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Emily and Steve on their Canadian honeymoon. Selfie shot with lake and mountains in background.
Honeymoon InspirationPatchwork Couples

A relaxed Staffordshire wedding and Canadian Honeymoon

by Rosie Hurwitz
written by Rosie Hurwitz

Patchwork couple Emily & Steve first met in October 2010 at university in Reading. They were in the same halls kitchen, becoming good friends first, and then getting together half way through their first year (with much help and encouragement from their friends!) They’ve been together ever since. Both originally from the Midlands, they’ve slowly moved back up the country, since leaving university and are now settled happily in Banbury. Today they tell us all about their gorgeous wedding at The Cowshed at Woodhall Farm, Staffordshire and the amazing Canadian honeymoon adventure they had – with a little help from family and friends!

Bride Emily and Groom Steven on their wedding day - they sit at a small round table in the corner of a rustic barn, with fairy lights adorning one wall.

How did you get engaged?

We were on holiday in San Francisco – Steve was there for a work trip and I joined him for the second week. He’d planned a hike at the Marin Headlands which he’d done with his work pals the week previous saying how amazing the views were. I thought something was going on as we approached a bench near the top and he said ‘let’s just wait for those people to move…’ Once it was quiet, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. He’d made a temporary wooden ring which he’d managed to keep hidden. I, of course, said yes! We took in the view and ate our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches we’d made for the walk.

Wedding breakfast table set up at the Cowshed, Woodhall Farm, Staffs
Emily and Steve on their wedding day. Holding hands outside the venue whilst their guests shower them with confetti.

What kind of wedding did you plan?

We wanted a wedding that we would have been excited to go to ourselves. The most important things to us were tasty food and everyone having a dance (if they wanted to!) Neither of us like being the centre of attention so we wanted it to be a relaxed day, for us and those invited too. We asked family and friends to help make decorations and set up the day before which meant everyone felt involved in our day – even if it was just cutting out paper leaves!

Beautiful bright bouquets of flowers - with blooms of lilac, orange and yellow. Close up shot of four bouquets held by three bridesmaids and bride Emily.

Did you have a first dance?

We danced to ‘Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic’ by The Police. We didn’t really have a ‘song’, so we put together a playlist of our favourite songs and this one won.

Shot of Emily and Steve on their wedding day mingling with their guests outside with trees in the background.
Emily and Steve on their wedding day. Standing close together on a lawn with a covering of small white flowers.

What was your favourite part of the day?

Getting to have all our family and friends in the same room – finally! It was lovely chatting to people and catching up. We haven’t had such a big gathering since pre-covid. Having to cancel twice due to the pandemic meant this had been a long time coming. When I asked Steve he said his favourite part was getting to jump to the front of the queue for Disco Fries!

Patchwork Honeymoon Fund Canada

Why did you choose Patchwork for your honeymoon fund?

I found Patchwork on a wedding blog that was recommending alternative gift giving websites. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t drawn to Patchwork because it looked good. It wasn’t ‘wedding-y’ and we could make our page our own. The best bit was feeling like people were part of our honeymoon planning. It can be a bit awkward asking people, especially friends and family, for money. However this felt fun, and it was great to chat to people about the trip.

Emily and Steve on their Canadian honeymoon. Shot with lake, sky and mountains in background.

What did you invite guests to contribute towards?

We asked for money to put towards our honeymoon in Canada. It was somewhere we’d always wanted to visit and felt like a perfect honeymoon location for us. We put together a list of things we wanted to do whilst we were away – bigger activities like a whale watching trip and smaller items like poutine or brunch – so guests could chose what things they’d like to contribute to.

Emily and Steve on honeymoon in Canada - shot of Steve wearing sunglasses on a boat

What did your friends and family think?

They loved it. We had lots of comments about how they hadn’t seen anything like this before and how easy it was to use.

Steve on honeymoon in the Canadian mountains

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

Our adventure started in Vancouver and we spent a few days exploring the city. We walked the coastal path around Stanley Park, and went whale watching off the southern gulf islands. Seeing orcas and humpbacks was just incredible. We took a train through the rockies, arriving the next day in sunny Jasper. The next week was spent exploring the canyons, lakes and mountains of Alberta, finishing in Banff. It’s hard to choose a highlight – every place we visited was amazing, the people so friendly and the food delicious. We had the best time.

Humpback whale in the distance in the ocean - Emily and Steve's Canadian honeymoon

How did it feel knowing your friends and family had made it happen?

It was lovely. It felt like they were really part of it too. It was nice to share it with everyone.

Emily on honeymoon in Canada, standing against a wooden fence wearing sunglasses with mountains behind

And finally, what’s your no.1 top wedding planning tip?

Work out what you both really care about first, and prioritise. It’s your day, you can’t please everybody, so do what you guys love and try not to worry about everyone else.

Thanks so much Emily and Steve for sharing your beautiful words and gorgeous photos of your wedding day and Canadian honeymoon adventure. We’re so glad Patchwork could help you have the trip of a lifetime. If you’d love more love and less stuff for your wedding, you can set up your own honeymoon fund for a Canadian honeymoon or browse our 100s of other honeymoon destinations and start getting excited about your trip!

Here are some of the amazing suppliers that made Emily and Steve’s day extra special:

Venue: Cowshed at Wood Hall Farm

Food: Baked in Brick and Disco Fries

Drinks: Thirsty Nomad Bar

Photographer: Kate Jackson

Flowers: Flowerology

Cake: Made by Steve’s sister!

Outfits: Bride and Bridesmaids Monsoon and Groom and Groomsmen Slaters

Band: The Royale

Hair: Hair by Ellis

Makeup: Soie Makeup Georgina

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

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Patchwork CouplesWedding Planning

A chic London wedding and Italian honeymoon

by Rosie Hurwitz
written by Rosie Hurwitz

This week we’re catching up with loved up newly-weds Sophie-Rose and Roi, who have been together for 6 years. Both London born, Sophie-Rose grew up in South West, Roi in Leyton, East. They met when Sophie pulled Roi a pint at their favourite pub, The Gun on Well Street. Sophie says “I hadn’t worked there long when he slid into my DM’s with an ever poetic one liner ‘what you saying?’ I didn’t reply until 9 months later as it went into my requests, when I did luckily he was still single and thereafter we got together.” Well, we’re glad they did, not only because they make each other happy, but because we get to share their gorgeous wedding and love story with YOU! They married in a super-chic ceremony in London, followed by a night of partying with family and close friends. Sophie & Roi used Patchwork to invite guests to treat them to experiences on their once-in-a-lifetime Italian honeymoon.

Colour photo, side on shot of bride Sophie-Rose, a young white woman with blond hair tied back, stands by a stained glass window on her wedding day, she wears a simple ivory satin wedding dress. She has a small veil over her face and holds a large bouquet of pink and white flowers. She smiles at someone off camera

How did you get engaged?

We were on a mates holiday in Foye Cornwall, Roi took me for a walk on a secluded beach and got down on one knee. I’ve never been more shocked in my entire life, screaming “what are you doing? Get up!!” And then realised it wasn’t a joke and he was crying too, obviously said yes and then cried tears of joy for 4 days straight.

Colour photo of bride Sophie-Rose, and her new husband Roi during their wedding ceremony at Islington Town Hall. Sophie-Rose is a young white woman with blond hair tied back, she wears a simple ivory satin wedding dress. She has a small veil over her face. Sophie-Rose and Roi hold hands and face each other smiling. Roi is a young white man with short fair hair, he wears a dark suit.
Close up photo of bride Sophie-Rose, in shot is just her body, and bare legs, she is wearing a satin ivory wedding gown, and holds groom Roi's hand. He wears a dark suit and a white shirt.

What kind of wedding did you plan?

Originally we started really big and elaborate, something totally not us, then we sat down worked out the numbers and U turned. We planned a really good night out in London instead, entailing a ceremony of 50, big red bus to Bistrotheque for a lunch of 75, then onto Looking Glass Cocktail Club on Hackney Road for a party of 100.

Colour photo of bride Sophie-Rose, and her new husband Roi on their wedding day at Islington Town Hall. Sophie-Rose is a young white woman with blond hair tied back, she wears a simple floor length ivory satin wedding dress with a front side split. Sophie-Rose is leaning back in Roi's arms with one leg raised, as he looks at her. Roi is a young white man with short fair hair, he wears a dark suit. They are in a beautiful, ornate corridor with an arched window behind them, tiled floors and marble panels on the walls.
Colour photo of bride Sophie-Rose, and her new husband Roi walking our of their wedding ceremony into a shower of confetti thrown by guests on either side of them. They hold hands and are both smiling. Sophie-Rose is a young white woman with blond hair tied back, she wears a simple ivory satin wedding dress. She has a small veil over her face and carries a bouquet of pink and white flowers. Roi is a young white man with short fair hair, he wears a dark suit.
Black and white photo of bride Sophie-Rose, and groom Roi after their wedding ceremony at Islington Town Hall. They stand outside together, Rois has his arm around Sophie-Rose, they both have an arm held aloft, Sophie-Rose carries her bouquet in hers. They look very happy. Their guests stand in groups behind themSophie-Rose is a young white woman with blond hair tied back, she wears a simple floor length ivory satin wedding dress. She has a small veil over her face. Roi is a young white man with short fair hair, he wears a dark suit.

Did you have a first dance?

Yes we did! We chose a really cheesy number, ‘If You’re Not the One’ by Daniel Bedingfield, because it’s my dad’s favourite song, which caught him totally by surprise!!

We had a dance duo called KZ creatives teach us a choreographed number just days before.

Colour photo of bride Sophie-Rose and groom Roi. They are sitting in the back of a white London Taxi, Sophie has her arm around Roi's shoulder and is giving him a kiss on the cheek as he smiles. Sophie is a young white woman with blond hair tied back. She wears a simple ivory satin wedding dress. Roi is a young white man with short fair hair and he wears a dark suit.

What was your favourite part of the day?

I think arriving at our lunch, seeing all our nearest and dearest and sitting down for speeches was pretty epic.

Close up black and white photo of bride Sophie-Rose, and groom Roi on their wedding day. They stand outdoors, in front of a corrugated door, Sophie has her hand around the base of Roi's neck, they both look to camera. Sophie-Rose is a young white woman with blond hair tied back, she wears a simple ivory satin wedding dress. She has a small veil over her face. Roi is a young white man with short fair hair, he wears a dark suit.

What made Patchwork the best wedding registry for you?

We chose Patchwork because it’s the best and chicest way of asking for something you really want, we made ours as inclusive as possible, whether it was a drink in Venice or a nights stay in Florence.

A Patchwork Honeymoon Registry to Venice, Italy shown in an ipad.
A young woman with long blonde hair tied back, wearing a blue satin mini dress sits on a gondola in Venice, next to her sits a young blond-haired man in a black tshirt and blue shorts. She looks at him smiling. He looks to camera. A bridge is visible over the canal behind their gondola.

What did you want to ask guests to contribute towards and why?

Our honeymoon starting in Sicily then onto Italy, whether it be a train ticket, a boat trip, a stay in a hotel, or a drink in the Palazzo.

A white woman with blonde hair tied back stands against a peach coloured wall in the sun. She wears sunglasses, a short black sun dress and yellow espadrilles and carries a small handbag

What was the best bit about using Patchwork?

Weddings can be expensive for everyone, whether guests need to pay to travel to the venue, hotels, the hen party etc, so at this point we wanted to ask for an extra hand in funding our honeymoon but in the least pressurising way. We also wanted our guests to feel a part of our honeymoon even though they weren’t there! Patchwork does all those things.

A young white woman with long blonde hair and a young white man with short fair hair are looking to camera and taking a selfie whilst on a white boat at sea. The woman wears sunglasses and a white bikini and is pouting slightly, the man wears sunglasses and blue swimmers and sticks his tongue out playfully

What did your friends and family think?

They loved knowing where we were going, the wedding went by in a flash but they all knew where we were heading next as they gifted towards it. I have had 3 friends now use Patchwork for their weddings this summer, it’s just undeniably the best wedding registry and so easy to use.

A white woman with blonde hair hanging loose looks down in to camera, a white man with fair hair stands beside her and also looks down in to camera. Above them is an intricately painted Italian ceiling.

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

We started in Palermo, Sicily for 4 days, we then travelled across to catch a ferry from Milazzo to Salina the first of the 2 islands we were heading to on the Aeolian Islands. From there we headed to Panarea, this was by the far the best moment, so empty, so untouched, so secluded. In fact it was so beautiful we had to extend our stay, cutting out Naples, then heading to Florence for 48 hrs, and finishing in Venice.

Colour photo of wedding party at the wedding of Sophie-Rose and Roi at Islington Town Hall. Guests are all throwing arms in the air in celebrating and stand on the steps outside the venue in the sun, looking happy!

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

Literally quite overwhelming to think about. Our Patchwork collected enough for all the hotels over 2 weeks plus some spending money/ The hotels we picked were particularly spenny, and it really was a once in lifetime trip.

Sophie-Rose and her maids of honour at their Islington Town Hall wedding. Sophie-Rose is a young white woman with blond hair tied back, she wears a simple floor length ivory satin wedding dress with a front side split. She carries white and pink flowers. Her maids of honour are dressed glamorously in black dress and carry smaller bouquets. They are all smiling, standing on the steps of the ceremony venue in the sun.

Do you have any top tips when it comes to planning / preparing for a wedding?

Make it as personal to you both as a couple, work out what sort of night you want to have and take it from there. My main tip, don’t invite the whole world, this will give you time to see and be with everyone. It also makes your guests feel special knowing they were part of something so intimate. We had a rule that if we hadn’t had supper with them at some point in the last year they weren’t coming! Brutal I know.

Thank you so much Sophie-Rose and Roi for sharing these amazing photos and words about your wedding day and dreamy honeymoon funded by friends and family! If you’d like to create your own unique honeymoon registry and invite guests to contribute cash to your first adventure as a married couple you can check out our gorgeous easy-to-customise templates here.

Here are some of the amazing wedding suppliers that made Sophie-Rose and Roi’s day even more epic:

Photography – Joanna Bongard

Flowers – Gloria Studio

Venue (ceremony) – Islington Town Hall

Venue (reception) – Bistrotheque

Venue (dancing) – Looking Glass Cocktail Club

Table laying and on the day planning – Tony and his team at Fairholme Studio

Signage – Cecily Cairns

Dress – by Alon Livne White purchased at Morgan Davies Bridal in Islington

Roi’s suit – Mr Start

Shoes – The Attico

Bird cage – Morgan Davies Bridal

Make up by Celia Burton

Hair by Adam Embleton

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

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wedding couple with text that reads 'the eco-wedding guide'
Wedding Planning

Sustainable Wedding Guide

by Rosie Hurwitz
written by Rosie Hurwitz

Enabling guests to give money, time and skills instead of department store stuff, Patchwork is already the least consuming, most joy filled wedding registry out there. And now we’re here to help make the rest of your wedding planning as fun and eco-friendly as possible too.

As Patchwork is all about pooling resources we’ve written our Sustainable Wedding Guide together with some amazing industry friends who have generously shared their expertise, tips and ideas.

Free Sustainable Wedding Guide PDF

We want to make sure this guide is accessible to everyone and have therefore made it totally free to download and share. Please just tag @Patchwork_Wedding so we can connect with you too.

Find out more about Patchwork wedding registry here and our honeymoon fund here. Whatever you use Patchwork to fund, make or do, you can feel good knowing we donate 50% of our sign-up fee to environmental charities fighting for our future. You can find out more about our business model here and the charities we support here.

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Bride Zeleka and Groom Ashley during their wedding reception at the RSA. Zeleka looks towards the guests seated on her left and smiles happily. Ashley sits to her right and wears black tie, Zeleka wears a strapless, fitted ivory lace dress.
Patchwork CouplesWedding Planning

A Wedding Co-ordinator’s Gift Registry

by Rosie Hurwitz
written by Rosie Hurwitz

Today on the blog we chat to the wonderful Zeleka Nadine, Co founder of The Wedding Day Coordinators and now a newly wed herself! Zeleka is originally from Birmingham and met her London-born-and-bred husband Ashley at university 18 years ago. They’ve been living in London for 14 years now and have two young daughters. Ashley is a property developer and Zeleka runs The Wedding Day Coordinators, specialising exclusively in wedding day management to take the stress out of on-the-day wedding co-ordination. Zeleka shares her tips for asking for cash instead of traditional gifts and why using a digital gift registry like Patchwork helps couples get what they really want!

Groom Ashley, a young black man with short hair and a beard is flanked by two groomsmen, also young black men, all wear black tie and smile at camera
Beautiful bride Zeleka stands holding a bouquet of flowers, wearing a strapless, fitted, ivory lace wedding dress, on both sides stand her bridesmaids, three young black women with long hair, wearing simple black dresses, also holding bouquets of cream flowers. They lean in towards each other, smiling.

What kind of wedding did you plan?

Our plans changed a lot from the beginning to what we actually ended up with. But it was an organic process which led us to a day which was perfect for us. We initially planned to get married at The Asylum and have the evening reception in the vaults at RSA House which I knew of through referring past couples to the space and our connection to Coco wedding venues. We went for a site visit at The Asylum and Ashley was laughing all the way through – he was like “my dad will think we’re pulling his leg if he walks into this derelict building”. As much as I loved it, it was a bit far to push our guests who aren’t exposed to the more quirky and unique venues that I work with!

So in the end we decided to do the ceremony and the reception at the RSA House. We planned a formal black tie chic city wedding where guests were encouraged to wear white and all decor was planned to enhance rather than transform the beauty of the space. The key focus was on family and all the details pointed to this.

Bride Zeleka and Groom Ashley during their wedding ceremony at the RSA. They hold hands and smile, Ashley wears black tie, Zeleka wears a strapless, fitted ivory lace dress
Bride Zeleka and Groom Ashley are showered with confetti as they leave the RSA after their wedding ceremony. They hold hands and are laughing happily. Ashley wears black tie and is holding a glass of champagne, Zeleka wears a strapless, fitted ivory lace dress.

What was your favourite part of the day?

Our wedding ceremony was my favourite part of the day – 100%. We decided to go with a celebrant, and booked Bex the Celebrant. She was amazing. Before the wedding we had to answer loads of questions – independently and together – giving loads of information about our journey, our stories, how we met. At the time it seemed like some of the information was meaningless, but she incorporated it all in to a really nice story about us that she shared with our guests.

Our daughters did a tying the knot ceremony with black and white satin ribbon. We had a reading from my mum which included an insert from Bob Marley, a self-made prayer from Ashley’s mum. My mum walked me down the aisle as well, so yes our ceremony was really beautiful.

We live streamed our ceremony as well, for those who couldn’t be there. We used a company who let you livestream it yourself which is a really cost effective way to do it.

Close up of table settings at Zeleka and Ashley's wedding at the RSA House, showing cream flowers and folioage and simple white tablecloth and glassware.
Bride Zeleka and Groom Ashley cut their wedding cake, a two tiered white iced cake with white floral design, at their wedding at the RSA. Ashley wears black tie, Zeleka wears a strapless, fitted ivory lace dress.

Why did you choose Patchwork for your wedding gift registry?

I’ve followed Patchwork as it’s evolved and I just love the freedom it gives you to practically build your own wedding gift list, honeymoon fund or whatever you want guests to contribute to. It could even be a loft extension or a rabbit hutch. I know from couples we’ve worked with previously, there’s always a kind of stigma around asking for money and there’s a struggle around getting the things you actually want. So I think it’s perfect for established couples who have been together for a long time. They probably already have a home and a family, and don’t necessarily need a toaster or a cooker or a John Lewis gift list with silver cutlery (do people even still do that?) I think it’s really important to be able to meaningfully ask for what you want. 

For us it was definitely more “we prefer your presence over presents”. But for those who wanted to gift something it was perfect.

A Patchwork Honeymoon Registry in an ipad, showing black and white graphic images of honeymoon experiences that can be funded by guests

What did you ask guests to contribute towards?

We didn’t want to have loads of physical gifts and cards to pack up on the day. We’re planning a honeymoon at some point so we invited guests to contribute towards some activities and treats while we are away. Our invitations were digital, so we were able to add the link from Patchwork to our Paperless Post invites which linked in beautifully. People were able to click and go straight to our Patchwork, and we could be really personal and quirky with it. So for example we had £20 towards ice-creams on the beach, £50 towards a massage by the pool, £500 towards the flights, and people donated what they wanted.
It felt a bit icky putting our bank details on the invite. Patchwork was a nice way of softening it.

Groom Ashley, a young black man with short hair and a beard is flanked by groomsmen and male guests, all wear black tie. They walk down a London street towards the camera, smiling.

What was the reaction to your Patchwork?

People loved the design of it and I’ve used our Patchwork now as a guide for other couples. I showed one of the brides I’m working with on wedding day management how she can use Paperless Post and Patchwork together and she was like “oh my God that’s brilliant; that’s exactly how I want mine done”. So we’ve now used our honeymoon fund Patchwork as a template. It something additional we can add to our service, and at the same time we’re working with a platform which we have tried and tested. It’s nice to be able to say to our couples that from first hand experience we know, love and trust Patchwork. We’re including Patchwork gift registry in an introductory document we’re designing for couples to help them see how they can plan and organise their wedding with ease.

Zeleka, a beautiful young black woman and her fiancé Ashley, a young black man sit outside in the sunshine. Both wear blue and white and are looking towards their left, away from camera. Zeleka sits on a hip-height stone wall and Ashley leans against it.

And what are the plans for your Patchwork gift money?

Hopefully next year, depending on how everything goes with travel and the pandemic we’re looking at Mauritius or Trinidad & Tobago. We’ve got some family and friends in Trinidad & Tobago. It’s going to be a honeymoon with our girls… and maybe a few days on one of the islands for just me and Ash 🙂

Thanks so much Zeleka and Ashley for sharing your story with us. If you’d like to create a honeymoon fund or gift registry you can sign up to Patchwork today and ask for what you REALLY want. Plus, we donate 50% of our sign up fee to your choice of one of three environmental charities. If you need someone to take all the stress out of wedding day logistics, check out Zeleka’s co-ordination services so you can just relax and enjoy your day!

Here are some of the amazing suppliers that made Zeleka and Ashley’s day extra special:

On the day coordinators: The Wedding Coordinators
Decor: The Wedding Coordinators
Celebrant: Bex the celebrant
Photography: Zaki Charles
Hair: Deborah Lola
MC: Travis Jay
Flowers: Ramels florist
Cake: Charlene at Cherry Tree Cakery
Zeleka’s Dress: Love Bridal, Crystal Palace
Venue: RSA House
Caterers: CH & Co
Groomsmens’ suits and Ashley’s tuxedo: TuxLux

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black and white image of bride Amy (a young white woman with brown hair wearing a lace bodice wedding dress) and her newly wed husband Dom (a white man with fair hair and a short beard) they cross a road hand in hand, there is a large iron bridge structure above them and on either side and an urban street behind them.
Patchwork CouplesWedding Planning

An industrial vibe wedding and ‘Give List’ registry

by Rosie Hurwitz
written by Rosie Hurwitz

Amy and Dom met online back in 2017. Dom’s first message didn’t get a reply from Amy, but his persistence paid off with his second attempt! They live in the north west only 20 minutes from each other but Amy says “I don’t think our paths would have crossed if it wasn’t for Plenty of Fish!” They met for their first date in Liverpool, after accidentally walking past the bar she was meeting him in, Amy eventually found the door and Dom sat patiently waiting for her. After a round of crazy golf at Ghetto golf they enjoyed a few G&Ts to end the night. Amy and Dom got married in August 2021, joined by their large families. Their unique Patchwork registry included mini-moon activities, homewares, National Trust membership, charitable contributions and more! Read on to hear all about their traditional church ceremony followed by a relaxed and industrial vibe reception at the dockside Titanic hotel in Liverpool.

How did you get engaged?

Dom: Amy has a strong connection to the Lake District spending many happy holidays there growing up at their family cottage. I always had in my mind that it’s where I’d propose. A year earlier we had walked up a hill and sat on a tree swing watching the sunset. I knew then that it would be the perfect place to propose.

Along came Covid and lockdown, and as soon as we were allowed to, we headed for a weekend in the Lakes. I’d imagined a glorious summer evening with the sun setting, just as it had the year before but in true Lake District fashion it was grey and raining! I coaxed Amy out for a walk, I think she wondered why I was so eager with it being so miserable outside and about to get dark. We walked up to the hill scaring all the sheep on our way. Amy was a few paces ahead and sat on the tree swing. As she looked up I was in front of her on one knee.

black and white image of bride Amy (a young white woman with brow hair wearing a lace bodice wedding dress and carrying flowers) she walks towards the camera smiling and behind her are two bridesmaids and an older man. Trees are in the background
Bride Amy (a young white woman with brown hair) and groom Dom (a white man with fair hair and short beard) stand in front of the priest at ann ornate church alter on their wedding day with guests in the foreground all facing the couple.
Bride Amy (a young white woman with brown hair) and groom Dom (a white man with fair hair and short beard) leave the church and walk outside in to sunshine after their wedding ceremony as guests throw confetti over them.

What kind of wedding did you plan?

Amy: We both have large families so the most important thing to us was to have everyone there on our special day, especially with what had been going on with the pandemic. We struggled to find a suitable date and eventually landed on Friday the 13th! I’m not a superstitious person at all but Dom was a little more cautious!

We both wanted a traditional wedding with a church service followed by a reception venue to reflect our personalities. We love industrial architecture so we knew the Titanic hotel in Liverpool was the perfect fit as soon as we walked through its doors. Its dock side location, vaulted brick ceiling and stone floors, paired with its relaxed modern vibe.

Dom’s a graphic designer and created all of our stationery and signage, and we’re both real sticklers for detail. We chose the amazing Mary Mary as our wedding florist. They have a real bold and contemporary take on floral arrangements and they really stood out to us. We also added other elements such as lighting that complimented the industrial space.

Bride Amy (a young white woman with brown hair) is carried by her new husband Dom (a white man with fair hair and short beard) they both look towards camera with big smiles. They are standing outside in front of a red brick wall

Did you have a first dance?

Dom: We’re big music fans and have quite an eclectic taste, we walked into our wedding breakfast to ‘Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It‘ by Will Smith and our first dance was to ‘Your Song‘ by Elton John. We made sure this was followed up by a few floor fillers to get everyone else up and cutting some shapes.

What was your favourite part of the day?

Amy: Now thats a hard question! The fact it could go ahead was a miracle. To have all of our friends and family there to celebrate with us really was the best thing we could have ever asked for. Dom arrived at the church in a Ferrari and I was driven to the church in my Father’s vintage Austin 12/4 motor car dating back to 1929 by the best chauffeur in the world – my Dad! That was such a special moment.

As I stepped out of the car I was greeted by the wonderful choir in full voice at the church, it makes me smile even thinking about it now. Our marriage service was so special as it was held at Our Lady’s in Lydiate. Dom’s family have a long history to the church dating back to 1854 when his ancestors were the first couple to get married there. Our marriage service involved both Father Grant the parish priest at Our Lady’s and my uncle the Rev Chris Turner which made it such a personal service. Walking down the aisle was so nerve wracking but as soon as I arrived by Dom’s side I felt like I could completely relax.

Dom: We had kept one secret from everyone which was a firework display. Provided by the amazing Fantastic Fireworks. We got everyone to join us outside on the colonnades overlooking the dock and handed out sparklers. The fireworks launched from a floating pontoon in the water accompanied by ‘All you need is Love‘ by The Beatles and ‘A Sky full of Stars‘ by Coldplay. Such an incredible moment and the perfect end to the evening, although saying that we did carry on partying until 4am!!

Why did you choose Patchwork for your wedding registry?

Dom: We were unsure about doing a wedding list at first as we didn’t really want people to think they were obliged to get us anything. After getting some advice from others we realised we could end up with all sorts of junk we didn’t want if it was something we didn’t do.

I had some friends that had used Patchwork several years ago and had thought it was a brilliant idea, so we knew this was the option for us. We just loved that we could make it so personal to us and that we could add so much more than just standard gifts, such as charitable donations, experiences and even just spending time with us. It was also really useful that we could also split more costly gifts such as a National Trust membership up into smaller chunks enabling it be be funded by several guests rather than expecting one person to gift it.

Image of a Give List wedding registry in an ipad

What did you want to ask guests to contribute towards and why?

Dom: One of the beauties of Patchwork is the variety of gifts we were able to add. As soon as we set off for our minimoon to Barnsley house in the Cotswolds we were able to start ticking them off the list starting with a beautiful evening meal at their Potager restaurant followed by some cocktails and a morning in their Spa the following day all from our Patchwork.

We had all sorts on there from inviting us round for a meal, a pint in a pub, a tree to plant and even a microlight flight to the more traditional sorts of gifts such as a coffee machine and toaster. Amy has a big love of animals so we also included a donation to Woodlands Animal Sanctuary and Mercy Ships who Amy has served with who is a Christian charity that provides healthcare to those in need across Africa.

black and white image of bride Amy (a young white woman with brow hair wearing a lace bodice wedding dress and carrying flowers) and her newly wed husband Dom (a white man with fair hair and a short beard) they stand on a metal railing bridge over a canal with low-rise urban industrial looking buildings on either side.

What was the best bit about using Patchwork?

Dom: We loved how easy Patchwork was to use with lots of inspiration on the website with templates to inspire us. It was actually a really fun process setting it all up and it was very simple to change and add things as we went along, It was really nice that people could leave messages for us too and that everything was just in one place.

What did your friends and family think?

Dom: Friends and family thought it was a brilliant idea and that it really showed our personality with the different quirky things we had put on there. We had lots of comments about it. We’ve had friends who have since used Patchwork after seeing ours and we even know some of our guests have recommended it to other friends they have that are getting married.

We’d like to say a big thank you to you guys at Patchwork for making our gift list such a memorable one!

Thank you so much Amy and Dom for sharing these beautiful words and stunning photos with us! If you’ve been inspired to set up your own unique Patchwork Gift Registry, find inspiration in our weddings gift ideas collection, and take a look at our Give List template here to add some non-monetary gifts like Amy & Dom did!

Here are some of the amazing suppliers who made Amy & Dom’s day extra special:

Venue: Titanic Hotel Liverpool

Photographer: Nicola Thompson

Stationery: Unfold (designed by Dom!)

Dress: Lulu Browns

Flowers: Mary Mary Florals

Cake: The Red Button Bakery

Make up Artist: Lisa Armstrong

Hair Stylist: Kirsty Wilson

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

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Patchwork couple Stacey (young white woman with long red hair and glasses) and Chris (white man with reddish brown hair and beard) open a bottle of champagne outside after their wedding ceremony. Stacey wears a white long dress with lace embroidered short sleeves and Chris wears a tweed suit.
Patchwork CouplesWedding Planning

A Two Part Wedding and Scottish honeymoon

by Rosie Hurwitz
written by Rosie Hurwitz

Stacey and Chris met at work in a photography studio in Halifax in 2012. Stacey had returned to the area after university, and Chris – originally from a small village outside of Blackpool – joined the post production department Stacey was part of. Stacey took him under her wing and they became good friends and allies in times of need. Although they missed each other when Chris moved on to other ventures, they were both in long term relationships at the time and so thought nothing more of one another.

Then in March 2016, now both single, they ended up on a night out in Leeds together with some mutual friends. And as they say the rest is history! Stacey says “We quickly realised that this was it and were inseparable from the very start.” In September 2017 they bought their house in Manchester. They now work side by side again at a photography studio and couldnʼt be happier! Despite Covid throwing obstacles in their way, and Stacey’s beloved dad becoming unwell before the wedding, this wonderful couple celebrated their love and life together in such a beautiful wedding ceremony. And then had an adventure honeymoon to Scotland in their campervan, with a little help from their family and friends. You are not going to want to miss this one!

Patchwork couple Stacey (young white woman with red hair tied back and glasses) and Chris (white man with reddish brown hair and beard) smile with heads together in a selfie shot taken just after they got engaged.

How did you get engaged?

We got engaged whilst on holiday in August 2018, on a beautiful day long hike long the Cornish coast! I was sat happily eating my Hula Hoops during a picnic stop whilst looking out to sea. Chris commented on how slowly I was eating (this is not normal and was probably putting him more on edge!) As I started tidying my litter away, Chris was fumbling around in his rucksack and brought out a massive pair of rolled up socks. He fumbled a bit more and a ring box appeared! He asked me to marry him, I said yes, he cried and I just couldnʼt stop laughing with joy! We immediately rang my Dad as he had apparently been pestering Chris about it since he had asked him for his blessing. We then continued our walk and ended up in Bude where we drank cocktails until it went dark! Having managed to get a table at a posh restaurant last minute, we went along in our walking gear, not caring that we stuck out like a sore thumb! We were high on engagement life! (And many mojitos!)

Wedding guests peer through venue windows as they are not allowed inside during Covid restrictions

What kind of wedding did you originally plan?

We started planning our wedding in late 2019, our chosen date was 10th April 2021 and the venue the beautiful town hall in Todmorden. By early 2020 we had most things arranged and booked, the invites had been sent, with a total 75 day guests, and an additional 75 for the reception. We were to have the ceremony mid afternoon, a casual yet exquisite pie and mash dinner, speeches, followed by plenty of dancing and laughs! Then the pandemic hit. We lived in hope for most of the year, but by January 2021 we made the difficult decision to downsize the wedding and relocate it to a beautiful, smaller venue just a mile down the road. All along we’d said that we didnʼt want to change the date, and that whatever happened we would go ahead. One of the main reasons being that my Dad was ill and we didnʼt want to delay the big occasion he, and we, so desperately wanted him to be part of.

Close up of an ipad with a video call showing friends and family of bride and groom "virtually" attending their wedding during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021

How did the pandemic change your wedding plans?

It changed the whole dynamic of planning a wedding. For example when it came wedding dress shopping, it was only myself and my Mum who could go. Although it was absolutely lovely, I know my sister and close friends wouldʼve loved to be involved too. The day after I was at the boutique, the rules changed to allow only the bride in to try dresses, so I was very grateful I could have Mum there. Chrisʼs custom suit also got caught up in the postal/shipping delays and we were having to consider reordering it just a week before the big day. That was quite a tense moment! All the joy and excitement held on by a thread every time there was a government announcement. The rules regarding weddings were always so vague and confusing. I felt like I was stuck in the strange head space between ‘oh itʼs only a wedding, there are more important things to worry aboutʼ and ‘this is OUR really important day which weʼve now fought really hard forʼ. It was really tough at times.

Patchwork couple Stacey (young white woman with long red hair and glasses) and Chris (white man with reddish brown hair and beard) stand looking at each other during their wedding ceremony. Stacey's father has just walked her down the aisle and is holding her arm.

For the actual day it was mainly cancelling lots of things we knew we could no longer have. From the catering, the DJ, to accommodation for guests, everything was downsized quite drastically. We thought we would be able to have 15 guests but by the time our date came around it ended up being just 6 including us. Thankfully that meant our parents could attend indoors, whilst immediate family could watch from outside. Luckily our new venue had huge widows for them to peer through! After the ceremony at 2pm, we all gathered in the car park where my sister and her partner had bottles of bubbly on ice! We raised a glass together then had some (socially distanced) family photographs taken. Afterwards, our family all went on their way home, which did feel odd and not at all the ‘normal’ way a wedding works. Our fantastic photographer took us to numerous locations nearby and we shot until 8pm. We didn’t even stop for the snow that fell at one point!

Patchwork couple Stacey (young white woman with long red hair and glasses) and Chris (white man with reddish brown hair and beard) walk out of the ceremony venue as guests throw confetti. They are both laughing and holding hands. Stacey wears a white long dress with lace embroidered short sleeves and Chris wears a tweed suit.

Did you have a first dance?

The first dance is yet to come at our postponed wedding reception, booked at the same venue on our first anniversary! Weʼve planned a very casual ‘food, drinks and dancing’ kind of party so we can finally have all our family and friends together to celebrate and have some fun. On our actual wedding day we did create a playlist to have on in the background after the ceremony. We chose songs ranging from Tame Impala to Prince to Flume to Maya Jane Coles – and our aisle song was Groove Armada’s My Friend.

Patchwork couple Stacey (young white woman with long red hair and glasses) and Chris (white man with reddish brown hair and beard) stand together outside their wedding venue with their families socially distanced on either side of them. Stacey wears a white long dress with lace embroidered short sleeves and Chris wears a tweed suit.
Patchwork couple Stacey (young white woman with long red hair and glasses) and Chris (white man with reddish brown hair and beard) walk together hand in hand outside with hills in the background. Stacey wears a white long dress with lace embroidered short sleeves and Chris wears a tweed suit.

What was your favourite part of the day?

There were so many stand out parts with it being so unusual and slightly surreal. Walking out after the ceremony and reuniting with our other family members outside was special. We also live streamed the ceremony to our guests who were no longer able to attend due to the rule of 6. Most of them chose to make a day of it at home and had a little party whilst watching us get married! That was such a lovely feeling knowing they were still participating. The whole family were elated that Dad got to walk me down the aisle. Throughout the planning he had worried he wouldnʼt make it, but I never doubted that he would be there. In September, Dad lost his 2 year battle with neuroendocrine cancer, so this part of our day will always be cherished. He also drove me to the wedding in his Skoda Yeti which gave us all a little laugh!

Patchwork couple Stacey (young white woman with long red hair and glasses) and Chris (white man with reddish brown hair and beard) walk hand in hand, looking toward each other on a cobbled street with house behind them.

We’re so sorry about your Dad, but so pleased he could be there on your big day.

Why did you choose Patchwork for your wedding registry?

After going through the endless dos and don’ts of how to approach the – sometimes awkward – wedding gift situation, we finally came across Patchwork. From searching for wedding registries, we knew as soon as we saw Patchwork that it was exactly what we had in mind. We loved the structure and ease of use, the aesthetic of it, and the options to put your own touch through photography and snippets of information. The ability to upload all our own photos which were relevant to what we were asking for contributions towards was brilliant.

Patchwork Honeymoon Fun Campervan Roadtrip

What did you want to ask guests to contribute towards?

We added a variety of ‘patches’ ranging from £5 for ice-creams, to £150 towards ferries. This was with a view to ensure if guests wanted to contribute a small amount, that they felt comfortable doing so. We were not expecting anything extravagant so kept our funds reasonable. The basis of our Patchwork was to allow people to contribute towards the adventures we would be having in our camper van! We had the van already so asked for contributions towards campsite fees, pit stop meals, camping essentials, and even fuel! Our maiden voyage and honeymoon was originally planned for after the week after the wedding but once again plans changed due to the pandemic. We had planned a two week van trip through the Isle of Skye and over to the Outer Hebrides. The trip was planned for September but when Dad was taken ill we undoubtedly needed to change our plans again. We eventually ended up heading to North Uist, South Uist and Barra in early October, and we will be completing the Isle of Skye part of our trip this coming February.

Patchwork couple Stacey (young white woman with red hair and glasses) and Chris (white man with reddish brown beard) stand with heads leaning in together, taking a selfie, with blurry sea and sky behind them

What were your favourite features of Patchwork wedding registry?

For us the best element about Patchwork is that itʼs so interactive. We believe people enjoyed being able to look through our photographs and read the personal explanations of why we were wishing for these funds – its very tangible. Patchwork was so user friendly and we really enjoyed setting up our page. A member of the Patchwork team helped us straight away when we had a question about payment set up. Also, as our wedding has effectively been split into two events, we will be setting our page to go live again nearer to the time of the party! A great feature rather than setting up a new one.

Young woman tying her red hair up, standing at back of open campervan, looking at camera smiling, with camp kettle next to her and green hills of Scotland behind her

What did your friends and family think?

They thought it was an ingenious and polite way of collecting any wedding funds. It meant family and friends got a great insight into our lifestyle (if they werenʼt already aware!) and what they would be financing. A picture is worth a thousand words as they say! Some were concerned about any fees we may have to pay to but we reassured them the tiny fees were well worth the fun and practical benefits of the Patchwork service. The fees for using the payment partner were definitely fair and not of any concern for us!

View down Scottish country road with dusky sunset and golden brown fields on either side of road.
Person in black waterproofs, crouching with back to camera, taking a photo of Scottish mountains covered in mist, and river in foreground

How did it feel when you set off on your honeymoon?

We were, and are so grateful for every single one of our contributions towards our trip, it means so much to us to have our little pot of gold to keep us ticking over on our wonderful trips near and far. Our nearest and dearest know how much we enjoy these moments, and we feel very lucky.

Rainbow appearing to emerge out of the back of a black campervan parked in a green field in Scotland

Would you recommend your trip to other couples?

The Outer Hebrides are beyond any doubt one of the most overwhelmingly beautiful and powerfully moving places in the world. Given we went at such a strange time, it was just what we needed to reflect and remember what life is about – and acknowledge that ‘oh wow we got married!ʼ People asked us if this was our ‘alternateʼ honeymoon, thinking we should have been in the Maldives instead, but this had been our plan all along and we definitely made the right choice for us and our passions!

Wow, Stacey and Chris, what a very, very beautiful story and stunning photos you have shared. We are honoured to have played a part in your very special day and wish you so much happiness (and lots more campervan adventures) in the future.

Inspired to start your own campervan adventure fund? Or looking for inspiration on other wedding registry ideas? We’ve got hundreds of readymade templates for all sorts of things from honeymoons to honeybees, so have fun playing around and try a few out!

And finally, here are a few of the amazing wedding suppliers that made Chris and Stacey’s day extra special!

Venue: FieldenHall, Todmorden
Photographer: Jono Symonds Photography
Hair and makeup: Rebecca Anderton Makeup
Flowers: Charlotte Bertenshaw Interior Styling
Bouquet: Hidden Botanics
Dress: Jean Jackson Couture
Suit: Moss Bros.
Our Adventures: @whatstaceyshot

p.s. You can listen to Chris & Stacey’s first dance song on our Spotify playlist, made up of lots of our Patchwork Couples’ first dances.

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Patchwork couple Molly (a young white woman with fair hair wearing a white wedding dress) and Davy (a white man with short blond hair and a short beard wearing a suit and tie) stand facing each other to kiss and hold each other in front of their wedding guests.
Patchwork CouplesWedding Planning

Blenheim Palace wedding and newly-wed life in California.

by Rosie Hurwitz
written by Rosie Hurwitz

Molly and her now-husband Davy met on New Year’s Eve 2017, they were both on holiday with their respective families at the time. They first met about 20 minutes after midnight, on the dancefloor on the top deck of a cruise ship in the Caribbean. Davy shimmied over to say hi to Molly… and three years later tied the knot in a love-filled celebration at Blenheim Palace.

Davy is from wine country in Northern California, but lives in L.A., and Molly is from a little village in Oxfordshire. In 2019 they had a legal marriage ceremony in California, while they were planning their big white wedding for 2020. Due to Covid, that wedding was postponed to 2021, a few months after Molly’s Green Card was issued. Now they’re finally living together in L.A., happier than ever after four and a half years of being long distance! Read on to hear their very beautiful love story, and share in their stunning Anglo-American wedding and exciting new life in California.

Patchwork couple Molly (a young white woman with fair hair) and Davy (a white man with short blond hair and a short beard) appear in the image on a video call to each other

You had a tricky start to your relationship – what happened?

Molly: After that cruise we honestly didn’t think we’d see each other again. However, we stayed in touch and after a couple of months I decided to fly out to L.A. to pay him a visit. About 18 months and a couple of visits back and forth later, we made it ‘official’ on the cliff tops of Northern Ireland. We were on a grand tour around the UK that I had organised for us. Just afterwards, I moved over to L.A. for three months (the maximum I was allowed at the time). We pretty much knew from then that we were both in this for the long haul.

How did you get engaged?

In June 2019, Davy came to visit me in the UK and we had a trip planned to Italy a few days after he landed. The night before our holiday, we went out for dinner in Oxford with my family and Davy had organised for our good friend to secretly film his proposal. Davy went to the bathroom at one point and took ages. When he got back he tapped me on the shoulder, I spotted a ring box and freaked out. I had no idea it was coming and was completely floored. He got down on one knee and told me ‘Molly… I want you to be my wife’. I always tease him that he never technically ASKED me to marry him, but I said yes anyway! I’m very hard to surprise so I give him MAJOR credit for pulling that off!

Patchwork couple Molly (a young white woman with fair hair wearing a white wedding dress) and Davy (a white man with short blond hair and a short beard wearing a suit and tie) walk on an immaculate lawn, away from camera holding hands, towards Blenheim Palace.
Patchwork couple Molly (a young white woman with fair hair wearing a white wedding dress) and Davy (a white man with short blond hair and a short beard wearing a waistcoat and tie) stand in front of a vintage cream open top car with a large ornate wrought iron doorway in a stone building behind them.

What kind of wedding did you plan?

I always knew I wanted our wedding to take place in the UK. I worked at Blenheim Palace at the time so was able to secure the stunning Orangery as a reception venue. For the ceremony, we both wanted my local church, St. Mary’s.

Our overall plan for the wedding was to have a bright and beautiful day filled with love, that felt timeless. We originally planned our wedding for 2020 and with 2 months to go, we pushed it back a year to 2021. When I started planning back in 2019, I don’t think any of us knew just how much more the big day would mean to us by the time it happened. It was brighter, more beautiful and more filled with love than we could’ve imagined.

Most of the US contingent of the wedding guest list sadly couldn’t be there, as there was still a pretty strict quarantine requirement in place for international visitors. Davy’s parents, brothers and closest friend bent over backwards and braved quarantine, and were able to be there, which was so special to us all.

I am a sucker for detail so we tried to think of everything we could that would make the day feel extra-special. We had my BFF, a graphic designer, create all of our stationery and signage and the wonderful ladies at Blenheim Palace volunteered their time to do our flowers. The fabulous Searcy’s team designed a main course just for us (a super special pasta dish because we absolutely love pasta, and chicken & potatoes is boring). We also wanted to try and bring in some nods to the USA/California where we could. Our flowers included silk California Poppies (alongside the English Rose, to represent Davy and my roots), we had a vintage Cadillac convertible for our wedding car, and my Dad made Cornhole (a lawn game from the U.S!) with flag-themed bean bags to go alongside our hired lawn games.

Patchwork couple Molly (a young white woman with fair hair wearing a white wedding dress) and Davy (a white man with short blond hair and a short beard wearing a waistcoat and tie) stand facing each other and kissing, each holding a sparkler, it's night time and their wedding guests surround them, all holding sparklers.

Molly and Davy's Wedding Video from Davy McCall on Vimeo.

Did you have a first dance?

Despite restrictions at the time banning dancefloors, we did have a first dance, and it was one of the highlights of our day. Our guests all poured out into the courtyard at Blenheim Palace and each had a sparkler. They formed a circle around us and our song ‘Lost Stars’ by Adam Levine was blaring out of some speakers. It was amazing to see every one of our guests around us, cheering us on, just like they had throughout our relationship. Very emotional and amazing moment!

Patchwork couple Molly (a young white woman with fair hair wearing a white wedding dress) and Davy (a white man with short blond hair and a short beard wearing a suit and tie) stand facing each other with eyes closed, outside a stone arched doorway with flowers at each side
Patchwork couple Molly (a young white woman with fair hair wearing a simple white wedding dress) and Davy (a white man with short blond hair and a short beard wearing a suit and tie) stand close together both holding the same knife with which they are cutting their wedding cake which is a pink marbled three tier cake.

What was your favourite part of the day?

There were two that stand out, aside from the sparkler-lit first dance:

When I walked down the aisle, I had the church pianist surprise Davy by playing James Horner’s ‘For the Love of a Princess’ (he’s a huge Braveheart fan). Davy turned around when I was halfway down the aisle and was already in tears because of the song, but he said that seeing me sent him over the edge. I was so pleased that he loved the surprise! The rest of the ceremony was really special too. We had readings from Davy’s Mom and my Sister in Law, and Davy’s brothers and Dad performed a hymn. We also had my Mum light a candle and we had a minute of reflection and remembering those that couldn’t be there, for any reason. It was really special to sit and think about how far we’ve come!

The second favourite part was the speeches. We had five in total, interspersed throughout dinner. Since we couldn’t have a ‘disco’ we decided to make more of the dinner experience, and they were all stunning. The Father of the Bride speech was so wonderful, then Davy said a few words and got emotional (again), then two groomsmen spoke and finally the Best Man. The final three speeches blew us all away, they all had us laughing, crying and cheering!

Wedding guests at Blenheim Palace enjoying lawn games in the sun.

Why did you choose Patchwork for your wedding registry?

I met the lovely Liv at The Unwedding Show in Birmingham, back in 2019. The show was absolutely brilliant and really opened my mind to lots of amazing ideas. What drew us to Patchwork really was firstly how customisable it was. We could literally put anything we needed on there – and the fact that we had guests and loved ones wanting to contribute from both sides of the Atlantic.

We’d planned to move in together in L.A. after the wedding, so we would’ve had to ship and/or store any stuff we received. We wanted maximum choice for gifters, and minimal hassle, and it was the perfect solution!

The fact that our loved ones could buy us something, and the money to buy it would be waiting for us once we were moved in and ready to shop, was just brilliant.

image of a Patchwork wedding gift registry for a mixture of homewares travel and favours from friends!

What did you invite your guests to contribute towards?

We did things the old fashioned way and got married before getting a place together. So, unlike a lot of couples getting married now, we did actually need all the ‘typical’ wedding registry stuff (toaster, house plants, cutlery etc.) We made sure to add some fun stuff too like cooking classes, board games, favourite recipes and even some more practical stuff (cleaning supplies, a bicycle, a loo roll subscription) since we really were starting from scratch.

You made use of Patchwork’s ‘make’ and ‘do’ functions – tell us more!

We absolutely love that these functions exist! We knew that for many guests, attending our wedding would be a big expense in itself, and we didn’t want anyone to feel obligated or awkward about the gifting process (because it can feel that way sometimes)! There were so many ways that our loved ones could add value to our move without spending anything. For example, we asked for their favourite recipes, for time to help with a DIY project or help with packing/unpacking. For our friends and family in California, we asked for an invitation to spend time together.

Patchwork couple Molly (a young white woman with fair hair) and Davy (a white man with short blond hair and a short beard) both hold drink and smile towards camera

What was the best bit about using Patchwork?

So many things. The team have been so helpful and responsive from the start, and shown so much kindness in the craziness of 2020, extending our Patchwork by another year to align with our change of wedding plans.

Patchwork itself is so easy to use, and there is so much inspiration to get the juices flowing. I thoroughly enjoyed creating our board and new things would pop into our heads regularly to add to it. It felt like curating a Pinterest board whilst simultaneously online shopping – two of my favourite things!

I also absolutely love the marketing & communications that Patchwork creates. I’ve been following you on Instagram for 2 years and love seeing what you get up to. Your email newsletters are the best and I always look forward to getting them!

Patchwork couple Molly (a young white woman with fair hair wearing sunglasses and jeans and a light blue sweater) and Davy (a white man with short blond hair and a short beard wearing sunglasses and a dark tshirt and jeans) crouch down and point at camera with a red background behind with handwritten word "love" written many times.

What did your friends and family think of your wedding give list?

“What a fantastic/brilliant/great idea!” came up many times. Everybody saw how perfectly suited to our situation this give list was, and I had feedback from a few loved ones that they really enjoyed using it and seeing all of the options laid out like they were.

As more of my friends are buying houses, getting married, and having significant birthdays, I have been recommending Patchwork every chance I get!

Molly (a young white woman with fair hair) is carried on Davy's back. Davy is a white man with short blond hair and a short beard and wearing sunglasses. Molly is kissing him on the cheek. hey are standing in front of a green cornfield

How did it feel spending the gift money collected from family and friends?

It was so much fun and a real weight off our shoulders. We could buy what we really wanted and didn’t have to settle. We could also take our time choosing just the right thing, which I really appreciated. Our home is now fully furnished and looking fabulous, and that is thanks to our amazing friends and family. Cheesy as it sounds, we feel surrounded by their love and support every day because they built this home with us through their amazing gifts.

Any top tips or favourite places you’ve found in your new home in California?

We’re living in Culver City, California and absolutely love it here. Our favourite places here include Café Vida for brunch and Meet in Paris for dinner. We also love walking up Baldwin Hills with amazing views of L.A.!

Wow. Thank you so much Molly and Davy for this amazingly beautiful story of your love and marriage. We are honoured to have played a part in such a wonderful celebration and we wish you both many many years of happiness together!

Here are some of the highly recommended suppliers who made their day – in Molly’s words – “bloody brilliant!”

Ceremony venue: St Mary’s Church, Bloxham, Oxfordshire

Reception venue: Blenheim Palace

Caterer: Searcys

Planner: Vanilla Rose Weddings

Molly’s Dress: The White Boutique / Mikaella

Molly’s headpiece: Megan Therese

Davy’s Suit: The Wedding Barn, Upton

Car: The Private Collection

Flowers by: Blenheim Palace Head Gardener Hilary, and Florist to the Duke of Marlborough, Molly

Hair and makeup: Maxine Wilson

DJ: Dukebox Discos

Photographer: Emma-Jane Photography

Videographer: Matt at Fizzy Jelly Films

Lawn Games: Dolly Dimples Weddings & Events

Cake: Jess at Bishop’s Bakes

Stationery and signage design by Bride’s best friend Katie Tapper

p.s. you can listen to Molly & Davy’s first dance song on our Spotify playlist, made up of lots of our Patchwork Couples’ first dances.

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

A Festival Themed Wedding and Campervan Gift

by Rosie Hurwitz
written by Rosie Hurwitz

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.

Bride (white woman in lace dress and flower hair garland) and Groom (white man with short hair and beard both wearing denim jacket) hold hands and kiss with greenery and golden sunset behind them

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.

Bride (white woman in lace dress and flower hair garland) and Groom (white man with short hair and beard wearing denim jacket) embrace and kiss sitting on a hay bale on their wedding day, with tipi and campervan behind

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.

Bride (white woman wearing lace dress) and Groom (white man wearing sage coloured suit) fist pump the air, with big smiles on their faces, behind them is a 'campervan bar'

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.

Bride Lucy and Groom Richard stand facing each other and kissing, Lucy's veil billows in the foreground

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.

Bride Lucy wearing a lace dress and holding sunflowers, and Groom Richard wearing a sage green suit, stand together on their wedding day cradling their dog Bella who wears a flower neck garland.

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.

Patchwork couple Lucy and Richard smile at camera, Lucy is inside campervan looking through window and Richard is standing outside wearing sunglasses

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.

Patchwork couple Lucy and Richard sit together and smile at camera with their dog Bella in between them

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.

Patchwork couple Lucy and Richard smile at camera from inside a campervan

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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Kerry and Leah hold hands and are smiling as guests shower them with confetti
Patchwork Couples

Classic and colourful Farnham Castle wedding

by Rosie Hurwitz
written by Rosie Hurwitz

Kerry (they/them) and Leah(she/her) have been together for 4 years. They met at work, when Leah interviewed Kerry for a role at Royal Caribbean Cruises. Over time, lots of travelling across the world on crazy ship adventures and the best holidays, they fell in love with each other, and went from best friends to forever. Kerry says: “It’s been a journey! But we wouldn’t have it any other way and we’ve proved to all the haters that we are a gorgeous couple – even if I say so myself!” Their wedding at Farnham Castle in Surrey was a vibrant mix of classic and colourful and Kerry says it was “the absolute best, we literally had the greatest day ever”.

Kerry and Leah had hands and look at each other surrounded by greenery

How did you get engaged?

Kerry: One of the first things Leah bought me was a Silent Pool glass and their gin has been a huge part of our story, we’ve visited their distillery a lot!! So it seemed fitting that it was part of our engagement story. I planned it out that our friend had ‘won’ 4 tickets to the distillery tour, so off we went. Little did Leah know I had set the whole thing up.

We had our tour with their amazing staff, (the gin tasting definitely helped with my nerves!) At the end we all bought a drink and headed down to the pool to enjoy our well deserved gin. All of a sudden, a member of the Silent Pool team came down with a box for Leah. She opened it and out popped a balloon with a message asking her to marry me and she said “yes”. One knee in the gravel wearing a Jurassic Park Bum Bag on my waist, (she still said yes!) We celebrated with everyone at the distillery, more gin and a lovely meal out. We actually went back the day before we got married for a drink and they’d set us up a lovely area to celebrate in, which was cute!

Farnham Castle wedding venue with blue sky above and purple flowers in foreground
dinosaur makes an appearance at Kerry & Leah's Farnham castle wedding 2021

What kind of wedding did you plan?

We wanted a mix of classic and colourful so booked Farnham Castle. The team there blew us away with the welcome and service when we went to visit (not always easy to get as a non-straight couple) so we knew it had to be there. The building and gardens are just beautiful. From then we knew we wanted lots of colour and lots of fun, so we brought it in. Colourful balloon garlands, 6 massive pink, blue and green balloons and our personalised Mx and Mrs white ones. We had lovely bright flowers and amazing neon pink hoops!

We even walked down the aisle to the Jurassic Park theme tune and had a dinosaur or two make an appearance at the end of the night (was it me? Maybe 😊 I love them!) We added in some extra spice with some smoke bombs in our photos…we just wanted all the colour and the smiles.

Bride Leah stands with her four bridesmaids all in blue
Kerry stands with bridal party outside Farnham Castle

How did Covid affect your wedding day plans?

We spent the past year worrying about what would happen with restrictions, then about a week before our wedding they changed the rules and we had to go by Stage 3 restrictions. It was obviously a lot better than some people had, but we had to ask some of our guests not to come anymore which felt horrible. We had to advise guests to wear masks, sit down when eating or drinking and no dancing. The castle’s service was second to none and it felt very normal and we thank them for that. Luckily the weather was beautiful so we managed to be outside lots meaning no masks!

Overall, the last year or so taught us that however things turn out, to be grateful and be happy.

Kerry & Leah kiss on their colourful wedding day June 2021

Did you have a first dance?

We were allowed a first dance – and although it was slightly awkward as no-one was allowed to join us, we made the most of it. We danced to Symphony by Clean Bandit which is always our happy place song. The band we had played it acoustically and it was beautiful, everyone was waving in their chairs, clapping and showing us all the feels, it was very emotional.

Kerry & Leah walk down steps of Farnham castle as their friends and family throw confetti with colourful balloons either side
Kerry and Leah with celebrant Sarah Powell at their colourful Farnham castle wedding

What was your favourite part of the day?

For me, standing at the top of the aisle watching Leah walk towards me in her beautiful dress just looking absolutely stunning was the ultimate moment. She was walking towards me to be with me forever, that’s a big walk. We had an incredible celebrant called Sarah Powell which meant we got to do a really personalised ceremony. We wrote letters to each other that we sealed in a box as part of this to be opened in 5 years. Leah’s uncle read an excellent piece that he wrote and two of our best friends dressed as our Fairy Godmothers to share their story of us. It was amazing!

Overall though, the fact that we got to see 80 of our friends and family all in one place together at the most important day of our lives meant the absolute world and will always be such a special moment for us.

A mix of classic and colourful as Kerry & Leah jump for joy holding giant white balloons outside Farnham Castle

Why did you choose Patchwork for your wedding registry?

We met Patchwork at The Un-Wedding Show in London in 2019 and knew we had to use your platform, it gave us a chance to make sure we didn’t end up with 3 sets of the same cutlery from people. Which of course we would have loved, (we’re not ungrateful people haha). But we just loved the look of it and the vibe, it matched what we were after. The team are easy to contact and quick to come back to you, it’s like working on a project with your friends. Everyone I mention Patchwork to loves it and always asks me to show them it so you are doing great things!!

Patchwork wedding gift list Kitchen Fund in an iPad

What did you invite guests to contribute towards?

Originally we had a really cool honeymoon page set up, we were going on a cruise (we love a cruise – you should try it.) We included ideas for treats, trips and extras such as moonlit dinners and scooter hire. Everybody raved about how lovely it was. I played with the wording a lot to add a bit of quirkiness, and when Covid hit, we were able to flip it round so quickly. We had just moved from our lush flat in Reigate to a house with a garden, and as we didn’t know what was going to happen with travel we decided to go a bit old school and ask for some lovely bits for the house. It was lovely as people have been so generous it’s enabled us to get some really nice stuff and save some for future plans – little babies are on the agenda…

Kerry and Leah hold hands after wedding ceremony as guests shower them with confetti

What did your friends and family think?

It was so easy to use yet looked amazing, all of our guests said they’d never seen anything like it, it felt really different and not like we were just asking people to put cash in a bank, they felt they had specific things they had contributed towards and we are able to thank them for putting towards a nice barbecue, or that beautiful mirror.

Kerry & Leah seated at colourful wedding reception

What are the plans for the gift money you collected with Patchwork?

We have already purchased a beaut of a BBQ so we can get friends over to share the delights of charcoal roasted (and probably burnt!) food with us, along with some gorgeous furniture to sit on. We have some gift money towards a trip so we’re looking at what we can plan for later in the year. Maybe a cheeky long weekend in the sun somewhere…. excited for that! Then the rest we will be doing up our beautiful home with, we got gifts towards a lush mixer too as Leah is an avid baker.

Thank you Kerry & Leah for sharing such happy words and photos of your day and very kind words about Patchwork too! If you’ve been inspired to set up a Patchwork gift registry check out our wedding gift ideas or honeymoon fund templates and start making your own! See below for a list of the suppliers that made Kerry & Leah’s day extra amazing:

Venue and Catering: Farnham Castle, Farnham, Surrey

Celebrant: Sarah Powell

Photographer: Vicki White

Ballons: Bubblegum Balloons

Leah’s dress: Anna Bridal

Neon pink stand: Vowed And Amazed

Entertainment: Karizma Band and guitarist James Mclean

p.s listen to Kerry & Leah’s first dance song on our Spotify playlist, made up of lots of our Patchwork Couples’ first dances.

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South African wedding Bride and Groom face each other and embrace with floral arch behind them
Patchwork Couples

An English-Xhosa forest wedding in South Africa

by Rosie Hurwitz
written by Rosie Hurwitz

Chris is from England and Nozuko (Nozzi) is a Xhosa from South Africa. They met in the summer of 2014 on Chris’ first night in Johannesburg, at a friend’s braai (BBQ) and it was love at first sight. Chris had been studying Swahili in Zanzibar, Tanzania for 6 months and had since travelled around Southern Africa for a further 5 months. After almost 7 years living on different sides of the world they hope to soon be together for good in England. Their beautiful English-Xhosa wedding took place in South Africa just before the global pandemic took hold and was an amazing combination and reflection of their two cultures. Here they share their story in with beautiful words and stunning photos and say “we hope it inspires other couples never to give up on love.”

Bride leans back in Grooms arms as he kisses he kisses her, with South African landscape behind

How did you get engaged?

Chris: In 2018 Nozzi’s father tragically passed away suddenly, and I realised that life was too short to let anything be taken for granted. I proposed to Nozzi at the top of Table Mountain in May 2018 and she said yes. Nozzi and I negotiated lobola (a kind of dowry paid to the bride’s family) with her mother in February 2019 we found our perfect wedding venue at De Uijlenes Gansbaai, Western Cape South Africa.

South African bride Nozzi stands with her bridesmaids in colourful dresses all holding bouquets of flowers
family group wedding photo - South African wedding of Nozzi and Chris

What kind of wedding did you plan?

Nozzi: We wanted a wedding that reflected the two of us, so we chose to have a combination of English-Xhosa wedding. The ceremony was in the woods on the grounds of an old farm in Gansbaai, South Africa. We had about 60 guests from 12 different countries. Days leading up to the wedding we had a wine tasting and dinner, a braai (barbeque) and quiz night. On the wedding day we had a great ceremony, reception and a ceilidh band which got everyone up to dance.

South African wedding - bride and groom smiling walk arm in arm with guests on either side
bride and groom holding hands at wedding reception. Groom wears bright waistcoat and bride traditional African clothing

What was your favourite memory of the day?

Nozzi: The ceremony and the ceilidh band were definitely a highlight. We did our first dance with the ceilidh and everyone else joined in as well. It was great to have so many people who travelled from all parts of the world, particularly because a few weeks later there was a global pandemic.

Bride in African headdress stands close to groom and they both cut wedding cake
new home deposit wedding gift fund patchwork in ipad

Why did you choose Patchwork for your wedding registry?

Nozzi: We chose Patchwork because it was an easy way to invite guests to contribute money towards our new home without requesting cash from guests. We were also avoiding guests bringing gifts that we later would’ve had to ship to the UK.

South African wedding - Bride and Groom both drink from traditional bowls

Quite soon after your wedding, the Coronavirus pandemic shook the world. What impact did this have on your plans?

Nozzi: Our plan was for Chris to return to the UK and find permanent work for us to apply for the spousal visa. Due to the pandemic we were unable to see each other for 16 months (from March 4th 2020 to 18th June 2021). We now have the visa and will be officially signing the last legal document for our marriage on 20th July 2021 (the 7th year anniversary of our first meeting).

African bride in traditional wedding attire dances and her groom jumps in air with South African landscape behind them

How has this last year been for you as a newly-wed couple?

Nozzi: It’s not ideal to separate from your partner for 16 months. Thank God for WhatsApp and video calls as it meant we were able to keep in touch. The fact that we got through this, is testament to the strength of our relationship. We feel very proud that we were able to take each challenge (visa requirements, lengthy application, anxious waits, covid tests, and mandatory quarantine) one step at a time in order to hold one another again.

Wow. What an inspirational story of love conquering all! So lovely to hear about your journey together so far. Congratulations from all of us at Patchwork and we wish you every happiness in your new home together. If you’ve been inspired to set up a gift list that guests can contribute towards wherever you (and they) are in the world.. check out our wedding gift templates and honeymoon fund templates and choose the one that best suits what you’re dreaming of!

Below are some of the the suppliers who made Chris & Nozzi’s day extra special:

Venue: De Uijlenes, Gansbaai, South Africa

Flowers, Deco, bouquets, lighting, wedding cake: Husband Wife Team

Photographer: Koa Photography

Videographer: Gustav Films and Missing Piece Films

Brides dress: Victoria Bottoman (Bride’s mum)

Headwrap and earrings: Sybarite Accessories

Beaded jewellery: Peggy Mabula

Grooms suit: Tailor Me

Grooms socks: Afrisocks

Cake Toppers: Mini Me & You

Napkins: Set the Table Hire

Entertainment: Cape Town Scottish Ceilidh Band and Marelize Zeeman violinist

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