Having not lived in England for almost sixteen years, I like to think that there isn’t much that I miss about it anymore. But when these photos arrived in my inbox, there was absolutely no way that I could escape the massive rush of nostalgia for the England of my youth.
Gemma and Alex’s wedding is everything I think of when I think of the English countryside and even better, the English countryside on a sunny day! Green, lush, giddy, hazy. Cider on a pub bench near to the river. So imagine finding out that their wedding took place about 15 minutes from my family home in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. Yep, I was supposed to feature their wedding all along!
They choose the stunning Old Luxters Barns for their wedding day and had their outdoor Humanist wedding ceremony in the gorgeous gardens. Gemma said, “We wanted something relaxed that showed off the English countryside in summer.” And that is does!
The ceremony
Gemma and Alex knew that they wanted their wedding ceremony to be outdoor, really relaxed and informal and really personal. They wanted country chic and lots of fun. As well as having a personal ceremony, much of their wedding was shaped and contributed to by family and friends from the cake to the pallet art!
They chose Humanist Wedding Celebrant Ros Curtis to help them to create the ceremony that they wanted and she made sure it was every bit as personal as they had hoped for.
“Ros was a great story-teller and was able to bring our story to life, which gave our ceremony the personal touch we were looking for.
For the start of the ceremony, Gemma made her way through the stunning gardens and walked down the aisle with her dad, whilst the song ‘Imagination,’ from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory played.
She and Alex greeted each other with a big fat kiss, which Ros gently reminded them that they had plenty of time for, which made them both break out in laughter!
“It was exciting to pull together all of the different elements and make it entertaining for our guests. Two of our friends created their own readings. My friend created a reading based on the Carpenters song ‘we’ve only just begun’ and Alex’s friend created a funny poem. He has since become a wedding poet! We also all sang ‘Stand by me’ as this is Alex’s favourite song to sing and we also had a hand-fasting and a warming of the rings.”
Gemma
Their vows
Gemma: I Gemma, take you Alex to be my husband. I promise that I will respect you, support you through difficult times, rejoice with you through happy times, be loyal to you always and, above all, love you, as my husband and friend.
Alex: I Alex, take you Gemma to be my wife. I promise that I will respect you, support you through difficult times, rejoice with you through happy times, be loyal to you always and, above all, love you, as my wife and friend.
“The ceremony is the first part of the wedding and sets the tone for the day. It’s important that the ceremony reflects your style and the feelings of the wedding day.”
Gemma and Alex
Wise words from a gorgeous couple.
The Wedding Crew
The couple: Alex and Gemma Cahill (thanks for sharing your ceremony story x)
Photography: Carol Elizabeth Photography
Venue: Old Luxters Barn
Humanist Celebrant: Ros Curtis
Car hire: Christopher’s Cars
Wedding dress from www.helenafortley.co.uk by Martina Liana
Musicians: Awen Duo
