September Garden Wedding: An Unexpected Magical Day

Bringing you all a little bit of love and happiness, we are delighted to share with you Olivia & Jamie’s September garden wedding. Not at all what they had originally planned, but the most charming ceremony.

Olivia is the founder of Livia’s. She creates indulgent desserts that are Vegan, gluten-free and naturally delicious. For the first two years of business, Olivia produced, packed and delivered treats from her parents' kitchen, meaning she is an avid baker and entrepreneur with a hunger to give back. 

End-to-end sustainability is a huge focus of hers and is always at the core of her decision-making. Olivia’s decision to have a wedding gift list and the choices she made when selecting their presents are a true reflection of her ethos. It was important to Olivia and Jamie that they chose items that would be used for years to come and wouldn’t go to waste. 

Our initial wedding was planned for August 2020 in Greece. This had to be cancelled due to covid. Up until June 2020, we had no idea when we would get married. However, when the government eased some of the restrictions in summer and it was announced that weddings of 30 people would be allowed to go ahead, we decided to plan something. We booked our wedding for the weekend of 13th September 2020, and we had just about 8 weeks to plan it all! 

The whole weekend was perfect in every way. When I think about it, I am filled with happiness and the most wonderful memories.

What Made The Day Unique

The wedding ceremony. It was so simple and so different from what we had originally been planning, but it was perfect. Everything I had dreamed of and more. For it to take place in Jamie’s parents' garden was so special. I have memories of that garden from when I was just 17 when we first got together. 

We had chosen very unconventional flowers for the wedding. They were bright and whimsical roses, dahlias and pampas grass. Making the garden feel even more enchanted.

Seeing Jamie, standing under the chuppah (the canopy under which Jewish ceremonies take place), I have never ever seen him so happy. His smile and the way he looked at me will forever be in my memory. It all feels like a magical blur. It went so quickly. It was as if I was floating. I loved the intimacy of it all. It was more than enough.

Do You Have Any Wedding Planning Advice For Other Couples?

Take it all in. This is such a special time, and it is about you as a couple. Not necessarily about the destination or the large guest list. Small and intimate may be the way forward! 

To all couples trying to plan a wedding during these hard times, just remember that all that really matters is the two of you.

No matter how many times I said that I didn’t want a gift, our loved ones all expressed how much they wanted to buy a forever present for us. That’s when I decided on a wedding gift list. I know how much people can struggle to find a perfect gift. It often means that something is bought which isn’t 100% needed and goes to waste.  I wanted to ensure that there was no waste at all. I wanted to receive things from my closest friends that I wouldn’t have to exchange/ return or not use so much. I wanted them to be able to buy something that we knew we would use forever.

Why Did You Choose The Wedding Shop?

I had heard so many brilliant things about The Wedding Shop from my friends who had previously used it. There is such a wonderful range of gifts on the site, there is hardly anything you can’t find! They list some of my favourite brands for the home including OKA and Le Creuset.

What Is Your Favourite Gift?

Ohhhhh so hard to choose!!!! I genuinely love them all and I cannot wait to get them all when we move into our new house. My parents bought us the most gorgeous blush pink velvet pleated chair from Luna Home which I am obsessed with! A few of my best friends bought me a Le Creuset set which I will use forever and ever. And of course, I am so excited about a new KitchenAid stand mixer for all my baking!

How Have You Found The Wedding Shop Experience Despite Having To Change Your Plans?

The customer service was brilliant every step of the way. Whenever you have a question, you can get an answer immediately. The whole site was a pleasure to use.

Yes. They all loved the fact that they knew they were buying something that we would love. Jamie and I picked lots of different types of gifts with different price ranges, so that people could choose for themselves what they liked and what worked within their budget. The people who bought from the gift list said how it made their life so much easier, and it saved them so much time. I think our gift list was especially well received in the world of covid. When everyone was dealing with their own challenges and this made the experience of buying gifts hassle-free!

What Would Be Your Top Gift List Tip?

Choose things that won’t go out of fashion and things that you know you will be able to use forever. I am a very sentimental person, and I love the idea that I will be using things in 20/30/40/50 years that my friends bought me for my wedding. I am all about useful and classic things for a wedding list.

Yes!!! I actually think we received more from friends and family who didn’t attend our big day than we did the guests themselves. There were so many people that had been invited to our original, bigger wedding that were then unable to come. So they loved that even though they weren’t able to attend, they could still buy us something special. It was so incredibly generous of those people and we will forever cherish those gifts.

How Did You Make Sustainable Choices For Your Wedding?

Because of the nature of our wedding in having to be covid compliant, it was very very stripped back indeed. The only real thing we splashed out on was the flowers. Those flowers were then given to guests and family so everyone could take some home after the wedding. I still have so many of them dried in my flat which makes me so happy.