Involving your guests in your ceremony is the way to have a perfect wedding day.

Lots of my couples have done this in English, but Laurie and Alex were the first to do it in French, while juggling their two-year-old, and it was – as they told me the other day – extraordinaire!

It was a BIG wedding – with more than a hundred guests, of whom a dozen were children, and it was very different from the get go. The wedding procession involved the brothers and sisters of the bride and groom, as well as both sets of parents, their witnesses and their nieces and nephews who entered to the music taken from the soundtrack of several of the Harry Potter films.

I introduced the ceremony but then I invited the guests to look under their seats, where some of them found numbered envelopes.

Inside each of them was a chapter of the story of Laurie and Alex, and as the story unfolded, no fewer than nine of the guests took to their feet to deliver them.

There was a special envelope to introduce the handfasting ceremony and another one for the rings,

and after Laurie and Alex had spoken their vows, I asked the guests to make some promises to them too.

This was one of my favourites.

Tim – Promettez-vous de faire de ce jour, l’un des plus heureux, des plus fous, et des plus magiques de leurs vies ?

Guests – Nous le voulons!

If you’ve ever wondered how to do a handfasting while simultaneously holding a child, look and learn!

La cérémonie était extraordinaire et nous ne sommes pas les seuls à le penser. Tous nos invités sont unanimes.

The ceremony was extraordinary and we are not the only ones to think so. All our guests are unanimous.

Nous l’avons vecu un peu dans le brouillard tous les deux mais tu as mené la danse avec perfection. We lived it a little in the fog both, but you led the dance with perfection.

Concernant l’arbre que tu as planté pour nous, nous sommes très fier de cette démarche et te remercions vivement. Un ami proche nous a offert un bout de terre dans la forêt de Glencoe par Highland Titles, et tout ça fait de nous des personnes encore plus attachées à ton magnifique pays.

Regarding the tree you planted for us, we are very proud of this approach and thank you very much. A close friend has offered us a piece of land in the forest of Glencoe, and all that makes us even more attached to your beautiful country.

I’m so glad to hear that, Alex & Laurie! I really love how you involved so many friends and family members in the ceremony, and I am delighted they felt la cérémonie était extraordinaire aussi! Un grand merci à Sandra Fleury pour les photos, and of course to Gabrielle Plasman of French Weddings in Scotland who kindly introduced us in the first place!