Steve and Bethan’s woodland wedding ceremony last summer was one of my big unexpected highlights. Let me explain. It’s not that I didn’t anticipate it being fantastic, or meaningful, I knew it would be both of those things. They put so much of themselves into the process of creating the ceremony that I knew it would be fantastic and meaningful. It’s more that there was an atmosphere that can’t be bottled. That can only be generated organically and through the process of self-awareness.
They are a couple who truly understand each other, their friends, and their families, and this made it utterly blissful. Not to mention a cracking party. Also, I’d like to say up front that their entry and exit was top tier, both in terms of joyful originality, and music.
Steve and Bethan have some shared passions such as music and food that drove the vibe. They both work in high-intensity jobs that involve a lot of giving, and a lot of understanding humanity, so they really value decompression. The atmosphere I wanted to create with the ceremony was the one they vividly described in our work together – the intimacy of their kitchen at the end of the week, dancing and drinking and endlessly talking away their cares, enveloping Steve’s lovely son into the fun, and entertaining anybody else that walks through the door with equal enthusiasm. I think we achieved it. It was downright fun to do, as well as being high on the list of the most I’ve fought back my own tears during a wedding ceremony.
They entered the ceremony together, hand in hand, dancing, and they left that way too. We made full use of the woodland setting, they sat down facing their guests, watching all the fun, able to interact with them. We had readers who both put their hearts truly on the page which was beautiful. We dipped between intensely profound and extremely silly. Steve, an emotional man of wonderful proportions, didn’t know whether to laugh or cry or both. Bethan simply smiled, actually, she beamed, and sparkled, and brought her entire personality to the ceremony in her incredible dress and shoes.
Their vows were ridiculously good, tender, truthful, funny and absolutely reflective of who they are, and what they mean to each other. You could have heard a pin drop, everybody was so in the moment with them. I was glad I had a lectern to cling onto!
When they shared their first married kiss, everybody cheered and shouted so loud, it was like being at a gig. Because, well, why not, life’s too short not to celebrate such a big love so passionately, I think. And out they went, to great food, a lot of dancing, and even more hugging of friends and family.
As I left, walking back up the fields, I found a discarded pair of well-worn white trainers by the entrance, and I knew immediately that these were Bethan’s – ready to leap back into for the dancing later. Recently, I saw a photo of them celebrating their anniversary at a very tasty looking bunch of restaurants, and there were those beautiful wedding shoes, kept for best, topping off her outfit. It felt perfectly them – the art of keeping the joy present, not just leaving it as a memory.
All photography by the extremely good and hilarious to work with Lewis Fackerell.
