anywhere, everywhere is a potential venue. I’ve led ceremonies in woodlands, in gardens, in a vineyard and even on an island in the middle of the River Thames! If you like the thought of taking your vows outside, here are a few tips to make sure that your ceremony is absolutely perfect.

Image: Dominique Bader

• Always have a Plan B. Whatever your plans, you can’t control the weather. Always have a back-up plan in case of showers and make sure that all your suppliers know what this is. Also, decide who’ll make the decision to move to the alternative plan and when they’ll make that call.

• Get creative with your seating. To make sure that everyone feels part of the ceremony, you could seat everyone in a circle around you or even let some guests stand whilst others sit. Of course, if you like the traditional format, that works perfectly too.

• For summer weddings, consider where the sun will be when you work out the layout of your ceremony space. You might want to make sure you’re standing in shade or that you’re not facing into the sun and squinting throughout your vows! Little details but they’ll make a big difference.

• Think about microphones. I’m pretty good at doing ‘the big voice’ when needed but if you want to make sure everyone will be able to hear your readers, or your vows, you might need to think about mics, particularly if you’ve got lots of guests.

• Consider your backdrop. It might be that you’ve got a particularly pretty spot in mind that will form the backdrop for your ceremony or you might install a super cool backdrop to frame you both. A great backdrop really does make a difference and really brings the wow-factor.

• Don’t be afraid to sit down! Standing up throughout your ceremony, particularly on a hot summer day, wearing a big dress or heavy suit, can get hot and tiring. Why not set out two seats so that you can sit down for part of your ceremony?

If you’d like to talk to me about your own outdoor wedding ceremony, do get in touch. I have a real soft spot for al-fresco ceremonies and would love to work with you to create something super special.

HELEN & CARL AT HILLFIELDS FARM

This summer is a certainly a busy one for me. Not only am I lucky enough to be conducted gorgeous weddings across the country most weekends, I’ve also just got married myself! Add in the fact that my 2020 diary is starting to fill up too and it’s fair to say summer 2019 is keeping me on my toes…

Anyway, I’m going to share some of the brilliant weddings that I’ve been part of over recent months and I’m going to start with one close to home, held at the hidden gem that is Hillfields Farm. This amazing venue was new to me and when Helen and Carl got in touch to talk about their wedding plans, I couldn’t wait to see it for myself.

And it’s brilliant - gorgeous gardens, oodles of fab indoor space, loads of flexibility and DONKEYS! Oh yes indeed, donkeys. Could there be a better welcome to a countryside venue?

Helen and Carl’s ceremony was very special indeed. Helen is a florist with her own shop not too far from Hillfields and Carl is a part-time wedding videographer so there was a serious amount of wedding knowledge floating around. As you can imagine, the flowers on the day were insanely beautiful and I can’t wait to see the film of the day either.

The ceremony itself was full of things that represented Helen and Carl - great musical choices, personal and heartfelt readings, some laughs and a few emotional moments. The sun shone, the guests were fantastic and the day was expertly managed by Claire Ambler. I loved every minute of it and I’m super excited as I’ve just been booked for another wedding at Hillfields next year. Hurrah!

Thank you so so much for the amazing ceremony - I’m so surprised I didn’t cry! Who would have thought it! Thank you again, it really was the perfect ceremony.

Before the ceremony - photo by the lovely Claire Ambler

ROSIE & JOE AT HIGH BILLINGHURST FARM

Well, summer is already in full swing here and the next weeks and months are jam-packed full with fantastic weddings for equally fantastic couples. Yes, I might be biased but…!

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, high summer started with a bang with a truly lovely wedding and you might have already seen some of it. The Body Coach, aka Joe Wicks, married his girl, the gorgeous Rosie, at High Billinghurst Farm in Surrey and I was honoured to conduct their woodland wedding ceremony.

Image by Conor McDonnell

Planned by the talented Katrina Otter, Joe and Rosie’s wedding was a glorious day with fairground rides, amazing details and oodles of love everywhere. Their ceremony took place in a quite little woodland with guests sitting on wooden benches as Joe and Rosie stood beneath a lush floral arch and took their vows.

The ceremony was packed with personal details, heartfelt vows written by the couple, stories and memories and even a poem, written for the occasion by Joe’s Mum which had a good number of guests dabbing their eyes!

One of my favourite moments of the day actually came after the ceremony as I was walking back through the meadow and Joe, Rosie and their guests were calling their goodbyes and waving like crazy. The happiness radiating from them all will be something I’ll remember for a long long time.

If you’d like to see more of the day, take a look at these features from Hello!, The Daily Mail and Heat.