Mike + Lisa | September 2023
“Sarah is the most awesome celebrant. Perfect tone for the script and vows and all round great person to work with.”
When I arrived at the venue for Mike and Lisa’s wedding, I can honestly say it took my breath away. Set in Happy Valley in Norfolk, the ceremony was laid out in the woods, pine trees stretching up into the blue September sky over an aisle laid with pink-toned carpets and lined with pink-toned flowers. Magical.
If they are getting ready somewhere on site I always go check on the bride and groom, and it’s one of my favourite moments. Nothing makes you feel more part of a wedding than witnessing the excited hustle and bustle hidden behind the scenes: corsages adjusted, nervous coffees drunk, photos snapped and perfectly planned playlists playin’. Ordinarily I ask my brides what they would like me to wear but that conversation must not have happened with Lisa because - as I went to check on her, my pink suit on a hanger in my car - I discovered her looking resplendent in pink herself. Having the finishing touches done to her hair, Lisa was in an exquisite and fun pink-feathered dress. She looked gorgeous and I breathed a quiet sigh of relief that I had a back-up outfit with me: a blue dress that would allow Lisa’s pretty pink to pop at the top of the aisle. As my husband Jonny likes to remind me, other people’s wedding are not about me. “Maybe just a little bit”, he always adds at the end.
Weddings aren’t in the aesthetics, I know that. The best weddings are those full of the most palpable joy, not the fanciest outfits and table decorations. But, on the other hand, months and months of planning go into the style, colours and vibe of a wedding day, and so I always want to make sure I fit with the vision.
And Lisa wasn’t just wearing pink, wanting to distract herself from getting emotional coming down the aisle to something poignant, she chose to walk into The Pink Panther theme tune. Iconic.
Suffice to say, this wedding was style and substance. Not only are Mike and Lisa a really cool pair, they’ve been together for some time, have supported each other through wonderful and tricky times, and their day was absolutely brimming with love. And it wasn’t just the adoration they feel for each other that I could sense, but the love their friends and family feel towards them as a couple.
And one of those family members was particularly exciting for me to catch up with: Beth Sandland. Beth is a friend I’ve known for years through Instagram and it was she who kindly recommended me to her Uncle Mike.
I definitely have to pinch myself that hanging out in flower-strewn woodland clearings, drinking prosecco with friends, counts as being at work.
“We love her, and so did all our friends and family! Really made our day. ”