Wedding family heritage · UK

Two families become one.

A wedding joins more than two people. It joins two family stories, generations deep — and most of those names are never spoken on the day. I research both families from original records and design them into one display your guests gather around: a keepsake that outlasts the flowers, the cake and the band.

Free viability check first — if a family can’t be traced, you don’t pay to find out.

Researched from original records Free viability assessment first 90% refund if nothing new is found You own the copyright
Two people passing a vintage family photograph between them

The idea

Celebrate the generations that brought you to this moment

Every guest in the room is there because of a long line of people who never met — farmers and soldiers, seamstresses and shopkeepers, the ones who emigrated and the ones who stayed. A wedding is the moment two of those lines finally join. A heritage display makes that visible: the grandparents and great-grandparents of both families, traced properly and set side by side, so the day honours not just the couple but everyone who made them possible.

It’s the centrepiece guests linger at, the conversation between two families meeting for the first time, and — long after the day is over — a piece of your shared history you’ll hang on the wall.

What every commission includes

  • Both families researched from original records — census returns, parish registers, certificates
  • A free viability check before you commit a penny
  • The two family trees designed and joined into one chart
  • An honest lead time — wedding research is best commissioned three to four months ahead
  • You own the copyright to the finished design

A genealogist on the day?

Some couples want more than a display. By arrangement, I can attend your wedding as a heritage host: a small heritage table, and the family stories shared with guests who never knew them. Because every venue and day is different, this is quoted on enquiry rather than sold as a fixed package — so the promise is always one I can keep.

Ask about heritage-host attendance →

Choose your scale

Wedding heritage packages

From a single framed print to a bespoke heritage experience. Every tier starts with the same free consultation, and the deposit commissions the work and books your date.

Wedding heritage

Wedding Family Tree print

From £295 · framed from £345

  • Both partners’ families researched from original records, to a scope we agree
  • The two trees designed and joined into one chart — never a fill-in-the-blanks template
  • Your choice of size and framing, printed on archival-quality stock
  • Posted to you, with the print files so you can reprint for the wider family

4–6 weeks · £147.50 deposit to commission

Start with a free call

Wedding heritage

Premium Wedding Heritage

£1,495

  • Everything in the Heritage package, plus —
  • A larger, museum-grade display as the centrepiece of your reception
  • QR codes linking guests to your family history online
  • Deeper research across more branches of both families
  • Keepsake copies for both sets of parents to take home

3–4 months — book early · £747.50 deposit to commission

Start with a free call

Wedding heritage

Luxury Wedding Heritage

From £2,950

  • Everything in the Premium package, plus —
  • A custom hardback wedding family-history book
  • A video presentation of the two families’ journey to this day
  • Follow-up research continued after the wedding
  • Designed bespoke, end to end, around your day

Bespoke · by arrangement

Researching just one family? See the researched family tree print. Buying for someone else, or not sure of the details yet? A gift voucher lets a couple commission their own when they’re ready — the honest engagement or wedding gift.

What it can look like

The finished pieces

Famhisto’s wedding service is new, so these are design examples rather than photographs of past weddings — your families, your colours, your day. Real commissions will appear here as couples agree to share them.

Vintage family portraits and keepsakes arranged on a table

Illustrative example

The joined family tree

Both families designed into a single framed chart — the moment two lines meet, made into art.

A mounted arrangement of archival family photographs

Illustrative example

The wedding-day display

A free-standing display board guests gather around between courses, tracing names back through the generations.

A hand holding an old family photograph

Illustrative example

The digital version

A version for your wedding website and invitations, with optional QR codes linking guests to the full story.

An open vintage family photograph album

Illustrative example

The keepsake booklet

A printed booklet of both families’ highlights, written to read aloud — and kept long after the day.

How it works

  1. A free consultation

    Tell me both families and the wedding date, and what you’d like the display to show. I confirm what’s researchable in time and quote the exact price — no surprises.

  2. Deposit & date

    A 50% deposit commissions the research and books your wedding date into the diary.

  3. Research & design

    I trace both families from original records and design the piece, sharing drafts as it takes shape.

  4. Ready for the day

    Approved, printed, framed or mounted, and with you in good time. The balance falls due before dispatch.

When to commission

Proper research takes time, and weddings have a fixed deadline — so the honest advice is to commission three to four months ahead. Both families traced to the early 1800s is real archival work, not a template you fill in overnight.

Left it late, or marking an engagement? A gift voucher is the honest last-minute option — the couple redeems it and supplies the family details when there’s time to do it justice.

More on how a project works →

Questions

How far ahead should we book?

Three to four months before the wedding is ideal. Tracing both families to the early 1800s is genuine archival research, and a fixed wedding date leaves no room to run over. If you’re closer than that, a gift voucher lets you give the experience now and start the research when there’s time to do it well.

What if one family’s history can’t be traced?

I check viability before you commit anything. If one side can’t be researched to a worthwhile depth, I tell you honestly on the call, and we either adjust the scope or you walk away owing nothing. You never pay to find out it can’t be done.

Can it be a surprise for the couple?

Yes — many are commissioned by parents or the wedding party. I just need names, dates and places for the families to start. If you don’t have those details, a gift voucher lets the couple provide them themselves, which is often the safer route for a surprise.

Can you attend the wedding itself?

By arrangement, yes — as a heritage host with a small display table, sharing the family stories with your guests. Because every venue and day differs, attendance is quoted on enquiry rather than sold as a fixed package, so I only ever promise what I can deliver.

Do we own the finished design?

You do. You own the copyright to the design, and you keep the print files, so you can reprint copies for parents and family whenever you like.

Free guide

5 Ways to Include Family History in Your Wedding

From the ceremony reading that names the generations, to the display table guests can’t leave — five meaningful, do-able ways to weave both families’ stories into your day. Written by a professional researcher.

  • The two-families tree, and where to place it
  • Honouring relatives who couldn’t be there
  • Small heritage touches your guests will remember

Send me the free guide

One email with your guide, then occasional research notes. Unsubscribe any time.

Not sure where to start?

Fifteen minutes on the phone will tell you what’s possible. Free, no obligation, no sales pitch.