How Allison and Mark brought together ABBA, Taylor Swift and Elvis in their Humanist York wedding.

I love it when couples use music to set the tone of the wedding day! Allison and Mark did just that - making their York Hospitium wedding ceremony engaging and fun for their guests!

Photography by Rachel Bice.

The eternal dilemma: Taylor Swift or Elvis Presley. Why choose? Allison and Mark performed a self-composed acoustic mash up of *I can’t help falling in love with you* and my favourite pre-wedding tune *Lover*.
*I can’t help falling in loverrr* echoed around the Hospitium’s stone hall, creating a poignant and emotional moment. I had full body chills watching them, and I was in awe at their bravery.

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Allison and Mark entered their ceremony together, preceded by their parents and their best people, Claudia and Jonny. They walked down the aisle to Ludovico Einaudi’s I Giorni, which slowly builds in emotional intensity.

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During the ceremony, we all sang along to ABBA’s Take a chance on me! I loved standing at the front with Allison and Mark alongside me, swaying and grooving! I had to rein in my enthusiasm and remember to save some voice for the rest of the ceremony!

Allison and Mark read personal wedding vows to each other, which they had written themselves. This meant that they could make promises they really meant - some were silly, some were serious, but all were sweet. We followed this with a twist on a ring exchange - as they had already legally married in Allison’s native Oregon, they didn’t want to take their rings off! So I adapted the ring ceremony to be a confirmation of the promises already made and a confirmation of what their wedding rings meant.

Family and friends shared readings and advice. We heard All I know about love by Neil Gaiman, You deserve a lover by Frida Kahlo, True love liberates by Maya Angelou and lastly If this isn’t nice, what is? adapted from humanist writer Kurt Vonnegut. We finished the last reading by all saying together, ‘If this isn’t nice, what is?’, a reminder to appreciate the good and simple things in life.