Sophie + Tom | August 2024
“Sarah was a delight! We bumped into her at an open evening and knew she was the celebrant for us. ”
It’s rare I get a quote from the groom…but then Tom is a rare gem. Like he says, I first bumped into him and his then-fiancée Sophie while we were all stood in the sandy dunes by Barn on the Bay and…I felt comfortable with them immediately. I’m not shy, I’ll talk to anyone, but you know those people who just radiate kindness and lightheartedness? That’s Sophie and Tom. One - of many - reasons they found and fell for each other.
Images by Scott Carney Photography, photographer and host of All Things Weddings podcast
Another reason they found their kindred spirit in each other is they are two of the most sporty, most outdoorsy people I’ve ever met.
Exhibit A: they met at a climbing wall.
Exhibit B: they chose an alfresco, beachside ceremony.
Exhibit C: I told the story in their ceremony - a story which gives me goosebumps - of how they (unknowingly) crossed paths in a remote Scottish village, three months before they met. Tom was on epic climbing and camping expedition and Sophie was cycling Land’s End to John O’Groats with her dad and they have since worked out that they were in the SAME ice cream shop - Shorty’s - in the SAME remote Scottish village ON THE SAME DAY. So before they ever spoke a word to each other it was clear - with Tom having spent a gruelling 12 hours on a rock face and Sophie a gruelling 800 miles into a cross-country cycle - that they were already the perfect match.
Wow.
Well, it was a windy day, when The Day of Their Wedding dawned. A blustery day as our friend Winnie the Pooh might say. But did Tom care as I stood with him, welcoming guests? Did he heck. And did Sophie care in her flower crown when she practically floated on a cloud of joy, down the beach path? Not a jot.
The wind whipped the pages of my folder back and forth but all any of us could really look at were Sophie and Tom’s matching, beaming faces.
In many of my ceremonies we have a toast - the happy couple enjoying that first drink and feeling like the party has really started. Most people choose champagne, a handful have chosen tequila…well it feels very Tom and Sophie that Tom and Sophie chose to toast each with a beer. But not just any beer, one of Uncle Andrew’s especially brewed craft beers named ‘Hoppy Ever After’.
In my celebrancy training I was told to imagine my perfect couple and start to think about which sort of people I’d like to work with; to marry.
Well, it’s these two. They were (are) open, warm, helpful, funny and head-over-heels in love. It makes my job so easy!
“In the photos from the ceremony, we’re crying with laughter, which really was down to the fantastic work she put in getting to know us beforehand. She brought such joy to the day and we’re so glad we chose Sarah!”