When Owen and Emily first began planning their wedding for the 12th of June, they never imagined how their plans would evolve. With Owen’s mum Claire now an inpatient at the Hospice, they realised bringing the celebration forward would allow her to share in their special day and create a wonderful ever-lasting memory. That was when the idea of holding a ceremonial wedding at the Hospice first surfaced.
“We had long conversations with Naga, one of the Spiritual Support Coordinators” Owen said, “both around how we are feeling, alongside what we could do on a practical level to make something like a wedding achievable. Everyone was adaptive and flexible, even with a last minute date change from the 9th to the 4th May, and made sure that we all had a really lovely time.”
The Hospice team threw themselves excitedly into the preparations. Naga arrived with the first draft of the order of service the Tuesday before, whilst also sharing ideas, offers of help, and thoughtful touches from employees. “There were all sorts of things that the team here thought about and considered,” Owen said. “Every little detail was thought of. Someone with design skills printed the wedding cards, beautiful saris were draped over notice boards, flowers from the garden were gathered, rose petals scattered down the aisle, and tablecloths laid out. And when the sun appeared, the gardens became part of the celebration too.”
“There were 12 people at the wedding, including ourselves,” Owen said. “So it was nice and small, really intimate. The ceremony was just beautiful… everything just went perfectly. It is a very special memory for the rest of our lives, that’s for sure.”
The team at the Hospice supported the whole family with many small, heartfelt touches. Sara, a Health Care Assistant brought in a full-length mirror from home for Emily to use while getting ready. “It made her really happy and she looked beautiful,” Owen said. “Everyone was so willing to help and for me, that has been the constant experience of being mum here in the Hospice, nothing is too much and nothing is rushed. The staff are so generous with their time.”
On the morning of the blessing, Sara did Claire’s makeup and nails. Claire remembered, “Someone popped in to cover Sara for the morning so she could be completely available to us, which was wonderful. She did my makeup and hair in the bed so I was comfortable, which was great.”
The atmosphere was calm, gentle and full of warmth, and love. “I felt amazing on the day,” Claire said. “Everything was just calm and nice, there was no stress, everyone was lovely. It was just a beautiful day, bringing people together.”
Choosing a dress became a moment of shared joy for Claire and the Hospice team. “I happened to have all my dresses hung up and everyone started to say which one they liked,” Claire laughed. “So in the end I asked everybody which one was their favourite. I ended up going with the one with the most votes, which is the one I picked anyway. It was meant to be.”
Thank you to Claire, Owen and their family for sharing their recent experience with the community.
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