All those days, and forever to go

The words before the wedding

Ebony described Sam as her safe place and spoke about how loved and cared for he made her feel. The letters let each of them say those things quietly before the guests arrived and the ceremony began.

The preparations were in the house, with an outdoor ceremony in the gardens afterwards. Sam and Ebony married outside, with their guests facing them across the lawn and the greenery around them.

A father’s pride, a brother’s stories

Ebony’s dad Jason spoke about her care for other people and her ability to help them feel better. He also remembered Sam coming to ask whether he could marry her, and joked that his own answer had arrived rather faster than Ebony’s.

Sam’s brother and best man Alex remembered the differences between them as boys and the friendship they had built as adults. He spoke about Sam as an uncle too, giving the room another view of the man Ebony was marrying.

The celebration at Wootton Hall

The brick house, lawns and gardens gave us room for portraits between the ceremony and reception. Inside the barn, flowers filled the tables and guests gathered for the speeches. By evening, everyone was dancing beneath the lights.