The groom’s old friend, Mark Hayford, conducted the ceremony. “At the end, both Garance and I drank from a ceremonial quaich, also known as ‘the loving cup,’ which is a shallow bowl of sterling silver made by Hamilton and Inches in Edinburgh for the occasion with silver deer heads on either side acting as handles,” Graham explains. “The quaich contained a quadruple measure of Jura single malt whisky. Garance took a sip and I drank the rest!”
Garance admits that she felt both tense and excited throughout the entire ceremony. “It was the height of the whole day for me, where I literally thought I could explode,” she says. “I was also very happy to see all my friends and family, and Graham’s face when he saw me in my dress.”
“I felt surrounded by love,” Graham adds. “Having my two children there made it extra special. It wasn’t a big number of people but everyone there had made a significant impact on my life. The celebrant was a friend of 20 years. The bagpiper was a friend. I had friends from all corners of the globe there. It felt like we were held in the warm embrace of our family and friends.”
One of the most important factors for Garance and Graham was that they celebrate both of their own cultural traditions throughout the day. “I was incredibly honored that the band Voce Ventu made the whole trip all the way to Scotland from Corsica,” Garance says. “I am Corsican and a Corsican music fan—and especially of that amazing band—and its incredibly emotional polyphonic traditional songs…which of course sent me into a sobbing episode like no other, which you can see in the photos where I am hugging people around me and tearing up.”
After the ceremony, the couple took photos in the beautiful (but notably cold) light outside, before it was finally time to break open the champagne. The Glencorse Pipe and Drum Band ushered guests into dinner, where speeches full of love and laughter were given. “Graham’s best men are both writers and actors, and [let’s just say,] they know how to perform,” Garance says of the speeches, with were both heartfelt and came with moments of spontaneity. Adds Graham: “Fortunately, the speeches began before everyone had had too much to drink!”
Now that it’s all said and done, Garance is the first to say that she feels incredibly lucky they were able to have such a loving, intimate wedding—and, of course, that the groom planned the whole thing. “I literally feel like he gave me the wonderful present of making a dream come to life,” she says. “I feel complete and whenever I think about it, so many emotions come up…I wouldn’t do it any other way.”
Graham, for his part, now feels a sense of completeness and joy. “I was also so pleased to see how many people who came to the wedding arrived not necessarily knowing each other but left the celebrations wishing to stay in touch,” he says. “I felt like as well as adding immeasurably to the life of Garance and myself, we had given our guests new friends and, hopefully, new adventures to come. As with all great weddings or celebrations, we hope it felt like a celebration of the guests just as much as it was for the bride and groom.”
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