We spoke to the lovely Helen and Amy, heard about their very romantic proposal, their fun and relaxed ‘Afternoon Tea’ wedding in West Yorkshire and honeymoon to Mexico with treats funded by family and friends.
How did you two meet?
Our wedding day was actually the 13th anniversary of the weekend we met (we are a very laid back couple!). We met briefly in a bar where we live in Wakefield and exchanged numbers. We hit it off from our first phone call and we’ve been together ever since.
And how did you get engaged?
We got engaged two years after we first met. I took Helen for a weekend away in York. I was really nervous to ask her to marry me, so I gave her a copy of a little poem called That Still and Settled Place by Edward Monkton. Underneath it I had written “Marry Me?” We had it as one of the readings at the wedding which was really emotional.
Such lovely words. When it came to planning the wedding did you have an idea of the kind of celebration you wanted?
We really wanted to have a relaxed day which allowed us to spend as much time with our friends and family as possible. It’s such a rare thing to be able to get all your loved ones in one place and we really wanted to cherish that. Because of this we had our wedding party photos taken in the morning before the guests arrived. Our ceremony and party were both at the wonderful Northorpe Hall Barn in Mirfield. We chose to have an afternoon tea, which was so pretty and delicious, but it also allowed our guests and us to move around and catch up.
We are also creative people and wanted to express this during the day. We were lucky enough to have Amy’s mum make our wedding rings, help us arrange our flowers and teach us how to use a sewing machine so we could make the backdrop for the ceremony.
That sounds perfect! Did you have a first dance?
We chose Love at First Sight by Kylie Minogue. Silly as it sounds we didn’t really want a song where everyone stopped and stared at us. The lyrics to this song mean so much to us but we were also able to get people on the dance floor with us pretty quickly. Our best men were waiting in the wings with tambourines to help us get people dancing. They didn’t need much encouragement though.
We know it’s hard but if you had to pick just one, what was your favourite part of the day?
THE QUIZ. We had a pub quiz in the afternoon. It was awesome that our friends and family were so into it, and we had a real laugh with everyone. There was one problem though…. We didn’t win!!
What made you choose Patchwork for your honeymoon fund?
Patchwork was perfect for us, as we had been together for so long we really didn’t need a gift registry. Asking for money can be really impersonal and not a gift people can feel comfortable giving. Patchwork allowed our friends and family to choose how we spent the money they gave us.
So you created a honeymoon patchwork! What did you ask friends and family to contribute towards?
We love to travel and wanted go somewhere we hadn’t been before. Our honeymoon was a two part Mexican trip starting on the Island on Holbox and ending in Riviera Maya. We wanted our guests to be able to give us special elements of this holiday, such as boat trips and cycle hire, tacos and beers.
What did you enjoy most about using Patchwork?
It was really wonderful, it meant that every time we did something that was gifted via Patchwork it felt like we were opening a new present.
Aside from looking great and being really easy to use, we found the fact we could access a list of all the presents we had received and the gift givers really useful. While we were away we took pictures of us using our gifts, we then sent these pics out as thank you postcards to those lovely people.
Our friends and family loved it. Knowing exactly what they were buying us made them feel like they were giving us a real honeymoon treat.
Your honeymoon looks and sounds amazing, would you recommend your trip to other couples?
Absolutely, Holbox in Mexico is an amazing place for a honeymoon if you are looking for rest and relaxation after the wedding. From boat trips & bird watching to cycling around the island we had the greatest time together.
Hooray! Thank you so much Helen and Amy for sharing your patchwork story with us all!
If this has inspired you to make your own patchwork, find out how here – you can customise one of our readymade patchworks or create one from scratch.
Photographer: Phil Marsden Photography
P.s Listen to Helen and Amy’s first dance song in our Spotify playlist, made up of lots of our Patchwork Couple’s first dances.