Real Weddings: Ally & Alex's Same Sex Marriage

In late December 2011 Ally found himself being ‘poked’ on Facebook by a complete stranger, not knowing who this person was Ally tried to ‘be a man’ and message the person “Hi mate, who are you?” (Ally NEVER says ‘mate’) and that was the start of Ally and Alex’s very first conversation. To this day Alex still loves to tell people this story as he seems to think it is a funny story whilst Ally cringes every time Alex tells it - it started with a poke!

Thank you to the wonderful Shannon of SLR Photography for the incredible images.

The perfect venue for a same sex marriage

Alex and Ally went to The Elvetham for a friend’s wedding a few years ago, from the moment they drove up the driveway to the house, they fell in love with the place. The Elvetham has a unique charm that is both historic and romantic, from the rolling lawns outside the house, to the beautifully decorated ceilings. The venue has areas to suit all, from the lively rooms of the dance floor to the quiet lawns outside. The house itself has a lot of history, Benny Hill filmed a famous scene there, Elizabeth I visited for a few days and Henry VIII met one of his wives here. Ally and Alex chose to include the history of their stunning venue inside their Wedition.

Lego themed same sex marriage

Huge Lego fans, Ally and Alex wanted to incorporate Lego at their same sex marriage but not make it too over the top. This is where Wedition can really come into its own! We were able to tastefully scatter Lego throughout the pages and set the challenge to see how many hidden Lego mini figure the guests could find within the Wedition. Ally and Alex’s cake topper was made of Lego and the Mr and Mr sign which hung on the top table also had Lego elements to it. Ally and Alex wore Lego cufflinks to complete their wedding day look.

Page boy and flower girl ideas for same sex marriage

Ally’s niece and nephew were the flowergirl and page boy at this emotional same sex marriage. The ceremony time was set for 2pm leaving Ally some precious time in the morning to spend with Sophia and William - practising how to enter the same sex marriage ceremony room and how to walk up the aisle. When it came to their moment in the spotlight, the pair did a fabulous job, walking at a steady pace whilst sprinkling petals along the aisle. Within Ally and Alex’s Wedition, we included an interview with flowergirl Sophia and page boy William, with hilarious results, one of the questions “How long before Mummy cries at the wedding?” with Sophia answering “a millisecond” and William answering “half a millisecond” - I can confirm (having seen the civil partnership wedding photos) that they were correct with their answers… it’s too close to call a winner!

Same sex marriage fun and games

Inside this same sex Wedition, there was a “how many Lego mini figures can you find?”, a Mr and Mr quiz, and Ally and Alex displayed their exclusive Snapchat filter. They also asked guests to see if they could spot parts from the couple’s favourite movies within their wedding details.

Same sex marriage wedding cake

A great deal of thought went into the wedding cake. One look at this stunning wedding cake and you can see how their story was told. The bottom layer showed the London skyline, Big Ben was where Alex asked Ally to be his boyfriend… the London Eye is where Alex got down on one knee and asked Ally to marry him. The third layer shows a silhouette of Ally and Alex with much loved rescue cats Ralf and Charlie. The Lego cake topper represents Ally and Alex’s love of Lego and shows the pair exchanging rings in front of the London Eye.

Same sex marriage day button holes and bouquet

Ally’s sister and bridesmaid Lucy, had a gold ring on her bouquet. This ring belonged to Ally’s Granddad George and has been passed down to Ally’s father and now to Ally. Ally’s buttonhole of a thistle incorporated small items from his life, including his granddad’s tie pin.

Table plan for a same sex marriage

The tables were all named after places which are important to Ally and Alex throughout their lives, and to honour people who have passed. The table plan was created using wall paper from Ally and Alex’s living room which meant they had a little bit of home with them on their wedding day!

Same sex marriage day finishing touches

• The ring box that was used was Ally’s granddads
• All the bridesmaids jewellery was handmade by Ally
• The top hat table favours were also made by Ally, inside them were Yankee candles (Ally is obsessed with them!), these wedding day candles smell divine and Ally and Alex hope that in the future, when their family and friends light the candle and smell the luscious scent, their mind will be brought back to this wonderful day.

• Ally and Alex had personalised M&M’s on their sweet cart!

Sparkle celebration at a same sex marriage

The idea of a sparkle ceremony absolutely blew my mind, the sentiment and romance behind this simple gesture is enough to bring a tear to anyone’s eye. It was in front of Big Ben that Alex asked Ally if he would be his boyfriend, the time was 8.25pm. A few minutes before 8.25pm on the day of Ally and Alex’s same sex marriage, the guests assembled on the main lawn for the beautiful sparkle celebration. The newlyweds, their family and close friends, all lit sparklers and celebrated this precious moment together.

Hot tip for a same sex marriage

After the same sex marriage ceremony the pair were able to have a moment without the excitement and high energy of the guests. They shared champagne in the stunning blue and cream Viscount car, the hood was down and they could wave to the people of Hartley Wintney!

When newly weds use a car on the day of their wedding, it gives them the chance to quietly celebrate alone together, often people marrying at a single use venue will say that one of the plus points is not needing a car. Here at Wedition, we feel there is always place for wedding day transportation, giving you a magical time to turn to look at each other and say, “we did it!” Meanwhile, your guests will be preparing for your grand entrance and you can arrive back to a wonderful line of smiling faces all ready to sprinkle confetti over you!

Wedition for a same sex marriage

Ally and Alex’s Wedition was styled to match their wedding day colours of navy and silver along with gentle nods to Lego. The articles inside included:

• two grooms: their individual biographies, the story of how they met and the proposal
• favourite photos
• order of the day
• Mr and Mr quiz
• wedding party introductions and who’s who
• an interview with the flowergirl and page boy
• the story of how they came to choose their wedding transport, as told by Angeline from Linara Classic wedding cars
• our story in numbers
• the history of The Elvetham
• the wedding day details
• honeymoon itinerary
• wedding menu

A same sex Wedition wedding review

"We first discovered Liz and Wedition at a Wedding Fair at our chosen venue The Elvetham where we were intrigued by her ideas. Upon chatting with Liz, her passion was evident and she was keen to help us wherever possible to create our special day. Following our first meeting to discuss our ideas and requirements, Liz was able to gain an insight into our life story and start piecing together our Wedition. Initially, we weren’t sure what to include but Liz was able to show us examples of previous content which helped build our personalised Wedition. We were absolutely delighted with the outcome of our Wedition! It was a pleasure to see our guests discover their copy and read through. From the fun elements to the necessities, the content was engaging to our guests and allowed them to gain an insight into our special day. For anyone looking for something unique to factor into their special day, we’d highly recommend Liz and Wedition to bring that extra sparkle and intrigue." - Ally & Alex

Same sex marriage: style file

• Thank you to the wonderful and very lovely Shannon of SLR Wedding Photography for providing the pre-wedding shoot (Wedition front cover image) and the divine wedding day photos for Ally and Alex's same sex marriage.
• Venue: The Elvetham
• Venue dressing: Events For U
• Cake: Celebration Cakes by Catherine Scott
• Wedding car: Linara Classic Wedding Cars
• DJ: Nightlights Disco
• Personalised M&M's: My M&M's
• Wedding favours: Yankee Candles