Hansley Beard

Religious and Interfaith Weddings, Civil Ceremonies and Blessings ~ Part 2

In Part 2 of my blog posts about different types of wedding ceremonies, I would like to talk about my own interfaith wedding to Robert in 2008.

I am a Buddhist and Robert is a Christian. Technically there isn’t a wedding ceremony in my tradition of Buddhism so it wasn’t a case of doing a Christian service and then a Buddhist ceremony, so we had to find a way to bring them together that we would both feel comfortable with and find meaningful in terms of the words we were planning to say to each other.

Robert attends St Mark’s Church in Broomhill, Sheffield, so we approached the Vicar there and he agreed that we could have the traditional Christian church wedding ceremony but also try to bring some Buddhist elements into the service. We incorporated these particularly in the music and we found Bible readings and hymns that had words that would also resonate with someone of the Buddhist faith.

We chose ‘wisdom’ as our theme as this was common to both faith traditions and all of the hymns were about love and community, again important values that we share. We asked a friend of ours who is the Director of Yorkshire and Humber Faiths Forum to deliver our wedding address as we knew he would say something relevant not just to us both, but also to our guests who were from many different faiths.

As Robert is very familiar with Church liturgy he knew what legal elements of the traditional church wedding service had to be kept in and he re-wrote the other sections to make them more relevant to us both (believe me, we spent hours debating this!).

After I had walked down the aisle, the choir sang a chant called ‘Praise to Wisdom’ written by the 11th century Christian writer and composer Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179). Even though this was a Christian song, these words are also very familiar to a Buddhist and very similar to some Buddhist texts, so it is often the case that readings or songs can be found that sit comfortably with the faiths of both bride and groom.
Here are the words to O VIRTUS SAPIENTIAE (Praise to Wisdom) by Hildegard of Bingen:

“YOU POWER OF WISDOM
THAT CIRCLED CIRCLING
AND EMBRACING ALL
IN A COURSE THAT IS FILLED WITH LIFE
YOU HAVE THREE WINGS
ONE SOARS INTO THE HEIGHTS
ANOTHER HAS MOISTURE FROM THE EARTH
THE THIRD FLIES ALL AROUND
ALL PRAISE TO YOU, WISDOM, AS IS YOUR DUE.”

During the signing of the register we had a piece of music, based on a Buddhist wisdom text about Emptiness, played on a Japanese flute.

Although Robert and I wanted the ceremony to reflect our faiths, we also wanted our wedding to reflect other aspects of our lives such as our shared British culture and traditions. We filled the church with candles, seasonal flowers and sweet-smelling herbs and had some traditional fiddle music to play me down the aisle and during our garden reception. I also made ribbon sticks for the children to carry.

After the ceremony we walked from the church to the church green through a very wide aisle of happy guests throwing yellow marigold petals at us. I chose the colour yellow as it symbolises wisdom in Buddhism.

Our reception was a picnic on the church green, complete with bunting, ribbons and an elegantly decorated bridal frame which we posed in for photographs. I also incorporated some old wedding traditions and made my own wedding bouquet following the Victorian language of flowers ~ particularly using Sage which symbolises ‘wisdom’.

It was an amazing day and our guests included our friends and family from all walks of life and faiths!

Of course, being into ‘vintage’ I wore a French lace wedding dress and used my mother’s vintage crockery collection for the flower arrangements. My bridesmaids wore traditional wrist corsages and carried vintage handbags. I also added some art deco sparkle!

Robert influenced the design of the wedding cake - hundreds of Galaxy minstrels (though I of course insisted that some of them be covered in edible gold!)

I’d like to end our wedding story with a photo of our ushers - my two step-sons, Robert’s godson and my step-son’s friend. Just because you have a ‘faith’ wedding doesn’t mean you can’t add your own twist on things. We insisted that the ushers wore what they felt reflected them - in this case they chose rock t-shirts and shades!

Our wedding really was a true reflection of all the different aspects of our personalities!

Are you an interfaith couple? Are you finding it difficult to decide whether to have a religious ceremony, a civil ceremony, a blessing or a Humanist ceremony? If you think it would be helpful to talk it through with someone, Robert is available for a free initial consultation. If you wish, he can then help you with writing and developing your ceremony or vows and/or by officiating at your wedding. Robert is a former Church of England vicar and now a Equalities and Diversity trainer specialising in Religion and Belief. He works for a national charity and is involved in interfaith work at local, regional and national level. He also conducts religious ceremonies and blessings. Feel free to contact us for more information.

Wedding photographs by our wonderful guests!

Posted Thu, 16 Dec, by Jennie Beard in Blessings, Ceremonies, Faith Weddings, Interfaith weddings, Sheffield, Weddings

Religious and Interfaith Weddings, Civil Ceremonies and Blessings ~ Part 1

People are always asking me more about my background and the other things I do in my life, so I’ve decided to talk more about these things on my blog and as a context for my next few blog posts which will be on the subject of religious and interfaith weddings, civil ceremonies and blessings. First a bit of my story and how this links to the title of this blog:

As well as running Hansley Beard Event Planning & Design, I work as a Local Faith Network Officer for Sheffield Faiths Forum. Our logo is a bridge as this represents most of the work that we do - creating a bridge for faith communities to work together with each other and with local partners and organisations, responding to practical issues city-wide and within the local neighbourhoods of Sheffield.

We support faith communities to ensure that their extensive skills and experience are valued and utilised and that their voice is heard when important decisions are being made. We do this by bringing members from different faiths together to talk about local issues, organising events, providing training, organising projects and producing information, but most importantly by helping them to network and build strong and sustainable working relationships. A couple of weeks ago it was national Inter Faith Week for which we completed a successful programme of events in Sheffield.

I have been intensely involved in interfaith work and faith communities for my entire life – I was brought up a Christian, studied Religious Studies and Islamic Studies alongside Archaeology, practised Paganism for a while and converted to Buddhism when I was 24. I then lived and studied at a Buddhist Retreat Centre, was ordained as a Buddhist nun for 4 years and taught Buddhist meditation and stress management for 7 years. People are always asking me why I seem so calm at my events, so hopefully some of my experience rubbed off on me!

I am married to Robert who is a Christian, a former Church of England vicar and now a Equalities and Diversity trainer specialising in Religion and Belief. He works for a national charity and is involved in interfaith work at local, regional and national level. He also conducts religious ceremonies and blessings.

He specialises in working with interfaith couples (of which we were one!) and couples who are struggling to navigate between the usual wedding ceremonies on offer, whether religious or civil. He is renowned for helping couples to find the right way forward for them. When we decided to get married we knew we could rely on my event management skills and his expertise at writing the appropriate ceremony, to create a wedding that was perfect for us both.

We both know from our own experience that people don’t always fit into clear categories and when there are two of you to think about, it can get quite complex and intense trying to decide what kind of ceremony reflects both of you. We also know that sometimes you may see yourself as quite spiritual or as having strong positive values. You may not necessarily want a religious ceremony and yet find the civil ceremony lacking in meaning and not saying enough of what you want to say. You might not be religious at all, but want your day to be happy and meaningful both for you and for your friends and family.

In the next few blog posts I’ll be giving examples of some different types of ceremonies and weddings Robert and I have been involved with. We will start with our own interfaith Christian/Buddhist wedding, followed by a Humanist wedding and then a Christian/Hindu Wedding.

Are you an interfaith couple? Are you finding it difficult to decide whether to have a religious ceremony, a civil ceremony, a blessing or a Humanist ceremony? If you think it would be helpful to talk it through with someone, Robert is available for a free initial consultation. If you wish, he can then help you with writing and developing your ceremony or vows and/or by officiating at your wedding. Feel free to contact us for more information.

Posted Tue, 14 Dec, by Jennie Beard in Blessings, Ceremonies, Faith Weddings, Interfaith weddings, Weddings

Summer’s Christening Cake Bar in Winter!

Last week we had the pleasure of creating a beautiful cake bar for the christening party of Summer Keira in Chesterfield:

We wanted to share some of the photos of it here from all sorts of angles as there are so many different details to see!

Here are some nice words from her mum Laura:
“I contacted Jennie for assistance for my daughter’s christening. I’d booked a venue, and I was making cupcakes instead of a traditional cake.”

“I had an image of how I wanted it to look and the theme colours of pink and green that I wanted to use - it was just the main element of physically doing the display.”

“Jennie suggested we could do a feature table with the cupcakes with some of her hire items including numerous cakestands and some teacups and saucers. I also bought a few matching sweets ~ bon bons and alphabet letters.”



“The items used gave the table a girly vintage feel with a modern twist.”

“Jennie made labels and wrote little messages on them such as ‘Summer’s Cake Bar’, ‘Made by Mummy’ and ‘Please Take Me, I’m Yummy!’


“What the display looked like was amazing! Everyone commented on how lovely it looked.”


“I’d be more than happy to recommend and work with Jennie again for any party or special occasion whether this be venue decor or hiring vintage crockery items. Thank you so much, Jennie, for all your help.  The display looked fantastic!”

This was a great opportunity for us to show how you can use modern and vintage together to make something unique.

We used a candy striped cloth and finished off the table with beautiful bunting by ‘Bloom’, based in Sheffield, and made from pink gingham and rose fabric from the Amy Butler collection.



To add a little twist we placed whirlypop lollipops in the flowers.

If you are organising a christening party, baby shower or children’s party and already have your ingredients (cakes, cupcakes, desserts or sweets) but want an ingenius way to display them and wow all your guests, get in touch with us at Hansley Beard to see what display items we have available. We offer partial to full styling and design services, just set-up or you can hire the vintage crockery or modern display items yourself and set it up yourself.

If you don’t have the edible items already we also have contacts with excellent cake makers, cupcake companies, sweets and chocolate suppliers and can work with you to create all of the perfect cake bar, dessert bar or candy buffet for your child or baby’s event, including theming, colourscheme, menu choices, design and set-up.

Flowers bought from Swallows and Damsons
Images by Jennie Beard

Posted Sat, 04 Dec, by Jennie Beard in Candy Buffet, Candy Station, Christening, Dessert Bars, Flowers, Pink, Vintage Crockery Hire, Vintage Styling

Vintage Crockery & Prop Hire ~ The Woodland Photoshoot ~ Part 3

Today we wanted to share a few more of our favourite ‘unseen’ images from our recent photoshoot with the amazing S6 Photography:

Models: Katy Bangert and Shannon Alesayi
Photography by S6 Photography
Styling by Hansley Beard
Vintage Crockery and Props from Hansley Beard Hire collection
Flowers supplied by Swallows and Damsons
Tea Supplied by The Girl with the Golden Cup . To buy specially blended teas for your wedding, contact Caroline at The Girl with the Golden Cup. (She can even make up bespoke teas just for you!)
Woodland venue used by kind permission of Ecclesall Woods Sawmill, Sheffield City Council

Hansley Beard have a vast collection of beautiful vintage crockery, glassware and props available for hire from our Sheffield studio. If you’re looking to hire for your wedding or event, please get in touch with your wishlist and we’ll do our very best to help! Styling services, decor set-up and decor theme development also available.

Posted Sat, 04 Dec, by Jennie Beard in Autumn, Flowers, Photography, Vintage Accessories, Vintage Clothing , Vintage Crockery Hire, Vintage Styling, Vintage Weddings, Woodland Wedding

Vintage Crockery & Prop Hire ~ The Woodland Photoshoot ~ Part 2

Today we want to share some more about our vintage crockery woodland shoot in Sheffield as featured recently on the blog of S6 Photography.

With this shoot, I wanted to show how vintage crockery can be used alongside other items in all sorts of creative ways to create a stunning yet quirky context for a wedding or event. It sounds a simple thing to say but it’s all about what and how you put things together, not only to create the wow-factor but to create a beautiful experience for you and your guests.


Having secured our woodland ‘venue’ I set about gathering crockery and glassware items from my collection that fitted the theme and colours and light that we would be working with.

I also gathered appropriate pieces of furniture that would provide the setting and context for the crockery.


And added some decorative details like this length of bunting made from old lace.

I then started to think about creating different sets or scenes at the shoot and planned to work it around a scene in the woods, a travel theme, a vintage table theme and a Middle Eastern theme. I then tied it all together with old maps, books and bottles, gramophone records and ‘singles’, and various vintage props.





We added some authentic tea from The Girl with the Golden Cup .

We used the specially blended wedding ‘Rock and Rose’ tea for our Table Scene and the Siberian Fire tea for our Middle Eastern Scene.

Flowers were supplied by Swallows and Damsons. 




I accentuated some of the colours by using real fruit and food in beautiful containers and vessels ...



... and covered some in gold wax to bring out the richness of the autumn colours.

We particularly loved being able to show off some of our amber coloured glassware.

I then set about dressing our models to fit the colour theme and vintage style. The wedding dress is actually my own wedding dress which has a huge French lace train and was perfect for showcasing some of my vintage plates – plus I always thought it was a shame that it had only been worn for one day!

Both models got to wear ‘the dress’ on the day.Other outfits included a bridesmaids dress mixed with a fake fur coat and rustic shoes and a vintage outfit using the fake fur coat with a vintage green velvet dress and brown leather boots. We also added the lacy ankle socks to give it a current and funky edge and various hats, hair pieces and accessories.

Thanks again to Jon Dennis from S6 Photography for his genius photography skills, the wonderful models who patiently stood around and posed in the freezing cold and my photoshoot assistants Myrtle and Jodi.

Come back in a few days time for a peak at a a few more of my favourite shots ...

Models: Katy Bangert and Shannon Alesayi
Photography by S6 Photography
Styling by Hansley Beard
Vintage Crockery and Props from Hansley Beard Hire collection
Flowers supplied by Swallows and Damsons
Tea Supplied by The Girl with the Golden Cup . To buy specially blended teas for your wedding, contact Caroline at The Girl with the Golden Cup. (She can even make up bespoke teas just for you!)
Woodland venue used by kind permission of Ecclesall Woods Sawmill, Sheffield City Council

Hansley Beard have a vast collection of beautiful vintage crockery, glassware and props available for hire from our Sheffield studio. If you’re looking to hire for your wedding or event, please get in touch with your wishlist and we’ll do our very best to help! Styling services, decor set-up and decor theme development also available.

Posted Wed, 01 Dec, by Jennie Beard in Autumn, Flowers, Photography, Themes, Vintage Accessories, Vintage Clothing , Vintage Crockery Hire, Vintage Styling, Vintage Weddings, Woodland Wedding