Planning Your Wedding

Getting engaged and planning your wedding is a very exciting time but organising such a big event can be quite daunting too. If you feel there’s too much to do, get family and friends involved and don’t shy away from delegation!

Happily, there are lots of wedding planning tools online to help make your life easier. If you’ve already started planning your wedding you will no doubt be familiar with ‘The Wedding Checklist’! Here are two examples:

www.yourweddingmagazine.co.uk/planning-wedding.php

www.scottishweddingdirectory.co.uk/index/news-app/story.28/title.where-to-start-with-wedding-planning

I was pleased to see both of these lists suggest that you find your wedding celebrant as soon as possible in the process. My advice is to book your celebrant as soon as you have chosen your date and venue - you can then relax and concentrate on the details that will make your wedding day all the more special. 

But if you do find yourselves feeling stressed, take a step back and focus on why you decided to get married in the first place. After all, your wedding is one day - your marriage is forever.

Anna and Ian's Wedding at Summerhall

I was delighted when Anna and Ian asked me to conduct their marriage ceremony, and was excited to discover this would be the first wedding to take place at Summerhall - the former Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, now a creative hub for the arts.

Anna and Ian chose Summerhall after falling in love with this vibrant arts space and scouring almost every other venue in the city. It was when they arrived at its doors last Edinburgh Festival and were greeted by general theatrical chaos and trapeze artists swinging from the rafters that they knew this was the place for them!

Anna and Ian’s ceremony was very personal, moving and above all – fun! Anna walked (or should I say sashayed?) down the aisle to ‘My Baby Cares For Me’, sung by friend Nina. One of Ian’s best friends, Oliver, gave a speech that really came from the heart and Anna’s sister Helen had written a wonderful poem to celebrate their special day.

The traditional Scottish two handled drinking cup, the Quaich, is often called 'The Loving Cup'. It seals the bond between two people and marks the blending of their two families, not to mention giving them a lovely nip of whisky!

At this point it feels only right to introduce a poem by Ogden Nash called 'A Word To Husbands':

To keep your marriage brimming,
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you're wrong, admit it;
Whenever you're right, shut up.

To bring the ceremony to a close, Anna and Ian chose a lovely traditional Scottish blessing:

Where'er ye bide in the world sae wide,
We wish ye a neuk on the sunny side,
Wi' muckle o' love and little o' care,
A wee bit pursie wi' siller to spare,
Yer ain wee ingle when day is spent,
In a wee bit housie wi' hearts content.

 

It was a joy to be part of Anna and Ian’s big day, and I was delighted to receive these great pics and this note:

“Thank you so much for doing such a beautiful ceremony. You did such a wonderful job and so many people have commented on how personal and truly special the humanist marriage was. From the bottom of our hearts, the ceremony was our most treasured part of the day and that was down to you and your lovely manner and style.”

Jennifer and Scott's Wedding in St Monans

It was a perfect summer’s day in St Monans, the pretty fishing village in the East Neuk of Fife. The sky was clear blue, the sea glistened in the sun and there was only the faintest breath of wind.  

The setting was everything Jennifer and Scott had dreamed of for their wedding day - in their own beautiful garden, with breathtaking views of the sea, celebrating with their close family and friends.

Before they exchanged wedding rings, Jennifer and Scott had a traditional handfasting ceremony and exchanged vows of commitment they had written themselves. 

They also chose to include a lovely poem called 'I Love You' by an unknown author, which was read by their two older children, Liona and Jamie.

I love you

For the kindness in your eyes

And the warmth in your voice,

For the honesty of your words

And the silence of your smile;

For the ways in which we’re similar,

And those in which we’re worlds apart.

For the openness of your understanding

And the acceptance of your heart;

For the tenderness of your touch

And the strength of your commitment,

For your sense of humour

And your seriousness of purpose;

For a thousand small reasons,

And one most important of all:

Simply because you are you.

In all of creation you are the one whom I cherish most,

The one with whom I hope to share my life –

Its joys, its sorrows, its accomplishments, its challenges –

While building our dreams together and growing everyday

In the love that makes us one.

 Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Mr and Mrs Jones!

It's too late Scott, you've signed it now!

"Many thanks again Fiona for making our day so special."

Jennifer and Scott, it was a great pleasure to share in your special day. What a wonderful way to start your married life. PS can I come and live in St Monans?!

A Twist on Tradition

 

Weddings are full of rituals and we’re all familiar with ‘here comes the bride’, the exchange of wedding rings and the throwing of rice or confetti. 

Honouring long-standing traditions on your wedding day is a great way to incorporate old customs - but remember, although you might want to follow some (or all) of these traditions, this wedding is all about you! Make it a day that resembles your personality and that you will both remember for years to come. 

Many brides now choose to walk down the aisle to a favourite song or instrumental piece of music. Two great tunes I’ve enjoyed at recent weddings are ‘A Thousand Years’ by Christina Perri played live on the violin (a must for Twilight fans!) and a recording of Carla Bruni singing ‘Quelqu'un m'a dit.

Designated bride and groom sides during the ceremony are also becoming a thing of the past, with many couples asking their guests to sit wherever they like. This is a great way to show the unity of the bride and groom and lets the guests get to know each other.

At a ‘traditional’ wedding you would see a line of bridesmaids standing near the beautiful bride. But if your best friend happens to be a bloke, don’t think you have to confine him to being just another guest on your wedding day - make him a bridesman. And no one would bat an eyelid if the groom decides to have a Best Woman!

Follow this link for some obscure and interesting wedding traditions from around the world: www.livescience.com/16810-10-world-wedding-traditions.html

Vicky and Colin's Wedding at Garvock House Hotel

I’d never been to Garvock House before, and when I arrived for Vicky and Colin’s wedding I was impressed by its charm, elegance and homely atmosphere. Vicky and Colin told me they just felt it was the perfect venue for them and knew they wanted to start their married lives there.

Vicky and Colin’s personalities shone throughout their ceremony, from their thoughts on marriage, to the readings they had chosen and the vows they had written for one another. Music was also an important feature, from the beautiful and understated ‘She’ by Elvis Costello to accompany Vicky's arrival, to the classic ‘Signed, Sealed and Delivered’ by Stevie Wonder during the signing of the Marriage Schedule. 

But for me the highlight was everybody joining in to sing ‘500 Miles’ by The Proclaimers!

 “From the moment we met Fiona, she immediately put us at ease and gave us advice in creating the personal ceremony we wanted. Fiona's professionalism, yet relaxed manner, rubbed off on us and our guests making the entire ceremony stress free and joyful. We felt so relaxed before and during the ceremony which made us thoroughly enjoy our day.

So many of our guests expressed how much they enjoyed the ceremony too and knowing this has added to our unique and special day.  

Fiona - we thank you so much for playing a part in giving us a wedding day which we will never forget and we'll always remember how happy we were on that day.”

Thank you, Vicky and Colin, for sending these photos and for your kind words. It was an honour to be part of your special day.

Sam and David's Wedding at Dundas Castle

Where could be more romantic than Dundas Castle – one of Scotland's most beautiful castles, renowned for its magnificent and exquisite rooms and hallways?

The Auld Keep was the perfect setting for Sam and David. Their ceremony was romantic, quirky, and very ‘them’. 

For a start, they chose to stand the opposite way round to the traditional ‘Bride on the left, Groom on the right’. 

They each wrote their own vows and read a poem that beautifully expressed their individual hopes and dreams for their marriage. Humour was added into the mix by Sam’s close friend Nikki who read the lyrics from ‘When I’m Sixty-Four’ by The Beatles, and wowed the guests by singing the last verse! 

Sam and David also chose to drink from a Quaich during the ceremony – a Scottish tradition that seals the bond between two people and symbolises the joining of two families.

It was a privilege to work with such a lovely couple and I’m delighted that Sam and David sent me these great shots by photographer Neil Redfern and this note:

“We just wanted to say a big thank you for making our wedding such a truly magical day for us! You were wonderful throughout; so thoughtful, diligent and warm and the ceremony was just perfect – everything we ever dreamt it could be! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, it’s so appreciated.”

Lyrics of Love

How many times have you heard a song that made you feel a tingle down your spine? Being an old romantic at heart, I think Annie’s Song by John Denver is a beautiful love song. Let’s hear him in action:

We all know music, and song lyrics can evoke memories and bring out strong emotions. So it’s hardly surprising that the majority of songs that have ever been written are about - you guessed it - love.

I had a wedding a few weeks ago where the Groom - a big Bob Dylan fan - asked his best mate to read out the lyrics from The Wedding Song. It worked really well, and the Bride admitted that although she hated the song, she loved the words!

NME recently asked their Twitter followers to suggest the most beautiful lyrics about love. These are my picks from the list:

“Lonely days of uncertainty, they disappear when you’re near me, when you’re around my life’s worthwhile, and now I long to see you smile.” Big Star, My Life is Right.

“And there’s no one there to dry your tears. I could hold you for a million years. To make you feel my love.” Bob Dylan, To Make You Feel My Love.

“Can’t go on without her. There’s no song without her. It’s all wrong without her.” Harry Nilsson, Without Her.

“At last the skies above are blue. My heart was wrapped up in clover the night I looked at you.” Etta James, At Last.

“So I’m thanking you today. Because of you I am now me.” John Butler Trio, Fool For You.

Check out the rest on Lucy Jones’ blog:

http://www.nme.com/blogs/the-big-picture/29-beautiful-lyrics-about-love