In this Blog we look at another Real Couple’s big day. This time we look at the plans and preparation for Holly and Tom’s country pub wedding.
Where: The Swan Inn, Lawshall, Suffolk. https://www.swaninnlawshall.com/
When: August 2024.
Who: Holly and Tom.
1st Contact: It’s fair to say that sometimes my job is not as glamorous as I like to think it is. In 2023 I was at an Open event at Upthorpe Wood, holding space in a wooded ceremony area that was filled with the biggest mosquitos I had ever seen!! I’d been there a few hours and decided to get my lunch of dirty fries from the ever magnificent Grunts https://gruntshogroast.co.uk/
Just as I was filling my face, Holly and Tom walked into the ceremony area and we started to chat. Truth be told, they were a little worse for wear after a heavy night before and I’m not sure if the sight of my loaded chips were doing them any favours!
We talked about their plans for their big day, they had already found the venue they liked but were looking for suppliers to fit with that vision and we talked hand-fasting and BBQ’s. They left with my card and a couple of days later emailed to set up a chat about how I could work with them on their wedding day. According to Tom it was the fact that I was so laid back and filling my face with chips that won me to them and I couldn’t be happier. We set up a planning meeting for the following January and away we went.
The vision was clear – Boho chic with a lot of handmade touches. Everything from signage to gift boxes, the ceremony arch and the handfasting chords were all to be handcrafted by either the couple or friends and family. They were also going for a festival vibe and had booked the local campsite so all their friends could stay over and transferred them all from there to the pub via a local bus firm, who later collected them for the homeward journey.
Wedding Day: I arrived at the venue at the same time as a bus load of friends and family who went about getting themselves settled in with welcome drinks.
The pub garden was decked out with fire pit BBQ, reception tables, an aisle runner of Coir from front to back and a double tipi for the reception that evening. Benches were out for guest seating and their was a lovingly created wooden arch, bedecked in artificial flowers and vines ready to act as a back drop for the ceremony. What I hadn’t factored in was my lovely cool, light weight dress, being wafted ferociously by a cross wind that threatened to flash my draws to all assembled!! In true RuPaul style, I learned to tuck!
Tom was looking cool and relaxed in his shades, cream linen trousers and green cotton shirt and was accompanied by a set of groomsmen who not only had been working out but had clearly started a challenge to see who could wear the tightest trousers!! They were lovely and looked fabulous.
Holly arrived in a beautiful dress that was simple but had some reflective sparkles sewn on that caught the August sunshine brilliantly. The sunflower theme that had across tables and flower displays was mirrored in her bouquet and flowers adorned her hair in a loose updo. She was escorted by her Brides Mates, her sister and her dad.
I loved writing their love story, it was so funny and full of warmth and love that the guests were roaring. We had a group commitment from them which they responded to with gusto and our handfasting was made even more special, not by personalised promises but by the fact that both the mums had created the chords and all I had to do was tie them together before binding Holly and Tom into their promises.
Celebrant Led: Although the venue carries a wedding licence, Holly and Tom knew that they wanted their ceremony to be more personalised and meaningful than the standard 20 minutes with a registrar and so, with the whiff of chips heavy in the air, they knew that I was their girl and trusted me to create something that was all about them and their love and sense of fun.
Supplier Love:
Venue: The Swan Inn, Lawshall.
Photographer: Mikaela Jade Photgraphy https://www.mikaelajadephotography.com/
