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gift list

Groom Richard holds his bride Lucy's hand and spins her around, with greenery and golden sunset behind

A Festival Themed Wedding and Campervan Gift

by Rosie Hurwitz August 25, 2021

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.

Patchwork Honeymoon Fund Campervan Road trip

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.

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group of friends making a toast over a shared lunch

Patchwork Perspective Wedding Planning

What do couples really want as wedding gifts in 2021?

by Rosie Hurwitz June 2, 2021

written by Rosie Hurwitz

Want to take a peek at what real life couples are including on their Patchwork wedding registry in 2021? With most couples living together before marriage, pots and pans and towels are usually already sorted. In more ‘normal’ times, money towards an exotic or adventurous honeymoon is most UK couples’ no.1 choice of wedding gift, but with travel still looking uncertain for many destinations well in to next year, couples are getting creative about what to add to their wedding registries and the experience of the last year is clear in the gift choices they are making.

Wedding gifts of time together

After more than a year of not being able to see friends and family for celebrations and get togethers, couples are making sure they make up for lost time by adding ‘time with friends’ as an item on their wedding registries.

So rather than asking for crockery sets or saucepans, couples are listing “invite us for dinner” as a gift option on their wedding registries. No money is exchanged, no gifts are wrapped, but instead the couple gets invited round for a home cooked meal and time spent with friends. The same goes for coffee dates and pub lunches… couples are adding “buy us a round at the pub” to their cash gift list. It’s a nice way of catching up with friends and family post-wedding and supporting their local businesses at the same time.

It’s been tough for those with relatives spread across the country or even the globe.. we’ve seen couples asking for money towards train fares or flights instead of traditional wedding gifts so that they can visit family and friends not seen for a year or more.

Pay for the plumber

With engaged couples spending so much time at home together over the last year, they – like most of us – have had more than enough time to pay close attention to their walls, floors, and dodgy pipes. We’ve seen a huge increase in couples asking for cash towards home improvements – money to pay a plumber and an electrician featuring heavily. Whilst most couples can easily afford the smaller things like buying their own pots and pans and cutlery, it’s the bigger things like new kitchen units, or even a new boiler that they really want help with.

Other lockdown inspired items we’re seeing on Patchwork gift registries include contributions towards a puppy (are Jack Russells about to replace the Cockapoo?) We’ve also seen a rise in couples asking for cash contributions so they can expand their board game collection – (for pandemic-proofing date nights at home obviously.)

Green fingered wedding gifts

An appreciation for outdoor space has also meant a rise in couples asking for money towards garden furniture, plants and bulbs, and even contributions towards a hedgehog house. For those with a larger than average garden there’s always the option to add a tractor to your wedding gift registry. Or a flock of sheep. Yes this really happened.

Non-monetary wedding gifts include asking green-fingered friends to spend an afternoon gardening as their gift. Then couples get the added bonus of spending time with their nearest and dearest as well as receiving a present.

Date nights and local minimoons

Whilst travel is uncertain, couples still want adventure, even if that’s a bit closer to home for now.

Our “Year of Date Nights” wedding registry has been really popular, with couples adding experiences in their local area to be funded by friends and enjoyed over the first year of marriage. That might be trying out the posh new restaurant on the high street, visiting a local theatre or gallery, a hot-stone massage, a cookery course, or micro brewery tour. Couples get to treat themselves to new experiences and a bit of luxury in their first year as a couple; and also feel good about supporting local and independent businesses, who have struggled so much in the last 15 months.

We’ve seen a surge in couples inviting guests to chip in towards their minimoons to UK destinations, especially the Lake District, Scotland and Cornwall. Asking for money towards getting a campervan on the road (no airports or Covid tests to worry about) has also been popular with couples tying the knot this year. Expect a huge sales boom in walking boots and Kendal mint cake this summer.

Table set for breakfast on beach, overlooking turquoise ocean, The Maldives — Image courtesy of Turquoise Holidays

Honeymoon dreaming

For some couples though, the white sand and turquoise sea combination are still the ultimate honeymoon dream. A cash fund for a “beautiful island of somewhere” honeymoon is still one of our most popular options, with guests treating couples to cocktails by the pool, lunch on the beach, or a hotel upgrade for that “one day” dream honeymoon to no-one quite knows where yet…

However uncertain times are still, couples using Patchwork can feel secure that whatever happens and however plans have to change, their wedding gift money is safe and secure as it’s all sent direct to them to spend as and when they like. And with such organised and resourceful couples, we’re sure they’ll be ready to go as soon as restrictions allow… especially those super-organised couples who have thought of everything and even added quick covid tests to their registries.

Toilet rolls were so last year.

What would you add to your dream wedding gift list? With the Patchwork ‘dream machine’ you really can add anything and everything. Click here to get yours started.

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Patchwork honeymoon fund "A Year of Dates" in iPad

Gift Ideas Wedding Planning

Alternative Wedding Gift – A Year of Dates

by Rosie Hurwitz February 14, 2020

written by Rosie Hurwitz

Date nights shouldn’t just be reserved for Valentines Day. Keep them coming throughout the year with Patchwork. Ditch the traditional Wedding Gift List in favour of a Patchwork Year of Dates fund.

Keep the romance alive and ask your friends and family to fund towards all the fun things you want to do together in your first year of marriage.

Whether you’d like funds towards a date kayaking down the Thames together, a restorative couples’ massage or fancy doing a cookery course together, you can customise the Year of Dates patchwork to bring your Year of Dates to life.

If you rate treasured experiences over pots and pans, then this is the alternative Gift List for you.

Why ‘A Year of Dates’ Is Great!

Gives you lots to look forward to
Helps cure any post wedding day blues
Keeps the romance alive!
Creates lots of lovely memories
Values experiences over yet more ‘stuff’
Totally customisable so you can share all the things you love doing together

#MoreLoveLessStuff. See our Year of Dates template for the wedding gift that’s high on fun and low on waste!

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Image of a positive review of Patchwork Wedding Gift List

Gift Ideas Patchwork Perspective

Unbiased Reviews – Best Wedding Gift List

by Rosie Hurwitz February 6, 2020

written by Rosie Hurwitz

“Patchwork is a beautiful way to ask for what you want!” Ines

We think Patchwork is the best wedding gift list and honeymoon fund for a few reasons. But don’t listen to us. Like all parents, we’re obviously biased. Listen instead to the people that use our platform and are spontaneously inspired to leave reviews describing our gift list and honeymoon fund service as a ‘gem’, a ‘joy’ and a ‘delight’ and to tell us they are ‘in awe’ . These are quotes from strangers reviewing a piece of technology, not proud parents describing their first born. So, as much as we can tell you why we’re the best, the lovely people who have actually used our honeymoon fund and wedding gift list tell it better. So here are their unbiased reviews, describing what we do and why they are so happy to recommend us, in their own words:

“Patchwork has been an absolute gem of a find for us! As a registry it delivers everything that we were after, in a format that’s both fun and friendly for our guests, and having looked around (extensively!) for alternatives none of them were able to give the versatility and ease of use that this site could. It was super-easy and intuitive to use and when we had queries the friendly staff were on hand to help immediately.” Review by James & Katie

What is a honeymoon fund and how is it different from a traditional gift list?

A honeymoon fund is perfect for couples who don’t need traditional gifts but would like to offer guests the chance to contribute money towards a honeymoon instead. With a Patchwork honeymoon fund, you collect all cash contributions direct, and can show guests your plans with an online “patchwork” of images representing all the things you’d like to do. Guests can choose which piece they’d like to treat you to.

“We were struggling to find a collective pot for our Honeymoon contributions and really did not want to ‘ask’ for money from our wedding guests. Patchwork appealed to us as you can bespoke the donation amounts, and make the group of images related to the honeymoon theme. We were able to make a patchwork of all holiday elements that we would like money for.” Review by Charlene

“Fantastic way to enable people to visualise and contribute towards your honeymoon, I feel this was much nicer than asking for cash. Patchwork is easy to use, and we’re very happy with the level of service and Patchwork itself!” Review by Natalie

“We have really enjoyed the whole process of using Patchwork to put together our wedding list. The website is very clear and easy to use and all our questions and inquiries have been responded to swiftly, personally and incredibly helpfully. We have been so impressed with the whole concept and how it works and would recommend Patchwork to all our friends.” Review by Jessica

“Patchwork made it really easy and fun to put together our Honeymoon contribution list, and it looks amazing. I can’t wait to start hearing our guests comment on it. Highly recommend.” Review by Heidi

“Only just done the setup so far but it’s made me very excited about my upcoming honeymoon! It’s so nice to be able to ask friends and family for gifts rather than just give them bank account details!” Review by Abigail

Why should we set up an alternative gift registry?

A Patchwork wedding gift list lets you ask friends and family for money towards absolutely anything, whether it’s dinner at your favourite restaurant, a piece of art, or contributions towards a new sofa. You can also ask for friends to give their time and skill instead of money. For example friends could gift you their skills to help with a DIY project, take time to cook you dinner to celebrate your marriage or promise to DJ at your wedding reception.

“Easy to create your own patchwork based on a template. Yes, this was the solution to our wedding gift ‘problem’. Thanks” Review by Klaus & Silvia

“Patchwork was a brilliant solution to me and my finance’s problem; wanting to request money for experiences rather than having a set gift list. Patchwork was really good, easy and intuitive to use. It was fun to set up and add our own photos too!” Review by Sophie

“WOW! We love Patchwork…what a great concept that has been extremely well executed by a very helpful and friendly team. We set up our Patchwork site as a way of having our friends and family contribute towards our plans to transform our garden – in celebration of our wedding! ” Review by Charlie & Liberty

“Amazing amazing amazing! Loved this service so much! Such a great website concept. Really speedy customer service replies when I needed any help but it was actually super easy to use! We simply love it! Thanks Team Patchwork!” Review by Jon & Laura

How does it work? How do I set up my Patchwork registry?

When you set up your Patchwork registry all contributions go direct to you via our payment partners Stripe and/or PayPal. It only takes a few minutes to set up a page using one of our readymade templates – or you can get creative and start your own from scratch! Then simply share your page with friends via email or with a link in your wedding invites.

“The site was so easy to setup and use. It has great templates and ‘stock’ images to get you started plus we found it very easy to upload our own photos to compliment these, with each picture representing a key component of our plans.” Review by Charlie & Liberty

“This website is amazing! We found it at a wedding fair and it was exactly what we were looking for! The fact you can design it all yourself and choose how much you want people to contribute, even as little as £5 was what really swung it for us. It’s very easy to use even for a tech novice.” Review by Kathryn

“Oh my goodness I just love how my honeymoon page has turned out. It is so cute and the templates were an amazing help to get me started.” Review by Megan

“Great idea, beautifully executed! The pages are easy to build and for guests to use. The whole package has been thoughtfully designed.” Review by Becky & Oli

What will my friends and family think?

People love to find out more about your interests and see what your plans are for your wedding, honeymoon and your married life beyond. A Patchwork gift list is visual and engaging, which guests love, and they will be delighted to know that the gift they are giving is so wanted, needed and appreciated. Because it’s online, and payment is fast and secure, there’s no traipsing round shops or filling in long forms, and no risk of money going astray. Here’s what friends and family think:

“It has never been easier to make someone happy.” Review by Jan Christoph

“What a brilliant idea! It enabled us to learn about the dreams and wishes of the happy couple, and share in their beautiful journey with them. So inspiring and a wonderful way to feel part of it all, whilst gift giving. Well done Patchwork!” Review by Dorothy

“What a great unique idea from Patchwork! It makes gifts so much more personal. Loved the experience and will recommend to friends and family.” Review by Anil

“It couldn’t have been any simpler, easier or clearer to use and it was fun, well done Patchwork.” Review by Fiona

“Love using Patchwork Gift Registry. Giving towards something a loved one really wants. And you make it so easy to do payments. Great Job Patchwork!!!” Review by Michael & Zelna

“Easy to use and also fun. Being a technophobe I found it a delight.” Review by Carol

“Absolutely nothing beats this. I’m in awe.” Review by Tom

“Thanks for creating a really engaging, inspiring and beautiful website and for making it a very good user experience.” Review by Matt & Hazel

“Once we’d launched the site and shared the link with friends and family we received nothing but positive feedback about how unusual, refreshing and inventive the concept was – it’s great that it’s such a freeform platform. It really is perfect for weddings – a way of distinguishing your event given how hard it is to stand out now.” Review by Charlie & Liberty

“We’ve used Patchwork for our honeymoon registry and have had so much positive feedback regarding it. It’s been super useful and looks great, and it’s been easy to collect gifts from our wedding guests. Patchwork have also been at the end of every email and have dealt with everything really quickly. Thanks! Will use again!” Review by Matt & Kris

How much does it cost?

There is no set up fee to use Patchwork, and if you are using the service to ask friends and family to “make” or “do” something – it’s completely free to use. We only take a 3.6% commission on cash contributed via your page, so if you don’t collect any money we don’t either! Our payment partners Stripe and PayPal charge their own small commissions to process payments. You can read all about our clear and fair fee structure here. On average couples using Patchwork collect 30% more than those simply asking for money, and they save everyone the awkwardness and security concerns around giving cash gifts.

“These were also the best rates that we could find – no hidden fees, and what you read in the T’s & C’s is all you’re charged, unlike another couple of sites we had initially looked into. We honestly can’t recommend Patchwork highly enough.” Review by James & Katie

“So easy to create and no set up fee. Brilliant and just in time for us to now add the link to our wedding invites – thank you Patchwork!!!!” Review by Charlene

Design, style and UX are important to us – how will our Patchwork page look?

Patchwork offers clean, fresh design for your wedding gift list. Well thought out UX means you can create a gorgeous and super stylish page in minutes that looks professional, whilst still being unique to you. Our templates mean you don’t have to spend hours curating your list, although if this is your idea of fun – go for it and start your page totally from scratch!

“Surely the best idea for a wedding gift registry! Very versatile and aesthetically pleasing!” Review by Pavlos & Eleni

“So far we are really impressed with it. Its the best looking and most appropriate crowd gifting site we have seen. And very easy to use. I only found it after searching extensively on Google. It should be easier to find!!” Review by Mandy

“Absolutely amazing website, so easy to use and navigate across. Really able to make it your own, add your own photos or use the website gallery.” Review by Tiffaney

“Easy and super stylish. After trying loads of different options it was an obvious choice for our family-moon fund.” Review by Nikki

“We really enjoyed setting up our Patchwork. The choice of imagery is great and the UX is intuitive. Playing with the design was really enjoyable.” Review by Kat

“Really easy to use website, makes your page look great without any technical requirement. The staff are fantastically friendly and respond really promptly to questions.” Review by Kieran

We want great customer service and a smooth payment process – is Patchwork right for us?

Responsive, pro-active and friendly customer service is always our very top priority and our choice of payment partners means you can choose which service suits you best.

“Very attractive, user-friendly site with fabulous backup – a very quick response to all our enquiries. Highly recommend this.” Review by Kim

“Straightforward and easy to use. Great customer support and payment integration with Stripe.” Review by Andy

“This service was an absolute godsend in trying to organise and fund a wedding – the customer service was super quick and really helpful. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Patchwork to anyone planning an event.” Review by Ciara

“Wow, who knew getting married was so easy. Patchwork seem to have thought of everything and have made it so simple to see the gift selection, to pay for a gift and to leave a message. Why choose anyone else, choose the best, choose Patchwork.” Review by Henry

So, there you have it – straight from our users, the people who found us, loved us and have recommended us to their friends. Want to try Patchwork wedding gift list and honeymoon fund yourself? We have 100s of stylish templates for you to personalise, a friendly team on hand to help, and plenty of tips and advice for making your gift list a success. We are so sure you’ll love us too that we guarantee to waive our fee if you’re not 100% happy with our service.

Oh and before we go, the last word goes to Rod who says Patchwork is: “More fun than the John Lewis wedding list.”

We have used independent review site reviews.co.uk to collect independent, honest reviews from our users and their guests. We have an optimum star rating of 4.75* (compared to 4.5* for Prezola, and The Wedding Shop, and 4.4* for Honeyfund). You can read all of the brilliant reviews above (and more) at reviews.co.uk – and see why 95% of Patchwork users recommend us to their friends.

So now you know all about us – start your patchwork today and make your dreams a reality!

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Girl with brown hair wearing Christmas glasses, scarf and red bow

Patchwork Perspective

A waste-free joy-filled way to celebrate Christmas

by Ismay Ozga October 31, 2019

written by Ismay Ozga

’tis the season to be jolly – and therefore ’tis the season of gift-giving too. As a platform founded on the joy of giving gifts, you’d be absolutely right in thinking we bloomin’ love this time of year. More specifically, Patchwork’s mission is to encourage gift-giving that is creative, collective and resourceful. Therefore, we’re really excited to launch a revolutionised way of looking at gift-giving that ticks all those boxes. We present to you: The Give List! It’s a waste free and joy filled way to celebrate Christmas.

Give List – the gift of joy this Christmas

The Give List is something Rosie’s 8-year-old Bo created. We loved it so much we decided to make it a thing. The idea is that in lieu of a classic, bullet-pointed, straight-to-cart Christmas shopping list where people buy you physical gifts. Our users are instead creating a Give List. This allows friends and family to give the gift of kindness, connection, learning and love instead. Take a look at Bo’s for inspiration.

Bo’s Father Christmas Letter

Creating a Patchwork Give List allows you to invite family and friends to ‘Fund, Make and Do’ things that you (and the planet) will really appreciate. Including a ‘DO’ patch in your Patchwork Give List is a way to ask people to share an experience with you. For example, going on a coffee date or going to an exhibition you’ve wanted to go to for ages. Or you could invite family to DO something. For example, gifting you some cuttings from their house plants so you can grow your own in the new year.

Adding a ‘MAKE’ patch (you guessed it) encourages people to make you a present. You could ask for delicious eggnog brownies, knitted bed socks or a painting (from a famous family artist or a keen kid). You can also set up a few FUND patches. People can contribute towards a much wanted gift or help fund a personal project. The things you ask family to fund, make and do are totally up to you. Set up your Give List.

Waste-free Christmas gifts

Of course one of the brilliant things about setting up a Patchwork Give List is that it reduces unnecessary waste. No unwanted presents sitting sadly in a pile until January when, in a bid to start afresh, you give – or, worse, throw – them away. Gifting people things and experiences that can’t be discarded means they’re even more enjoyable. You are creating memories that last forever rather than stuff that ends up in landfill.

There could be a bigger, potentially more expensive gift or experience that you’d like to ask for for Christmas. However, you could never dream of asking someone to buy it on their own. This way your pals and family can collectively contribute towards it.

They can each fund a piece of it, with all these pieces building up (yep you guessed it, like a beautiful patchwork) to fund that one thing you really want. Imagine how lovely it would be to do that cooking, coding, circus training or wine tasting course you’ve always wanted to do. Or buy that brand new bike or the laptop you need. Knowing it’s been made possible by the love and support of all your nearest and dearest.

See all our Christmas gift Patchworks

Giving to good causes this Christmas

Another reason we love waste free Christmas Give Lists is because it helps you mobilise people towards a cause you really care about. If there’s something close to your heart that you’d like to support this Christmas, you can add a ‘fund’ patch to collect money from family that you can donate to a cause. This year Bo is asking for gift money so she can go to the shops and buy things for her local Food bank.

We love Give Lists for so many reasons; they’re an innovative, refreshed look at a tired old problem; they promote kindness and joy, which is what we’re all about at Patchwork; it can bring people together and foster a sense of community; and help people save money and they reduce waste. What’s not to love?

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national wedding show patchwork competition winner

Wedding Planning

National Wedding Show | Competition Winner 2019

by Ismay Ozga February 26, 2019

written by Ismay Ozga

Hello and a big thank you to everyone we met at the National Wedding Show at Olympia last weekend. And an extra thank you if you entered our competition to win £100 towards your wedding registry/honeymoon fund. We had such a brilliant time meeting you all.

Big congratulations to Don Mackenzie. You have won £100!

All you need to do to claim your prize is create your patchwork and get in touch!

via GIPHY

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camber sands wedding couple beach patchwork honeymoon fund

Patchwork Couples

Patchwork Couple: Beautiful Mexico Honeymoon Fund

by Ismay Ozga January 16, 2019

written by Ismay Ozga

Hannah and Chris met in 2013 and became good friends very quickly. Chris became Hannah’s absolute rock a couple of years later when Hannah was given the terrible news that she had cancer. Hannah says it was this tough time that meant an incredible bond formed between them. Chris became her everything – she says ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’. Are you crying already? Us too. Read all about their beautiful beach wedding and Patchworked honeymoon to Mexico below.

How did you get engaged?

We got engaged on the 15th August 2017, on the beach in Hove, where we lived at the time. And later that day, I received the news that I was in remission, so it was like winning the lottery twice over!

What kind of wedding did you plan?

We wanted a beach wedding and originally planned to marry the following summer. However, we had to bring the wedding day forward to January, and found the most incredible venue, nestling in the dunes at Camber Sands, called The Gallivant. Instead of it being a beach themed wedding, I opted for ‘Winter Wonderland” and was able to create the most magical backdrop. Fairy lights, Christmas trees, and mood lighting. 70 people attended our wedding and sit down meal, and a further 40 joined us in the evening for shenanigans. Everyone there had played their part in supporting us through the tough times, and we felt that we were finally able to get everyone in one room and show them our gratitude. The day was more than just about love. It was a celebration of life and friendship.

What was your first dance?

It certainly wasn’t traditional! We both work in the music industry – dance music. And both grew up in an era that saw some of the best dance tracks ever produced. We chose an old trance track by the Space Brothers, who Chris new personally and I had forever been in love with this song! It’s called “Shine” and the lyrics seemed to say everything …

“You have the bravest heart I’ve ever known

You have the strongest will I’ve seen

With every step you take you touch my soul

With every breath you will succeed

The soul of an angel

Touched from above

Your spirit is shining

Surrounded by love”

Everyone got up and danced with us as the song broke in to the chorus! It was amazing!

What was your favourite part of the day?

Wow! That is so hard to pick. I loved being able to tell Chris how much I loved him, in front of a room full of our closest friends and family. And I LOVED going over to the beach for our wedding shots. It was a cold, crazy windy day being the 4th January, but a load of us piled over nonetheless and larked about for an hour before the sit down meal!!

What made Patchwork the best honeymoon fund for you?

We wanted to do something a bit different. We were just happy to have people there with us. But also we wanted people to have the freedom to contribute towards something that we desperately wanted and needed after everything we had been through – our honeymoon. Somehow, we felt that memories were more important than everyday household gifts (as is the tradition). Memories last a lifetime. Patchwork seemed the perfect idea, and it was exciting putting together honeymoon ideas and researching all the amazing things that we could do!

Being able to be visually create a mood board – a story board on Patchwork was brilliant. I spent hours picking out pictures and thinking up little quips and anecdotes. And also it was lovely receiving the messages from everyone and being able to say a heartfelt thank you in real time.

Mexico played a huge part in our journey. We had visited it two years previously and it’s where our friendship had developed in to a relationship. It was where we had visited when I had undergone cancer treatment the first time and before the disease came back for a second time. We wanted to retrace old steps and relive the memories of our previous holiday – as well as create new memories! And this we did in abundance, with the help of everyone that contributed!

How did you feel when you set off on your travels – knowing everyone had chipped in to help you make your dreams come true?

Beyond excited! We took a list of who had paid for what and ticked off our dreams one by one. We also took pictures and sent them to the people who had contributed. It was a nice way to involve them and say thank you! Everybody loved it. It was such an original and engaging concept.

Would you recommend your trip to other honeymooners?

Where do I begin?! Mexico is such a beautiful country. Full of colour and personality. The Mexican people are really welcoming and have the biggest smiles on their faces. In some ways it’s also very humbling. We travelled to four very different areas. Cancun, Isla Holbox, Tulum and Playa Del Carmen. They all have their own charm and character for different reasons.

Thank you so much Hannah & Chris for sharing your gorgeous patchwork story! And a big congratulations from Team Patchwork.

If this has inspired you to make your own patchwork, just customise one of our readymade patchworks or create one from scratch.

Wedding photography by Rebecca Campbell

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Gift Ideas

Create a Kids’ Christmas Wish List and Win £100

by Ismay Ozga November 27, 2018

written by Ismay Ozga

This Christmas it’s predicted we’ll give each other 60 million unwanted gifts that will at best end up on eBay, at worst in landfill. So, this year, we’re celebrating the joy of experiences over ‘stuff’ with a readymade wish list of Eco Christmas Gift Ideas for Kids. Customise the template to include the things your kids would love to do, and we’ll reward one lucky family with £100.

How it works:

Sign up to Patchworkit.com and create a Christmas wish list patchwork – enter the code WIN100 when publishing in order to enter our prize draw
You need to allow us to contact you if you win and also to receive emails directly relating to our service if you publish a patchwork or start to receive gifts
And, finally, you need to read our privacy policy, please

Terms and Conditions:

To win the competition and receive £100
You can’t already be registered on our site
You will be notified by email no later than 14 days after the closing date of the promotion on 18th January 2018
You will need to supply us with your PayPal or bank details and we will send you the money
We’re not planning to, but we do reserve the right to cancel or amend the promotion and these terms and conditions without notice in the event of a catastrophe, war, civil or military disturbance, act of God or any actual or anticipated breach of any applicable law or regulation or any other event outside of our control. It all sounds very dramatic and you’d probably notice one of these events but we’ll let you know if/when anything changes.

If you have any questions, we can be found here: [email protected]

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smiling-lesbian-couple-sitting-on-wall-lgbt-wedding-london

Patchwork Couples

Patchwork Couple: Roadtrip Honeymoon in America

by Ismay Ozga November 23, 2018

written by Ismay Ozga

Get ready for a whole load of incredible photos. When you see them you’ll understand why we couldn’t just pick a few to share – Natalie & Daley’s wedding day looked AMAZING! So colourful, personal and fun. And they followed it up with a Patchwork-ed road trip in the USA. We asked Natalie all about their wedding and the honeymoon that their generous friends helped them fund.

How did you two get engaged?

It’s a bit of a funny story. I had planned it all to propose whilst we were on our first American holiday in New Orleans, but we got into a sleep deprived bickering fest on the flight there at 7am and I spilled the beans because I was too sleepy to hold a big secret anymore!

What kind of wedding did you plan?

We wanted something nice and easy going with lots of colour!

Did you have a first dance? What was it?

Our first dance was to Girl by The Internet.

What was your favourite part of the day?

I think my favourite part of the day was the bake-off we had our guests take part in for prizes. Everyone brought their ‘A’ game! And also the after after party at K-Hole (a drag and karaoke bar) when we sang our fave songs with dance routines.

What made Patchwork the best honeymoon fund for you?

We chose patchwork after having meeting some of the team at Most Curious wedding fair in 2016 – it just made sense! Patchwork was easy, like a collage, and we kinda liked the vibe. Plus you had ace postcards and how can we resist a company with nice stationery? We wanted to fund our honeymoon back to the States, we knew a wedding and honeymoon might have been a bit out there (budget wise) for us so we thought instead of three toasters and tea towels galore our friends might like to pay for our trip. We chose a road trip around California and Las Vegas. Putting the patchwork together was actually really awesome.

What did your friends and family think of your patchwork?

They thought it was funny, really liked the collage effect and that they could see what you would be putting their gift money towards. Setting off on honeymoon thanks to their generosity felt amazing, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so loved and like rooted for? Everyone just wanted us to have the best time ever and we did – thanks to our friends and family.

Do you have any top tips for a US road trip?

Our top tip would be to check out what’s happening while you’re booking – this probably goes without saying but we tried booking for San Francisco and were wondering why prices had gone up so much. We finally realised it was because we were booking during Oakland pride! It’s good to see what events are happening and it might help you decide what area you wanna stay in (America is so huge! Nothing is close to anything). That helped us with booking Vegas (it was Burning Man that weekend so it wasn’t as hectic as usual and great deals).

Would you recommend your trip to other couples?

HELL YES. San Fran, LA, Las Vegas and Palm Springs were some of the best places we’ve ever been.

Thank you so much Natalie & Daley for sharing your patchwork story and incredible photos! And a big congratulations from Team Patchwork. 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 Natalie & Daley’s first dance song in our Spotify playlist, made up of lots of our Patchwork Couple’s first dances.

All wedding photography by the brilliant www.claretamim.co.uk

Venue: Hatch in Homerton

Daley’s jacket: ASOS

Natalie’s dress: ieie bridal

Natalie’s shoes: Iron Fist

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Gift Ideas

Eco Christmas – Best Gift Ideas For All The Family

by Ismay Ozga November 21, 2018

written by Ismay Ozga

A truly feel good Christmas

A stress-free Christmas that’s joyful and extra special – it’s what we all want, right? Often though, it can feel like an endless to-do list. We feel guilty that we aren’t doing enough, or ironically, with awareness of the effects of mass consumerism, guilt that we’ve done too much. So here’s a common sense approach to eco Christmas gifts that’s good for the planet and our pockets, plus it makes everyone feel good too.

Love not money

Of course, to most families Christmas is about love but it’s also about giving and receiving. We are all conditioned to think a gift is box shaped and wrapped up in paper and a bow. But, there are other ways to show our love. Give great gifts for an eco Christmas without excessive waste, expense or guilt.

Experiences over stuff

Cinema trips, an hour of trampolining, ice skating, your favourite lunch place, or a Christmas Panto? A woodland bike ride, a blustery beach walk or inviting all your kids’ friends over for a festive sleepover. Some of these ideas cost money, some are free but all are fun. In addition, they will make memories that last longer than the five minute thrill of tearing the wrapping paper from another novelty gift or toy.

Set up your own eco Christmas wish list of experiences with Patchwork. You can explain to family and friends what you are trying to achieve. Then show them exciting experiences and thoughtful gifts that are really wanted and will be appreciated and treasured. It takes the pressure off them too. There’s no more scouring the high street in a last minute panic worrying if you’ll like what they’ve bought. Just a few clicks and the Christmas shopping is done, with no waste and no stress.

Giving your time and skills

People who use Patchwork demonstrate every day that gifts don’t have to have a price tag. Sometimes the best gift you can give is your time and your talent! Little children in particular often just want to spend time with the grown ups they love. Promise a trip to the park, give the treat of a hot chocolate and cake, offer to play a game or take time to read with them. For older kids, offer to help them make or bake something, teach them a skill, watch their favourite film with them or take them for an afternoon out doing their favourite thing.

Old is the new new

Lego sets, board games, dress-ups, dolls, Playmobil, train sets, scooters and bikes are durable and made to last. Why not try and find them second hand in great condition for a fraction of the price? It’s easy to explain that the gifts in their stocking don’t have packaging because Father Christmas is aiming for an eco Christmas too. “Well kids, this year I’ve heard Santa is on a plastic-reducing mission too and I have to say I’m with him.” If Father Christmas can’t do the right thing what hope is there for the rest of us?

Find vintage treasures

There are also so many things that can only be bought second hand and are valuable because they aren’t new. A football programme from your child’s team in the year they were born, a vintage dolls house or piece of furniture. Search on eBay or Gumtree and check out local charity shops too and help others whilst you shop.

Bake something

Gingerbread men, chocolate brownies, biscuits to hang on the tree. Whatever your kids’ favourites, you, or they, depending on their age, can make these as eco Christmas gifts for friends and family. Keep jars to gift them in or twist them up in some paper with a ribbon. If you want to give an edible gift but haven’t got time to make one, look for sweet treats in non-plastic wrappers. Mr Simms sweet shops sell old-fashioned loose sweets by weight in paper bags; stores are nationwide. Or give a Christmas Cookie mix in a jar so the recipient can get involved in the making bit.

Give one thing they really want

It makes sense to spend the money we have on the things we really want or need, to pool resources and invest in quality. To get together to chip in for gifts that are really wanted. An eco Christmas doesn’t have to mean they go without.

If your child desperately wants the latest gadget/trainers/toy then don’t feel bad about treating them to the one thing they’re desperate for. If it’s a big ticket item like a new bike, or a laptop, ask family and friends to chip in to one thing that’s really wanted rather than showering them with 10 smaller gifts that will end up at the back of the cupboard before the New Year’s in. Check out some great examples – see our Christmas collection for inspiration.

So, if you want to have a really eco Christmas this year:

Remember it’s about love, not money
Give experiences instead of stuff
Make your presents
Give second-hand gifts
Find vintage treasures
Chip in for one big present

Our Christmas present to you all is a free code, so you can get busy making Christmas patchworks (whether you our new eco Christmas gift idea patchwork or make your own from scratch) just enter the code GIVEJOY when you publish and we will waive our fee.

Author: Rosie is head of customer experience at Patchwork. She has 4 children and this year she’s planning an eco Christmas.

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