Real Weddings: Poppy & Richard
I first wrote about their Festival Vibe Wedding after having the joy of officiating it earlier this year. I love a festival vibe wedding. I love an outdoor wedding. I love a wedding that involves the couple’s pets. I love a wedding in a family garden. I love a wedding that involves crafting, handmade, homemade, DIY. And I love a wedding with great eco credentials.
Poppy and Richard’s wedding had all my boxes ticked.
Based in Wales, in Poppy’s parents’ smallholding. The flower girl came in on her pony, the dogs joined in for the family photos. All the florals were made with flowers from the garden. Dad made the beautiful open round house, with the living roof.
What I really loved about this wedding was the opportunity to create a bespoke ritual, based on a pagan handfasting. Poppy and Richard wanted to include a large number of their guests and family. They invited each of them to bring a scarf or length of material that meant something to them and their relationship with the couple. We had the guests form a circle around the couple with grandma a one end and their gorgeous flower girl, Isla, at the other. All the other guests knotted the ends of their fabric together. Nan and Isla then gathered this bulkly length of colourful mixed fabrics together and laid it other Poppy and Richard’s arms. I then, with some comedic effort, tied a knot in the train and the couple separated arms. The result was a big messy, colourful knot full of meaning, stories and memories; the perfect symbol for the real life joining of two families and groups of friends.
I’ve since been sent access and permission to share some of their official wedding photos, taken by Stephen Jebb, based in Chester.
I’m still hoping that Poppy’s parent’s might, one day, just pull into our drive, having come out on a jaunt on their motorbikes, to check if my hubby, John, got round to building a similar shelter for me here at Cerdyn Villa!
