Wedding | Bel & Calum

Tell us a little about yourselves!  

Calum is a journalist and Bel is an actress and vocalist. Calum comes from Scotland and Bel from England. We have a five year old son, Albie, and we are based in London. 

Why did you decide to get married where you did?  

The wedding was held in the Basque Country in South-West France. Bel spent much of her childhood with her family on the beaches around Biarritz, where her uncle, godmother and cousins live in Anglet and Bassussary, near Biarritz.  

We decided to get married in the Basque Country due to Bel's happy family memories and our mutual love of the sea. And to give all our family and friends what would hopefully be a weekend of great music, food and joy in this beautiful  land! 

Everyone met up for drinks by the main Biarritz beach on the Friday, then on the Saturday the church service and aperitif was at a small village further inland. The guests then hopped on a bus further in towards the Pyrenees for the party. The weekend finished on the beach on Sunday, with more wild ceilidh music and fresh fish at sunset. 

How many guests did you have?  

Around 200 guests, if we're including the children! Surfragette Studio captured our day.

Our relationship and marriage is in many ways inspired by our five year old son Albie, and we adore all our families' children; we wanted them to be part of the service and have a great time at the party too. Albie played the important role of  'chief page boy', leading a procession of children in the church ahead of the bride and her uncle. The youngest cousin, Cassius, was carried down the aisle by one of  our bridesmaids, Madeleine.

In preparation for the wedding, the priest suggested a 'Blessing Upon the Family' as part of the service. It felt very special to have Albie come up and join us in celebrating our vows. 

Tell us about your outfits.  

I wore a beautiful antique dress by Jane Bourvis. I first stumbled upon Jane's studio about ten years ago, when I'd just moored up the narrowboat I used to live on, at the end of Golborne Road in West London. I stared through the studio windows in total awe: reams of white silk and intricate lace, dripping from ceiling to floor. I didn't dare go in, undeserving in my scruffy boat clothes!! So when we got engaged it was a long-time dream come true to get to try on her dresses.

The dress is handmade from multiple antique dresses: a bodice of blue silk with  Irish lace layered over the top and a puddling train of silk with intricately detailed tape lace.  

Jane recommended a precious long lace veil, and even stitched it into a Juliet cap as I planned to drape it between these two bunches of wax orange blossoms I had found at a market. (As she was arranging the veil, Jane whispered that brides in the 1920s would wear these in their hair for good luck).  

My best friend Daisy, my mum, grandmother and our friend Ellie (who is my lifelong partner-in-vintage-finds) came with me to try on the dresses. We had the sweetest time there, thank you again to Jane and the girls if you see this!

Calum wore his kilt, which is his clan tartan, and so, proudly, did Albie! 

What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?

The marriage preparation process was beautiful. Calum is catholic and it was very important to him that we were married in the Catholic Church. I, of course, also wanted to feel connected, in my own beliefs and in coming to a shared understanding of the catholic vows. Our Priest, Oliver, asked us to write our own additional vows, that we could say privately to each other. We wrote these vows while spending intentional time apart for some weeks before we got married.  

My lovely mum was a huge help in the organisation of the wedding and it was amazing  to create something together. 

Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate? 

We were keen to bring together the traditions of Scottish Fraser clan culture, with my own creative ideas, and some traditions of the Basque Country.  

The pipers piped my uncle and I down the aisle and a group of friends from Scotland formed the  wildest ceilidh band we've ever heard, playing everywhere we went over the weekend.  

For my part, I wanted to make a lot of the details for our guests by hand. My best friend Daisy and I collected driftwood and stones from the beaches to paint signs and table placements. We found things at the French flea markets: funny old toys for the children to play with, and a wood and brass Turkish shoe shiner, which Daisy transformed into an Apothecary of herbal tinctures for the guests (with help from my lovely godmother Mimi, who babysat the tinctures for 2 months before the wedding - they need lots of care to reach full alchemical potential!).

The week leading up to the wedding, my closest girlfriends and I stayed in a traditional Basque house in the mountains. I had promised them a week of relaxing together, which I wish I could have fulfilled but it ended up being a mad art studio for all the last minute touches! In terms of the Basque customs, the powerful Haiz'Egoa choir sang during the church ceremony and afterwards during the aperitif in the village square. All our Scottish and English guests  joining a roaring french-accented 'Hey Jude' was a particular highlight! 

To our amazement, some of the French guests had arranged a ceremonial dancer to perform an Aurresku - an ancient Basque folk dance given to honour a wedding couple, and a Basque band was waiting for us as another gift when we arrived at the party location.

Any tips for couples getting married?  

Surprises! I so enjoyed all the planning and making a creative project out of our wedding. I loved thinking of all the tiny details and what kind of experience people might have. But in terms of our own experience as the bride and groom, some of the best moments were the ones we didn't know were going to happen.  

On Sunday evening, (the day after the wedding) the band, red faced and dripping with sweat having played fiercely all night and then all day on a beach  terrace in the hot sun, suddenly got up and ran down into the sea. Calum and I ran with them into the water and when we turned around a few minutes later, we could suddenly see the outlines of lots of bodies, running towards us, sort-of silhouetted in the light of the soft sunset that was now hovering over the sea. This was our favourite moment of the weekend - seeing people from all different family and friend groups, running into the sea.  

So, our best advice is making sure you allow yourself whatever is needed for you to  relax and really be present to the beauty all around you (for me that was taking a step away from the action every now and then to be alone or in nature, observing it all from the outside before going back in! For Calum, he says: 'dancing.' 

We are endlessly grateful to our families and friends for joining us and to those that helped us with the wedding. 

Photographer: Surfragette Studio @surfragette_studio_love | Flora: Julie Lamour 

@lamour.floweredbyjulie | Videographer: Sal Redpath @sal_redpath | Planning & Styling: Bel and her mother | Ceremony Location: Arcangues Church | Reception Location: 'Olhabidea' @maison.olhabidea | Celebrant: Oliver J. McTernan & L'Abbé Lionel Landart | Makeup: by the Bride | Hair: by friend | Catering: Les Ateliers De Carole | Cake: Bonjour Gateau @bonjour.gateau | Basque Choir: Haiz'Egoa

@haiz_egoa_bayonne | Scottish Band: friends of the couple, Alisdair Mackenzie, Craig Baxter, Macaulay Ross & Fergus Macvicar | Dinner Entertainment: The Listening Voice @the.listening.voice | Dresses & Veil: Jane Bourvis @janebourvis | Suits: Campell's of Beauly @campbellsofbeauly | Bridesmaid's Dresses: 

Adored Closet @adoredcloset, Lucky Charm Vintage @luckycharm.vintage & Ghost London  @ghostfashion | Tents & Teepees: Nomad Events @nomad_events64 | Lights: Fête24 @fête24france | Paintings, Apothecary & Love Drops: Daisy de Barros Ropner @daisy_de_barros | Paintings: by couples friends | Giant Silk Bows: Annie Tinsley @annietinsley | Car Hire: Retrowave Pays Basque @retrowave_paysbasque