On a sunny July day, amidst the familiar blooms of Billie’s childhood garden, she and Mike exchanged their vows. The garden had always been a special place for the bride growing up, and her mum and stepdad were married there, so she always hoped she’d be able to do the same.
“My stepdad loved his garden, he passed away in 2019”, she told us. “We made everything as colourful as possible – like dopamine dressing, but for a wedding! We wanted the day to be bright and happy for everyone. We got engaged just before the first lockdown so it was the first time we had seen a lot of our family and friends. We even had family from Germany who came in their Lederhosen! All of the wedding party got our nails done the week before, including me and Mike we had a matching sets.”
They were also inspired by weddings they saw on Rock n Roll Bride, the 2018 Met Gala, and the wedding in the movie, About Time. The ceremony was led by Billie’s grandmother, who had also officiated her mum and stepdad’s marriage. “We did do any traditional vows or readings”, Billie continued. “We had all of our guests sing Let’s Get Married by the Proclaimers and Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles. My sister read a poem from my favourite poet – Tea by Carol Ann Duffy – and Mike’s brother read a poem that Mike wrote. We also wrote our vows.”
After the ceremony was over, everyone mingled and had some drinks while the couple took photos, they’d then hired vintage buses to take everyone to the reception at The Venue at Bowers Mill, Halifax. The reception was a massive party where they had Mead, Mike’s favourite drink, ready for guests on arrival. Dinner was Mexican food and the cake was made by a family friend.
“Throughout the evening, the room got revealed bit by bit to the guests from behind curtains, revealing us as well”, Billie explained. “Our favourite reveal was for our first dance which all our our guest gasped at. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any pictures though! And then, like most weddings we danced the night away, with some My Chemical Romance thrown in, may favourite band. We ended the night with a round of baby Guinness’s before we had to leave.”
Reflecting on the day, Billie shared a powerful message for other brides, particularly those who might feel apprehensive about meeting conventional standards of beauty. “As a plus sized bride, I had a lot going through my head before the day. Will my dress mysteriously not fit after so many fittings? Will everyone just look at my arms all day? Can I even pull this off? But I felt incredible on the day. I was so comfortable and I never felt so powerful. I was so lucky that I had a team of amazing women make me look so beautiful and fit. But not one of those thoughts came into my mind that day. I knew I was beautiful and, to all other plus sized brides, you are too.”
