Thu 10th Feb, 2011

A beautiful, sun drenched, Californian beach wedding

A childhood dream of mine was to get married outside, under the sunshine and amongst the trees. Unfortunately due to restrictions in this country that wasn't possible. We did however, get pretty close with our wedding in the gothic temple at Yaxley Hall in Suffolk.

I'm a big supporter of the freedom to be married wherever you like, whether it's in a church, a stately home, the woods, a vineyard, on top of a mountain or in your back garden.

The Any Campaign, set up by Penny from Tino & Pip Photography is hoping to get things changed. The law states that a marriage ceremony venue must have a roof, be moored to its foundations, and licensed by the local registrar and that the ceremony must take place between 8am and 6pm.

Penny says:

"Further restricting our imaginations when it comes to our wedding day, is a highly outdated law that says that weddings must take place between 8am and 6pm. This rule was drawn up when civil marriages were first introduced in 1837 and it was designed to stop people marrying the wrong partner in the dark in the days before electricity!"

So no ceremonies outside in the evening surrounded by beautiful flickering candlelight...

If you'd like to see the laws relaxed, please click here and sign their petition.

Over in the US, the laws are much less restrictive. So for the time being, here is Sharone and Bern's beautiful sunshine-filled, Californian beach wedding to inspire you. With thanks to the lovely Ala of Love Ala for submitting their wedding.

Sharone and Bern

Sharone and Bern

Ala tells us their story:

"Sharone and Bern met at Halloween. Each of them had plans to dress up in costumes for a night out on the town. Sharone, along with her twin sister, went shopping for their costumes with some time to spare. But Bern, well, waited just a little bit too long. By the time he went on his costume search, the only thing he could find was an Eeyore costume…CHILD SIZE! But that’s just Bern. He rocked that costume to a college party with a smile on his face. And that’s the night he met Sharone. Sweet, down-to-earth, warm Sharone. Needless to say, they shared something that night.

Over the years, they’ve grown closer and more and more in love. So much so that when Sharone moved back to California after college, Bern came with her. In September at The Jonathan Club in Santa Monica, among family and friends and the craziest dance party I’ve seen in a while, they took the first steps toward their united lives together."

Blue Californian sky