Michelle Browne, 2017

2017 was my third, and hottest, Glastonbury. I fell in love with everything about the festival the first time my husband, a proud Glasto veteran, took me there, from the mystical opening ceremony to the early morning sunrises viewed from the Stone Circle, and all the sweat, mud, glitter, music and dancing in between. I've always gone with a large group of friends, and we spend our days and nights exploring the site, trekking all the way from Silver Hayes across to the Green Fields and back again. There's a unique sense of community and belonging on the farm, it's like stepping into a secret universe, and you leave part of yourself there when it's all over.

Strummerville is a particularly special part of the farm for me. Trekking there in the evenings to soak up its chilled spirit and listen to acoustic music by the campfire is a Glasto ritual for my husband and I. On the first day of the festival in 2017, a blisteringly hot Wednesday, we strolled up to Strummerville together, taking in the view on the way up without a care in the world. I thought nothing could top being back in my favourite place with my best friend... until I turned around to see that he'd whipped out an antique ring box! Of course, in a flurry of shock and excitement, I said yes! The opening ceremony that night felt extra special, and spending the weekend celebrating our engagement with some of our closest friends was an experience I'll never forget.

We visited the eccentric town of Glastonbury during the fallow year in 2018 and hiked to the top of the Tor to watch the sunset, and we cheekily trekked to the farm where we bumped into none other than the legendary Michael Eavis himself! He was so friendly and down to earth, and wished us well for the wedding.

We married on Ireland's west coast last summer, and we included several nods towards our favourite festival throughout the day. We incorporated pagan hand-fasting into our marriage ceremony using ribbons from the farm, and we recreated the iconic rainbow tower and surrounding fields in our wedding cake. My husband even hand-wove the very top of the tower in the healing fields on his last visit to the festival. We held the ceremony outside in front of a floral tipi, and we designed the table settings as different festival sites.

Glastonbury will always hold a very special place in our hearts, and we can't wait to return in the future. But for now, we're looking forward to donning glitter and sequins and watching re-runs of previous years at home