On the blog today we chat to gorgeous Patchwork couple Lucy and Richard. (Lucy is still deliriously in shock that she can now call him her husband.) Lucy is originally from Buckinghamshire and Rich is from Stratford upon Avon. They’ve been together for nearly 6 years now after meeting on Tinder. Lucy was moving to Birmingham to study to be a teacher and they matched when she went up flat hunting – the rest is history as they say! One of their first dates was to West Midlands safari park where Lucy forced Rich to hold her hand. (Very scary meerkats apparently. Or something). They now live in Solihull with their 2 cats, Pugwash and Casper, and their dog, Bella. Read on to hear about their amazing festival-themed wedding and their plans for a Campervan of their own – funded by family and friends on Patchwork.
How did you get engaged?
Lucy: We got engaged in 2019 in New York! It was definitely a surprise to me, despite everyone saying he would propose. Rich told me he’d never want to take a ring abroad it would be too stressful and that I would know because of how much he stressed! But somehow he managed to hide it.
What kind of wedding did you plan?
We knew we didn’t want a traditional wedding and had always planned a festival themed wedding. Thanks to Covid and having to postpone we ended up having a 3 day wedding in true festival style! We weren’t able to get the church on the weekend we wanted so we had a separate ceremony and then massive bash at the weekend. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise as we got to spend lots of time with our loved ones after so long apart.
Did you have a first dance?
We did! We danced to Just like Heaven by The Cure. I had two dresses for our Saturday party and this was when I got changed and “revealed” my second dress. It was great fun.
What was your favourite part of the day?
One of our favourite parts was the food!!! We had street food vendors, no seating plan and all round deliciousness. Our day time food was halloumi fries from street chef Lloyd aka the halloumi fries guy. He was amazing and catered to absolutely everyone. We even got to have a few photos in the van (despite our photographer being very worried about my dress near a deep fat fryer!) We also loved the Veedub Campervan Bar we used. It suited what we wanted and looked absolutely amazing.
We also had a glitter bar which I LOVED but Rich wasn’t so sure. It really made the evening turn into a proper festival feel with all the kids loving the glitter.
The photo booth was also incredible! It was great fun and we loved going in it. We got a guest book of all the photos taken and it’s been lovely to go through it.
Why did you choose Patchwork?
We chose Patchwork because we loved how personalised it could be. Having lived together for a long time, we knew we didn’t want the traditional household items. We loved that we could ask for things to contribute towards our dream of owning a campervan. Googling online cash gift registries brought up several websites but Patchwork was definitely our favourite.
What did you want to ask guests to contribute towards and why?
We love travelling and found a love for campervans a few years ago. We desperately want to own our own so we can travel whenever we want. Gifts on our patchwork ranged from paying for a nice meal out, funding a campsite entrance fee, to some treats for Bella our dog! We also added non-financial gifts, so making us a playlist for the road, or suggestions of places to visit in our van.
What was the best bit about using Patchwork?
Personalising it! We had great fun thinking up things people could contribute to, adding photos, making it really “us”. It was so easy to set up and we made a bit of an afternoon of it, looking through old pictures to use and thinking up new things to add. After it was made, we didn’t have to worry as it took care of itself.
What did your friends and family think?
Everyone loved the idea and found it really easy to use. They enjoyed looking at what we had put on there and knew they were contributing to something which we really want.
What are the plans for the gift money you collected?
We are beginning to look at buying our own campervan so this is the start of the fund!
Thank you so much Lucy and Richard for sharing your joyous day with us in these gorgeous words and pictures. And huge congratulations to you both, from all of us at Patchwork!
If you’ve been inspired to set up your own festival themed wedding check out our template. Dreaming of a campervan wedding gift? Get started easily by using our readymade template to create a beautiful and inviting cash wedding registry. If you’re feeling creative, you can create your own unique registry by starting your own from scratch.
Finally, here are some of the suppliers who helped make their day amazing:
Photographer: Isobel Murphy
Venue: Normanton church and then Buckminster Barn
Caterers: Halloumi fries guy (street chef Lloyd) and The Peel Pizza
Cake: Hellion Bakery
Bride’s dress: ASOS
Bride’s veil: Adorn by Ashley
Band: Anthem Music Agency
Bar: VeeDub Camper Bar
Glitter Bar: Wish Upon a Sparkle
Hay Bales: Event Bales
Photo Booth: Deuce Event Hire
Tipi: Sami Tipi
Hair: Hair by Emily Theresa Jane
Make-up: Nicole Fairfield
P.s. you can listen to Lucy and Richard’s first dance song on our Spotify playlist, made up of lots of our Patchwork Couples’ first dances.