We're celebrating 6 years of marriage this October! We love reminiscing and talking about our gorgeous day at Headlam Hall, Darlington.
Whenever we think about our wedding day we wouldn't change a thing, it was absolutely perfect but trends do come and go and new ideas surface as the years go on and you do think 'ooooh I would do that now if I was getting married!'
A big one, obviously, is hiring a wedding celebrant! As I help plan ceremonies for my couples, I often find myself wondering how our own ceremony would have turned out if we'd chosen to hire a celebrant!
Here is 5 things I would do if I was planning my wedding ceremony today after writing and officiating many ceremonies!
Photos: So Photogenic Photography
Live music
With Tom's background in the music industry, it might seem fitting for us to have hired a live musician! I absolutely loved the song selections we made for our wedding ceremony; we incorporated tracks from artists we adore while also including tunes we knew our guests would appreciate. I aimed to steer clear of anything overly lovey-dovey, as that’s not really our vibe—we like to keep things lighthearted.
We chose 'Lovely Day' by Bill Withers as the entrance song since my dad and I used to belt it out together. He was a bit too emotional to sing along on the big day, bless him!
Looking back, however, one change I would consider is hiring a live musician, if our budget had permitted. I believe a live performance would have enhanced the overall atmosphere of the ceremony! Plus, all the musicians I've worked with so far when officiating ceremonies are soooo lovely AND talented!
That said, we did make sure to hire a band for the evening reception; that was non-negotiable at the time!
Guest involvement!
Since we had a registrar, our ceremony didn't allow us much creativity! We were unaware hiring a celebrant was an option at the time and, like many couples, were told to book a registrar straight away if we didn't want a church wedding!
If we were planning our ceremony today, I would ensure to enhance the experience for our guests as well. We've all been at weddings as a guest where you're just watching the clock waiting for the free drink afterwards, I'd want to do more to surprise my guests with a lovely ceremony experience they can enjoy as well!
It doesn't have to be anything major, I'd maybe choose a band warming, surprise ring bearer or a group vow to make everyone feel involved and welcome... although I do love the thought of a modern sing-along too!
Symbolic Elements
We did include a rose ceremony for our mothers which was cute but I would have loved to have included another symbolic element. There's so many lovely elements you can include now e.g. candle ceremonies, handfasting but, to be honest, they're not really us!
I personally love a wine box ceremony!
During this ritual, you place a bottle of wine into a box with letters you have written to each other. On an anniversary of your choice you open the box, drink the wine and read the letters - a perfect way to reminisce about your day without too much fuss!
Saying that - I'd maybe persuade Tom to do a unity shot to seal our vows too haha! TEQUILA!
Vows
Can you believe we didn't write our own vows!? We actually chose our vows from the the list the registrars gave us. Of course, we did have the option too and I remember us discussing it but for some reason we chose not too!
Now, I help people write their vows as part of my services and I think 'why didn't we do that!'
I would also have added 'rock, paper, scissors' to decide who was doing the vows first - just because it's fun!
Readings
I'm fully aware this might be a bit biased, but I would absolutely include a personalised poem; every ceremony I've crafted a bespoke poem for has been a hit! Both couples and guests have loved it, a unique way to tell your story as you enter married life.
I'd pair this with a reading more suited to us as a couple, the readings we chose were lovely but were chosen in a rush!
Obviously hiring a celebrant would be in this list too but I think that's pretty much a given! Although I remember feeling absolutely AMAZING because I'd married my Tom, I don't remember much about the wording of the ceremony itself. It would have been fantastic to work with a celebrant to create a personalised script which told our story and our thoughts on marriage etc.
One thing I do remember is when our registrar (who was lovely by the way) kept saying 'red rose' during the rose ceremony when we were, in fact, holding white roses. I found this absolutely hilarious though!
The BEST day EVER! Look at my face!
Suppliers:
Venue: Headlam Hall Hotel, Darlington
Photographer: SoPhotogenic Photography
Florist: Anna Hunton Florist
Styling: Lisa Charles Venue Styling
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