Two to-be-weds and one wedding celebrant, and Mack the wedding support dog, met one day at Stourhead to talk.. Whilst one of us lay on the floor and caught the crumbs, the other three got deep into conversation about the endurance of love, the intricacies of partnership, and how to reflect them in a wedding ceremony that needed to be romantic, reverent, funny, but celebratory of everything that’s great in the world.
Claire & Jo wanted a wedding ceremony full of warmth and humour, with a large helping of, in their words; live, laugh, lesbian, and that’s exactly what we achieved. Their origin story is so romantic yet gloriously typical of folks who met early in life; full of high feelings, sweet gestures, long-distance moping and a lot of hanging around on public transport before you get to where you need to be – a beautiful home with your treasured dog and a huge group of funny friends to surround you and adventure with. We reflected all this and more in the ceremony and it was truly beautiful.
The set up at Sopley Mill was autumnal, bathed in the golden light streaming through windows that hit the terracotta brick interior perfectly. Personalised, painted pumpkins and dried florals lined the aisles. As you can see, their first look, before they came in, was highly beautiful. Claire and Jo both walked the aisle with their parents and played rock, paper scissors to decide who came first. We distracted them from nerves by looking at what else their wedding date was special for (National Arthritis Day anyone?!) We honoured the LGBTQ+ community and paid attention to the inequality of marriage laws past, and those that still need changing. We told their story with humour and a lot of meta references to things they absolutely love about each other, and the life they’ve built.
I used this poetry from Andrea Gibson, a towering talent of creativity and LGBTQ+ writer who was sadly lost last year, because it felt so right for C&J, who have loved each other firmly and strongly through many of life’s challenges.
“I’d cut my soul into a million different pieces just to form a constellation to light your way home. I’d write love poems to the parts of yourself you can’t stand. I’d stand in the shadows of your heart and tell you I’m not afraid of your dark.”
Andrea Gibson
Jo’s incredible brother Ralph wrote and delivered a poem which was perfection, so funny and brilliantly done. I worked with their beloved families and friends to create a secret section of love-letters to them both which were incredible. It’s always so beautiful to hear how loved people are by their close community on their wedding day. Their vows were perfection – a mixture of loving intensity and all-out giggling, my favourite part of the day. We continued to celebrate their silly sides with a game of ‘who’s got the rings?’ with our ring bearers finding the rings under their chairs. Their excellent but shy dog, Millie, sent me a fax giving her seal of approval for the marriage.
By the time we declared them Mrs and Mrs W, the atmosphere was giddy, joyous and everybody was just so happy to be there. It was the warmest of warm autumn days in every way. We spilled out into the grounds of the mill, chatting and laughing, everybody catching up with each other and admiring the newlyweds as they took it all in. I would do it all again in a heartbeat.
Here’s their very lovely review of me as their wedding celebrant.
Where do we even begin…Eleanor was the perfect celebrant for us, and we are overjoyed with how our ceremony unfolded. It was filled with laughter, happy tears, and so much queer joy from start to finish.
From our very first call, to our meeting around Stourhead, and right through to the wedding day itself, Eleanor made us feel completely relaxed. Her craftsmanship of the ceremony is truly something special. She has a gift for extracting the essence of a couple from just a few conversations and a thoughtful questionnaire, it was amazing to see our story reflected so perfectly.
With her calming aura, she made us feel entirely at ease on the day. We loved her, our guests loved her, and we couldn’t recommend her highly enough!
Claire & Jo.x
All photography by the strongly fabulous Stephanie Dreams Photography
