a devon celebrant wedding at the pig at combe for linda & rod
When you’ve been together for 43 years, you have an incredible love story to tell. You need a Devon wedding celebrant to do it justice. And when you’re Linda and Rod, and you scream decadent, eloquent, romantic luxury, you need a venue like The Pig at Combe. In the glow of a perfect June summer solstice day, we gathered for their wedding ceremony on the lawn, surrounded by a meadow of flowers. Theirs was a quintessential English wedding day, with maximalist stylistic touches, a deeply personal celebrant wedding ceremony, and a huge, huge party. It was spectacularly beautiful in every way.
Surrounded by their beloved families and many friends, Linda and Rod asked me to focus on the things that really matter to them; their shared history, the story of how they fell and have remained deeply in love, and their hopes for the rest of their days together. I had a wingman, or rather, he had a warm up act in me, but their oldest friend gave an elegiac speech during the ceremony, as did Roddy’s treasured godson, who read one of Linda’s own poems, Air. Throughout the day there were gorgeous elemental references to celebrate the solstice, ending with some unreal fire dancers late at night.
They wrote their own, very moving personalised wedding vows, and at the end of the ceremony we had a dream of a hand fasting – friends and family who had special meaning to Linda and Rod encircled them one by one and added a specially chosen cord each, whilst I talked about what each person meant to them. I tied the knot for them and they pulled it tight, and then danced back down the aisle together and off into the party as we all cheered and joined in. It was incredibly powerful to see their lives bound up in those wonderfully colourful cords.
perfect elements of this DEVON celebrant wedding ceremony
- We had met over a year previously and enjoyed two fantastic lunches, after which, I had a complete picture of how to capture their love story in their wedding ceremony. They put so much effort into the process, and their ceremony really reflected that. It truly felt like we were starting their party with the marriage right from the get go.
- Their guests were absolute vibes, so much energy, relaxed enthusiasm, and complete joy from arrival onwards, which fizzed outwardly and gave Linda and Rod the support and encouragement they needed to be themselves.
- The laughter. Constant – from absolute roars of it to small giggles and hand squeezes, it really does make a difference when people are laughing with you. And that people were unabashedly sipping away at their perfect cocktails whilst doing it. I have never been so annoyed to be driving.
- Linda’s dress. I mean, what can one say? It was her in fabric form. The train was detachable, the chunky white trainers underneath were perfection, and she was the most beautiful woman in the room. If not the county. And they got ready together.
- Find me a more glorious meadow aisle. I’ll wait.
- We took a musical interlude to listen to Joe, the guitar and vocal god, play Chasing Cars. This was such a classy, timeless moment. Linda and Rod love music and are still going to many gigs (probably are out clubbing right now tbh) and it brought real theatre.
- The relaxed speeches afterwards, and the utterly delicious, opulent dinner, overlooked by honestly an indescribable cake from Holly Miller. More of an art installation.
the celebrant review
Thank you Linda and Rod for these lovely words!
“Eleanor made our Summer Solstice Wedding the most magical of days! We knew on our first meeting that she was the celebrant for us and boy did she deliver! Our guests could not fault the ceremony they and Roderick and I had the most amazing time! The pace was perfect from laughter to emotional then back to laughter! The Hand fasting ritual was one we would recommend to anyone it was so emotional! “Wedding ceremony of the Century” said one guest.”Best Wedding ever”, “Never been to a Wedding like this before, love love loved it”. “
When you decide to get married later in life, a statement of vivaciousness like this wedding ceremony and the following party is such a beautiful, intentional choice to make. I loved the gloriousness of it, the out and out hedonism of the celebration, of the nature of their love for each other and of life in general. If I had one day free in London tomorrow, I’d be calling them for a cocktail, and that’s truthfully the way I feel about how glad I am to know them. I was pretty envious of all their old and childhood friends who have been able to know them longer! Let them be your inspiration to marry, if that’s what you need, or to celebrate your love story with a celebrant ceremony. But most of all, let them be an inspiration for life in general, for making and keeping good friends, knowing how to honour family and tradition that are important to them, and for never choosing not to tell the anecdote. And, there’s always time for one more drink and one more dance. Linda and Rod, whatever good fortune sent you my way, you made my summer.
Photos courtesy of Linda and Rod and taken by the incomparable Alan Law. Cake design by Holly Miller. Flowers by Holly Bee flowers. Venue was The Pig at Combe.
