On the blog today we’re chatting to newly-weds Hannah, from Cumbria; and Luke, originally from Devon. They met at university where they became good friends and both ended up staying in the city with their respective friends after graduation. They lived just down the road from each other and got together often with friends for Sunday dinner or watching The Apprentice. Eventually, with some “help” (ahem) from their friends, they went on their first coffee date together in April 2018. From then on they saw each other as much as they could. They celebrated their marriage with a beautiful, intimate early Spring wedding and their friends and family all chipped in to a National Trust membership wedding gift via their Patchwork. Read on to hear about their day.
How did you get engaged?
Hannah: We got engaged on January 11th 2020. After I had been at a friend’s house to celebrate her birthday, Luke took me on a walk down to the river. We stopped for a sit down on a bench and Luke got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was totally surprised and said yes straight away! Hilariously, a friend had asked me that morning if Luke was going to propose soon and I said no!
What kind of wedding did you plan?
A big, country family wedding in glorious Cumbria with a ceilidh. I wanted to keep it as personal as I could using local businesses and using the help of my friends and family. A family member made my cake (and cupcakes to hand out to people at the church) and my friend did my make up. My Grandad drove us in his car. I always knew I wanted a spring wedding so the date was set for April 2021 so I could have all the daffodils in the world! They are my favourite flower and we ordered 300 to go in jugs and watering cans at the church and venue. As it turned out our wedding was scaled down due to Covid. I can’t even imagine how many we would have needed for a big wedding!
How did Covid affect your wedding day plans?
When Covid first happened, we were both certain that it would all blow over by the following year so I continued planning the wedding as best I could. Even with no shops open, I was eventually able to get my dress which was going to be ready for collection around Christmas time and all seemed fine. However, the doubts started to set in by Winter 2020. Following the Christmas lockdown, we had to wait very patiently for the roadmap to be released and for guidelines on weddings to be announced. It meant we had to start talking about Plan A, B, and even C. When they were finally released, we had to make huge decisions and I was gutted to not have the big wedding I had planned for. We were originally getting married on the 9th April however, we moved it to the 15th so we could have fifteen guests rather than just two.
My big family wedding turned into a small family wedding and it was just as beautiful as I could have hoped for – just without the ceillidh. I wasn’t able to have all my bridesmaids as guests but they all came to see me get ready and help with things on the day where they could. The rules at the time meant that my venue cancelled, so I booked another venue and then 2 weeks before the wedding they also had to cancel our booking. So there were a lot of changes to our plans! After a great deal of googling and searching we worked out we could have a marquee in a field behind our house. My caterer thankfully lived next door to me so she was able to cook the food and transport it up after some menu alternations. We moved all the other bookings to a new date this spring so we can celebrate a first year wedding anniversary with everyone.
Wow that’s a lot of re-organising. Did you and Luke have a first dance?
Luke and I never wanted a first dance but we are looking forward to having a first ceilidhi dance together at our celebration this spring.
What was your favourite part of the day?
Lots of friends and family came to see us arrive at the church and watched the ceremony on zoom too – it made it really special.
Why did you choose Patchwork for your gift registry?
I was googling for wedding gift alternatives as we both had two houses worth of stuff so we wanted something a bit different. Patchwork was ideal as we could make it personal to us.
What did you want to invite guests to contribute to and why?
We asked for money to go towards a lifetime National Trust membership. We both enjoy days out especially with a good coffee shop and you certainly can’t go wrong with a National Trust property! Luke and I are both from areas where lots of land is owned by the National Trust and it means we can enjoy lots of days out together (and free parking).
What was the best bit about using Patchwork?
It was easy to set up and share and I could personalise it with my own choice of pictures and words. I also loved being able to read all the comments from people who had sent gifts. Family and friends loved the idea that they were contributing to something different and how easy it was to use.
Have you bought your National Trust membership yet? What have you enjoyed doing?
Yes! We have already put it to use visiting places on our holiday in summer on the south coast by visiting beaches and houses and of course having lots of coffee and cake!
Thank you so much Hannah and Luke for letting us share in your beautiful Spring wedding day and we’re so glad you are enjoying so many great days out with your National Trust wedding gift! If you’d like to set up your own National Trust membership wedding fund you can do that here. And don’t forget as well as supporting conservation through your membership, Patchwork donates 50% of our own sign up fee to environmental charities. Definitely a gift list that gives back in so many ways!
Here are some of the suppliers that made Hannah & Luke’s day even more special:
Photographer: Andrew Wade Photography
Caterer: Choice Catering, Cumbria
Dress: Song Bird Bridal Boutique
Flowers: Greenwheat
Finishing touches: Roses and Hearts and Wilde and Romantic
Wedding stationery: Poppy Forrest