The story of Jake & Ewelina began in a queue outside a club on a fateful, freezing Halloween night in Aberystwyth in 2018. Their first conversion ended with a kiss but when Jake asked her to join him and his friends, Ewelina decided to go home, waking up the next day with a massive bump on her forehead and then – a few days later – getting a mysterious message from some random called Jake. 

Sending that message was harder than you might imagine. Jake didn’t know Ewelina’s proper name. All he had to work with was her smile, her hair (which was excessively blonde at the time) and her nickname, Ew, but after a few days of investigating, he finally managed to find her and asked her on a date which exceeded their expectations. 

It lasted for 6 hours, during which they explored every inch of Aberystwyth, from its four pubs to the peak of Constitution Hill, and they spent every moment talking, learning everything about each other and they made a genuine connection. 

After a month without a single awkward moment, they were properly boyfriend and girlfriend, spending every moment together, drinking wine and watching Lord of the Rings. The following year they went to see Muse in London, which turned out to be a big moment for their relationship. 

After graduating, they decided to move to Edinburgh and Jake started to save for an engagement ring but Ew had a different idea. On the night of their second anniversary, she booked a room in a fancy hotel and later that evening, she asked Jake to close his eyes. He did, and when he opened them, he saw her down on one knee with a ring in her hand. 

A mere two weeks later they found their new home, and – just as he had planned – Jake also proposed because he’d already got Ew a ring and he wanted his turn!

As Jake said in his vows, which he spoke directly to Ew, “I’d never wanted to get married in the past, and never held plans to do so, but meeting you made me want to celebrate that with you. It also made me want to show everyone how much I love and care about this amazing human being.” 

Ew replied in kind, saying “I can’t really explain why but from the very first date I knew I would marry this boy at some point. And well, here we are! Jake, I promise to always be your rock and support you in any silly decision you’ll make in the future.” 

As you can see, it was an extremely happy ceremony, and when they sent me these great photos, Jake and Ew said,

“Thank you so much for making our wedding truly amazing! Most of our friends are now considering having a humanist ceremony when they get married. Please find attached some of our favourites shots from Bolla, who did a fantastic job!

It really took us a while to return to our normal daily routine as a married couple, but looking back at all the photos and videos from the wedding will never stop putting a smile on our faces. 

Even though logistically our lives haven’t changed all that much (we’ve been living together for good 4 years at this point), getting married solidified our relationship and somehow reignited all the feelings and emotions we’ve had for each other.”

Just reading these words again brings a big smile to my face too, Jake & Ew – as do the photos, so big thanks from me to the fabulously named, Nigerian-born, Glasgow-based Bolla Bello who really caught the special atmosphere of the day.

Thanks again for choosing me as your celebrant and don’t lose touch!