A Cool Wedding – Footrubs and Old Cars

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Judy | Filed under: Celebrant, Outdoor weddings, Symbolism, Wedding Symbolism, Wedding Venues, Weddings

I am just loving the photographs by Chris Thornton of Leeds, from a fabulous outdoor wedding I officiated, by a lake in Banbury, at the gateway to the Cotswolds, on the hottest day of the year.

A tranquil venue, with a lovely lakeside view

In contrast to the weather, Helena and Neil were so chilled about their very personal wedding – the most relaxed couple ever.

Their wedding day was truly their own, from Helen’s fabulous dress in bottle green and ice blue, and her amazing shoes, through to the wonderful, romantic heartfelt vows which Neil and Helena wrote and read to one another; the wedding rings they helped to make, and their lovely symbolic handfasting. It was warm, it was witty, it was FUN!

From Helena’s arrival to the tipi, through an honour guard of gaily coloured umbrellas, you just knew the ceremony was going to be fabulous. And it was!

Neil and Helena were clear they wanted their wedding to be relaxed, joyful and fun… They were recommended to Hadsham Farm, which is such a great location by a lake (the lake is fenced off, so parents can relax!). The lake has an island, which is lit with fairy lights at night and looks amazing. The bride and groom are free to make the space their own. Whether you want a marquee or a tipi, a bouncy castle or a festival stage – the choice is yours. There is electricity and water on site, and plenty of parking…. Charlie has a great list of tried and trusted suppliers (including yours truly), and he knows what’s what, as he was married here too, it being the family land and all….

If you worry your imagination is not up to creating a wedding from the ground up – think about using a wedding planner. I thoroughly recommend Louise Harris, the award-winning Warwickshire Wedding Planner. Louise has planned many outdoor weddings, one of her specialities… She said, “I love talking to couples, getting to know what they would like to achieve for their wedding, then researching, suggesting ideas to them and bringing what is in their heads to reality”.

The reading was brilliantly delivered (They chose Robert Fulgham – Everything I needed to know, I learned in Kindergarten)

They wrote their own vows – which really did contain promises about footrubs and about old cars…. and about love too. Lots about that!

The handfasting cords were made to match the colour theme: forest green, blue and ivory. I added silver charms to the ends of the cords to reflect Neil and Helena’s interests: romantic charms, of course, but also an adjustable spanner and a laptop !

Handfasting Cords can be made to blend with the colour theme of your wedding.

Once they were handfasted, I read the Blessing of the Hands, and then they extrcated themselves from the cords, with the knot still intact – which is where we get the phrase Tying the Knot !