July Weddings Round Up

What another amazing month of weddings it's been! All of my venues have been quite local to me in Devon over the past few weeks. I returned to the beautiful Brickhouse Vineyard and East Soar Farm and performed for the first time at Humber Barn and Froginwell Vineyard.

Let's meet my couples, shall we!

Tiffany and Chris

This amazing couple wanted all the fun stuff in their ceremony! We had a surprise ring bearer, played Rock Paper Scissors to see who would say their vows first, and I shared both their funny and emotional love story. It was quite a big wedding with over 100 family and friends present, so the vibe was electric!

I must share a special moment from the ceremony with you. Instead of having a traditional ring bearer, Tiffany and Chris chose to leave it to chance and have a surprise ring bearer instead. Unbeknownst to all their guests, I had hidden their wedding rings under a chair before they arrived. I knew where they were but not who would be sitting there. At the start of the ceremony, we had a moment's silence for one of Chris's best friends, Matt, who is sadly no longer with us.

When it came time for me to announce that there was, in fact, a surprise ring bearer, everyone frantically looked under their chair, and whose chair was it under? Matt's dad's chair. Wow what an emotional moment. Tiffany turned to me as his dad was walking up the aisle and told me who it was, and the hair on my arms stood up. They all shared a very emotional hug as he handed over the rings, and even I got one! Chris's son then came up and told over holding the rings during the exchange.

Tiffany and Chris chose to sign the wedding certificate, and they had their parents come up to sign and have photos with them. It was a beautiful sunny day, and all the guests stayed on the lawn overlooking the countryside behind the ceremony space afterwards with a refreshing drink.

Lizzie and Alex

This lovely couple booked me over 18 months ago after meeting each other at the Brickhouse Vineyard open day, and having got to know them really quite well, I was super excited to perform their wedding ceremony (and see their handsome pooch Dexter again!)

Lizzie turned up to the venue in a gorgeous white Rolls Royce! They had a reading from Lizzie's mum called The Giraffe and the Monkey by Daniel Thompson, and Alex's parents provided some marriage advice, which I read out (both serious and comical!). Alex's sister read a poem called Love Like a River by Whitney Hanson.

Their love story featured extracts from Lizzie's written diary - how amazing is that?! They chose their own promises for the commitment part of the ceremony and said their own vows, which they had written. Their furbaby, Dexter, was their ring bearer, of course, and he did a fabulous job of it!

They signed the wedding certificate, did the wine box time capsule and put special items into a memory box, such as shells from their favourite beaches, a polaroid photo and other memorabilia that is important to them. They also left out little pieces of paper for their guests to write a short message on which they were going to put in their time capsule, ready to seal and open on their one year anniversary.

What Lizzie and Alex said about working with me:

"Working with Claire over the past year has been an absolute joy. She brought our love story to life in the most magical way, weaving in thoughtful details and personal touches that meant so much to us and our guests. Her energy is truly infectious, and she has this wonderful, sunny presence — always beaming with warmth and positivity.

Claire made us realise just how much warmer, more personal, and meaningful a celebrant-led ceremony can be. Countless guests told us afterwards that the ceremony was the absolute highlight of the wedding. To top it off, she gifted us a beautifully presented copy of our vows and script to treasure forever, along with some delicious treats.

We couldn't recommend Claire highly enough to anyone planning their wedding. She made our day genuinely unforgettable! ❤️"

Olly and Heather

This beautiful wedding was held in a field overlooking the sea and countryside at East Soar Farm. We even had miniature donkeys and horses as audience! It was another big wedding at over 100 guests.

Olly's sister and cousin provided the music (piano and singing), and Heather and Olly's sisters carried out a handfasting ritual and said a poem. Their furbaby, Woody, was the ring bearer and they had their parents up to the front to sign the wedding certificate and have photos with them.

They chose to play a game of Rock Paper Scissors to see who would read their vows first, which was good fun as always, and they took part in the Wine Box Time Capsule.

It's such a picturesque venue, and my husband, dog and I have been to East Soar Farm a couple of times to walk across the coastline, which is owned by the National Trust. The farm has a help yourself honesty cafe called The Walkers Hut where you can buy hot and cold drinks and homemade cakes and scones!

What Olly and Heather said about working with me:

"Claire is amazing, kind and so professional. She made everything so easy. Everyone at the wedding loved how personal and different the ceremony felt. For us, the ceremony was really enjoyable, and our guests felt the same. Would absolutely recommend Claire!"

Daisy and Guy

Their ceremony took place on a Thursday at Froginwell Vineyard for 38 guests, a lovely intimate affair of close family and friends.

Daisy and Guy chose to have a 'first look'. This means that when Daisy arrived, the photographer took Guy to a separate room to greet her and they had a couple of minutes together before walking down the aisle together.

Daisy's sister took part in The Red Thread of Destiny. This is an ancient proverb that says an invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet. The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break. Daisy and Guy made this invisible bond visible by Daisy's sister tying a red thread around their fingers. It represents the unbreakable connection they share and the path that has brought them together. I love weaving cultural traditions into a ceremony.

They spoke their own written vows to each other and signed the wedding certificate.

Here’s what Daisy and Guy said about working with me:

“Claire was super lovely and felt like a friend and was so helpful with her advice.

When she wrote our first draft for our script, I cried 🥹 She captured everything and more.

As well as being our celebrant, she was pretty much our wedding co-ordinator too!

She was in touch with our suppliers, and everything went so smoothly on the day.

Thank you again Claire!"

All of my ceremonies in July had live music which, I have to say, I do love! I think it adds another layer of emotion and feeling and is definitely worth thinking about. We had live signers, a piano player and a string quartet which were all just wonderful.

And that's it for this month! August is my busiest month for ceremonies yet so make sure you stay tuned for some stunning wedding ceremonies and a very special vow renewal ceremony for two lovebirds.

Love Claire xxx