Jojo and Marcus got married barefoot in the forest, surrounded by trees, tents, and the people closest to them. Lord of the Rings made its way in too. They did everything for just £5,000 by calling in favours, DIYing up a storm and using a Forest School as their venue.

The ceremony took place outdoors, with a pagan altar set up beneath the trees. A priestess led the ritual, supported by Jojo’s coven sisters and brother, who helped with circle casting and calling in the elements. “We had a wonderful pagan ceremony, with and altar set up and a tradition of handfasting”, Jojo said. “I walked down the aisle to Evenstar from Lord of The Rings played on cello and violin. Our vows were written by us and meant everything and more.”

As they had access to their venue for the entire weekend, guests arrived the night before to pitch tents and settle in. There was a BBQ and drinks. This wasn’t just a single-day event, more a shared experience. On the wedding day itself, the reception included archery and air rifle shooting.

Planning the wedding themselves was demanding, but they really enjoyed the experience, especially finding lots of gems on Facebook Marketplace! “This saved us a ton of money on décor”, Jojo explained. “The glass candles I found 100 of them for £10 and the seller even threw in some bouquets and button flowers which my bridesmaid and the boys wore on the day.”

The hardest decision turned out to be her dress. She ended up buying four and she wore two on the day. Shoes, however, were completely skipped. Both the bride and groom spent the day barefoot.

“A wedding doesn’t have to be expensive”, she concluded. “We had everything we wanted and more with our £5k budget – and we had the venue for the whole weekend with camping!”