Every wedding shared on this beloved wedding blog is special, but some are extra special to me personally – and this is one of them. I’ve known the groom since he was born, for his mother was my godmother. Val was one of the most beautiful, kind, loving people you could ever wish to meet in life. She was the embodiment of wholesomeness, family, warmth and kindness. And sadly, last month, she passed away.
Val and her husband Dave had the most warm and welcoming home (the aga was always on, the tea was always brewing) and a gentle, loving marriage to match. And my dear godmother’s passing has been a catalyst for me to rethink about all the reasons we choose to marry; love, togetherness, commitment and why a wedding is one life’s most precious moments.
Because life is breathtakingly short and the people we love will not always be there. Because one day, you’ll look back and realise that the ordinary Tuesday mornings, the shared cups of tea, the phone calls that went on too long, those were the extraordinary moments all along. A wedding is a declaration, not just of love, but of presence, of showing up for someone, choosing them, and saying out loud, in front of everyone you hold dear, this person is my person. And the people in that room, the ones who travelled, who dressed up, who cried happy tears in the third row, they are your life.
So have the wedding you dream of darlings, gather all your favourites together and hug them tight. Know that your guests will enjoy the company of strangers they’ve never met before and be besties on the dance floor by the end of the evening. Smile your biggest smile for the group and portrait shots – you might feel a touch awkward as they’re being taken, but those photographs will come to mean everything to you in time. Be present. Truly. Pinch yourself to make sure you’re feeling all the joy and love on your magical day. Drink, dance and be merry. But absolutely have the wedding.
Tom and Cami’s wonderful wedding at Garthmyl Hall in Powys, Wales, was a precious life moment, a joyous celebration that blended influences from their Chilean and English cultures, with every carefully chosen detail reflecting who they are and the life they are building together.
It was the kind of wedding day where you just knew from the very first moment, that every single thing had been chosen with love and intention. Warm, joyful, delicate handmade details and full of laughter, but with plenty of happy tears too. A day where the guests had travelled from the far corners of the world to be there, and where you could feel just how much that meant. Bilingual, botanical, deeply personal and just a little bit unexpected in the very best way.
Tom and Cami, thank you so much for trusting us to share your precious day, it means the world. Sending you both so much love.
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Garthmyl Hall,
Our venue was Garthmyl Hall and the simple reason is because we fell in love with the hall and the people there instantly. It was the first and only proper venue we saw (after an optimistic punt on a local pub that ended up a non-starter).
We had two priorities; the first was a venue that could accommodate as many of our friends and family for as long as possible. Our friends and family would be travelling from all over the world and we’ve always preferred destination type weddings over a weekend, rather than just one day. It’s a wedding, we want to celebrate for as long as possible with all the people we love!
The second priority for us was accommodating Tom’s mum and her disability – we wanted to accommodate her needs.
We first visited Garthmyl Hall for an open garden event on the August bank holiday in 2024. We’d found a few venues online we were interested in around the Midlands but hadn’t visited any yet. Then we stumbled on Garthmyl Hall and they had the open garden event coming up so we spontaneously made the trip up from London.
We knew Garthmyl was perfect within about 10mins of arriving. The hall is absolutely stunning, it’s been beautifully restored by Julia over the last 10 years or so. It had the accommodation we wanted in the hall and additional accommodation in the stables, including some suitable for Tom’s mum. And the gardens… wow. They’re just spectacular.
But really it was Laura, who we met on the day, that sealed the decision for us. She was amazing, taking time out of the event, and basically giving us the answers we wanted to almost every question we asked. We just had a great feeling straight away, they’re so flexible, open minded and we just felt from the first minute like she would do everything she could to make our day perfect. And the Hall and Gardens are so beautiful and have so many different spaces you can really shape your day as you like. They had one wedding where the reception meal was hosted beneath the Cedar tree in the garden!
When we left we pretty much took one look at each other, knew it was the one, so got in touch with Laura asap to pay the deposit and confirm!
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The Dress
Lutien Bridal Gowns
I ordered my dress from an independent designer I found on Etsy called Lutien Bridal Gowns. When I told this to people, I got so many different reactions; most of them thought I was crazy. I felt like it was a great choice, because I was supporting an independent designer, and because most of my family and friends live abroad, so I didn’t have anyone to come with me to a traditional fitting. It also saved me lots of money, which is always good!
I contacted them to find out if the dress could be made to measure, and they said yes. When I received it a few months later, I couldn’t believe how perfect it was in every way: the fabric, the quality, the details and – the fitting! I only had to have it shortened at the front, because my shoes were not as high as I expected them to be, but that was a piece of cake.
I would highly recommend this experience to other brides and encourage them to consider looking online. I genuinely feel like they tried their best to help with my dream dress and their communication was very reassuring during the whole process, which is crucial when you are purchasing something online.
The most important thing to me was to wear a dress that was comfortable, and because it was autumn, I needed some coverage as well, to stay warm (which also counts as comfort!) All I knew is that I wanted a satin dress. When I found the right dress, I contacted the atelier to request a few adjustments to make it into a more wintery dress as it had an open back and a high slit.The result was perfect.In terms of style, I think that my dress was elegant, simple, and feminine, as it didn’t have many details. The subtle shine of the satin was enough, with a few pearl buttons and puffy sleeves being all the subtle touches I needed for that little extra.
I wore a veil, but it was not an easy decision! I wear large spectacles and thought that maybe the veil would be a bit too much on top of that. I am very happy that I changed my mind and bought the most beautiful lace veil from Gigi & Olive. It was short, elegant, and timeless.
My shoes were from Monsoon. I didn’t know the brand until I found those dreamy shoes that matched my dress to perfection. They were not too high which is something I would absolutely recommend to brides prioritising comfort. I actually kept them on until the end of the day because they were so comfortable! How nice is that? Not having to worry about a second pair of shoes for the dancefloor is just another less thing to think about.
I wore ‘Citron Glace’ by Le Monde Gourmand. This is not expensive perfume at all, and I had been looking for it for ages, but I couldn’t remember the name! It’s a fragrance I bought in New York ten years ago on a holiday. The name came to me suddenly, so I ordered it right before the wedding. It was meant to be.
I wear spectacles on a daily basis; they are an essential part of who I am, and one of my favourite accessories. Not wearing them on my wedding day would have been the wrong decision, as I would have felt unrecognisable! I got a fresh pair done in a beautiful rose-pink frame by Webb, Lucas and Stubbs in Staffordshire (we are very lucky to say one of our close friends is an optician!) They were subtle, the perfect bridal accessory.
Apart from my engagement ring and my wedding band, I only wore a necklace and a pair of earrings. The earrings were from a brand called Pilgrim, which is handmade jewellery made in Denmark. Subtle golden hoops holding a pearl that matched the energy of my dress.
My necklace was from Bohm Paris, a French brand. A mother of pearl pendant with touches of gold, also a perfect accessory for my satin dress.
My hair and makeup artist was Jenni Davis. She was a recommendation from another artist listed in our venue suppliers that I contacted originally but wasn’t available. I of course loved Jenni’s work from the photos I could find, so I contacted them and loved her personality and vibe. It was like having a fun time with a friend which is extremely valuable, but without losing any of the professionalism. Jenni was there to make me feel special and pretty but also smile and relax.
Tom’s suit was from Marc Darcy and the main criteria was the colour. We’d decided he’d wear a dark green suit so just had to find the right one – not such a common suit colour.
The Ceremony
We were very traditional with our ceremony, despite it being non-religious. Tom arrived to the place of the ceremony early enough to welcome the guests and wait for my arrival.
I was accompanied by my dad down the aisle, but just before me, my seven bridesmaids and my mom made an entrance, one by one.
It was very difficult for me to pick my entrance song because I had too many options – we have lots of special songs. The morning of the wedding, I asked my bridesmaids for help while I was having my hair and makeup done. I played my 1st choice and they loved it instantly. It was ‘Someone like you’, by Van Morrison. We were listening to Van Morrison on a Sunday in Paris (Tom says it’s Sunday music) after we’d just got engaged. We started hugging and dancing to that specific song, listening to the lyrics. It was a beautiful and special moment and that is why the song is important to us.
As we’d already had our legal ceremony in Chile we could do what we want, so we asked Tom’s oldest brother Joel and my best friend Mathias to be our celebrants, another of the personal touches. Mathias lives in Switzerland, and Joel in Newcastle and they hadn’t met until the day before the wedding. We put them in touch with each other to plan, but neither have hosted a wedding ceremony before, never mind together so we were a little nervous. But we didn’t need to be. It was the most beautiful, personal, touching, funny and bilingual ceremony we could’ve imagined.
We both wrote our own vows. We didn’t really coordinate them much – we agreed on a rough length but wanted them to be a surprise. I read mine first, which was a (Tom would say perfect) mix of humour and emotion. He said it made him a bit nervous! But we both got some laughs, made a few people cry and most importantly, expressed how much we love each other.
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An extract of Tom’s:
Cami, Baby, the odds of us meeting were miniscule
And yet from Santiago, via Rome, Paris and Lyon, you found me.
I will never forget the day we started talking, not knowing that I was going to love you so much
I will never forget the sacrifices you’ve made so that we could be together
I will love you more every day. I will laugh with you. I will cry with you. I will be your biggest fan and I will do everything in my power to make you happy.
I will always make your morning coffee, I will always say yes immediately when you suggest pizza
And I will NEVER use Chatgpt for a translation again!
An extract of mine:
Tom, the love of my life, my soul mate, my best friend.
You changed everything. You made ordinary moments feel extraordinary.
I utterly love doing life with you.
I love the way our lives intertwine – effortlessly, beautifully.
You are my heart’s home in human form.
You are a friend who grew roots in my heart.
You make me feel safe, you make my heart rest easy.
You understand me like no one else. You share my cheese addiction and celebrate my cat obsession. To be honest that’s all I need!!!
In truth there are no words to describe how extraordinarily marvellous it is to know that I will never be alone again, that you will be there to hold my hand as I grow old and experience the mysterious, unpredictable and joyous thing that is life.
Tom, you carry love in the way most people only dream of. I could spend a lifetime tracing the goodness in your heart and never finish. You also take the bins out, give me foot massages almost every night, bring me coffee to work, bring me coffee to bed in the morning… Joking or not, I could go on and on.
I can’t wait to bask in your love forever.
Long may our love continue to be selfless, unconditional and committed.
We had two readings; first, my sister Dani read a poem that explained love in a way that resonated with the love Tom and I share. She was too nervous to do her own speech, so we asked to do a reading instead. It was ‘Red bird’, by Mary Oliver, read in Spanish. And the second reading was a bit leftfield. Tom’s favourite poem is from a cartoon called Cow Poetry by Gary Larson (the creator of the Far Side Gallery). His older brothers – and cultural influences growing up – introduced him to the Far Side Gallery. We’re not sure about copyright but included the cartoon here as it can’t really be described. But basically, it’s a cow at poetry class reading a poem about longing for the green hills to its bovine classmates.
This was actually my idea. Tom wanted to pick something funny, that reflected his sense of humour and is not your typical wedding reading. I suggested cow poetry and Tom thought it was brilliant. Tom’s oldest mate Rich agreed to read it but we didn’t give him much guidance. We just said, it’s short so feel free to give an intro and talk about their childhoods or something.
Tom: But what he did blew us away. He wrote the most amazing longer poem, talking about our childhoods together – the family home I grew up in, baking at home with my mum, watching our beloved Aston Villa, playing footy, watersports, holidays. Writing about it now makes me emotional! He had me in tears one line then laughing the next. Among a special day it’s one of my absolute highlights and will live with us for the rest of our lives. He then finished it with the poem from the cow poetry cartoon, ‘Distant Hills’, which we think had most of our guests utterly confused, but we’ll never forget looking at both Tom’s brothers crying with laughter! Pretty much exactly what we wanted.
Our rings were made by my dear friend Paula who goes by the name Pangaia Joyas. Paula is an incredibly talented Santiago, Chile, based jeweller who we’re so happy came to both the Chilean and UK weddings.
We have so many favourite moments, but the whole ceremony was beautiful, including that special poem by Rich. Most of our guests cried during the ceremony, including a few who admitted they never normally cry. But it was full of laughter too. It was also bilingual in its entirety, which was possible with the help of lots of friends with translations, to keep the surprise for us. It was a fully collaborative work and that is quite spectacular!
Photography
Our photographer was Catalina Juger. Cata was great and we’d definitely recommend her. It definitely did help having photographers that could communicate with all our guests equally! She was super professional and focused, but we felt really at ease with her all day. In fact for a lot of the day, she got on with her job, and we didn’t really notice her.
We contemplated having our couples’ photos before the ceremony. It was Laura’s suggestion, to give us more time with our guests during the reception. But Tom wanted that moment when I walked down the aisle and saw me for the first time. And to be honest it would’ve made the morning more of a rush getting ready.
How They Met
Cami…
I’m from Chile but was living in France when we met. Tom is from a little town called Stafford, but has been mostly living in London for the past few years.
We first ‘met’ online, and not dating apps! We both love music, including a band called Friendly Fires. In 2020, at the start of pandemic lockdown, Friendly Fires’ singer Ed started doing a live show every morning on Instagram. A little half hour radio show type thing, talking and playing records. Normally there were about 100 people watching so we all ended up chatting to each other during the show and slowly a little community developed. We all started following each other on the gram, including both of us.
Apart from the odd random comment on a post we didn’t properly start talking to each other for a couple of years though. I had moved to Paris from southern France, and Tom was actually taking a break from London and living in Wales at this point, just up the road from Garthmyl Hall as it happens. We were both on our own and maybe looking for someone to talk to. But the specific moment we properly started talking is a bit silly really. Tom has an interesting sense of humour and had started posting silly games on Instagram. One was called “What the f*** is that?”. It involved close up photos of random objects people were supposed to guess what they were. One was clearly a leek. So I replied “It’s a f*****g leek” and of all the things that could’ve been the start, that was it, we finally got talking.
This was around April. It started slowly, but grew to the point we were talking all day every day. With the distance between us I don’t think either of us thought about anything else for a while. But after a few weeks Tom told me he liked me and wanted to meet. But it was a bit too soon for me. I said I just saw him as a friend. But deep down I knew I liked him too so a month or so later, I said YES! We should meet!
In July 2022, Tom came to Paris so we could meet for the first time. We met on Pont Marie, went for dinner at an amazing little bistro called Les Deux Colombes and took a moonlit walk along the Seine. He hadn’t told anyone he was coming so there was no extra pressure in case it didn’t work out. And we both said “we’ll see” a lot, but really, deep down, we both knew it was going to be amazing and that this would be something special.
I wasn’t sure about a long distance relationship but after that amazing first date we kept it going. I went to the UK in September for 11 days and after that we knew this was it. Two years of travelling between Paris and London followed. But Tom also had a 4 month sabbatical planned to take part in 2 stages of the Clipper Race – a round the world yacht race – which I wasn’t looking forward to. It had been like a shadow looming on the horizon for the first 18 months of our relationship, and it was really hard.
Our big wedding celebration in Wales wasn’t our legal wedding; our civil ceremony actually took place in January 2025 in Santiago de Chile, during our summer holidays. It was a very short ceremony that lasted about 15 minutes, which included lots of legal terms and signings! It was followed by a cocktail party with my Chilean family and friends. The whole celebration lasted about three hours. It was Tom’s idea to have our legal wedding there and it was brilliant because some members of my family couldn’t make it to the big wedding in the UK.
“I replied “It’s a f*****g leek” and of all the things that could’ve been the start, that was it, we finally got talking!”
Tom…
I already knew I wanted to marry Cami, but being away for so long it really hit me and I came back feeling almost desperate to get it done. So I went shopping and ordered a ring, which should’ve been easy with Cami being in Paris but she decided to come to the UK the week I was meant to go and collect it! So I had to think of an excuse that would enable me to go to Birmingham to collect the ring – something so boring, she wouldn’t want to come with me. I made up a business meeting, got dressed up in a suit and drove to Birmingham from my parents house. It was all so quick I had to stop at the services for half an hour on the way home so she wouldn’t be suspicious why I was back so quickly.
By this point I’d already planned out a reconstruction of our first date to pop the question. So two weeks shy of our two year anniversary, we got engaged on Pont Marie, the very spot we’d first met, followed by champagne on the banks of the Seine and dinner at Les Deux Colombes again.
Thankfully for me, it all took Cami by complete surprise. A passing amateur photographer caught the moment too! He happened to be passing and after a while came up to us and sent the photos to Cami.
We’d always known we’d have a celebration in each country and we were already planning a trip to Chile that January so I’d pretty much planned it out before proposing that we might get married in Chile. So within a couple of weeks of getting engaged we booked flights and started organising the Chilean wedding.
Within a month or so of getting engaged we’d booked two weddings, and we’re very proud of ourselves, organizing two weddings in different countries all within 15 months of getting engaged. And it makes us even more grateful to everyone that travelled so far for the ‘big one’. Not being a proper, legal wedding almost made it feel like a bit of a scam but we had guests from every continent!
The downside was I knew that getting married in Chile probably meant none of my family or friends could make it. I’m proud of myself for doing it, in a foreign language I was learning slowly, but I had mixed emotions about it. I’d always wanted my mum to see me find the love of my life and get married. And then I’d flown several thousand miles away for my wedding and my family all had to watch it on Zoom. So it made our Garthmyl Hall wedding even more special.
The Reception
We used two large flags that were displayed in the wall, those of Chile and the United Kingdom, to symbolise the union of two cultures. It was a fun background for photos as well!
We found our caterers, Tallulah and Co (Tallulah and her husband Shay) via the Garthmyl directory – one of their preferred caterers. All of Garthmyl’s preferred caterers are amazing but we got such a great vibe from Tallulah the first time we spoke. We wanted an all-vegetarian semi-bespoke menu, and she was more than happy to take it on, combined with a few of their more standard dishes. Our bespoke dishes included: Pastel de choclo (a Chilean fave!), sopaipillas (Chilean pumpkin fritters) and empanadas both served with the afternoon canapes, and a slight twist on one of Tallulah’s standard dishes – miso buttered leeks (we HAD to have some leeks on the menu!). And my favourite British dessert, ‘sticky toffee pudding’.
Tom’s middle brother Dan made our cakes, one of our more personal touches for the day! He’s a professional artisan baker and founder of Stark Farm Bakery, although doesn’t normally do wedding cakes. He actually made three cakes to accommodate dietary needs! One was egg free, one was gluten free and one main cake.
Flavours were picked in discussion with Dan. Again we wanted something a bit unusual but mainly just super tasty. Our main cake was courgette and lime (all the allergens!), our gluten free cake was Tunisian orange and we had egg-free blueberry cupcakes with blackcurrant frosting. They were all incredible.
I designed all the stationery in the comfort of our flat. This included the menus, the table place names, a welcome sign, the table plan, the wedding favours and wrapping paper for the chocolate we gifted to some select guests. They were all watercolour paintings in botanical/floral patterns that I created all over 2025.
Most of my designs were not originally designed for the wedding! I mixed older designs with more planned patterns to create the stationery under my artist’s name Paper Mangrove, a little brand that I intend to develop slowly.
We wanted our wedding favours to have meaning – we chose three special flowers to create a very unique piece: the Rose for England, the Chilean bellflower for Chile and the Daffodil for Wales (where our wedding took place.) The result was a colourful A6 watercolour design depicting these three flowers, with a brief explanation in the back as to what they represented. We believe that was truly unique, and the fact that it was designed and hand painted by me was extra special.
Our florist was Donna at Pheasant Botanica. Donna’s style is exactly what we were looking for: something more wild-looking, very ethereal and effortless. Our idea was not to have luxurious or splendorous florals, but rather something more natural and whimsical, and certainly lots of greenery and foliage. There is not a lot more to say really; when we looked at her work, we knew exactly that she was the person for it.
It is very important to mention that Donna made us part of the whole process of creating our florals, from the sketches to the very final details. It made us appreciate her work which is art really, and it is greatly admired.
Evening & Dancing
Our first dance was ‘Playground Love’, by Air and Gordon Tracks (aka Thomas from Phoenix). Air are one of Tom’s favourite bands, Phoenix one of mine. And of course they’re both French – apt considering our two years of back and forth between France and UK.
Our friend Chris Seymour DJ’d. Wouldn’t have wanted anyone else. He’s an incredible DJ and was so happy to DJ a carefully curated playlist for us and even made some less mixable songs work.
But we had a secret bonus dance too! We danced ‘Cueca’, which is the traditional dance from Chile which Tom had to learn and practice, and I am so proud of him for doing it (and SO well!). No one was expecting it and it set the atmosphere for the start of the party but was also very emotional especially for my parents and friends who travelled from Chile. A few tears of emotion were shed.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
Cami…
If you want to do something – do it. It’s your day.
Don’t be afraid to get involved in some of the organising or creative processes. It feels truly special to be part of your own big day when you’ve contributed to it in a way other than just being the bride or groom haha! And also ask your special people if they want to get involved. It turns out most of them will be honoured to.
Make it personal.
Get ahead on planning. We were incredibly lucky to work with two great coordinators and an amazing venue and it actually was pretty much stress free. But I’m very proud that we were also ON IT with planning. Very organised, and it saved us so much stress nearer and on the day.
If you want people to do something, tell them! We had a dictaphone and digital camera on the guestbook table because we thought it would be funny for people to leave voice messages, and the camera in case people felt inspired to take random photos. But we didn’t make any signs or anything so I’m not sure people even noticed they were there. We did also have an instax camera too which got used a lot though, so maybe it was overkill.
We had an initial budget and hoped to spend even less. It ended up costing 3-4 times what we’d originally hoped. But considering our criteria, in hindsight, we were probably optimistic. We wanted a venue that could host as many of our guests over a weekend as possible, suitable for Tom’s mum, and we were also determined for it to be as stress free as possible. But really, when we found Garthmyl Hall it just felt right, so we stretched a bit further than we’d planned, with some help from parents – and a credit card!
Tom…
I would like to remember more of the party which I’m convinced is only partly due to alcohol. I think I was emotionally fatigued and couldn’t take any more in. But I’m sure the alcohol contributed so maybe I’d say I wouldn’t drink much or at all.
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