Your day, your way!

Our Wedding turned out to be very unique indeed. It wasn't what we had initially planned; however, neither of us would swap it for anything else.

What we wanted

Something "us". Neither of us wanted anything too formal, the number of weddings we have been to, which all look very similar, white round tables, same plan of the day, speeches... it isn't "us". Most of all, we wanted to be able to include our dog, Pepper; however, dog-friendly places that didn't cost the world and were local to us didn’t seem to be an option!

Picking our day

When we started looking for a venue the Swindon Register Office was a complete no, I had a friend get married in the register office many years ago and I just remembered it being very dark and when you left it opened into a dingy alley way - the thought of this ruined the day I wanted, so from the start the register office was out!

We started looking around locally and found some very beautiful venues; however, in our 40’s, spending a fortune was not an option. When looking, we often found places that appeared reasonable but then when you had to add on the additional fees for food, decoration and corkage it was out of budget.

Before we knew it an initial £5,000 bill was now looking to be nearer to £15,000. We continued to look, and this is when we started to worry more and more about our dog, which of our valued guests would we leave behind to look after her?

Time had come to speak to some proper grown-ups - mum and dad! They had already tried to convince us that the Swindon Register Office had moved and now looked beautiful. They had recently been to a wedding there and said the whole place looked nothing like what I remembered. Reluctantly I looked online and it appeared to be okay from the pictures.

Decision made – Swindon Register Office and then a local club room close to home so we can pop back and forward to make sure Pepper was okay! During this time mum and dad had jokingly said we could have the wedding in their garden, a perfect dream but we were aware we couldn’t actually legally marry there, so we didn’t give it any more thought.

Viewing Swindon Register Office

We booked our first visit to have a look around at Swindon Register Office! It was beautiful, ideal for what we needed, close to home and wherever we chose to have the reception. The ladies were absolutely lovely and were able to answer all of our questions, even putting up with us struggling to be sensible with any decision we made. I had read on the website a little note ‘ask about bespoke weddings’... and this is where the plans changed!

How it all happened

From seeing Swindon Register Office and then returning home we had decided we wanted the best of both. I contacted Alison again who had already been inundated with emails from me asking many questions, and just enquired about if having two days would be possible, from there Alison and Lynn made everything a reality!

The bespoke wedding option meant we could have two ceremonies. Rather than opting for a large room we chose the Juno Room at Swindon Register Office, which would allow us to have 20 guests. This kept the numbers to a minimum as we wanted as many of our friends and family to believe our wedding at my parents' home would be our wedding day.

We had two special days! Our marriage happened on the Friday at Swindon Register Office and our wedding took place the next day, on the Saturday, at my parents home. I got to be a princess twice!

During the lead up to the days we had a lot of contact with Alison and Lynn. They popped round to see the garden to make sure it was possible, advised on guest numbers and possible seating plans, and advised us on all the things we may need to remember.

Day 1 - A normal ceremony at Swindon Register Office, the legal part, we called this the marriage

We were able to pick the music, the vows, the readings and everything you would imagine for a normal ceremony. I hadn’t realised how many decisions there would be to make, but we were never alone and supported throughout by Alison, Lynn and the staff at Swindon Register Office.

Lynn was our celebrant for the legal ceremony and our wedding day at home. It was special to have the same person guide us and support us through both days.

Day 2 – Our wedding day at home!

You can imagine the commotion as everything took place there, but that was exactly how we wanted it. Our dream wedding day with our beloved Pepper by our side.  Lynn, our celebrant from Swindon Register Office, came to our home and no one would have known that the day wasn’t a legal wedding ceremony.

All our guests arrived as if they were going to a hotel or wedding venue, we had seating and a setup as if it was a wedding venue - guests guessing at how much it had all cost! Dad had spent the year gardening, no matter the weather, he was out making the back garden look like the most beautiful wedding venue there could be! We also had no concerns with Pepper, it is her second home, and she was number one on the guest list.

Lynn was amazing, during the time we spent chatting she got to know us and the way we are as a couple together. This is something she was able to put into our readings and vows, it was all very personal and tailored to us. The support she gave during day 1 was unbelievable, there were many tears (all happy ones), this aside she made us and our guests feel at home and made everyone feel included.

The vows she wrote us for the second day, the words she said and including Pepper in the ceremony was unbelievable, we were so lucky that she was there for us. Our guests wanted to know who our friend was and how long she had known us because the ceremony was conducted in such a personal way.

Since our wedding I have seen photos of other weddings and I would never swap our day for any of them. Our days were unique and personal, they allowed us to include those closest to us, even if she does have four legs and a tail, and we kept within a budget.

I genuinely didn’t know you could be spoilt two days in a row and not spend a fortune on it! I would love to do it again and wouldn’t change a thing!