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.
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!
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.
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.
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.