Wednesday 15 June 2016

Our tiny wedding.

We got married last month!  

Our wedding was small and simple, and the best one I've ever been to! 

Our tiny wedding.  secondhandsusie.blogspot.com

Venue.
Our venue was so lovely!  We got married at the Guildhall in Newport, Telford.  They took care of all the decoration and put out the red carpet!  Also, it was super pretty.  We hired the little ante chamber off to the side of the ceremony room for an hour afterwards, so we could do a toast with some fizzy wine and so my little nieces could wriggle about after sitting still during the ceremony.   

Outfits.
I wish I could say my dress was second hand or eco-friendly, but it wasn't, it was from Hell Bunny and cost £40, so at least it was thrifty.  I did my own hair and didn't wear any make up, I wanted to look like my normal self on my wedding day!  The girl's rainbow fairy tutu bridesmaid dresses were from Etsy, and Joe had a new shirt, tie and cufflinks, but already had the rest of his outfit.  I meant to get married barefoot, but forgot to take my £4 Primark flipflops off! 

Music.
We chose our own music for the wedding, because the music offered by the venue was super cheesy.  I walked in to 'I want you to want me' by Letters to Cleo and we walked out to 'Here comes the sun' by the Beatles.  We chose background music together too, which included,

'It must be love' by Madness
'Kiss me' by Sixpence none the richer
'Take me on' by Reel big fish
'Happy together' by Simple Plan
'Crazy little thing called love' by Queen
'Mr blue sky' by ELO
'I think I love you' by Less than Jake
'You and me song' by the Wannadies

Here Comes The Sun, The Beatles.
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun 
And I say it's all right 
Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter 
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here 
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun 
And I say it's all right 
Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces 
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here 
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun 
And I say it's all right Sun, sun, sun, here it comes 
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes 
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes 
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes 
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes 
Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear 
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun 
And I say it's all right 
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun 
It's all right, it's all right

Our tiny wedding.  secondhandsusie.blogspot.com

Readings.
My mum and Joe's Dad both did lovely readings, which we chose for them.  Mum read an excerpt from Brambly Hedge (a children's story about mice), when I learned to read it was the first book mum bought for me.  Joe's dad read Union by Robert Fulghum, which I found after lots of googling and perfectly sums up what marriage means to us.

Excerpt from Brambly Hedge, Summer Story by Jill Barklem.
The wedding was to take place at midday, and Dusty and Conker arrived just in time.  The guests were all in their finest clothes.  Three young mice, dressed in smart blue suits, had been chosen as pages, and were busily directing everyone to their places.  Mrs Apple discreetly tried to dust down the groom and best man, but to no avail. 

At last old Mrs Eyebright, Poppy's grandmother, spotted the bride and her little bridesmaids coming through the grass.  The pages squeaked with excitement, and got into place.  Every head turned to watch the bride as she made her way through the buttercups and stepped onto the decorated raft.

The Old Vole, who had been asked to perform the ceremony, stood up, and said in a kindly voice:  "Poppy Eyebright, do you love Dusty Dogwood, and will you love him and care for him for ever and ever?"  Poppy vowed that she would.  "Dusty Dogwood, do you love Poppy, and will you love her and look after her for ever and ever?".  "I will," said Dusty.  Mrs Apple blew her nose. 

"Then in the name of the flowers and the fields, the stars in the sky, and the streams that flow down to the sea, and the mystery that breathes wonder into all these things, I pronounce you mouse and wife."

All the mice cheered as Dusty kissed his bride, and the bridesmaids threw baskets of petals over the happy couple.  Mrs Apple wiped a tear from her eye, and the dancing and feasting began.  First they danced, for no one could keep still, jigs, reels and quadrilles.  Mr Apple proposed a toast.  "To the bride and groom!  May their tails grow long, and their eyes be bright, and all their squeaks be little ones."

Our tiny wedding.  secondhandsusie.blogspot.com

Union by Robert Fulghum.
You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry.

From that moment of yes, to this moment of yes, indeed, you have been making commitments in an informal way. All of those conversations that were held in a car, or over a meal, or during long walks – all those conversations that began with, “When we’re married”, and continued with “I will” and “you will” and “we will” – all those late night talks that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe” – and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. All these common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding.

The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “You know all those things that we’ve promised, and hoped, and dreamed – well, I meant it all, every word.”

Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another – acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, even teacher, for you have learned much from one another these past few years. Shortly you shall say a few words that will take you across a threshold of life, and things between you will never quite be the same.

For after today you shall say to the world –
This is my husband. This is my wife.

Our tiny wedding.  secondhandsusie.blogspot.com

Food.
We had cupcakes, crisps and sweets to go with our fizzy wine right after the wedding ceremony (to soak up the alcohol?  I was hungry anyway, and was glad to be eating cake!).  Then we went for a curry and ate more cake.  The vegan cake was a lovely and delicious wedding present from my sister in law, check out her website if you like cake

Traditions.
I had bridesmaids and Joe had a best man, I wore my great grandmother's necklace, which was old and borrowed, and my dress was new and blue.  Apart from that we were tradition free.  We had 14 guests, our parents, siblings, their partners and kids, and a close friend each.  I sent e-vites, Joe helped me choose my dress,we saw each other on the morning of the wedding and his dad gave us a lift together to the venue, I didn't carry or throw a bouquet, I didn't wear a garter, and we had bubbles instead of confetti. 

Our tiny wedding.  secondhandsusie.blogspot.com

Changing my name.
It took me so long to decide what to do with my name!  In my heart, I don't think people should be obliged to change their name when they get married.  However, I never liked my last name and it's quite unusual, a pain to keep spelling to people and it made me pretty identifiable (google says I was the only Susie W..... in existence!).  If I became Mrs W.... I would think I was my mum, I like the idea of Ms but not how it sounds, and I didn't want to double barrel.  So I've become Mrs Evans, I'm happy with it, but unhappy with the amount of time it's taking to change my name on everything!  

My honest thoughts about weddings and marriage so far.
  • I stressed a lot more than was necessary.  Way too much stress!
  • People expect your personality to change, because 'wedding'.  I repeated a lot that I only wanted a small, simple ceremony, and that no, I wasn't getting my hair and make up done!
  • You can choose the bits of traditional wedding-ness you want, and leave out the others, and it will be fine.  Promise. 
  • I had a happy day, the sun was shining, everyone I love was there, but I'm not sure it was the best day of my life.  It would definitely make the top 5 though.
  • Neither me or Joe can remember what our wedding vows were!  It passed in a blur.  I keep telling him he definitely vowed to do the washing up more regularly!  I'm so glad our parents did readings, because those are the bits I remember.
  • I think all wedding dresses should have pockets.  (mine did!)
  • I don't feel any different now I'm married.  (everyone married person I've asked says they didn't feel any different too!)
  • I enjoy calling Joe my husband though.
  • Changing my name is a massive and expensive hassle (£75 to update my 2 year old passport!!!). 
  • We're going to have a big party for all our friends and family, as a sort of wedding reception, probably for our 1st anniversary.  I'm really looking forward to it, but at the same time I'm so glad we didn't do it on the same day as our wedding!  I would have been so stressed!  
  • I can't recommend enough going on honeymoon the same day as your wedding, especially if like me you're an introvert who gets all peopled out after a couple of hours.  We were married by 12pm, had finished eating by 3pm, on the train by 5pm and at our holiday cottage by 7.30pm.  Perfect.

Our tiny wedding. secondhandsusie.blogspot.com

Our tiny wedding. secondhandsusie.blogspot.com

Phew!  I think that's the longest blog post I've ever written! 

I'm going to post some of our honeymoon photos on Instagram over the next couple of days, so check them out if you'd like to see our week in (surprisingly!) sunny Wales! 

Some of these photos were taken by our lovely wedding photographer, Nikki, from Royal Touch Photography.

Thanks for reading!

Love Mrs Susie Evans xxx 



24 comments:

  1. oh how exiting! I've been waiting for these photos forever haha! you look spectacular Susie, and the wedding looks wonderful :) I totally agree with the wedding dresses needing pockets, mine doesn't have any so I plan on wearing shorts underneath ,though how practical it will be I don't know as my dress is quite heavy and has a few layers haha

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    1. Aww thank you :D

      I'm intrigued about how you'll get things out of your shorts pockets while you have your dress on? Will you just lift up the skirt?! Maybe you could have a wedding bumbag instead? I actually had a handbag, a tote bag and my coat hidden behind the desk during our wedding ceremony!

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    2. that's what i was thinking the other night when i discussing it with the Bearded Wonder :( i think it will end up being a bit awkward, not to mention indecent haha i don't want to give anyone heart failure . i think i will probably just take my huge handbag instead :D

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    3. It's your special day, if you want to wear wedding shorts don't let anything stop you! I'm sure noone would mind you flashing at bit! However, I'll just say that I was very pleased to have my huge handbag, and tote bag, and our suitcase in the boot of someone's car! Especially as it meant we could go straight from the pub to the train station without going home to pick up our stuff!

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  2. What a lovely post - I love the way you have made your day how you wanted to and not what was expected - well done, you both look so very happy. I am sure you will get lots more wear out of your dress making it even more super thrifty where as a traditional dress will just collect dust! I wore a wedding dress but I am proud to say I bought it from a charity shop and lent it to two more brides to use over the years! Well done you xx

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    1. Thank you :)

      I looked everywhere for a second hand dress, or an ethical one, but time was ticking away and I ended up just buying a dress I'd been looking at for a while and wanting to own, at least I can wear it again! Yey for your second hand wedding dress!

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  3. You look so happy! It sounds like the perfect day. Having recently got married and gone through the name change process I can completely sympathise with the rigmarole/time/money involved!

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    1. Thank you :)

      And yes, I'm so over changing my name and all the paperwork and fuss! uurgh!

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  4. Susie and Joe Congratulations to you both once again. Thank you so much for sharing photographs of your wedding day, I am so pleased to see them and share your day with you albeit through the blog.

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  5. this sounds lovely, and exactly how wedding should be - what YOU want, not what people or tradition dictates.
    My sister in law read Union at our wedding, it was lovely. I love your music choices too, and your dress is lovely. A reading from Brambly Hedge is genius, and very sweet - I loved (and still love) those books.
    We didn't follow all the traditions - no cake cutting, no garter, no veil, no bouquet throwing, no best man, I made the only speech.
    I do feel different now I'm married, but only in a way that I feel a stronger sense of belonging. I'm more settled I guess.
    Over a year in I still haven't changed my name of everything, it's such a faff, but I would've done it anyway, my old surname was awful.
    Congratulations to you both, it looks like a great day :)

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    1. Thank you Hazel :)

      I really love 'Union', I hadn't heard of it before (and neither had Joe's dad, who was reading it, and that's saying something because he's a vicar and has done many many many many weddings!), my mum didn't say what she was reading from so other guests were a bit confused about why what she was reading seemed to be about mice, but I don't care, I loved it anyway!


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  6. Aw it looks like you all had a lovely, calm day, perfect! :)

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  7. How lovely.Its so nice to see that you had the kind of day you both really wanted.Beautiful dress and lovely photos.x

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  8. I loved this!!! It sounds fabulous and very you! Love the fact it was a small wedding and you had crisps as snacks-wahey!! I'm so glad you said that about it not being the best day of your life. I felt I was the odd one out for thinking that- it was lovely but (having an awful headache that wouldn't go away),it was the best one ever!!! I love your turquoise dress,so pretty! My work colleague did my hair for me (like Clara in the Journey to the centre of the TARDIS!) and my sister did very subtle make up for me!

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    1. I have just googled Clara's hair in journey to the centre of the TARDIS and that is very nice wedding hair indeed! I had my hair cut before the wedding, by an actual hairdresser not just by me chopping off random bits in front of the bathroom mirror, so at least that's something!

      Lot's of people I've spoken to have said they wished their weddings were different or that they enjoyed it but..... I don't think we're the odd ones out for our wedding days not being the Best Day Ever, it's a lovely and important day, but quite stressful to organise it all and to go through - no wonder you had a headache! :)

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  9. This was great to read, especially as my partner and I are currently in the middle of planning our own somewhat alternative wedding. Some people can't wrap their heads around parts of what we want - such as getting ready together and getting a taxi to the ceremony - but I'm looking forward to having something that is completely 'us'. It seems like you and your husband managed exactly that.

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    1. Oh yeah, the getting ready and going together thing was a thing for some of our people! We live together, he'd seen me try on my dress and we couldn't be doing with the faff of arriving separately!
      We would have eloped if it was down to me, but I'm happy with how we compromised!
      Good luck with your wedding planning, I'm sure your wedding will be awesome!

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  10. Glad to know that you enjoyed your wedding a lot. Liked your small wedding a lot. It looks to be fantastic. We had an intimate outdoor wedding at popular Malibu wedding venues. We too had invited very few guests.

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    1. Thanks Mark, sounds like your wedding was lovely too :D

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  11. Hi i just found your blog as im getting married in sept and dont wear make up ever but people say i have to for my wedding. Im glad i found someone who didnt! I really dont want to plus im getting married in woods so seems silly! P.s i love brambly hedge ! X

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    1. Hey :)

      I know a couple of ladies that didn't wear make up on their wedding day either. I personally find make up really annoying, is it weird that mascara makes my eyelashes feel heavy (??!!), so I definitely didn't want that on my wedding day! I hope your day goes really well, and no-one badgers you into wearing make up if you don't want to, and a woodland wedding sounds so awesome - enjoy it! xx

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