Claire and Ralph own a small pub, so naturally they got married in a working brewery! With a budget of just £4,000, they pulled off both an intimate family wedding at the registry office, and then a few days later a bit party for everyone else. “We chose to get married around Halloween as it’s my favourite time of year”, Claire told us, “I also wanted to bring in my love for all things celestial.”
The Humanist ceremony, led by their best friends, was in the garden of the pub which had been dressed with homemade autumnal decor. They bought two large crescent moons and dressed them with dried autumnal flowers. They then created the aisle by lining up battery-powered fairy lights and more dried flowers.
Claire wore custom Metallica converse trainers and a black Chotronette dress with silver stars on and walked down the aisle to Times Like These by The Foo Fighters. This was the song Ralph proposed to during a Foo Fighters concert on Claire’s birthday!
The party was then was over the road in the brewery. They didn’t want the traditional sit down dinner or formal seating arrangements, so the space was perfect for their party vibe. There was no order of the day or itinerary – the only thing on the agenda was having fun.
“Having done a more traditional ceremony in registry office two days before, we wanted to do something different with our friend celebration”, Claire continued. “Our friend who led it is very funny and he made it very personal. We also incorporated a Scottish tradition of the ‘quaich’ where bride and groom both drink whisky from a shallow Scottish metal cup. I did not fully understand it and downed the lot rather than sharing but luckily we had a top up!”
“Our highlight was just getting all our close friends to come from all over the UK and celebrate”, she concluded. “Some of these people came an incredible distance for a Sunday afternoon wedding and we love them for it. That’s what made our day so us. Things did go wrong, you cant plan for everything and timings are always gonna be out, but just go with the flow and enjoy your day!”
