Wedding - Eleblog

WEDDING CAKES

Cakes by Lottie McPhees, specialise in bespoke wedding cakes and celebration cakes. Owned and run by Lorraine Wiley-Kaunispaik, Lorraine has been in the wedding cake business for more than 15 years. Starting out from her dainty coffee shop in Gosforth where the name ‘Lottie McPhees’ was created.

The Name

The name came about when her husband Paul had a play around with some names within the family and so ‘Lottie’ came from her youngest daughter Charlotte, the ‘Mc’ came from her mums maiden name McLaughlin and then ‘Phee’ came from her eldest Pheobe…as so Lottie McPhees was created.

Location

Based in Cramlington, Northumberland Lorraine specialises in luxury bespoke wedding cakes designed to suit her clients themes and colour. All Lorraines consultations work around her clients busy schedules and her cake samples are sent through the post once a month.

The Cakes

Every cake is handmade within Lorraine’s little garden bakery. Specialising in luxury bespoke naked, semi-naked, buttercream and fondant wedding cakes all her cakes are homemade sponge cakes. Each creation is also delivered to your venue and set up so you have no concerns about transporting your masterpiece! Here Lorraine talks about her designs.

‘For me, this seasons most popular designs have been buttercream, semi naked with amazing fresh flowers. It is my favourite combination for wedding cakes! I love working with couples to add own unique touches such as cake toppers, colour combinations or the addition of macaroons or a dessert bar. But the most important part remains the flavours that my clients want to serve their guests. Above all my clients want their wedding cake to taste amazing.

My most popular wedding cake flavours are Raspberry & White Chocolate, Strawberry & Prosecco and Toffee Caramel and Classic Victoria Sponge. If you can be more daring I can also recommend Pistachio & Rose Water, Pink Gin & Lemonade or Espresso & Baileys!

One venue on the doorstep of Cake by Lottie McPhees is Horton Grange Country House. This beauty was created for Sarah and Michael who had their wedding day at Horton Grange in May 2022. It featured classic buttercream Victoria Sponge with fresh flowers.

WEDDING ETIQUETTE

Is your calendar full with friends and family weddings? Maybe you are about to attend your first wedding. Do you know what to expect? Do you know about wedding etiquette? It can be daunting to attend these occasions and remember all the etiquettes and rules that come with them.

Whether it’s about who you can invite as your plus-one or forgetting to turn your phone on silent before the ceremony, there are a few things you might want to consider before heading into wedding season. Here are four Wedding Etiquettes that are highly relevant to weddings today.

STICK TO THE DRESS CODE

Some weddings might be relaxed. Some might be ultra-smart. Some may even be themed, so it’s important to choose an outfit that fits this particular occasion. If you’re not sure, a dress, skirt, or suit will probably hit the mark in terms of smartness. But, whatever you do, don’t wear white unless the bride requested it. Upstaging the bride is a wedding calamity and you don’t want that hanging your head for years to come. Stay away from the light ivories too!

Whatever the dress code or theme, a sophisticated dress will look great every time and make you look a million dollars without stealing the spotlight away from the bride.

REMEMBER TO RSVP

Weddings take months, even years of planning, so make it easier for the happy couple by RSVPing as soon as you know whether or not you can attend. They might want to use your invitation for someone else. They will also need to organise logistical details, like how many chairs or dinner servings they’ll need.

Whilst you’re RSVPing, make sure to read the plus one rule. It’s normally stated clearly on the invitation, but if you’re unsure ALWAYS contact the bride and groom!

MUTE YOUR PHONE

You don’t want to be the person whose ring tone interrupted the bride and groom’s first kiss. It’s not something you can ever come back from. Eliminate the risk and turn off your phone before the ceremony.

DON’T POST PHOTOS UNTIL YOU HAVE THE GO-AHEAD

We all want to snap the most memorable moments of the wedding, but sometimes our desperation to get the perfect shot can ruin other peoples’ experiences. Avoid falling into the aisle when snapping the first look of the beautiful bride. Don’t follow the photographer around and don’t ask for too many poses from the newlyweds – they have enough to think about.

Instead, try and capture candid, intimate, and silly moments. If you know the couple well, you might be able to snap some unflattering shots that are full of personality. Experiment with selfies, and angles, and don’t take yourself seriously.

How to have an intimate outdoor wedding at home

With local Covid-19 restrictions coming into force at different times in different places, many couples are trying to future-proof their wedding plans as much as they can by opting for a small, intimate, outdoor wedding which adheres to social distancing rules — and the easiest way to do this is to have a humanist wedding at home in the garden.

Humanist wedding celebrant Caroline Lambie and bride Amie Beverley share their top tips for having an amazing outdoor wedding ceremony at home and how to make it a wonderful event to remember.

Caroline says:

‘An intimate wedding ceremony can feel more meaningful and special than a big event. A lot of the ceremonies I’ve conducted in the past have been small, intimate ceremonies.

‘When you only invite the very closest people to you and it is a small space, the atmosphere can be electric. Also, your closest friends and family can really become a part of the ceremony rather than merely observers. It feels so good and everyone is so emotionally involved.’

1. Choose a humanist ceremony

‘What’s not to like?’ asks Amie. ‘Having an outdoor wedding and getting married in the garden with a humanist ceremony gave us the chance to really personalise every single detail – there were no rules to follow, no specific wording we needed to use, and we could decide the order in which things were done. The ceremony was so ‘us’ and we all thought it was so brilliant.’

In England and Wales, where humanist marriages are not yet legally recognised, there is no need to hold your ceremony at a licensed venue, which means you can have the wedding in your own back garden! Couples can register a marriage at the register office before or after your humanist wedding in order to make it legal but still have the kind of personalised humanist ceremony they really want.

In Northern Ireland and Jersey, humanist marriages conducted by Humanist Ceremonies celebrants are legally recognised, as are humanist ceremonies in Scotland. They can be held anywhere and do not have to take place in licensed premises.

2. Decorations

Making an outside space or marquee feel intimate and special for your wedding can be fun. Amie says, ‘Think about items you have at home and how you might repurpose them to decorate your outside space. You don’t need to buy specific wedding decorations: we used things that we already had such as fairy lights, Christmas decorations, vases, and mirrors.’

How about having your outdoor wedding ceremony under a tree? It looks great, offers protection from the elements, and you can hang bunting from it — or drape pretty fabric from branches or a wedding arch.

2. Seating

You don’t have to opt for expensive hired chairs for your guests; picnic blankets, cushions, pouffes, or hay bales can work just as well — although older or less mobile guests might appreciate a chair, so it’s always worth having a few on standby.

3. Have an all-weather plan

Make sure you’ve prepared an all-weather plan ready to be put into action. You could consider putting up a gazebo or hiring a marquee or tepee just in case.

Amie says, ‘Although we were lucky with the weather, we did make sure we made plans on what to do if it was wet, cold, windy, or if there was a heatwave on the day.’

4. Symbolic gestures

There are many symbolic gestures that can be incorporated into a humanist wedding ceremony and, as the betrothed won’t need to socially distance from one another, this type of ritual should still be allowed whenever the ceremony is held.

A popular symbolic act is ‘sharing a Quaich’ – a two-handled loving cup. Two different liquids can be blended to symbolise the blending of the two of you. As this is a Scottish tradition, unsurprisingly, whisky and water is traditional but it can be gin and tonic, a cocktail, or even a blended tea.

Another symbolic gesture you can incorporate into a ceremony is lighting a unity candle. You each have a candle that represents you as an individual and you light a third candle which represents your life together going into the future.

Ordinarily, family members can be involved in symbolic acts such as a handfasting, but when social distancing measures are in place, these won’t be possible. Your humanist wedding celebrant will be able to advise what the latest guidelines permit.

5. Into the evening

As the light begins to fade, you’ll need some illumination. Amie says, ‘A thrifty, yet pretty option is to use jam jars with night light candles inside (they don’t have to be real ones, the battery-operated candles look just as pretty and are longer-lasting).’

Wedding traditions | Confetti

Humanist wedding ceremonies are flexible and can incorporate a range of wedding traditions from around the world – and that includes the throwing of confetti.

Throwing confetti is a long-standing tradition, with guests showering the married couple with well wishes for the future. It also makes for stunning wedding photos!

Sanayar and Steve by Nikki van der Molen

Chloe and Josh by Alex Miller Photography

Choosing the right confetti can create endless creative opportunities for you to tell your unique, personal love story, and a humanist celebrant will always be able to help you devise the right device or secular ritual to tell your story.

For example, you might choose the colours of your favourite football team, colours that represent pride or gender confirmation, your favourite Harry Potter house, or the flag of the country where you were born. Blue and white confetti streaming down the photos can help bring a bit of Scotland – or Chelsea FC, if that’s more your speed – to a beautiful English dale, Jersey beach, or gorgeous civic building.

There are many websites selling biodegradable petals from flowers grown in the UK. They are eco-friendly, dye-free, natural and very pretty! Check out the choices available from flowerconfetti.uk, Confetti Direct, and Shropshire Petals.

A humanist ceremony can also help you to tell a story about a meeting of cultures or perspectives. That’s what a love story is all about, isn’t it? From the outfits you wear on the day to the readings of your family and friends read out, a humanist wedding is here to tell a story about you, your love, and the joy you feel in coming together as partners for life.

Imagine it now: your picture-perfect wedding. Every photo bursting with colour and personal touches that show the thought and care you have your relationship and the life together you are about to embark on.

Confetti is just one of the tools you can use to make that perfect wedding come to life, along with words, music, and a focus on you as individuals. Your wedding day begins as a blank canvas – think of your humanist celebrant as someone to help you bring your vision to life.

Why renew your wedding vows?

What motivates a couple to renew their wedding vows inevitably varies from couple to couple. Celebrant of the Year, humanist wedding celebrant Jane Blackman looks at the many and varied reasons for couples to renew their wedding vows.

Just as each couple’s relationship is totally unique, often their reasons for choosing to reaffirm their commitments to each other, are very personal and individual. That individuality is the perfect starting point for planning a vow renewal ceremony when I meet a couple and we begin to talk, to plan, and to create a bespoke ceremony for them.

First and foremost, the simplest, but the most powerful motivator for couples, is that they want to truly celebrate the strength of their love and their ongoing relationship – no matter how long or short their marriage so far.

Some couples arrange a vow renewal to mark a milestone wedding anniversary. Whilst any anniversary is absolutely appropriate, couples often choose to renew their promises to each other on a special anniversary such as their 5th (wood) 10th (tin), 20th (china), 25th (silver), 30th (pearl), 40th (ruby) or 50th (gold).

Other couples wish to use their ceremony to acknowledge and express gratitude that their relationship sits happily within an important group of people who mean so much to them and who contribute to their sense of fulfilment and contentment in life, therefore enhancing their marriage. They may choose to gather loved ones and close friends around them – reliving the fond memories of their wedding day – having everyone special to them together in a lovely place – a wonderful excuse for a personalised, memorable party – which includes and engages the most important people in the couple’s lives.

For some couples, the renewal of vows is to acknowledge that they have had significant challenges to cope with, and that as a result of the strength of their partnership, they have together overcome hardship. Perhaps there has been a period of significant illness to endure, or maybe a time of financial strain.

Whatever the difficulties experienced as a pair, celebrating getting through those tough times and the subsequent better times, is the perfect reason to hold a vow renewal celebration.

As well as celebrating the past and sharing gratitude for all that has been enjoyed and achieved together, a vow renewal is a wonderful opportunity to look forward as a pair, to times yet to come and to express hopes and aspirations for the future.

Some couples not only choose to reaffirm the promises that they made to each other on their original wedding day, but many decide to add to those original vows (or to state new promises altogether), writing and making further pledges, to acknowledge their maturing and changing relationship over time. In doing so, couples are able to celebrate the strength of their union and those successful elements of their partnership that have brought them to this point – promising to continue to do those things that bring continued joy and contentment.

A wedding vow renewal ceremony dedicates quality time to reflect on a relationship with a clear, meaningful purpose for that reflection. On every occasion when I’ve met with a couple to talk with them about their ‘story’ and their marriage so far, in preparation for their ceremony, they’ve reported thoroughly enjoying that part of the overall process; really benefiting from the opportunity to consider what makes them tick as a couple, what they continue to adore about each other and how they see their marriage moving forward into the future.

In my experience, a vow renewal can be an occasion full of much fun, laughter, and joy, as well as some very moving, life-affirming moments. So, what’s not to love about getting together with those people who make you happiest, to clap, cheer, and whoop together, to celebrate the continuing marriage of two human beings, who have chosen to stick together for life, because both continue to agree that each of them is still the perfect match for the other?