Our wedding
On a golden summer’s day in Sheffield (post torrential downpour), surrounded by the lush greenery of the Botanical Gardens and the warmth of family and friends, Mark and I celebrated our wedding. It was a day filled with love, music, and food – but for me, it was also deeply interwoven with my practice as a maker.
I wanted our wedding to feel personal and rooted in the things that mean the most to us: landscape, memory, and craft. Jewellery has always been my way of holding onto moments and places, so naturally, I set about creating a series of special pieces for loved ones to wear on our day.
Groomsmen shots at Cloud Coffee Co, Flowers by Flourish Florists, earrings by Shinta Nakajima
Rings that Hold Home
Designing our rings was perhaps the most meaningful part. Mark’s wedding band became a miniature map – a contour ring engraved with the Rivelin Valley, the landscape of home. It’s the place we walk, run, and return to again and again. It sits next to his red gold contour map engagement ring of Roche de Mio. I made myself a textured white gold band with an eye catching blue sapphire, complimenting the complex shapes of my Daisy Lee Jewels engagement ring.
Small Details with Big Meaning
For Mark and my Dad, I made silver tie slides, each with engraved messages hidden on the reverse – secret words they’ll carry close whenever they wear them. Mark’s shows the landscape where he grew up, the pousada he called home on the north coast of Brazil - you can see the definition between land and water on his. Dad’s was also of home; my home from 1999 for 19 years, a place I love going back to. They also both wore their map cufflinks - Dad his 'home' cufflinks I made for him for Father's Day last year (so he could wear them to my sister's wedding!), and Mark a pair of silver cufflinks with 18ct gold markers on, one showing our home, the other our ceremony venue.
Flowers in Silver
To honour the women closest to me, I created floral-inspired pieces of art jewellery (under my ‘Holly Suzanna Clifford’ brand). Gold vermeil petal necklaces for my bridesmaids, earrings for my Mum, and silver petal pins for Mark’s Mum, and my Granma – who also happened to make my dress!
A Celebration Rooted in Us
Our day was full of joyful quirks – Mum reading a passage from Brambly Hedge during the ceremony, an enormous wedding cake made by my incredible Mum sat on a beautiful wooden stand made by Dad, Yellow Arch Studios strewn with our homemade fabric bunting, and a jazz-funk band that made the dancefloor wild (thank you Loud Noises!!). But what I’ll always remember is how making became my way of grounding the day: objects that tell our story, hold our landscapes, and tie family into the celebration.
Epic photos by Becky Payne Photography