As a young, queer, non-religious, vegan couple, Jazz and Atticus didn’t feel the need to fit any traditional ideas of what a wedding should be. “We filled our wedding with nods to who we really are, that those who are in the know would recognise, but that the great-aunties would be totally oblivious to,” said Jazz.
They defied as many traditions as possible. Both sets of parents walked them down the aisle. Jazz made the first speech, followed by another female. They had no dress code, in fact, the invitations said ‘wearing white – encouraged’. They prioritised fun for everyone over any notion of what they should do.
They had an outdoor wedding, with a striped big top for the evening and guests camping on site. They made no distinction between the ceremony, dinner and reception – everyone invited was welcome throughout the entire event. They also had no ‘staff’ – friends jumped in to help serve food, run bars etc. Friends also helped guests get festival-ready with eco-glitter and coloured hairspray.
They stretched their £18,000 budget by buying and serving all their alcohol themselves, with a wine trip to France, barrels of local beer and spirits from good supermarket deals. “Our buddies had a wild time playing ‘bar’,” said Jazz. “I think we can blame them for the state that everyone got in!”
They filled their day with every colour of the rainbow, and displayed lots of of LGBTQ+ friendly symbols throughout. Atticus’ mum made them a wedding logo, entwining their initials and matching snake tattoo into the style of a pansexual pride symbol, which was then used on personalised cups. They ensured the toilets were gender-neutral. They had a selection of ‘best people’ performing duties throughout the day instead of bridesmaids and groomsmen. Festivities kicked off early, with a joint ‘sten’-do two weeks before, instead of gender-specific stag and hen dos, ending up at a LGBTQ+ club night.
The couple were very keen to find an outdoor venue where they could actually get married, rather than also having to lists a register office. The ceremony took place at the Olde Wood Shed at Hush Venues, so it still met that outdoor criteria but the small wooden shack is a licensed marriage venue. This meant they could have their full 150+ guest list watching them make their personalised vows and carefully chosen reading. “We made sure that the ceremony omitted all references to the traditional definition of marriage,” said Jazz. “ Instead, the words highlighted how nothing was going to change about our relationship; how we would always support and build each other up, not possess each other; grow together; and make sure there is something fun in every single day.”
Jazz and Atticus partied till 6am – only finishing when the generator supplier turned up to take it away! They had over twelve hours of music, including a silent disco with three hours from 11pm. Every hour was put together by a different friend or family member, such as an hour of reggae, an hour of disco house, an hour of electroswing and more. Jazz is also a singer in a band, and a huge part of her life, so it made perfect sense for them to kick off the celebrations. “I sing at everyone else’s weddings, so why not sing at my own?!”
