Real Ceremony: Alice and Amy

Real Wedding

Couple: Amy and Alice

Date: 5^th September 2015

Venue: Fernhill Farm

Celebrant: Jennifer Constant

Photographer: Unknown

The Proposal

Amy and Alice’s first date was enjoyed exploring Bristol’s famous Harbourside Festival. They very quickly fell head over heels for each other, and at a Christmas party they both attended a short time later, it became apparent to all that they had fallen in love. Alice was dressed up as Jack the skeleton for the party, Amy as Mike Makowski and they spent the whole night hysterically laughing. 

The Meeting

Amy and Alice were a fantastic couple to work with. They are both full of energy, love and have a huge zest for life. They were full of ideas and both very creative so I knew this would be an exciting wedding ceremony to create. 

I met with them at their house in Bristol, and we talked about their plans for the day. Firstly when I meet with a couple, I like to find out a little more about them so it’s easier to get a feel for the tone of the ceremony, so we talked about the start of their relationship and how the became to be a couple. They had many, many hilarious stories of their time together as a couple including travelling in India, circling across Europe, visiting Morocco, and Alice’s current love of freediving. 

The Planning 

Alice and Amy’s ceremony was a dream to write. They had written very comprehensive answers to their ceremony questionnaires I sent over so there were loads of stories to tell and personality to add in to make their ceremony truly personalised. They also requested a Handfasting, so I set about getting ideas together on how I could make this unique to them as a couple. 

The Venue

Amy and Alice wanted a relaxed wedding, one full of family and friends and laughter. They hired Fernhill Farm. Fernhill Farm is a fantastic venue that is in the middle of the countryside. It had rained the day before so wellies were required! As a Celebrant, it’s always good to go prepared for all weathers, especially when it comes to weddings outside! Alice decorated the reception room with pictures of their lives together and memorabilia for all to see. It was personalised, tailored and exactly how they wanted it to be.

The Ceremony

The ceremony was a short tractor ride away from the reception room. Great fun when you are 7 months pregnant! Yes that is my huge bump in the photos below. Everyone loved it and it added to the sense of fun for the day. Guests sat on hay bales as they walked down the aisle.

They choose just one, beautiful reading:

A soul mate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we’re pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we’re safe in our own paradise. Our soul mate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we’re two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we’ve found the right person. Our soul mate is the one who makes life come to life.

The Symbolism

They decided to include a beautiful Handfasting in their service and their family joined them in placing the ribbons around their joined hands as I said a blessing. This beautiful Celtic traditional addition always brings lovely depth to the ceremony, along with great colours and beautiful words. They walked back down the aisle with their hands tied in colourful ribbons and smiles on their faces, as the happily wed Amy and Alice.

The Feedback

‘Jennifer created a beautiful ceremony for our wedding, the words she wrote captured exactly how we felt about each other, the day and how we wish to spend the rest of our lives. She made us feel immediately at ease and we were able to just enjoy the ceremony.

A large number of our guests have commented on how beautiful her words were and that it was one of the most relaxed ceremonies they have ever attended.’