Share The Honest Love on Sunday (Part 1)

vinita and kieran

It’s been 10 days since my friend and colleague Laura Caudery of Fetcham Park shared this incredibly moving piece with our readers and in so doing, launched our collaborative #ShareTheHonestLove campaign.  The power of social media truly amazes me at times (thanks to ALL of you who have shared, re-tweeted, blogged and emailed about the campaign so far), but so does the power of the good intention and the human spirit; in the past 10 days, the #ShareTheHonestLove campaign has reached over 5 million people.

5 Million.

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Click here to view almost 600 #ShareTheHonestLove images shared so far

And whilst you might just sit here thinking we’re air punching and going ga-ga after achieving hashtag viral status (we’ll not deny having squealed with delight once or twice),  the true measure of success of this campaign, for us both, is being able to witness the sheer outpouring of love on social media and so many people engaging with something so positive.  From sharing images, leaving lovely comments and sending kind and thoughtful emails – it is these actions that bring Laura and I more joy than any hashtag reach calculator ever could.

So fantastic that this has received so much exposure. So proud of you! My brides have been speaking about it in meetings with no prompting! (Lucy Davenport, Wedding Photographer)

Between now and Christmas, Laura and I will be selecting our favourite #ShareTheHonestLove images each week and sharing them with you on a Sunday morning here on Love My Dress.  We thought it would be a fun way of maintaining the momentum of this glorious little hashtag as well as offering encouragement to Love My Dress readers to participate and continue engaging with something a little bit wonderful.  And we would really, really love you to participate.

I just wanted to thank you personally for the Share the Honest Love article and project. It’s something that has really resonated with me. So often I have to remind brides on the day that details don’t matter – that the only things that are essential on the day are a bride, a groom, someone to marry them, and being surrounded by the people that matter to them. Everything else is lovely, but not the important thing. I love that your post, Laura, has put into perspective why this is so important. (Eliza Claire, Wedding Photographer)

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#ShareTheHonestLove images sourced via Webstagram

In honour of the inspiring woman who launched the #ShareTheHonestLove campaign, I’m handing over to Laura this week, so that she can share two of her very favourite #ShareTheHonestLove campaign images so far with you.  Here first choice is this beautiful photograph of a romantic embrace, by Instagram poster @andreeea_tc.

“#ShareTheHonestLove  was inspired not just by my own experiences but by ALL the wonderful Fetcham Park couples that have celebrated at the house, so I couldn’t really choose my favourites for this series without first giving thanks to them for allowing me to share in their love.

Looking back through my personal Instagram feed, I can see that the idea for #sharethehonestlove was taking shape with every wedding we hosted. And it became even more apparent when wedding photographer Cristina Rossi sent me the gallery from couple Andrea and Andrew’s wedding day. It was incredible, and had so many beautiful details!   I think you can feel everything about their day just from this single photograph, but what made it even more special was when I saw that Andrea had shared this photo on Instagram as part of the #ShareTheHonestLove campaign, and read her accompanying words: ‘One of my favourite moments captured by the lovely @crissiross. We never had the chance to practice a first dance and Andrew’s words ‘trust me’ just made me love him all over again.’.  

This is *exactly* what it’s all about. It won’t be the things you bought or planned, it will be the precious moments that you shared that you will treasure. This moment was entirely theirs and yet I’m smiling with them, just as their guests were on the day. How very, very special.”

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Click here to view this image online

“My second choice of #ShareTheHonestLove image this week had to be this photograph shared by @vinitaaddybrand on Instagram.  This wedding, which Annabel shared here on Love My Dress, made me re-evaluate the photographs that I wanted to share. I was interested to see that when it came to choosing my favourites for our Facebook page, they had nothing to do with the house. My favourites were actually ones of Vinita and her Dad embracing after he’d made his speech. They’re just so tender and remind me of my own special relationship with my Dad, and my Grandad. I reflected on the fact that Vinita looked utterly beautiful on the day, the house had never looked more spectacular, and yet what I remembered most and loved about the photos was the emotion of the day. It was truly magical to be part of.

And it wasn’t just Vinita, Kieran and their parents that were so happy that day. Everyone was. And that’s why this is my other favourite #ShareTheHonest Love photograph this week. Whilst it’s their first dance and they’re sharing a very private moment (look at how passionately they’re embracing, completely oblivious to everyone else and yet at the same time, completely immersed in everyone’s love), every single person on the dance floor was sharing it too.

And thanks to social media and thanks to Annabel, now we can all share the love as well! I love the fact that everyone has responded so enthusiastically and LOVE seeing everyone’s photos and reading your stories. Please, please keep sharing. Next time I promise I won’t be so biased in my choices but thank you for letting me off just this once!”

vinita and kieran

Click here to view this image online

We’ll forgive you Laura 🙂

Next week, I’ll be sharing some of my favourites along with Laura’s new faves too.

For now, may Laura and I encourage you to participate in the #ShareTheHonestLove campaign by sharing your own images on social media (Instagram, Twitter or Facebook) and tagging your image with the #ShareTheHonestLove hashtag.

Have a very, very lovely Sunday everyone.

Love Annabel xXx

Annabel

Annabel View all Annabel's articles

Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.

2 thoughts on “Share The Honest Love on Sunday (Part 1)

  1. It is easy to forget that in amongst the handcrafted decorations, designer dresses and details, details details, that what every single one of the weddings you see on this blog is just about two people in love.

    If you are a bride feeling overwhelmed by the details of planning your wedding, looking for individuality from all the inspiration, feeling pressured to create something unique and cool, then stop and look at all these beautiful images and stories and think about what its really all about.

    The most wonderful weddings I have worked on are not the ones with stunning locations, and crazy games and amazing decor- they are the ones that I go home feeling warm and fuzzy because I spent a day surrounded by good, honest love and happiness.

    1. Hi Amy, I couldn’t agree with you more, and I love your final paragraph – it really fills my heart and reminds me why I absolutely love my job, and why I’ll continue to share #ShareTheHonestLove style images on Love My Dress for however long this blog is in existence for.

      Love Annabel xXx

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