Category:

Wedding Planning

Callie and Sam's wedding day - black and white confetti shot of them leaving ceremony surrounded by guests.
Patchwork CouplesWedding Planning

A wedding stylist’s wedding and dreamy Puglia honeymoon

by Rosie Hurwitz
written by Rosie Hurwitz

Today on the blog we chat to wedding stylist Callie Punchard of Studio Dine and find out what it was like for her to style her own wedding! Callie met her now husband Sam at Uni; she says “we had mutual friends so we’d see each other here and there around the building.” Callie also worked in the Student bar so their chats became more and more frequent until eventually they got together. And hooray! They’ve just celebrated their 7 year anniversary of being a couple. Callie tells us more about how she planned and styled their day (and has some great tips too for couples planning their own weddings!) She also gives us all honeymoon FOMO by letting us in on their amazing honeymoon to Puglia, Italy, funded by family and friends with a little help from Patchwork!

How did you get engaged?

Callie: In our little one bed flat during lockdown. Sam had always joked he’d propose on the day he finished his masters and that ended up being exactly what he did. As he couldn’t go out and celebrate his final hand in with his friends, I took the day off and we decided we’d have a picnic in the flat. When I suggested we go to the park if it was nice out (at this stage we were allowed to sit outside!) and he said he’d rather stay in, I got suspicious. Popped out to the postbox and when I got back to the flat he was down on one knee. We celebrated with a takeaway pint from our local pub.

What kind of wedding did you plan?

We knew we wanted a pretty relaxed day and that the most important thing was having all our friends and family there. Something less traditional and full of personality. Being a wedding stylist myself, I can’t pretend I didn’t feel the pressure right off the bat though. It was finally my opportunity to do everything exactly as I wanted. Obviously it had to be beautiful! But fun and colour were definitely priorities. Oh and the food. The food was very important. We chose Loft Studios which had the perfect casual, London vibe and sourced everything ourselves. A lot of work but so so worth it in the end.

How did you find styling your own wedding as opposed to other peoples’?

I definitely found the run up more stressful and overwhelming than I’d imagined to. Naturally, the planning felt somewhat an extension of work, which definitely had its negatives, but it was so rewarding to be able to create something that totally reflected us and my style. The week of the wedding was hard work if I’m totally honest. We put a lot on our plates and did everything ourselves, from the flowers to making and painting the signage, designing menus, making my own candles, etc. We even made the bloody napkins! Actually it was only once it got to the day itself that I let the pressure go. I was so happy with everything we’d created and knew at that stage the work we’d put in had paid off, but once you wake up and it’s your wedding day, I couldn’t have cared less what it looked like. It was just amazing that so many people were there and we just had the best time.

Did you have a first dance?

YES. Our first dance was Abba, Super trouper. We knew we wanted something fun and our families are all ABBA obsessed so it just felt like the perfect choice. I hate being the centre of attention so I was really nervous about this bit of the day, but we’d bought some confetti cannons to be set off at the end of the first verse and it ended up being totally magical. That sounds SO lame but it really was. At that point our friends couldn’t wait to get on the dance floor and it was the best start to the night.

A bit of ABBA never fails! And what was your favourite part of the day?

I loved it all so much. Our first dance was definitely a highlight, but our ceremony was really amazing too. We had a humanist ceremony, which our celebrant Nat Raybould just made so personal and wonderful. We did Rock Paper Scissors to decide which of us read our vows first – haha.

Why did you choose Patchwork for your wedding registry?

I knew from the moment I met you guys that we would use Patchwork for our wedding. Other than you being the dreamiest team and working with you previously, it just made so much sense. We loved that we could totally customise it to what we wanted and that we’d be giving back to environmental charities with our fee. A huge win-win.

What did you invite your guests to contribute towards?

We decided to ask guests to contribute towards our honeymoon. We’ve lived together for years now, so we didn’t need gifts or any more ‘stuff’! We just wanted to have the best time away together in Italy.

What did you enjoy most about using Patchwork for your honeymoon fund?

It was just so easy and so much less icky than asking our guests for cold hard cash! Haha! We completely mapped out our trip on it from meals out to hotels and activities so there was a total range of things and prices. It was so fun seeing what people bought us too.

What did your family and friends think?

They loved it. We had so many compliments on how great of an idea it was, and found everyone loved being able to choose what they were contributing towards. It was lovely that we could send people updates throughout our trip too of things we were doing that they’d made possible. So many friends have gone on to use it for their weddings now too and we love being on the reverse, getting to choose for them!

Where did you go on your honeymoon and what were the highlights?

We went to Puglia in Italy. Honestly the dreamiest trip. We planned to travel around the top half, staying in each place for 1-2 nights to see as much as possible. We started in Bari before moving along to Matera – This gorgeous old cave city (and where part of the new James Bond was filmed!). Stopped off at a wine resort and had a few days on an Italian farm in-land too, before travelling back up the coast and having a few beach days. We stayed in this incredible cave hotel in Matera which was cool and had this unreal seven course tasting menu one of the nights we stayed on the farm. That was definitely a highlight. We visited a ceramics village which as a tableware obsessive I loved! One of the days in Monopoli we found this hidden away beach cove which was amazing. We just sat on the edge of the clearest water with a spritz and fresh fried seafood and it just felt like we were in heaven. Polignano a Mare was also gorgeous – By far the busiest place we went but worth the hype for that view. Also all the food and wine. Obviously. Delicious. Want to go back immediately.

OK, now we all have honeymoon FOMO! How did it feel knowing your friends and family had helped make your dream trip a reality?

Amazing – and really special. We’ll remember that trip forever.

And finally… do you have any top tips when it comes to planning / styling your wedding?

  • Don’t sweat the small stuff. Everything feels super important in the run up and it’s easy to get carried away but on the day the little things don’t matter.
  • Make sure it reflects you as a couple. Don’t fall into the trap of doing things because you feel you should. The best weddings are the ones where your guests walk in and immediately think how YOU it is. What are your favourite things? Think about how you can bring them into your day.
  • Work with your venue!! This is such a big one. Usually you’re spending a lot on the venue itself so make sure that it reflects the vibe you want your day to have, and that your ideas for styling will work with the space. Think about the existing features, colours and furniture and compliment it with everything you bring in.
  • Trust your suppliers. They know what they’re doing and you’re paying them for the expertise they bring to the table.
  • Don’t worry about making your wedding look ‘timeless’. Just have fun with it.
  • Make sure your budget is put to good use! Eg. If you’re paying for a big floral ceremony arch, where can you move this to once the ceremony is over?

Thankyou so much Callie and Sam for sharing your beautiful day with us and making us all want to immediately head off to Puglia for Aperol Spritz and seafood…. Congratulations from all of us at Patchwork, we are so pleased we could play a small part in your celebrations!

If you’ve been inspired to set up your own honeymoon fund, you can find our templates for Italy and 100s of other destinations here. Or if there’s something else you’d love your friends and family to help with – check out some of our other unique wedding gift ideas. If you’d like to chat to Callie about how she can help create the wedding of YOUR dreams you can read more about her services on the StudioDine website or on Instagram

Here are some of the wedding suppliers that made Callie and Sam’s day super special:

Make Up: Abi Taylor Bride

Food: Pasta E Basta

Cake: Maison Pe’lumi

DJ: On Repeat

Styling & Design: Callie at Studio Dine

Venue: Loft Studios

Flowers: Designed by Callie at Studio Dine, brought to life by Springhill Florals & Salad Studios

Dress: Charlie Brear

Photographer: Alba Turnbull

Videographer: The Smiths & Co

Photobooth: Photobot

Bar: We are Twenty Six

Pizza Van: Napoli on the Road

Furniture: Ya Hire

Candles: Studio Dine Store

Celebrant: Nat Raybould

Confetti: Flutter Darlings

Streamers: Streamadelica

Honeymoon hotel in Matera: Palazzotto Residence & Winery

p.s. you can listen to Callie and Sam’s first dance song on our Spotify playlist, made up of lots of our Patchwork Couples’ first dances.

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Patchwork couple Hana and Tom pose for a 'formal' shot on their wedding day, with their two dogs. They stand hand in hand against a dark background looking quite serious. Hana wears an iridescent dress with a sequin bodice, lilac and blue headpiece and carries a striking bouquet of deep purple flowers. She has on a pastel rainbow fluffy cardigan. Tom wears a pale pink tweed waistcoat and blazer.
Patchwork CouplesWedding Planning

An epic two day wedding and Mexican honeymoon adventure

by Rosie Hurwitz
written by Rosie Hurwitz

In their own words, Hana and Tom are “not your traditional couple”! They met initially in a friends’ garden in 2012, and were in the same social circles for a while before they got to know each other well. It can be said that Hana found Tom a little annoying, and he thought she was much, much too much! After a few years of pub quizzing and gigs, a deepening friendship, and a “will-they-won’t-they” few weeks, they decided to just be friends. However, with the pandemic in March 2020 came a total change of speed, and Tom moved into Hana’s house to help his parents to shield. “It’ll only be a couple of weeks” turned into months, and they slipped into a fun and easy relationship. In August Tom attempted to move home, but Hana says “I just missed him too much.” The rest is history as they say and today they share their epic rainbow-infused two part wedding and amazing friend funded Mexican honeymoon adventure!

How did you get engaged?

We had talked about getting married, once we knew we were willing to risk the friendship! As a wedding photographer myself though, my time gets booked out a long time in advance, especially weekends. We talked about when in the year we’d hypothetically want to have an anniversary, and realised that Friday 12th November 2021 was a palindromic date. We sent an email, and Tom popped out to buy lunch… while he was out I got caught off guard by the registrar phoning me (millennial, bad at phones!) and booked the ceremony…oops! Months later, knowing we had the ceremony already booked, and we’d picked a beautiful rough garnet ring out together, Tom anxiously paced around our living room while we tried to watch a Billie Eilish documentary… eventually he said “I think you should have this now” as he couldn’t get any other words out…!
I had (funnily enough) anticipated that we’d get engaged, so had bought Tom a present too – a bright pink neon sign which reads “How unexpected” – a tongue in cheek reference to our engagement, but also a nod to the fact that everyone else seemed to know we’d be together before we did.

What kind of wedding did you plan?

A wedding of two halves! We both wanted a private, intimate ceremony – me so that it didn’t feel like work, and Tom because he gets a bit nervous sometimes. On our legal marriage day we walked to the register office with the dogs via a quick stop in our local. We were relaxed and joyful that day, and went to the pub for a slap up meal afterwards before spending the night alone in a shepherds hut with a hot tub.

Both of us were absolutely up for a mad party too, though, and the next day we threw an epic reception; we’ve got very specific aesthetic style together and went for black/pink and iridescent rainbow vibes. We love our rock/metal and pop music and wanted to put on a complete circus for all our family and friends. We chose to use an incredible celebrant to bring the second ceremony to life, and had temporary tattoos, no sit down meal, an ice cream cart and a silent disco.

Did you have a first dance?

Our first dance was Arcane Roots, Slow Dance because it RIFFS. For our legal ceremony we walked in together to C’est La Vie by B*Witched and out to Jamie Lenman, If You Have To Ask You’ll Never Know. For the second day we walked in to McFly, Happiness and out to the theme from Death In Paradise.

Now that’s a playlist. What was your favourite part of the day?

The reception day second ceremony was the best. We asked a Glaswegian friend of ours to stand up and pretend to conduct our ceremony, but to do it in the thickest Scots he could manage. It was an absolute hoot, and we were both in tears trying to make sense of it, and the joke had our guests roaring too. It was wonderful to include our pal, and then Hazel the Rainbow Celebrant kicked him off the mic for being “rubbish” and we got on with a personalised and funny service from her. It was personal, and that’s why it was awesome.

Why did you choose Patchwork?

I shot a wedding before the pandemic of a couple who’d used Patchwork, and I was really impressed with the whole thing. It makes so much sense to me to be able to personalise your registry for things you actually want and need, while also being able to control the budget.

What did you want to invite guests to contribute towards?

I’d had my house for 5 years at this point, so we didn’t need bath towels or cutlery, and instead asked for photo frames for the wedding photos we’d receive and experiences for our honeymoon. Thanks to our guests knowing what they were contributing towards, we were able to thank them directly for frames, beers, a posh lunch, a day out at XCaret in Cancun, Mexico and so many more experiences.

What was the best bit about using Patchwork?

The freedom to design and upload your own gift ideas was amazing. We uploaded photos of the accommodation we wanted to book, the restaurants/cuisine we might want to go to, the actual items we were asking for etc. It made it much more real, and much more personal – and when we then thanked those people they could see we really did do what we said we would! It was lush, and we didn’t get a single thing we weren’t super happy with!

What did your friends and family think?

Our friends and family were glad it was so easy to use, and to see what they were getting for us. I think they also appreciated that we were able to be so specific in our gratitude afterwards.

Do you have a top wedding planning tip?

Absolutely. The best weddings are personal. Don’t get suckered into doing stuff ‘cause you’ve seen it at the venue or you’ve been sold a package – actually think about you and your partner and the things you like. What’re your favourite things, colours, activities, sounds and tastes? Make sure they’re all present at your wedding. It really should be a celebration of you as individuals, and everyone you’re inviting knows and loves at least one of you (!!), so they’ll love it too! Don’t be afraid to sign the legal paperwork on another day (we don’t panic about this for births and deaths, so why marriages?), and don’t be afraid to miss out traditional things if they don’t fit with your interests or principles.

Thank you so much Hana and Tom, for sharing with us this joyous, personal and wonderful celebration! We are honoured to have played a small part, and happy that you had such a fantastic honeymoon thanks to all your family and friends!

If you’ve been inspired to set up your own honeymoon fund, you can find our Mexico template here and templates for 100s of other destination here.

Here is the – very impressive – directory of Hana and Tom’s awesome suppliers who all added extra sparkle on the day:

Photos on the ceremony day (my hair down): Rowan Williams, Parrot and Pineapple

Photos of the main wedding day (hair up!): Ruth Merrington and Debbie Stevens
Red Door Photography

Celebrant: Hazel the Rainbow

Venue: The Joneses Studio

Invites and Signage: Satin and Tat Design

Food: Miles at Bark ‘n’ Render

Hana’s Outfit: Skirt: Etsy; Top Material: Amazon; Sewing Help Erica, Real Green Dress

Hana’s evening jumpsuit: Rosa Bloom

Hana’s earrings: Neon Cacti

Hana’s headdress and buttonholes: Folky Dokey

Hana’s Hair and Makeup: Amy at Dolly’s Beauty Parlour

Tom’s shirt, waistcoat and jacket: Graeme at Healy and Son

Flowers: Best Friend Natalie Miller

Neon sign: You Turn Neon

Dog Outfits: Bella and Barns

Collars and leads: Hounds of Eden

Cake: Lily and Fig Cakes

Ice cream: Vicki at Victoria’s Ice Cream Cart

Temporary Tattoos: Emma and Dom at Doris Loves

Silent Disco: Naren at Silent Disco Bristol

p.s. you can listen to Hana and Tom’s first dance song on our Spotify playlist, made up of lots of our Patchwork Couples’ first dances.

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Edoardo and Alice on their wedding day at Bath Spa. Edoardo wears a dark blue suit, Alice a long ivory dress. They stand within the beautiful stone wall surrounds of Bath Spa as the steam rises off the water.
Patchwork CouplesWedding Planning

A double Roman Baths wedding and a charity gift registry

by Rosie Hurwitz
written by Rosie Hurwitz

Meet our latest Patchwork couple – Alice from Bath, and Edoardo from Rome. They had both been living in London for several years when they met in summer 2017 via Guardian Soulmates, (the original pre-tinder dating site!) As well as epitomising the “more love less stuff” philosophy behind Patchwork, this gorgeous couple had a wedding which you might say was “so nice they did it twice”! Read on to find out more about their TWO dreamy weddings and the very fitting venue they chose!

How did you get engaged?

Edoardo: We had just been separated for about a month while Alice was abroad in Germany. We both missed each other a lot and when we were reunited, we had a conversation about getting married over a pint in the pub. It seemed the most natural thing to do! No big announcements or proposals – just a decision that we made together.

What kind of wedding did you plan?

One morning Alice woke up with a flash of inspiration – so we looked up whether the Roman Baths in Bath hosted weddings. And they do! Perfect location for someone from Rome and someone from Bath to get married. We planned a nice evening celebration with friends and family which was due to take place in 2020. However, Covid messed up our plans quite a bit. We ended up having a small intimate sunrise marriage ceremony with family only in May 2021, and then we had a lovely evening ceremony at our one year anniversary in 2022. Both in the Roman Baths.

Did you have a first dance?

As our wedding had been postponed multiple times, we asked our brilliant swing band to play “Finally!” by CeCe Peniston.

What was your favourite part of the day(s)?

At both the events, we found entering the Roman Baths with the steam rising from the hot water was totally magical. At our sunrise wedding in 2021, we were overawed by the occasion and the small scale of it made us really savour the moment. During our evening party in 2022, 15 of our friends performed the “Humming Chorus” from the opera Madam Butterfly as we walked in, which was beautiful and very moving.

Why did you choose Patchwork for your gift registry?

We were looking for a website that offered us freedom to design our wedding registry and include different gift options. We browsed a bit and tried a few, but Patchwork was really good as we could design the page entirely and had the freedom to add different items to our list.

What did you invite guests to contribute towards and why?

By the time we got married, we had already been living together for a couple of years, so we really didn’t need or want any items. We instead chose three charities that are meaningful to us and gathered guests’ contributions to go towards them. We chose two local North London charities (a homeless shelter and a community farm) and a charity that supports migrants who get into trouble in the Mediterranean going into Italy.

What was your favourite feature of Patchwork?

Patchwork allowed us to create individualised items at different price points for each of the charities we chose. Also, having had to postpone our wedding a few times because of Covid, we found it really good that Patchwork allowed us to keep our page open and running for quite a lot longer than we first anticipated! Also family and friends could leave a message on our Patchwork after their contribution, which has been lovely to see and go back to.

What did your friends and family think?

We had some lovely messages from our family and friends. They all really loved the idea of supporting our chosen charities. We had also got in touch with the charities beforehand and asked them to share with us what different levels of contribution would go towards – which we then were able to add to our Patchwork for each price point. Guests really liked to be able to select something specific and know where the money would go. It was great to know that our wedding also helped contribute towards some very important causes. That was always very important for us and we were glad to have made this decision.

Do you have any wedding planning tips for engaged couples?

Give as much information as you can to your guests, whether it’s on your website or elsewhere, because people will have a lot of questions. You can lose sight of that when you’re totally immersed in the planning!

Another thing we really loved is that for our evening celebration we had a lovely humanist celebrant to create our ceremony for us . We got to write our own personalised ceremony from scratch and that was very special. So we would definitely recommend it as an alternative to more traditional ceremonies (and our guests loved it!).

Thank you so much Alice and Edoardo for sharing not just one but TWO beautiful wedding days with us. What a perfect venue for this gorgeous couple too. If you’ve been inspired to set up a gift list with a charitable element check out our wedding give list template or our 100s of other alternative wedding gift ideas.

Here are some of the amazing wedding suppliers that made Edoardo and Alice’s Roman Baths wedding day even more special:

Photographer: Michael Newington Gray
Dress: Pearl Legay-Clarke (gold dress only – however she doesn’t do dressmaking anymore)
Celebrant: Amy Lee
Music: Down for the Count
Venue: The Roman Baths and Pump Room
Cake: The Pretty Cake Company
Flowers: Alice’s mum ?

p.s. you can listen to Edoardo and Alice’s first dance song on our Spotify playlist, made up of lots of our Patchwork Couples’ first dances.

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Patchwork CouplesWedding Planning

Why the best wedding suppliers use Patchwork gift registry for their own weddings!

by Rosie Hurwitz
written by Rosie Hurwitz

Today on our blog we chat to some amazing wedding suppliers and industry friends who have chosen to use Patchwork wedding registry for their own celebrations. What is it about Patchwork that makes those in the know choose us? Read on to find out!

With thanks to our fabulous contributors, Louie of TH&TH, Justine of Holdfast Ceremonies, Hana Laurie Photography, Callie of StudioDine, Gabrielle & August of With Pride Weddings and Mercedes of 4Ya Party Weddings and Events.

Photo credit: Parrot and Pineapple
Photo credit: Alba Turnbull

As wedding suppliers yourselves, we’re interested to hear what kind of wedding you planned?

Louie: We planned an über grand event at a stately home – the beautiful Stoneleigh Abbey in Warwickshire, made famous by Jane Austen who wrote about it in Northanger Abbey. It’s a really romantic venue, we married in the stunning Orangery overlooking the River Avon. Afterwards we made our way to the Georgian Stucco salon for our wedding breakfast where we dined on the most delicious duck I’ve ever tasted! I asked everyone to dress in their finery and they didn’t disappoint.

Callie: We knew we wanted a pretty relaxed day and that the most important thing was having all our friends and family there. Something less traditional and full of personality. Being a wedding stylist myself, I can’t pretend I didn’t feel the pressure right off the bat though. It was finally my opportunity to do everything exactly as I wanted. Obviously it had to be beautiful! But fun and colour were definitely priorities. Oh and the food. The food was very important. We chose Loft Studios which had the perfect casual, London vibe and sourced everything ourselves. A lot of work but so so worth it in the end.

Hana: A wedding of two halves. We both wanted a private, intimate ceremony – me so that it didn’t feel like work, and Tom because he gets a bit nervous sometimes. On our legal marriage day we walked to the register office with the dogs via a quick stop in our local. We were relaxed and joyful that day, and went to the pub for a slap up meal afterwards before spending the night alone in a shepherds hut with hot tub. Both of us were absolutely up for a mad party too, though, and the next day we threw an epic reception; we’ve got very specific aesthetic style together and went for blank/pink and iridescent rainbow vibes. We love our rock/metal and pop music and wanted to put on a complete circus for all our family and friends. We chose to use an incredible celebrant to bring the 2nd ceremony to life, and had temporary tattoos, no sit down meal, an icecream cart and a silent disco.

Mercedes: “Alex and I get married officially in August this year after getting the legal bit out of the way last year. Now we just need to decide if we want our Patchwork to fund our photographer or our honeymoon! Decisions, decisions!”

Mercedes & Alex.
Louie & Andy.
Callie & Sam. Photo credit: Alba Turnbull

Why did you choose Patchwork for your gift registry?

Justine: “It was so exciting and refreshing to find Patchwork. We are super lucky to be in the position of not needing or wanting more ‘things’ and really wanted to head off people buying us stuff we didn’t need.” Patchwork’s ethics also played a part in why we chose it. It is unique in not only encouraging people to buy less ‘stuff’ but in really engaging with the climate crisis we all now find ourselves in. Giving 50% to organisations that are dedicated to creating a sustainable planet for everyone is extraordinary and it was a no-brainer to support this mission.”

Louie: “It felt like such a personal and fun way for those of our guests who wanted to give us a gift.”

Hana: “I shot a wedding before the pandemic of a couple who’d used Patchwork, and I was really impressed with the whole thing. It makes so much sense to me to be able to personalise your registry for things you actually want and need, while also being able to control the budget.”

Callie: “I knew from the moment I met you guys that we would use Patchwork for our wedding. Other than you being the dreamiest team and working with you previously, it just made so much sense. We loved that we could totally customise it to what we wanted and that we’d be giving back to environmental charities with our fee. A huge win-win.”

Gabrielle & August: “As a team of wedding planners and designers we specialize in finding sustainable, creative and experience-based outlets in the wedding world so that everyone can Wed With Pride! We recently celebrated our love story after several Covid-related postponements. One of the only good things that came out of the delay was meeting the incredible team at Patchwork! ”

Mercedes: “Alex and I have a big passion for the environment and doing our bit in our business and in our personal lives. It was a no-brainer when we found out that Patchwork give 50% of their fees to environmental charities, one of which we have supported ourselves in our business.”

Hana & Tom.

What did you ask guests to contribute towards?

Louie: “We wanted to fund our honeymoon – we knew we wanted the trip of a lifetime, never to be repeated. We followed an itinerary inspired by The Grand Tour, taken by the nobility in the 17th and 18th Centuries. The trip allowed us to be immersed in culture but also have some relaxation mixed in. We had so many comments about the amusing items we added to our Patchwork registry – we added things like Ouzo shots for when we were partying in Mykonos, and Turkish Hammam for our Istanbul trip. It was so much more fun than asking for a teapot!”

Justine: “We have a sailing boat and decided to make the biggest, most challenging trip of our life so far, from Chichester to Spain or Portugal, for six weeks. We needed various safety items and, though staying places at anchor or in marinas is much cheaper than hotels, we still needed some help funding six weeks away. Friends and family helped fund a life raft (!), boring boat maintenance stuff, beers, coffees, ice creams and lunches, to a first month anniversary dinner, a whale watching trip, a scuba diving session and a picnic on a volcano!

Hana: “I’d had my house for 5 years at this point, so we didn’t need bath towels or cutlery, and instead asked for photo frames for the wedding photos we’d receive and experiences for our honeymoon. Thanks to our guests knowing what they were contributing towards, we were able to thank them directly for frames, beers, a posh lunch, a day out at XCaret in Cancun, Mexico and so many more experiences.”

Callie: “We decided to ask guests to contribute towards our honeymoon. We’ve lived together for years now, so we didn’t need gifts or any more ‘stuff’! We just wanted to have the best time away together in Italy.”

Justine & Pete. Photo credit: Libby Christensen Photography and Manchester Wedding Photography
Callie & Sam. Photo credit: Alba Turnbull

What was the best bit about using Patchwork?

Louie: “What made all of this (our honeymoon) even more special was knowing everyone we loved had made it possible – it was the most magical feeling. It was the best trip of our life!”

Justine: “Setting up our page was easy – and fun! Coming up with ways of helping us have a wonderful trip was entertaining and very simple. Once we’d launched there was always a squeal of delight in our house when we got a notification email to say that someone had donated to our honeymoon fund. And it mattered not whether it was a small or large amount.”

Hana: “The freedom to design and upload your own gift ideas was amazing. We uploaded photos of the accommodation we wanted to book, the restaurants/cuisine we might want to go to, the actual items we were asking for etc. It made it much more real, and much more personal – and when we then thanked those people they could see we really did do what we said we would!”

Callie: “It was just so easy and so much less icky than asking our guests for cold hard cash! Haha! We completely mapped out our trip on it from meals out to hotels and activities so there was a total range of things and prices. It was so fun seeing what people bought us too.”

Gabrielle & August: “We fully customized our Patchwork – including using gorgeous graphics and creating captions that sounded like us – before sharing it with our family and friends. We were proud to utilize Patchwork’s service, especially knowing that a portion of the Patchwork fee went towards Earth-friendly charities.”

Mercedes: “We love how flexible and unique Patchwork is. We have been living together as a blended family for over a year, we don’t need pots and pans! Patchwork allows us to choose something that is special to us that our family and friends would be happy to share with us.”

Justine & Pete. Photo credit: Libby Christensen Photography and Manchester Wedding Photography
Louie with bridesmaids.

And what did your friends and family think?

Louie: “They just loved how easy it was and really liked that they got to buy us special experiences. And we loved that we could show our personality – we could really get ourselves across to our wedding guests.”

Justine: “Family and friends were delighted to be able to choose from a wide variety of ways to help us, big or small. We’ll be recommending it for sure!”

Hana: “Our friends and family were glad it was so easy to use, and to see what they were getting for us. I think they also appreciated that we were able to be so specific in our gratitude afterwards.”

Callie: “They loved it. We had so many compliments on how great of an idea it was, and found everyone loved being able to choose what they were contributing towards. It was lovely that we could send people updates throughout our trip too of things we were doing that they’d made possible. So many friends have gone on to use it for their weddings now too and we love being on the reverse, getting to choose for them!”

Gabrielle & August: “Our guests had such a fun time taking a peek into our honeymoon and life plans through our suggested contributions; we feel like we’ve taken them with us on our American roadtrip.”

Mercedes of 4Ya Party Weddings and Events
Hana & Tom. Photo credit: Red Door Photography

More on our fabulous contributors….

Louie founder of bridal and bridesmaid dress brand TH&TH married Andy at Stoneleigh Abbey in Warwickshire. They used Patchwork to invite guests to treat them to experiences on their incredible “grand tour” of Europe.


Humanist wedding celebrant Justine of Holdfast Ceremonies married Pete in the summer of 2022 and guests helped fund their East Atlantic sailing adventure!


Hampshire based alternative wedding photographer Hana  married Tom at their local registry office and then the following day had a huge party at The Joneses Studio. Their Patchwork included option for friends and family to buy them anything from a massage in Mexico, to Mac ‘n’ Cheese at Mollie’s Diner!


Callie is founder of StudioDine – London based creative design studio and the destination for modern table styling. Callie married Sam at Loft Studios and invited guests to treat them to Aperitvo, pasta, cooking lessons and incredible accommodation on their Puglia honeymoon Patchwork.


Gabrielle & August are the couple behind With Pride Weddings – a Queer-led, Queer-focused wedding and events company that celebrates all! They wed at Greenwoods Hotel and their Patchwork registry offered options for guests to treat them to experiences on their American road trip.


Mercedes is founder of 4YaParty Weddings and Events who provide beautiful, eco-friendly venue decor and styling, and specialise in Rustic, Boho and Vintage styles. Mercedes & Alex are due to marry this year and have yet to decide what to include on their Patchwork!

Thanks so much to all of you for sharing your wedding and honeymoon stories, and for sharing with us why you think Patchwork is the best! Huge hugs from the Patchwork Team. If YOU’RE part of a super stylish couple who would like a unique, personal and not-available-anywhere-else registry for your guests to get excited about check us out here!

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James and Katie on their wedding day at Henham Barns in Suffolk. James stands behind Katie with his arms around her waist, she is holding a large bouquet of autumnal coloured flowers.
Patchwork CouplesWedding Planning

An autumn Suffolk wedding and honeymoon to St Lucia

by Rosie Hurwitz
written by Rosie Hurwitz

Gorgeous couple James and Katie chat to us today all about their beautiful Autumn wedding and honeymoon to St Lucia. Katie is a nurse and originally from Chester and James runs his own business and grew up in Suffolk. They met in the summer of 2015 at Latitude festival and have been together ever since. Like so many couples, their original wedding and honeymoon plans were de-railed by the pandemic. Their honeymoon to Borneo became an adventure to St Lucia which they made the most of – with a little help from family and friends! Despite delays, their patience paid off and they finally got their big wedding celebration with all their loved ones back where it all began – the Latitude festival site in Suffolk. Read on to hear more about their joy-filled day.

How did you get engaged?

James: I proposed to Katie at the top of a mountain whilst we were skiing in France in 2019. We had everything originally booked to get married in 2020 but had to postpone until 2021 due to Covid.

What kind of wedding did you plan?

We wanted our wedding to be a celebration of our love for all our friends and family as much as it was about our love for each other. Katie had always enjoyed the idea of an autumn wedding and we both wanted a nod to how we met so we returned to where our story began at Henham Park (where Latitude is held) for the wedding. With Covid forcing us to postpone our wedding by a year we made the most of it and tried to source as much as we could from the Suffolk countryside. We spent months foraging and drying rose petals for confetti as well as all kinds of other flora to dry and use in our arrangements, collecting pheasant feathers and old gin bottles to use for our table decorations, and hand-making as many elements as we could for the day. We also included our friends as much as possible in the process. Two of our closest friends performed the ceremony for us and a lifelong friend of mine created the incredible floral arrangements for the day. Another old friend agreed to miss out on all the fun out front by staying behind the scenes and doing the catering for the day.

Did you have a first dance?

Our first dance was to “Take on Me” by A-ha – it began as the acoustic version so we could have a quiet moment together before kicking up into the original tempo to get everyone else stuck into the dance floor!

What was your favourite part of the day?

James: Having everyone so special to us in the same place is so rare and meant the world to me, seeing Katie for the first time in her dress is something I’ll never forget, and I honestly don’t think I’ll ever laugh again the way I did at my brother Richard’s Best Man speech. It sounds cliché but the whole day was so overwhelmingly full of joy (especially after all the lockdowns!) that I honestly can’t pick a specific part to hang my hat on as a favourite!

Katie: Having all of our loved ones under one roof, especially after such a tough year where we’d been separated for so long. James and I had a sweetheart table which meant we had time alone together to soak up the atmosphere. The whole day was so special I wouldn’t change a thing.

What made Patchwork the best registry option for you?

We found Patchwork through a Google search and it was instantly obvious that it was what we were after. The platform was intuitive and easy to use from the outset, when we had queries or needed support the whole team were an absolute joy to deal with. Even when Covid threw a spanner in the works and we had to reinvent our entire Patchwork, it was easy enough to do.

What did you invite friends and family to contribute towards?

Since we already live together and mostly have what we need for our home a traditional wedding gift list wasn’t what we were after, but we hated the idea of people just giving us cash. It was incredibly important to us that people knew they would be giving us something we would enjoy, and if we had the opportunity to share it with them then that was even better.

What did your friends and family think?

We’ve only heard good things from friends and family, with several couples saying they intended to use the site for their weddings as well.

What have you done so far with the gift money that you received via your Patchwork?

Our gift money went towards experiences on our honeymoon. We were lucky enough to travel to St Lucia and the contributions from our guests helped us enjoy all kinds of experiences whilst we were there, from sailing to scuba diving, waterfalls and tours, and plenty of pampering and cocktails. At the very end of the trip our camera was lost and so were all of our photos, but thankfully because we had been sharing our experiences with people along the way to say thank you it was ironically our friends who were able to give us photos of our honeymoon when we got back!

How did it feel knowing your family and friends helped make it happen?

It added another level of enjoyment to the trip and serendipitously helped us out with the photos!

And finally, what’s your no.1 top tip when planning a wedding?

Be versatile – every change that felt like we were losing something when we first had to cancel worked out for the best in the end. Oh, and enjoy every minute of it, it really does fly by!

Thank you so much James and Katie for sharing your very special day and these gorgeous words and photos with us. We’re so pleased you finally had the day you both wanted and that Patchwork could help make your honeymoon dreams a reality!

If you’re thinking about a honeymoon fund instead of a traditional gift registry you can browse our paradise island collection of templates to help you decide on a destination! Or find our whole honeymoon collection here.

Here are some of the brilliant suppliers who helped make James and Katie’s day perfect:

Venue: Henham Barns

Caterer: Paul Thompson, Paul Thompson Events

Flowers: Katrina Skybak-Doyle, Cloud Hill Flowers

Photographer: Owen Tetley

Videographer: Caitlin Young, One Forever Films

Cake: Two Magpies Bakery

Band: Festival Folk

Katie’s Hair: Stacie Goodwin

Katie’s Make-up: Emily Chantal

p.s. you can listen to James and Katie’s first dance song on our Spotify playlist, made up of lots of our Patchwork Couples’ first dances.

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A white woman and a white man on their wedding day. They are outside sitting in the back of a vintage land rover with the rear door open, on a country lane in the sunshine. The bride has long fair hair and wears an ivory lace dress with a flower garland in her hair. She carries a bouquet of flowers. The groom has short fair hair and wears a dark suit.
Patchwork CouplesWedding Planning

A Peak District wedding and California honeymoon

by Rosie Hurwitz
written by Rosie Hurwitz

Meet Jess and Joel. Both from Sheffield, our latest Patchwork couple have been together since 2014. They both love the outdoors, and spend most of their free time walking in the Peak District or visiting National Parks further afield.

Jess tells us they first met as teens in the Air Cadets but love didn’t blossom until their first term of university when Joel, who was studying in Birmingham, went to visit Jess in York for a couple of days. “By the end of the weekend, we had declared ourselves ‘boyfriend and girlfriend’ but were both so shy about it that we didn’t tell our families for several months… Following that, we spent most of our three years of uni on CrossCountry trains going backwards and forwards to see each other! After we graduated, we started our life together in Sheffield and wouldn’t change it for the world.”

How did you get engaged?

Jess: We got engaged in March 2020 on a trip to New York (just before the first UK Covid lockdown!). We got a train out of NYC into the Hudson Highlands State Park and went for walk on a wooded mountain trail overlooking the Hudson river, which was absolutely beautiful. Joel had a rather suspicious ring box-shaped bulge in the pocket of his skinny jeans, so I had a feeling he was going to pop the question when we reached the scenic viewpoint at the top of Mt Taurus. He did and it was so special. We celebrated that evening by going to a jazz club back in the city.

What kind of wedding did you plan?

Jess: When we got engaged, we agreed on two things straight away: firstly, we wanted to get married in the Peak District and secondly, we knew we wanted to throw a big party in the evening and have a night to remember with our family and friends. We certainly got both of those things!

We got married at The Maynard, a hotel nestled in the Peak District with beautiful views across the Hope Valley. Our wedding coordinator, Soraya, was absolutely fantastic and the day felt really personal to us – we even had our favourite foods on the menu (hello arancini and sticky toffee pudding!) The ceremony and garden reception, soundtracked by a string duo, felt so magical!

In the evening, a local indie rock band, the Front Runners, played for us and kept the dancefloor packed all night. There were also sparklers, a photo booth, impromptu karaoke and crowd-surfing! At the end of the night, the guests who made it to the end took a survivor’s photo. (N.B. The Maid of Honour, Jess’s sister, did not make it!)

Did you have a first dance?

Joel: We did – the indie rock band who played at our evening reception played an incredible cover of Taylor Swift’s ‘Holy Ground’, which is one of our favourite songs. Jess is a big Taylor Swift fan and had planted several Taylor easter eggs throughout the wedding!

What was your favourite part of the day?

Joel: We really enjoyed our quick trip to Froggatt Edge (a scenic location in the Peak District, just a stone’s throw away from our venue) where we went to have some photographs and videos taken during golden hour. It was lovely to have a chance to be alone together for a little bit and reflect on how the day was going.

It was also special because we drove to Froggatt Edge in a Series One Land Rover that Jess’s Grandad had restored for her. Sadly, Grandad passed away a couple of months before the wedding, so it was a nice way to remember him and feel like he was a part of the day.

What did you choose Patchwork for your wedding registry?

Jess: Very soon after we got engaged, family and friends were asking, “What would you like as a wedding gift? Are you going on a honeymoon?” We were always clear that we didn’t expect gifts and that their presence on our special day would be the best present we could ask for, but we knew many of our loved ones wanted to contribute to our honeymoon – our first adventure as a married couple! We stumbled across Patchwork when we were scouring through wedding websites researching registry options and we loved how personal and customisable it was.

What did you invite guests to contribute towards?

Jess: Patchwork allowed our family and friends to contribute directly to an experience on our honeymoon, which we set off for straight after the wedding. We went on a road-trip in a Ford Mustang across California and our guests contributed to so many different fun experiences, including whale-watching in Monterey Bay, stargazing in Yosemite, and a trip to Alcatraz!

What was the best bit about using Patchwork?

Jess: It was so fun creating our Patchwork and it definitely made us extra excited for our honeymoon! Aside from it being a great registry, it also meant we were able to share our plans with our family and friends which prompted so many conversations about our itinerary. Whilst we were on the honeymoon, we loved sending the digital postcards to our guests to thank them for their gift! Everyone was really complimentary about our Patchwork and several people commented how much fun they had going through each of the patches and picking out the experience they wanted to contribute to.

Where did you go on your honeymoon and what were some of the highlights?

Jess: We started our road-trip in San Francisco and travelled down the coast to Los Angeles, stopping at Monterey Bay, Big Sur, Santa Barbara and Malibu. We then travelled up to Sequoia National Park and Yosemite National Park, before heading back to San Francisco. It was a busy trip!

Our favourite memory is seeing a mother black bear with two cubs in Sequoia National Park on Joel’s birthday. We had been on a long hike to a beautiful waterfall and were on the final leg of our return journey when we saw the bears! They were happily tearing bark off a tree, completely disinterested in us.

We also went to see our favourite band, Haim, play at the Hollywood Bowl, which was a true once-in-a-lifetime experience.

How did it feel knowing your family and friends helped make it happen?

Joel: Our honeymoon was extra special knowing that our family and friends had treated us to so many of the wonderful experiences we had. It’s the best present they could have given us because the memories will last a lifetime – they really are the best!

What’s your no.1 wedding planning tip?

Jess: Enjoy it – your wedding day really is the best day of your life and, when it’s over, you’ll miss your evenings and weekends spent doing ‘wedmin’!

Also, try and carve out some time for just the two of you at some point during the day, even if that’s just ten minutes whilst you’re getting your photographs taken or some stolen moments following the ceremony.

Thank you so much Jess and Joel for sharing these lovely words and gorgeous memories from your wedding day and California honeymoon! We’re so glad that you had the wonderful day you wanted and that Patchwork could help your honeymoon dreams come true ?

If you’ve been inspired to set up your own California honeymoon fund, check out our easy to customise template that you can edit to make your own. At Patchwork we’re giving 50% of our sign up fee to your choice of environmental charity so you can have fun and do good too!

Here are some of the suppliers who made Jess and Joel’s day extra amazing:

Venue: The Maynard
Photographer: Sharon Trees Photography
Videographer: Rather Lovely Films
Wedding band: Front Runners
String Duo: Southdene Strings
Flowers: Flourish Florists
Décor: Glamourpuss Events
Bride’s Dress: Love Spell Design
Alterations: Leann Marie Design
Groom’s suit: Master Debonair
Photo booth: Bliss Booth
Wedding cake: The Pink Cake Box

p.s. you can listen to Jess and Joel’s first dance song on our Spotify playlist, made up of lots of our Patchwork Couples’ first dances.

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Laura and Ed leaving their wedding ceremony at Cripps Barn, Cotswolds. Laura is a white woman with long blonde hair and Ed is a white man with short fair hair, a short beard and black framed glasses.They are both smiling as guests shower them with petal confetti
Patchwork CouplesWedding Planning

A vegan-karaoke-Christmas wedding!

by Rosie Hurwitz
written by Rosie Hurwitz

Meet Laura and Ed who got to know each other first as friends while working for a national newspaper in London during their early 20s. Laura admits “we don’t have one of those ‘love-at-first-sight’ stories – Ed doesn’t even remember the first time we met!” After a year or so of being friends they ‘officially’ became a couple and had been together for over 8 years before getting engaged in July 2021. They took on quite a challenge organising their amazing wedding in just 5 months. But in their words their ‘100%-vegan-karaoke-Christmas-wedding!’ was perfect and they wouldn’t change a thing. After searching for a registry that ticked all the boxes they found Patchwork and created a unique list combining honeymoon activities, charity donations and pledges so that guests had non-monetary options too. A fun couple and a very fun wedding. Read on to hear more about their day.

Ian Jeffrey Photography

How did you get engaged?

We got engaged during Covid times when international travel was off the table. Ed booked a London staycation at a very swanky Hyde Park hotel under the guise of a work celebration and popped the question! 

Ian Jeffrey Photography

Nice one Ed! And what kind of wedding did you plan?

The easy kind! The idea of planning a wedding is not something that either of us like the sound of (which is why we put it off for so long) so we wanted something simple and easy. The result? A 100% vegan-karaoke-Christmas wedding that we managed to pull together in five months. Not quite hitting the brief, but we discovered the incredible venue Cripps Barn in the Cotswolds who were a dream to work with; they made the process very straight-forward and made the day run without a hitch. The food was also a massive highlight, their in-house catering team delivered on the ultimate vegan feast that even the biggest meat eaters didn’t grumble at. We kept some of the traditional wedding aspects (e.g. cake) but it was mainly about having as much fun as possible. Mission completed, because loads of our guest were swapping numbers by the end of it to signify their newly-found friendships! Even if we had all the money in the world, we wouldn’t change a thing about the day – it was perfect.

Ian Jeffrey Photography

Aw, that’s what you want! And did you have a first dance?

We did our first dance to Dido, Thank You. We have fond memories of ‘singing’ it very loudly and out of tune in the back of the cab on our first date.

Ian Jeffrey Photography

What was your favourite part of the day?

This is a hard one! We had a little private moment to process being actually married just after the ceremony which was pretty emotional and amazing. Don’t think anything will ever beat that feeling.  

Secondly, the karaoke in the evening. It went down incredibly well and everyone got really into it (the free booze might have helped…) and definitely made it a wedding to remember. The sad part is that we were having so much fun, the evening went in a flash.

What made you choose Patchwork for your wedding registry?

I firstly tried Prezola but wasn’t feeling it – it was way too focused on ‘stuff’. I then found Patchwork through a trusty online search and reading a few blogs, it seemed like the perfect platform. It stood out because of the clean design, the fact they are UK-based and how socially-conscious they are. The level of personalisation was perfect for the ideas we had.

What did you invite guests to contribute towards?

The gift-giving part of a wedding made us feel a bit uneasy, but we know it’s expected. We’ve accumulated way too much stuff during our relationship and value experiences much more than things. Contributing towards an unforgettable honeymoon was going to mean so much more to us than a toaster. Suggestions included everything from a ‘pool-book fund’ to ‘Snorkel hire’. We also didn’t want price to be a barrier for those that weren’t in a position to contribute, so we made it possible for our guests to pledge things such as beach cleans, going vegan for a month or giving blood, which meant more to us than the money.

What did you enjoy most about using Patchwork?

It was so quick to build/update our page and I loved the way it looked when it was all done. The level of personalisation really makes it feel like something special and not just another gift list. It was so easy for people to use too, even the most IT-challenged of our guests got the hang of it. 

And what did your friends and family think?

They loved it and enjoyed exploring the different options – it made for an entertaining read! They also loved receiving pictures of us on our honeymoon with massive grins on our faces and seeing how much we appreciated their contribution; whilst we loved seeing pictures of our guests fulfilling their wedding pledges!

What have you done with the wedding gift money you received?

We put the funds towards the most amazing honeymoon in Mauritius. We spent two and half weeks at Paradise Cove Boutique Hotel – highly recommended – on the North of the island which exceeded all our expectations (which were pretty high to start with). It was a very indulgent holiday; a highlight was definitely the private sunset catamaran boat cruise that our aunties and uncles chipped in for via our Patchwork. It meant so much to us knowing our friends and family had helped make our honeymoon even more special than we thought was possible.

And finally.. what’s your no.1 wedding planning tip?

Don’t just deliver the wedding people expect, but do what is going to make you happiest on the day! Oh and avoid doing it all in five months or during a pandemic; unless you really like a challenge.

Thank you SO much Laura and Ed for this gorgeous peek in to your amazing celebration and fabulous honeymoon!

If you’ve been inspired to set up your own honeymoon fund or gift registry come and join us and do good too. Half of our platform fee goes to one of three environmental charities: Friends of the Earth, Client Earth or Survival International.

Here are some of the suppliers who made Laura and Ed’s day even more special:

Venue and catering: Cripps Barn, Cotswolds
Flowers: Cotswold Blooms
Photographer: Ian Jeffery Photography
DJ/Karaoke/Photobooth: Gloucestershire Wedding DJ
Dress: Bridal Reloved Wanstead
Suit: Hackett
Cake: Kimmie’s Cakes
Hair: Andrea Luella

p.s. You can listen to Laura and Ed’s first dance song on our Spotify playlist, made up of lots of our Patchwork Couples’ first dances.

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Flat lay of a white card laid on a light lilac fabric. The card has silver foil writing on reading 'Asking for money instead of wedding gifts." In the top right hand corner are the words in small letters: 'Advice from wedding invitation designers' and in the bottom left corner the words 'patchworkit.com'
Wedding Planning

Ask for money instead of wedding gifts – advice from invite designers

by Rosie Hurwitz
written by Rosie Hurwitz

It’s something we hear all the time at Patchwork – the vast majority of couples getting married now don’t really want gifts. What they would love, is for guests to chip in some money to an experience e.g. a honeymoon, or a larger project e.g. a new kitchen. This is the simple bit – the harder part is how to do it. Nobody wants to offend their guests or come across as grabby, insensitive, or even worse – unimaginative! We’ve got the lowdown from those who work closely with couples right at the beginning of their journey – wedding invite designers. Designers Hélène from Smitten with Ink, Carly from With Bells On and Cat from Luna & Sol let us in on what engaged couples are asking them. Here’s their brilliant and insightful advice on the secret of how to ask for money nicely.

Do most of your couples want to ask for money instead of gifts?

Carly: I’ve only ever had three clients who have linked to a formal registry – the sort for a department store. Of those, one couple lived in the States, and I think it’s the done thing there. The other two just did it because they thought they had to. Everyone else has wanted money towards their honeymoon or new home – so I’d say 95% of couples WANT to ask for money.

Hélène: I get my couples to talk about their gift registry as early as during our first consultation which is before they have even booked me for their stationery! It just happens organically as I am curious about their wedding plans, their story and their life together. Half of my couples want a gift registry, the other half would love to ask for money towards a project or a dream they have.

Do couples feel confident asking for money or do they need help? 

Hélène: Some of them feel very icky about doing so and just plan on telling their guests they don’t want anything with the hope/expectation that people will get them cash. Others want to just be honest and ask. They usually have seen examples on the internet that they wish to replicate on their invitation suite but they are unsure as to how it will be perceived.

Carly: They often feel really embarrassed and need help with wording exactly how to ask. Gifting is just one of many things couples ask me how to phrase, because everyone thinks there is some sort of rule book for writing your wedding invites, but they just don’t have access to it! I find it is best to have sections of the invite or wedding website, the most common of which are ‘Ceremony’, ‘Reception’, Food and Drink’, ‘Gifts’ and ‘Children’ (another minefield of its own!) By having sections, it not only helps your guest navigate through the information, but it means you can keep the asking-for-a-gift part short and sweet.

Cat: Out of all of our past customers, only 12% had requested a form of gifting in writing (on physical invitations). Most prioritise the invitation space and wording for directions and dress code. About 40% of our past customers have wedding websites in conjunction to physical invitations. Therefore further info and gifting requests might be online. We’ve seen all sorts of gift requests from couples including traditional gift lists, cash for a honeymoon or house deposit, donations to charity and “surprise us” requests!

If couples are looking for advice what words of wisdom can you offer?

Carly: Well, my ethos is ‘don’t ask, don’t get’. Some couples say ‘Shall we just write that they don’t need to bring a gift?’ and my answer is, ‘Sure, if you don’t want a gift!’ 

Hélène: Whether they ask for my advice or not, I always mention Patchwork! I believe that people love being part of a journey and coming together to make dreams come true. Patchwork does exactly that, it allows friends and family to be part of the couple’s story way beyond their big day. And I love the fact that you know exactly what your money will be used for and can get a personalised message from the couple when they purchase what you’ve pitched in for.

Are you a fan of the ‘money poem’?

Hélène: As a designer, I don’t have a strong opinion about money poems. I always say to my couples, they need to stay true to themselves and if a poem comes across as something they would say, then go for it! As a guest however, I am not a big fan. I tend to find them soo cheesy and awkward. As much as I do not like buying pans or sets of knives – far from exciting- I feel a list can be reassuring in the sense that there’s something for every budget. In addition, I know exactly what I’m gifting to the newlyweds. When it’s just money, I always wonder: is it enough? Is it too much? Will they know it’s me? What will this buy them?

Carly: The people who love you are excited about the wedding and supportive of your marriage, and I think beating around the bush with a bad poem or similar is actually a disrespectful way of doing things. It seems like you are hiding behind something to make it cute, which just seems disingenuous to me – plus it’s corny AF.

Cat: We haven’t come across any poems but I’m a fan of a subtle poetic request!

Do you have a particular phrase you’d recommend using when asking for wedding gift money?

Hélène: I don’t have a particular phrase I tell couples to use – again, I want their personalities to come across- but I do recommend they tell their guests what the monies collected will be for. It just feels more personal, an insight into their plans for the future.

Carly: I usually advise something like: We’d really love to raise a glass to you on our honeymoon. If you’d like to give us a gift, a small donation towards our trip would be perfect, and we’d be so grateful.

Cat: We don’t have a suggested phrase because we follow the motto of putting your own personality on paper. If a customer leans towards the formal type of writing then they generally find great templates online. If a customer is more relaxed and casual, most write the way they would say it in real life!

What are the big dos and don’ts of asking for money?

Don’t:

Hélène: I personally would avoid having a box at my wedding reception to collect cards & cash gifts. People forget to put their card in, never find said box or might even lose the precious envelope during the day! It is also one more thing for the newlyweds to not forget after a long day and night partying!

Do:

Carly: I ALWAYS suggest to couples that they write in their thank you cards exactly what that money got them, and preferably with a snap of them doing that activity, having that meal, drinking that cocktail etc. This really shows how much that bit of cash was appreciated.

Cat: We encourage personality so much that we always say there are no rules! Write the way you want, write how you would speak to your friends and & family, and we can always help rephrase / sense check so it reads smoothly ?

Do you have any examples of how couples have asked for cash instead of gifts?

Cat from Luna and Sol gives some examples of how past customers have asked for money in their wedding invites.

Some couples are very straight forward, (no need to beat around the bush as we Aussies say!) – “Please find our wedding website at [wedding website] for accommodation, travel information and our gift list”

Most start with appreciating the guests’ presence above and beyond gifts, but give suggestions to gift should they wish:

“Your presence at our wedding is a gift enough, but should you wish to give a gift as well, a cash donation towards our house deposit would be greatly appreciated”

“The most important thing is to have you with us on our special day. No gifts are needed or expected however if you would like to give something, we have created a list at Patchwork. You can access this list using the link here”

“We are fortunate to have all the things that we need, so please do not feel that you need to bring anything. However, if you would like to contribute anything towards our honeymoon, we would be very grateful! We will put more details on the wedding website”

Some are adventurous and really don’t care about gifting – “More than anything we would love for you to join us in celebrating our wedding and creating a day filled with special memories. However, if something has caught your eye, do feel free to surprise us on our special day”

And then some are just selfless and ask for charity donations instead – “If you were planning on buying us presents, we would prefer for you to donate the equivalent value to [chosen charity]”

Thank you so much Hélène, Carly and Cat for sharing these really useful insights with us. The over-riding messages from our chats are:

  • Be honest about what you’d like (you don’t need to hide behind a money poem!)
  • Involve your guests in your plans by sharing details: “we’re honeymooning in Italy”
  • Be specific about how you’ll spend their gift: “we’d love to eat pizza and eat gelato every day”.
  • Express what it means to you both: “it will make us so happy for you to contribute towards our once in a lifetime trip!”

The good news is that with Patchwork you can do all of the above! As Catherine, a happy Patchwork user says: “Patchwork solved our “how to ask for money without asking for money” dilemma when sorting our wedding invites out! We really don’t want gifts, we’re having a super small intimate relaxed wedding but it was pointed out that people would just ask us what we wanted if we didn’t put something on the invite & Patchwork solved that for us, thank you!”

So, when you use Patchwork to invite your guests to contribute cash, EVERYONE can feel good about giving and receiving money as a wedding gift! To set up your cash gift wedding registry go here, or for your honeymoon fund you can go here! Happy Patchworking!

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A bride and groom and their celebrant taking part in a Celtic hand-tying ritual on their wedding day. They stand outside by a big metal gate with countryside behind them.
Patchwork CouplesWedding Planning

A barn wedding in Wales and Year of Dates gift list

by Rosie Hurwitz
written by Rosie Hurwitz

Meet Donna and Darren who originally crossed paths in Bristol, when Darren was doing some work in the apartment block that Donna lived in. She was moving house at the time and needed a strong pair of hands to move furniture! And needless to say, Darren seemed like the perfect candidate. They’ve been together three years and got married last Autumn in a gorgeous celebration at rustic wedding venue Treadam Barn in South Wales.

Photo credit: Seb JJ Peters

How did you get engaged?

Donna: Darren took me to a local beauty spot to propose. We’d brought a picnic and a blanket with us, only it was pouring with rain. This normally secluded quiet spot, was particularly busy that day with walkers and runners passing by. In an attempt to ignore the distractions, Darren played a song on his phone and went down on one knee in the mud and held out a ring box.

I said “yes”, and we promptly packed up our things and went home to get dry!

Photo credit: Seb JJ Peters
Photo credit: Seb JJ Peters

What kind of wedding did you plan?

Originally, we planned a small country hotel wedding, with 3 course meal, overlooking the River Usk. We had the date set, had sent out the invitations, guests had booked their accommodation etc.  As with many couples getting married in Covid times, our venue cancelled our wedding due to staff shortages, just 6 weeks before our planned date.  Fortunately, we had booked amazing celebrant Jane Grayer who offered some suggestions of alternate venues at short notice. We found a beautiful rustic barn that we were able to customise in our own way. This led to us needing to source tables, chairs and catering, as these would of course have been provided by our original venue.  In the end, we had a small wedding ceremony in the barn, followed by a handfasting outside in the grounds, and a sharing feast for dinner. 

Photo credit: Seb JJ Peters
Photo credit: Seb JJ Peters

That sounds perfect – what was your favourite part of the day?

Our favourite part of the day was walking down the aisle to music that we had chosen, hearing our secret letters to each other, and then getting to relax after the ceremony.

Photo credit: Seb JJ Peters
Photo credit: Seb JJ Peters

Why did you choose Patchwork for your wedding registry?

We found Patchwork through Google. Individuality was key, and we were able to create a gift list that wasn’t based on products already available on the market. The best bit about using Patchwork was the customisable aspect – we were able to set our own prices and use our own images and descriptions. We were also able to divide higher priced experiences into affordable prices for all. 

Patchwork honeymoon fund "A Year of Dates" in iPad

What did you invite guests to contribute towards?

We wanted guests to contribute to experiences rather than material items, because we already lived together and wanted to look forward to planned couple time throughout our first year of marriage.

What did your friends and family think?

Family and friends were on board and were quick to purchase gifts. When we talked to them they found it to be novel and fun. They were also looking forward to hearing about our experiences.

How have you spent the gift money you collected via your Patchwork?

We spent the gift money on several days out / activities, a three day mini moon break, and a seven day shepherd’s hut stay. The gift money also allowed us to purchase some camping equipment and we had a few days away in the summer. We were surprised by how kind and generous people were, and it was interesting to see who chose which gift experience for us.

Photo credit: Seb JJ Peters

And finally.. what are your top wedding planning tips?

– We recommend that both partners are involved in the planning and decision making process, this is a great foundation for teamworking in your marriage!!!

– If something doesn’t feel right, look for an alternative, it is ok to say no.

– Keep a spreadsheet / notebook to track your spending and keep an eye on budget.

– Make a note of deposits paid and when final balances are due.

Wow – thank you so much Donna and Darren for sharing your gorgeous wedding day with us and some brilliant advice for couples planning their weddings for next year!

If you’ve been inspired to set up your own Year of Dates gift registry you’ll be joining 1000s of other happy Patchwork couples. If you’d like to browse our other wedding registry ideas you’ll find 100s of registry templates and honeymoon fund templates that are super simple to customise!

Here are some of the amazing wedding suppliers that made Donna and Darren’s celebration even more special:

Celebrant – Jane Grayer 

Photographer – Seb JJ Peters

Flowers – Lucy Coco Floristry

Venue – Treadam Barn

Wedding Dress – Surrey Brides

Catering – Turton Catering

Tables – Andrew Jones

Wedding Suits – Sirri

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A bride (a white woman with blonde hair) descends a grand curved wooden staircase with dark green walls, she carries a bouquet of flowers and wears a long white dress and veil both of which flow on the stairs behind her
Patchwork CouplesWedding Planning

An autumnal Dorset wedding and Scottish minmoon

by Rosie Hurwitz
written by Rosie Hurwitz

Keon and Nadia met pre-tinder, back in the days when people mostly met IRL, so needless to say it was a little while ago. They met during that great summer of the 2012 London Olympics, at a London-tube-stop-themed house party.

Keon has been London/Surrey based all his life and Nadia grew up in Dorset but has ventured overseas a few times to live. They got their dog, Piglet, around 6 years ago, and Nadia says “we love spending time with him and exploring the countryside and all that London has to offer.” They have just completed a house renovation so have had a very busy first year of married life! Today on our blog they share with us their absolutely stunning wedding at St. Giles House in Dorset. A meticulously planned celebration that radiated love and warmth and involved their family, and of course their dog Piglet! Nadia and Keon invited their guests to help them enjoy a minimoon to Scotland rather than traditional gifts and said they loved setting up their minimoon registry together. Sit down with a cup of tea and soak up these gorgeous Autumn vibes.

How did you get engaged?

Nadia: Keon surprised me with dinner in our first home together. I thought I was coming home to go out to a restaurant but was so surprised to find Keon getting down on one knee shortly after serving Tiramisu (also delicious!) in the kitchen.

We had a trip planned to Southwold the same weekend for our 7 year first date anniversary so we had a wonderful time enjoying the moment and celebrating.

What kind of wedding did you plan?

We’ve always loved Autumn and so it was an obvious choice to get married in such a beautiful season. As I’m from Dorset it made sense to start looking for venues in that area, and we fell in love with St. Giles House as soon as we saw it.

It’s such a unique venue that’s been lovingly restored and still has a beautiful rawness to it that creates a really magical atmosphere. It also works well for a cosier, smaller wedding which is what we wanted to create.

Keon and I did a lot of the planning. We hired What Peggy Did Next in the final 6 months but altogether we were planning for 2 years! The day was full of colour, love, food, wonderful music and dancing! Our dog Piglet also featured heavily!

Did you have a first dance?

Yes we did. There is a jazz band called Kansas Smittys who we discovered early on in our relationship and so we decided to get them to do a few sets of music at the wedding. They also did the first dance song for us which is one of the band members’ songs – Couldn’t Stop Lovin’ You by Pete Horsfall.

What was your favourite part of the day?

It’s really hard to choose but we loved the way our ceremony was set up in a circular format with us at the centre. We truly felt surrounded by love, our family and friends. The flowers were out of this world and the room we chose for our ceremony elevated it to a whole new level.

We chose some of our favorite songs too and decided to have a string trio play them for us. Our family and friends gave readings and their children joined in as flower girls and ring bearers which made it even more meaningful.

The design details were beautiful too and this was always an important aspect of our day.

What made Patchwork the best wedding registry choice for you?

We thought it was a super fun and easy way for people to buy gifts without having to bring anything on the day. It also gave us the opportunity to showcase what we planned to do and bring some personality to the gifting process. We really enjoyed setting it up together too!

What did you invite guests to contribute towards?

Mainly towards our minimoon in Scotland and the different elements of the trip such as train tickets, hotel costs, walking boots, drinks, food, travel guides and many other bits!

What was the best part about using Patchwork?

The fact that our guests felt part of our adventure. It was a wonderful feeling to know that someone had contributed to a particular moment and memory, at a special time for us just after getting married. We also loved that we could make it our own by choosing images and making a Patchwork – it appealed to our creative sides ?

What did your friends and family think?

We had so many lovely comments about our Patchwork and everyone found it really straightforward to use.

Where did you go on your honeymoon and what were the highlights?

We traveled by The Caledonian Express (an overnight train) to Scotland for our minimoon in the Scottish Highlands. We stayed at an amazing place called the Fife Arms in Braemar which had the most incredible scenery and walks. We would hike for hours, and then come back to delicious food and spend our evenings by a cosy fire with a few drinks (great interiors and loads of art too). We also spent a couple of nights in Edinburgh on our way back down, and had a great time exploring the different neighbourhoods.

Wow, what a beautiful celebration and a perfect-sounding minimooon! Definitely giving us all the Autumn feels ? Thank you so much Nadia & Keon (and Piglet!) for sharing these words and photos with us, and we wish you many happy years ahead together!

If you’ve been inspired to set up your own Scottish honeymoon fund, we have a beautiful Highlands fling template that you can easily personalise, or check out our hundreds of other honeymoon destination templates.

And finally, here are some of the incredible suppliers that made Keon and Nadia’s day extra special:

Venue: St Giles House, Dorset

Florist: Jenni Bloom Flowers

Stationary: Creative Feel Designs

Wedding Styling: Nadia and What Peggy Did Next.

Caterers: Red Herring

Music: Kansas Smitty’s and Halo Strings

Dress and Bridesmaid dresses: Halfpenny London

Groom and Groomsmens suits: Suit Supply

Photographer – Steve Bridgwood

Videographer – Baxter and Ted

Hair – Victoria Ralph Hair

Make-up – Amalie Russell

p.s. You can listen to Keon and Nadia’s first dance song on our Spotify playlist, made up of lots of our Patchwork Couples’ first dances.

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