Niall and Caroline 's Wedding in Evesham, Worcestershire

Our wedding was planned for September 2020, and with the uncertainty of the pandemic we made a choice in May to postpone until June 2021. The second date was pretty 'come hell or high water' for us - we really wanted to go ahead no matter the restrictions at the time, as long as it felt safe to do so. Numbers were restricted to 30, and we ended up having an intimate wedding with 25 guests. This ended up being somewhat of a blessing in disguise - it was lovely to feel we had more personal, one on one time with all our guests, although many people were sadly missed.

The day itself went off without a hitch. I was uncharacteristically relaxed getting ready with my favourite people around me, and walking down the aisle to music from one of our favourite movies, Spirited Away, and seeing Niall waiting at the end was a magical moment. I wore a light off-the-shoulder lace dress, with a cream dried flower bouquet and crown, and Niall wore a kilt in traditional Irish tartan. It was a gorgeous hot day and we enjoyed cocktails and canapes outside with our guests, followed by the wedding breakfast. The speeches were touching, with additional guests in Ireland joining us via Zoom to watch these and the first dance, which we had to do in the centre of the room while other guests remained seated - quite a bit of pressure!

Our decor was minimalist but very personal to us. Our married name is Creane (pronounced Crane) so origami cranes had to feature - there were small golden ones as table favours, and larger white ones adorning the cake. Cranes are a traditional symbol of love in Japanese weddings, though the tradition is to use 1000 of them for wedding decor - we didn't have time to create quite so many! I'm quite crafty so I created most of our decor by hand, including the signage, with tables named after all the locations we visited in Japan. I filled glass bottles with fairy lights and paired these with candles on marble-effect stands I had created. I was really pleased with how it all came out, and the dark green didn't look too out of place despite it now being a summer wedding!

Overall the day went by in a blur, but we loved every moment - a huge amount credit goes to our wonderful suppliers. Although we had a 'pandemic wedding' and there were traditions we were not allowed to do, I have no regrets - the day was the lightest moment in a somewhat dark year and it was worth the wait!