Your Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Wedding- Page number 51 - October/November 2021 (Issue 29)

HOT TOPIC A BESPOKE BIG DAY Meet the expert: Mikayla Ballard-Kearns is a professional celebrant and qualified wedding planner based in Wiltshire. We’re thinking of choosing a celebrant-led wedding, can you offer any advice? Mikayla says: You can’t go wrong opting for a celebrant-led wedding because there are no rules, you can hold your celebration anywhere at any time you like. The only thing to consider is that you need to visit a registry office beforehand to marry legally and obtain a certificate. After that, together with your choice of celebrant, you can start planning your dream ceremony. Once my couples are stood before me, depending on who has walked up the ‘aisle’ to greet who, I proceed to tell their love story followed by the all-important exchanging of the vows. This is followed by the blessing of the rings and performing any heartfelt ritual that the newlyweds might choose, such as a hand-fasting or sand-blending ceremony, or lighting a unity candle. This results in a personalized, bespoke ceremony that’s extremely memorable. Unlike a registrar or a church wedding, a celebrant does not follow a standard script, they write an individual one all about the couple. You can incorporate an element of religion in it, or opt for a secular ceremony and one big advantage is that you can write your vows - the possibilities are endless! Mikayla Ballard-Kearns | 07500 600 506 www.mikaylacelebrant.com www.facebook.com/celebrancy.wiltshire.9 www.instagram.com/mikaylacelebrant Our experts answer your big-day questions A SUSTAINABLE DAY Meet the expert: Sarah Raven is a garden expert, florist, writer and cook based in Marlborough, Wiltshire. How easy is it to prepare homegrown, sustainable flowers for our big day? Sarah says: Growing and arranging your flowers for your wedding can be so rewarding but it requires plenty of planning. Decide what varieties you want on the day, what purpose they’ll serve and what your sowing and cutting schedule is to ensure they’ll be ready for cutting ahead of the wedding. Each couple will have their own taste and preference, some will prefer light and delicate flowers while others will lean towards more architectural shapes and sturdy blooms. It’s important to choose varieties based on what will grow at the right time of year and not get fixated on any one individual type because they might not be in their best shape on the day so focus on colour and shape first and foremost. I always pick a range of dominant flowers as central pivots for displays and bouquets, like dahlias, sunflowers, zinnias, echinaceas, roses and lilies. Don’t be afraid to use contrasting colours or break the rules and use the opportunity to grow your wedding flowers to bring your personality to the palette. Use foliage and foraged items to bulk out displays and bouquets. Foliage can be useful for weddings early on in the season providing a beautiful display while lines of foxgloves and lupins give them a structural interest. The scent is so important and sweet peas offer this. You’ll never regret growing these because they’ll make a fantastic addition to any flower arrangement. For buttonholes, lilies and sprigs of heather are great options. If you’re set on having a rose or dahlia in the buttonholes, wrap the stem in cottonwool followed by cling film and buttonhole tape. A wedding day isn’t complete without confetti and natural confetti provides a wonderful touch and is often preferred by venues. Fresh rose petals and marigolds as well as dismembered cornflowers all work well, plus the petals of larkspur and delphiniums too. Consider catching the dropped petals that have fallen off the other flowers you’re growing for the wedding and keep those as supplementary confetti. When it comes to picking day, put the stems straight into cool water (removing all leaves on the stems first) which will make a big difference to the vase life of the flowers and keep them looking fresher for longer. If any of your blooms start to droopy before the big day, sear the ends in boiling water (five seconds for softer stems and 45 seconds for woodier varieties). The most important thing to do once your arrangements are complete is to enjoy the day. Your venue will be brimming with the scent of your favourite flowers and you’ll take immense pride in seeing the fruits of your labour as beautiful, natural decoration on your wedding day. Sarah Raven | 0345 092 0283 | www.sarahraven.com www.facebook.com/sarahravensgarden www.instagram.com/sarahravensgarden EXPERT ADVICE 51