Alex and Sophie have been together for ten years. They met at university in 2007 and were put in the same house (with five other people!). It took a year of living together for either of them to make a move, but thank goodness they did and they’ve been inseparable ever since. The couple planned an intimate wedding and then set off to their dream honeymoon destination – Mexico. We asked Sophie all about it.
How did you get engaged?
Alex proposed at our home that we renovated together, I’d just come back from a friend’s baby shower and he surprised me with an indoor picnic, complete with all my favourites (we’re big foodies!). He got down on one knee and said the most lovely things but I don’t remember any of it because I was smiling so much and wanting him to get up to have a big hug!
What kind of wedding did you plan?
We’re both quiet people so the idea of walking down the aisle with lots of people watching filled me with anxiety. We were set on having an intimate, low key and relaxed wedding. I have a pretty big family and we wanted to celebrate with everyone so we had 30 close friends and family to the ceremony, followed by a relaxed picnic lunch just like our engagement. Then we invited the rest of our lovely family and friends to celebrate late afternoon into the evening for a slow and low style barbecue.
What was your first dance?
We love to watch films, hate romantic comedies, and enjoy something a bit different. ‘You and Me’ by Penny and the Quarters is a song that means a lot to us, both because of the film connection and the beautiful lyrics with a vintage vibe.
What was your favourite part of the day?
We were both very nervous about the ceremony because all eyes would be on us. Every time I heard the song I would walk down the aisle to (‘Heartbeats’ by Jose Gonzalez) I would cry thinking about the whole experience. This built up and up until the day we got married. I was so shaky when I walked down that I was just focused on not tripping up and felt calm seeing Alex there smiling from ear to ear. I didn’t cry, thank god and we both loved the whole thing. What seemed like it was going to be the scariest part was actually the best!
Why was Patchwork the best gift registry for you?
We wanted to create a visual mood board of our hopes and dreams for our honeymoon. Patchwork allowed us to compile everything and create a photo album to get excited about on the lead up to our wedding and honeymoon.
We knew we wanted to have our honeymoon in Tulum, Mexico and wanted our friends and families to see what we’d planned to do. We weren’t expecting anything and just wanted to enjoy the experience together. People were so keen to see what we planned to do and wanted to help us have the trip of a lifetime.
Our family and friends liked the ease of logging on and choosing what they were putting money towards. People were able to choose experiences that they wanted to be a part of and this opened up talking points at our wedding, and ever since!
How did you feel when you set off on your honeymoon?
We were a little overwhelmed with everyone’s generosity. It was so exciting that we were able to go and experience everything we’d dreamed of doing. Swimming with wild turtles in the ocean, visiting beautiful cenotes, exploring an underwater cave, having an authentic Mexican cooking lesson, drinking far too many margaritas and eating incredible tacos!
Patchwork made it really easy to see everything we wanted to do, identify how much we had to spend and who had bought us each particular experience. We were able to send tailored thank you cards and people really appreciated knowing what we were spending the money on and how they had helped make it happen.
Would you recommend Mexico to other honeymooners?
We absolutely loved our trip to Tulum, Mexico. Mexico was somewhere that we’d always dreamed of going but never thought we’d be able to experience. As soon as we arrived in Mexico, we said we needed to come back again and again! We experienced the jungle, the bustling town and the beautiful boho beaches. We loved every minute, thank you Patchwork!
Thank you Sophie & Alex for sharing your patchwork story with us. And a big congratulations from Team Patchwork!
Wedding photography by Angela Ward Brown.
If this has inspired you to make your own patchwork, just customise one of our readymade patchworks or create one from scratch.
P.s Listen to Alex & Sophie’s first dance song in our new Spotify playlist, made up of lots of our Patchwork Couple’s first dances.