INSPIRATIONAL EDITORIAL - A Humanist-Led Ceremony At The Chilli Barn, Captured By Jenny Milner Photography And Darren Sanderson Photography

18th September 2020


Today, I'm delighted to introduce Lisa Bourne, a Humanist celebrant based in Leeds, Yorkshire. Last year she organised a relaxed and fun styled shoot, gathering together Yorkshire suppliers who were working hard to seek ways of being more sustainable in their businesses. 

Over to Lisa to tell us all about it!

INSPIRATION - A Humanist-Led Ceremony At The Chilli Barn, Captured By Jenny Milner Photography Jenny Milner Photography

You may have heard of humanist ceremonies already, they have been in the news quite a bit recently, but did you know that one humanist principle is to look at the impact we have as individuals on our planet and take responsibility for what legacies we are leaving behind for future generations?

Our venue was a converted family farm building set in the beautiful countryside along the Otley Chevin. Chilli Barn is really easy to dress to your liking. It is perfect for those wanting a smaller barn wedding but there’s also room for marquees to extend the capacity. It is adjacent to The Cheerful Chilli which provides vegan food, locally sourced where possible.

The Brides

INSPIRATION - A Humanist-Led Ceremony At The Chilli Barn, Captured By Jenny Milner Photography INSPIRATION - A Humanist-Led Ceremony At The Chilli Barn, Captured By Jenny Milner Photography Jenny Milner Photography

Chrys Chapman used cruelty-free products on myself and the two bridal models Tara Bailey (owner of Dreamee Teepees) and Chloe Markham (owner of The Yoga Revolution).

The bridal models wore preloved bridalwear from Bridal Reloved York, a relaxed and friendly boutique owned by Elizabeth Matfin. The dresses were altered by Once Upon A Dress and you can see they looked stunning. I would never have thought second-hand wedding dresses could look so good.

Tara wore a necklace and hair comb made by Working Clasp. I too joined in with the Working Clasp gorgeousness and wore their Grace earrings. Working Clasp source factory offcuts for their lasercut acrylic designs and any material pieces leftover are donated to community art projects.

We had a fresh foliage crown for Chloe, made by Hare and Howl. The foliage was all UK grown. In fact, most of the items were foraged by owner Elichia or taken from her own garden.

The Ceremony

INSPIRATION - A Humanist-Led Ceremony At The Chilli Barn, Captured By Jenny Milner Photography INSPIRATION - A Humanist-Led Ceremony At The Chilli Barn, Captured By Jenny Milner Photography INSPIRATION - A Humanist-Led Ceremony At The Chilli Barn, Captured By Jenny Milner Photography INSPIRATION - A Humanist-Led Ceremony At The Chilli Barn, Captured By Jenny Milner Photography Jenny Milner Photography

INSPIRATION - A Humanist-Led Ceremony At The Chilli Barn, Captured By Darren Sanderson PhotographyDarren Sanderson Photography

INSPIRATION - A Humanist-Led Ceremony At The Chilli Barn, Captured By Jenny Milner Photography Jenny Milner Photography

INSPIRATION - A Humanist-Led Ceremony At The Chilli Barn, Captured By Darren Sanderson PhotographyDarren Sanderson Photography

The gorgeous flowers and props were provided by EcoBlooms. Sylvia makes flowers from recycled plastic. Yes, they are all plastic, even the bridal bouquets! Sylvia also created a makeshift backdrop from some second-hand lace. It gave us that rustic but quirky look we were after.

I’m a humanist celebrant and I used a snippet (names changed) from a previous wedding, to show other suppliers just how bespoke and personal the scripts that I write are.

The Entertainment & Catering

INSPIRATION - A Humanist-Led Ceremony At The Chilli Barn, Captured By Darren Sanderson PhotographyDarren Sanderson Photography

INSPIRATION - A Humanist-Led Ceremony At The Chilli Barn, Captured By Jenny Milner Photography INSPIRATION - A Humanist-Led Ceremony At The Chilli Barn, Captured By Jenny Milner Photography Jenny Milner Photography

INSPIRATION - A Humanist-Led Ceremony At The Chilli Barn, Captured By Darren Sanderson PhotographyDarren Sanderson Photography

INSPIRATION - A Humanist-Led Ceremony At The Chilli Barn, Captured By Jenny Milner Photography INSPIRATION - A Humanist-Led Ceremony At The Chilli Barn, Captured By Jenny Milner Photography INSPIRATION - A Humanist-Led Ceremony At The Chilli Barn, Captured By Jenny Milner Photography Jenny Milner Photography

INSPIRATION - A Humanist-Led Ceremony At The Chilli Barn, Captured By Darren Sanderson PhotographyDarren Sanderson Photography

INSPIRATION - A Humanist-Led Ceremony At The Chilli Barn, Captured By Jenny Milner Photography
Jenny Milner Photography

INSPIRATION - A Humanist-Led Ceremony At The Chilli Barn, Captured By Darren Sanderson PhotographyDarren Sanderson Photography

We also had with us singer-songwriter Lynz Crichton. I loved how she could just rock up with a couple of instruments and set the mood. For a low-key small barn wedding, you really wouldn’t need anything else and Lynz got that right away. A really friendly lady, she can create bespoke songs that can even be made into favours for guests to take home – totally personal and no wasted money on sugared almonds folks can’t eat because they’re too hard ha!

To set the bright summery mood we had A Taste Of Italy providing award-winning local icecream in their upcycled ice cream trike. The trike’s charm is not the only lovely thing about this unique service – the trike runs without needing electricity so you’ll be doing the environment a favour. And yes, I can confirm that the banana ice cream was good.

Set up upstairs was a grazing table by The Hodgepodge Catering Co: I can absolutely recommend their food, it was scrummy. They had brought sharing boards; such a fun idea for weddings to get your guests chatting but also reduces food waste. They dressed the tables really simply with white linen, edible flowers and a sprig of herbs. Hodgepodge are a family business and they donate leftover food to a homeless charity. I think that is a lovely touch to know that on your special day, you won’t be wasting lots of food and those in need will be benefitting.

Upstairs we also had Cards or Die Boardgaming. Now, we have all seen the massive outdoor games which look loads of fun but what if it is typical Yorkshire weather and it is wet outside? Well, Ann can bring an array of different games that will entertain the big kids as well as the little kids indoors. She stays on hand to help with rules. She can bring traditional, logical, quirky – you name it, Ann has got something to suit. Most of Ann’s games are second hand. She even has a game from the 1940s.

The Cake

INSPIRATION - A Humanist-Led Ceremony At The Chilli Barn, Captured By Darren Sanderson PhotographyDarren Sanderson Photography

INSPIRATION - A Humanist-Led Ceremony At The Chilli Barn, Captured By Jenny Milner Photography INSPIRATION - A Humanist-Led Ceremony At The Chilli Barn, Captured By Jenny Milner Photography Jenny Milner Photography

The Sugar Florist, based in York, worked wonders on the cake. Her brief was simply “bright and rustic” and although it was outside of her usual repertoire, she nailed it!


I am very proud of what all the suppliers were trying to achieve and I can highly recommend any of them for your big day.

Credits

Photographers: Jenny Milner Photography and Darren Sanderson Photography

Celebrant: Lisa Bourne Ceremonies

Venue: Chilli Barn

Flowers & Styling: EcoBlooms

Makeup: Chrys Chapman

Models: Tara Bailey (owner of Dreamee Teepees) and Chloe Markham (owner of The Yoga Revolution)

Preloved Bridalwear: Bridal Reloved York, with alterations by Once Upon A Dress

Jewellery: Working Clasp

Foliage Crown: Hare and Howl

Catering: The Hodgepodge Catering Co

Cake: The Sugar Florist

Ice Cream Truck: A Taste Of Italy

Games: Cards or Die Boardgaming

Music: Lynz Crichton
 
 


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