uk wedding planning Archives

Meet Jess and Joel. Both from Sheffield, our latest Patchwork couple have been together since 2014. They both love the outdoors, and spend most of their free time walking in the Peak District or visiting National Parks further afield.

Jess tells us they first met as teens in the Air Cadets but love didn’t blossom until their first term of university when Joel, who was studying in Birmingham, went to visit Jess in York for a couple of days. “By the end of the weekend, we had declared ourselves ‘boyfriend and girlfriend’ but were both so shy about it that we didn’t tell our families for several months… Following that, we spent most of our three years of uni on CrossCountry trains going backwards and forwards to see each other! After we graduated, we started our life together in Sheffield and wouldn’t change it for the world.”

A white woman and a white man on their wedding day. The bride has long fair hair and wears an ivory lace dress with a flower garland in her hair. The groom has short fair hair and wears a dark suit with a light check pattern. They sit at a table with the wedding certificate in front of them, and flowers decorate the table.

How did you get engaged?

Jess: We got engaged in March 2020 on a trip to New York (just before the first UK Covid lockdown!). We got a train out of NYC into the Hudson Highlands State Park and went for walk on a wooded mountain trail overlooking the Hudson river, which was absolutely beautiful. Joel had a rather suspicious ring box-shaped bulge in the pocket of his skinny jeans, so I had a feeling he was going to pop the question when we reached the scenic viewpoint at the top of Mt Taurus. He did and it was so special. We celebrated that evening by going to a jazz club back in the city.

A white woman and a white man on their wedding day, they walk arm in arm along a cream carpeted aisle out of the ceremony venue as their guests clap them on either side. The bride has long fair hair and wears an ivory lace dress with a flower garland in her hair. The groom has short fair hair and wears a dark suit with a light check pattern.

What kind of wedding did you plan?

Jess: When we got engaged, we agreed on two things straight away: firstly, we wanted to get married in the Peak District and secondly, we knew we wanted to throw a big party in the evening and have a night to remember with our family and friends. We certainly got both of those things!

We got married at The Maynard, a hotel nestled in the Peak District with beautiful views across the Hope Valley. Our wedding coordinator, Soraya, was absolutely fantastic and the day felt really personal to us – we even had our favourite foods on the menu (hello arancini and sticky toffee pudding!) The ceremony and garden reception, soundtracked by a string duo, felt so magical!

In the evening, a local indie rock band, the Front Runners, played for us and kept the dancefloor packed all night. There were also sparklers, a photo booth, impromptu karaoke and crowd-surfing! At the end of the night, the guests who made it to the end took a survivor’s photo. (N.B. The Maid of Honour, Jess’s sister, did not make it!)

A white woman and a white man on their wedding day, cutting their three tiered wedding cake together. The cake is covered in ivory buttercream and has a woodland theme and is decorated with eucalyptus leaves and white roses. The bride has long fair hair and wears an ivory lace dress with a flower garland in her hair. The groom has short fair hair and wears a dark suit and tie.

Did you have a first dance?

Joel: We did – the indie rock band who played at our evening reception played an incredible cover of Taylor Swift’s ‘Holy Ground’, which is one of our favourite songs. Jess is a big Taylor Swift fan and had planted several Taylor easter eggs throughout the wedding!

A white woman and a white man on their wedding day standing outside on a rocky outcrop at Froggatt Edge. The bride has long fair hair and wears an ivory lace dress with a flower garland in her hair and carries a bouquet of flowers. The groom has short fair hair and wears a dark suit with a light check pattern.

What was your favourite part of the day?

Joel: We really enjoyed our quick trip to Froggatt Edge (a scenic location in the Peak District, just a stone’s throw away from our venue) where we went to have some photographs and videos taken during golden hour. It was lovely to have a chance to be alone together for a little bit and reflect on how the day was going.

It was also special because we drove to Froggatt Edge in a Series One Land Rover that Jess’s Grandad had restored for her. Sadly, Grandad passed away a couple of months before the wedding, so it was a nice way to remember him and feel like he was a part of the day.

What did you choose Patchwork for your wedding registry?

Jess: Very soon after we got engaged, family and friends were asking, “What would you like as a wedding gift? Are you going on a honeymoon?” We were always clear that we didn’t expect gifts and that their presence on our special day would be the best present we could ask for, but we knew many of our loved ones wanted to contribute to our honeymoon – our first adventure as a married couple! We stumbled across Patchwork when we were scouring through wedding websites researching registry options and we loved how personal and customisable it was.

Young newly married couple Jess and Joel on their honeymoon to California funded by family and friends via Patchwork. Jess is a white woman and wears a green dress and has long fair hair which she wears down. Joel is a white man with short fair hair, he wears sunglasses and a casual navy jacket. They stand in front of the Hollywood Bowl with hills in the background and a blue sky above.

What did you invite guests to contribute towards?

Jess: Patchwork allowed our family and friends to contribute directly to an experience on our honeymoon, which we set off for straight after the wedding. We went on a road-trip in a Ford Mustang across California and our guests contributed to so many different fun experiences, including whale-watching in Monterey Bay, stargazing in Yosemite, and a trip to Alcatraz!

What was the best bit about using Patchwork?

Jess: It was so fun creating our Patchwork and it definitely made us extra excited for our honeymoon! Aside from it being a great registry, it also meant we were able to share our plans with our family and friends which prompted so many conversations about our itinerary. Whilst we were on the honeymoon, we loved sending the digital postcards to our guests to thank them for their gift! Everyone was really complimentary about our Patchwork and several people commented how much fun they had going through each of the patches and picking out the experience they wanted to contribute to.

Two bears walking on some fallen trees in Sequoia National Park

Where did you go on your honeymoon and what were some of the highlights?

Jess: We started our road-trip in San Francisco and travelled down the coast to Los Angeles, stopping at Monterey Bay, Big Sur, Santa Barbara and Malibu. We then travelled up to Sequoia National Park and Yosemite National Park, before heading back to San Francisco. It was a busy trip!

Our favourite memory is seeing a mother black bear with two cubs in Sequoia National Park on Joel’s birthday. We had been on a long hike to a beautiful waterfall and were on the final leg of our return journey when we saw the bears! They were happily tearing bark off a tree, completely disinterested in us.

We also went to see our favourite band, Haim, play at the Hollywood Bowl, which was a true once-in-a-lifetime experience.

A white woman and a white man on their wedding day. They are outside on a country lane in the sunshine. The bride has long fair hair and wears an ivory lace dress with a flower garland in her hair. She carries a bouquet of flowers and holds them in the air. The groom has short fair hair and wears a dark suit with a light check pattern.

How did it feel knowing your family and friends helped make it happen?

Joel: Our honeymoon was extra special knowing that our family and friends had treated us to so many of the wonderful experiences we had. It’s the best present they could have given us because the memories will last a lifetime – they really are the best!

What’s your no.1 wedding planning tip?

Jess: Enjoy it – your wedding day really is the best day of your life and, when it’s over, you’ll miss your evenings and weekends spent doing ‘wedmin’!

Also, try and carve out some time for just the two of you at some point during the day, even if that’s just ten minutes whilst you’re getting your photographs taken or some stolen moments following the ceremony.

Thank you so much Jess and Joel for sharing these lovely words and gorgeous memories from your wedding day and California honeymoon! We’re so glad that you had the wonderful day you wanted and that Patchwork could help your honeymoon dreams come true 🙂

If you’ve been inspired to set up your own California honeymoon fund, check out our easy to customise template that you can edit to make your own. At Patchwork we’re giving 50% of our sign up fee to your choice of environmental charity so you can have fun and do good too!

Here are some of the suppliers who made Jess and Joel’s day extra amazing:

Venue: The Maynard
Photographer: Sharon Trees Photography
Videographer: Rather Lovely Films
Wedding band: Front Runners
String Duo: Southdene Strings
Flowers: Flourish Florists
Décor: Glamourpuss Events
Bride’s Dress: Love Spell Design
Alterations: Leann Marie Design
Groom’s suit: Master Debonair
Photo booth: Bliss Booth
Wedding cake: The Pink Cake Box

p.s. you can listen to Jess and Joel’s first dance song on our Spotify playlist, made up of lots of our Patchwork Couples’ first dances.

As feminist founders one of the reasons we started Patchwork was because we were shocked that wedding gift lists are so outdated. As women the idea of celebrating our weddings with new pots and pans is just offensive. After all it’s 2020 not 1950. Patchwork is all about inspiring and empowering couples to think beyond the kitchen sink. To dream big by providing a way for friends and family to collectively contribute towards the one thing they really want as a wedding gift. Whether that’s an adventure honeymoon, a patch of woodland, joint tattoos, a new life in a yurt in Spain. The good news is there are loads of amazing women-founded businesses. They’re using creativity to challenge and change the wedding industry for the better. So today we’re celebrating 10 women who are not only fabulous wedding suppliers but also feminist heroes. Read on….

Sam Ham Design

Sam Ham Design’s wedding ring collection – as well as her other pieces of delicious jewellery – are feminist masterpieces. She describes her designs as “Demanding recognition forged on strength of character rather than on expectations of gender”. This gets a room full of applause from us, frankly! Her wedding and engagement collection comprises seven individual rings. Any of which can fit together seamlessly to represent the two equal halves of a wedding coming together.

Katie The Celebrant

Though we adore weddings, we don’t like the patriarchy and all the outdated traditions it brings with it. That’s why we love Katie The Celebrant’s approach to celebrancy, where there’s no template. It’s just a couple in love and a story to be told. This frees you up for a granny flowergirl, a dog ring bearer and mid-ceremony karaoke – if you so wish. And this also means that there’s no vows of servitude and no precedent of being given away. As Katie is a Humanist Celebrant, a portion of her fees go back to Humanists UK. A charity who were instrumental in a lot of incredible campaigning such as equal marriage and abortion laws. Finally, if that hasn’t convinced you that she’s a feminist wedding supplier of dreams, she also does speech writing workshops for brides, because she wants to encourage more women to use their voice. An icon.

Parrot and Pineapple

Rowan is, in her own words, ‘a certified snowflake feminist’, which is just how we like our wedding suppliers. As well as specialising in colourful, fun-loving, informal wedding photography, she also provides loads of support for feminist couples who are looking for ways to navigate the wedding planning process in an empowering way. She promises never to feed into the Princess complex. This means she’ll never automatically assume that you want to be treated as Princess on your wedding day. However, if you do want to be, then that’s a-ok too! And we’re not ones to dismiss Bridezillas, weddings can be stressful and your emotions are valid.

The Feconomy

Pip and Tara set up The Feconomy to support and champion female-founded food businesses. In a time where we’re all being encouraged to be more thoughtful with our purchases and where they’re coming from, supporting female-founded businesses is a really important move to make. Their food spreads are vistas of retro deliciousness, with 1970s-inspired styling and recipes, created by them and exclusively made from ingredients from companies founded by womxn. Imagine how much greater cocktail hour is when you knew that each and every canape is supporting a woman in business?

Joyce Connor

We met the lovely Joyce via Nu Bride: The Wedding Show last year and love her approach to bridal make-up – enhancing natural beauty, rather than trying to cover it up or change anything. It’s a firm Patchwork belief that you should feel like yourself on your wedding day – a more jazzy, dressed-up version maybe, but still authentically you. She also runs workshops for the cancer charity Look Good Feel Better, because she’s a total legend.

Alice Gabb

Sure, you could fall in love with Alice for countless reasons – her exceptional vintage wardrobe, impeccable hair, and excellent taste in London coffee shops are a few – but the main things we love her for are her incredible handlettering and banner making. When we say her banners make excellent statement pieces for your wedding decor, we mean statements quite literally: as each banner is custom-made, they can display whatever message you like. Messages around values, morality and belonging are particularly loved, as the inspiration for the banners came from involvement in a Women’s March in America a few years ago. They also tick eco-credentials boxes too, as they’re made from vintage fabrics, and can be reused as home decor when the day is over. Yes please!

Strength and Stem

What’s better than gorgeous flowers? May seem like a rhetorical question, but in actual fact there is something better: gorgeous flowers that also empower disadvantaged women. Strength and Stem is a social enterprise created to empower women who’ve been victims of human trafficking by teaching them skills within the floristry industry. By working with them on your wedding arrangements, you’re not only getting gorgeous florals, but also supporting women – double win!

Heart Aflutter Bridal Boutique

Heart Aflutter are winning the bridal game in every conceivable way. Firstly, they carry a curated selection of only independent designers, meaning your dress would never be mass-made (and therefore mass-thrown away once the season ends!); secondly, said independent designers are paving the way with exciting, non-traditional designs; thirdly, they carry sizes between 8 and 22, making it a super inclusive shopping experience (as they all should be).

Alice and Rosa

We love the growing trend for statement cakes – as in cakes that actually make a statement. Favourites include pretty much most of all the messages iced on to cakes made by US based The Sweet Feminist and right now we are also loving this boob cake by the London based and always-excellent Alice and Rosa. Why not use your wedding cake and some sweet, sweet icing skills to make a statement?

Gettin’ Hitched Rocks

Gettin’ Hitched Rocks create modern wedding stationery sets that match their swanky wedding websites (yes, you read correctly: we live in the future). Mell and her team also have loads of fab resources for couples who want to ‘stay whelmed’ during their wedding planning journey – aka staying sane and enjoying it, whilst not caving to traditions that mean nothing to you. They also have excellent gender-neutral stationery, such as their fab “Will you be my mate of honour?” cards.

There are of course so many amazing women working in the wedding industry, we’d love to hear from you who else we should know about!

uk wedding planning

A Peak District wedding and California honeymoon