Lizi and Andy met in 2012 at The Macbeth pub in Hoxton. Lizi says it was fate – it was a hot June evening and they’d both ended up on the smokers’ terrace despite not being smokers. Lizi was having a heated discussion with a super rude man who had pushed one of her friends (drama!). And after the guy actually used the line “do you know who I am?!” Lizi (who had no idea who he was) had enough and chucked her G&T over his head (very unlike her, she says!). Andy saw the whole thing and thought to himself ‘she’s the one for me’. Things got serious pretty quick and they moved in together not long after. Fast forward a few years and the couple got married in an absolutely beautiful ceremony in Devon. Read on for all the details.
How did you get engaged?
We were in the Azores and I was 7 months pregnant at the time. We had spent a week and a half hiking and caving, mostly in the rain and then splurged at the end of our trip on a super fancy boutique hotel in Furnas.
It turns out it had been a week of failed proposal attempts including a picturesque viewing point at the top of a mounted clouded entirely in fog and a lovely walk around a lake – tailgated by a coach-load of amorous teenagers!
On our last day I suggested going for a walk on the beach. Andy thought I had cottoned on and was trying to help him out but in all honesty, I hadn’t a clue what he had been trying to do! We were walking along the cobbled beach and I was getting increasingly frustrated that Andy was pacing off in front of me (he was trying to get to a secluded part). Just as I was yelling at him to slow down he turned around and dropped to one knee. I was so pleased to say yes. He had a promise ring made by a lovely Bristol based jeweller called Diane Porter which I love and continue to wear. We then chose the design and stone for my ring together. It’s a beautiful green Tourmaline and I love it!
What kind of wedding did you plan?
We had already committed to each other in so many ways; we have a mortgage and more importantly (!) a son, Walter, together so the wedding was the cherry on the top. We wanted all of our friends and family with us for a massive party!
The wedding was a fully DIY job from the invites at the beginning to clearing up the morning after. I was on maternity leave from my job as an architect at the time, and our son Walt was not one for much sleep, so there was a lot of middle-of-the-night googling going on to find suppliers etc.
We found a field right on the edge of the coastline at a dairy called Carswell Farm. Although he’d grown up in Surrey, Andy’s two brothers both live in the West Country as well so it felt right to do it in Devon, near where I grew up.
We roped EVERYONE in to help. My older sister made my beautiful dress, our families helped to dress the marquee, my Dad and Uncle built the bar on an ancient Land Rover which we then parked right on the edge of the dancefloor for the evening reception! It was the most random, best bit of the night pouring gin and tonics from the side of a Land Rover without having to stop dancing. Our friend Tim rigged up the massive sound system and we asked friends and family to compile 30 minute playlists. It was such a nice thing to do as it really made the evening distinct; we had a glam rock set, a country and western slot and then broke it down to more dancey stuff at the end of the evening.
What was your first dance?
We don’t really have a ‘couple song’ …repeatedly singing “we are the robots” by Kraftwerk or dancing along to the Desert Island Discs music were the only two ideas we had that represent our relationship! So we went with The You and Me song by The Wannadies. Our friends had actually used it a few years earlier and we loved the mix of lovely heart felt lyrics and upbeat music straight from our teenage years.
What was your favourite part of the day?
Lizi: Our ceremony was really special to me. A friend of my mum’s, Vanessa Fitzgerald is a celebrant and she helped us craft a really unique ceremony. We asked 5 friends and family members to read for us and my stepsister sang accompanied by a folk band, Dumbo’s Feather, who we also had play us back to the reception field. Andy’s mum had made canvas banners to represent each reading. We also then used the design of these banners to identify the tables so it all tied together really nicely.
The location was incredible, right on the edge of the coastal path. Thankfully the weather held out for us as to be honest we didn’t really have a fall back plan if we couldn’t have the ceremony outside. Another amazing part of it was walking up with my family… and having to wait for the 300 dairy cattle to pass us as they were blocking our route to the ceremony. In the three days before setting up the site it hadn’t occurred to us that the milking was the same time as the wedding!
Andy: I loved when the speeches had finished and everyone got on the dancefloor. I had been nervous about making my speech and really wanted to express my feelings and make everyone laugh and smile. They all went well and everyone could enjoy themselves on the dance floor next to ‘Nicky’ the Land Rover which doubled as the bar for the evening. As the speeches had run on longer than planned, our amazing photographer, Joanna Brown, was due to leave so we rushed through cutting out incredible cake which Lizi’s step-mum made. We used a sword borrowed from Lizi’s Dad, who was in the Navy, it was totally exhilarating and mildly haphazard.
Why did you choose Patchwork for your alternative gift list?
I had googled our options extensively and liked the simple setup and the really clean graphics of Patchwork. What sealed the deal was meeting the team in person at the Most Curious Wedding Fair in Shoreditch (the only wedding/bride event I went to in the run up!)
What did you ask your wedding guests to chip in towards?
We are desperate for a new sofa. Our current one was £200 from eBay originally and its lived a hard life over the last 5 years and is telling the tales… lump of wood in the middle holding it up and all! We also used our Patchwork as a way for people to offer up their time and skills for our wedding itself – our friends pledged to make a dessert, bring blankets for the ceremony and they offered up their DJ skills for one of the 30 minute playlists. Because of this, the day was exactly what we hoped for. For us, engaging our friends and family in our day was really important.
Patchwork was so simple. Once you’ve added your own photos to the site, it looks really unique to you as a couple and the graphics are clear. Everyone found it very easy to use, and the few older guests who struggled in one way or another picked up a phone and worked it out directly with the team so it was absolutely a 10/10 from them!
Have you bought your new sofa yet?
We have yet to buy the sofa as we are just in the process of buying a dilapidated house, so we are living with the old wreck for a while longer whilst we get the work finished.
We spend a lot of time lusting over Pinterest boards and can’t wait to pick a fabric though.
Thank you so much lovely Lizi & Andy for sharing your sweet Patchwork story with us. And a huge congratulations from Team Patchwork!
If this has inspired you to make your own honeymoon fund patchwork, just customise one of our readymade patchworks or create one from scratch.
P.s Listen to Lizi & Andy’s first dance song in our ‘First Dance’ Spotify playlist, made up of our lovely Patchwork Couple’s first dances.
All photos by Joanna Brown Photography
We partnered up with the Big Lunch and Big Iftar to create a set of bespoke readymade patchworks, making it easier than ever to bring neighbours together for a celebration of summer, community and friendship. All the budding Big Lunch organisers had to do was customise a template that matched the event they wanted to put on, then send it out to their neighbours. Then their community could choose how to get involved – whether it was making a cake, chipping in for the road closure fee, or organising games for the kids. The organiser could keep track of who was doing what in their account and easily get in touch with everyone to go through any details.
So if you’re going to a Big Lunch/Iftar this year, have a wonderful time meeting all of your neighbours. And if not, perhaps we can inspire you to organise your very own event for your community or local school.
