Lián + Jacob | October 2024
“Sarah is amazing at what she does! From the beginning of the process to the end, she really took the time to get to know us as a couple”
Lián and Jacob’s was my first wedding at Doxford Barns (one of the venues I’ve had my heart set on since I began as a celebrant) and it wasn’t a disappointment. Not least of all because during the early portion of the day where I infiltrate the bridesmaids’ gang and get all the tea (both literally and figuratively) I discovered that the mirrored bridal dressing room leads STRAIGHT down a set of stairs into the ceremony room. From make up chair to aisle? In one step? There was a diva on that architect team I’m certain.
However, although bride Lián is stunning - and made the most breathtaking bride - she’s no diva, herself. She’s more used to a manoeuvring a campervan than making a grand entrance. When I first met them, Lián and Jacob were preparing to go travelling in their van; in the months leading up to their Big Day I lived vicariously through instagram photos of their European adventures, and then I got to hear a little about it all in person over a cup of tea at their house before the wedding (and had a whistle-stop tour of Susie the van, parked outside).
Photos by the propa mint Ray Sawyer
Their wedding was an opportunity, back from Europe, to see everyone they loved in one place, before they began firming up their plans to head off again, this time on a longer adventure to Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
The couple met as sixth formers so most of the assembled friends had always known them as a pair, and there was a real sense of unity between all the guests as everybody caught up on their news and travelling tales.
It’s so fun to fill the gaps in a couple’s story so their friends and family can hear all the funny/juicy/sweet details
Although it wasn’t just the bride and groom’s shared sense of adventure that was the focus of the day. And it wasn’t just about their love for each other. Crisps were mentioned in the ceremony (and not just once) because Lián is such a huge fan. I was pleased - although not shocked - to see a crisps wall at the reception, and the bride munching a packet a matter of minutes after the ceremony ended. Good lass.
A crisp, autumnal day all-round, you could say, if you had horrible taste in puns.
Celebrating the fact they’ve been in love, and forging a shared life together, since they were teenagers, their wedding was incredibly moving. Lián said in her personal vows to her husband, her high school sweetheart and best, best friend that “…when I’m with you, I can be 100% myself; I feel safe, fully seen and understood” and those beautiful words rang so true in that beautiful barn.
An absolutely 10/10 couple who got married on the 10th day of the 10th month of the year…sometimes it feels like my ceremonies write themselves!
“Our ceremony turned out to be our - and a lot of our guests - favourite part of our wedding. We had so many compliments about how personal it was and how they had never been to a ceremony like it.”