When it came to planning our wedding ceremony, we had very specific wishes and a few tricky obstacles to overcome. My (now) husband was 5,000 miles away in Scotland and, due to circumstances beyond our control, there was no way for us to know the exact date of his arrival. This meant we couldn't set a solid date for our handfasting and we needed flexibility and the willingness to set a plan into action with just a few weeks notice. Not only did this present a challenge, but it was essential to us for our ceremony to be a traditional Celtic pagan handfasting officiated by someone who knew, understood and appreciated our spiritual beliefs, traditions and history.

Pat and Diane were absolutely amazing in every way and worked with us, not only making our ceremony unique and absolutely perfect for us, but also easily working through the obstacles mentioned above. They worked with us to plan as much as possible in advance and then once Jamie arrived in town they invited us to meet with them to discuss our thoughts and ideas and plan the ceremony together.

We discussed our spiritual beliefs and how our deities should be included, honoured and represented. We discussed traditional aspects like the ceremony of cakes and ale, offerings that would be included, the inclusion of ancestors and loved ones passed and choosing a proper location.

Pat and Diane were able to suggest a wooded location that was absolutely perfect for us, a small clearing and stone altar dedicated to the fae folk and even took our handfasting cord and rings to be left at the altar in this sacred place in the days leading up to the ceremony.

We ended up having the ceremony in the evening, just us, Pat and Diane and our immediate family. Pat and Diane were very thoughtful and considerate regarding every aspect of our ceremony, down to the smallest details. From Pat adorning his traditional great-kilt, to Diane creating the circle using a pictish sword, the whole experience was magical and could not have been more perfect and uniquely tailored for us.

We will always be grateful to Pat and Diane for everything they did to make our handfasting so wonderfully and perfectly special and no words could ever express our gratitude. They are absolutely wonderful people who we now also consider friends and we are very fortunate to not only know them, but to have been handfasted and bound together surrounded by so much love thanks to them.

~ Sara and Jamie Alexander