Your Bristol & Somerset Wedding - February/March 2022 (Issue 87)

“I DOS” JUST FOR YOU We’re interested in using a celebrant to conduct our ceremony and would like to know the process. Can you tell us more? In choosing a celebrant-led wedding you have the opportunity to create a bespoke ceremony that’s uniquely yours, and memorable for all the right reasons! Once you’ve found the right celebrant for you the next step is to explore your hopes and dreams for your wedding. After sending out a questionnaire with some playful ideas for sharing as a couple, we arrange a visioning session that includes suggestions for rituals and structure, so you can start to visualise the form of your ceremony. Your celebrant can provide ideas for making it inclusive with elements of participation and collaboration. From here, your celebrant visits the venue and begins working on your wedding script, articulating your personal love story and suggesting readings, while designing a ceremony based on your preferences. You’ll have full editorial control over this and can tweak it to perfection. Meanwhile, you’re beginning to write your vows and your celebrant can support you with this, offering inspiration and guidance so you can speak your own words straight from the heart. I also like to offer some practices for you to explore as a couple before your wedding to help focus your attention and enrich your depth of connection and commitment. On your wedding day, your celebrant arrives early at the venue to set up the area and hold the emotional space for those present. This could include anxiety calming techniques, a neck massage or running over speeches. They welcome guests and conduct the ceremony in a caring and grounded way, to ensure the essence of love infuses the whole day and you feel truly supported and celebrated. Isla Macleod | https://islamacleod.com JUST DESSERTS We want a showstopping big-day bake to wow our guests. Do you have any suggestions? Why not go all-out to impress your guests with a dessert table – an artistic display of sweet treats, all decorated to match your wedding palette and theme? Treat your loved ones to delicious royal-iced biscuits, wonderfully light macarons, chocolate-covered cakesicles, buttercream-topped cupcakes, fluffy meringues, mini morsels of cake pops, sweet lollies, chocolate-dipped marshmallows and even miniature pots of flavoured jellies. Taking centre stage will be your wonderful wedding cake, making it the focal point of your wedding reception. Sarah Churchill www.sarahssugarcraft.co.uk CAMERA READY We’re both a bit camera shy and are feeling anxious about photos on our wedding day, but also want a lovely album to look back on. Can you offer us some advice? Simply be yourselves. Our job as wedding photographers is to capture your day as it happens, as well as doing our best to look after our couples. I personally like to tell a story when shooting as your day unfolds and simply want you to be you. There is really no need to feel awkward in front of the camera, as with my documentary-style shooting, you’ll barely know I’m there most of the time! It’s important to get to know your wedding photographer before the big day. An engagement shoot is the best way to do this, as is meeting up or exchanging phone calls. This will all help to put you at ease in front of the camera. On the day itself I may prompt my couples with simple tasks such as, “Hold hands and walk towards me.” All nice natural actions to get the best out of you and your photos. You’re not expected to be super models for the day, so the best thing you can do is to relax and enjoy. It’s part of our job to make sure this happens (we don’t just take photos). Try to soak in as much as possible, then you can enjoy your album for years to come. Flynn Guard | www.flynnguardphotography.co.uk www.mattwreford.net www.flynnguardphotography.co.uk 64

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