Showing posts with label Beach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beach. Show all posts

Tuesday 26 February 2013

Real Cornish Coastal Wedding: Julie & Ben - Part 2

Time for the beautiful reception pictures from this lovely Cornish coastal wedding. Julie and Ben created many of the wedding details themselves, as {like most of us}, they had to keep to a tight wedding budget. Julie DIY'd her wedding stationery, table plan, and her wedding favours, adding the personal touch that makes a wedding stand out from the crowd. I love the hedgerow themed wedding flowers, the simply billowing marquee, and the traditional English deckchairs. Don't miss Julie's fantastic advice for future brides, or Part 1 of this gorgeous wedding! Huge thanks to Alan Law Photography for these beautiful wedding pictures.

We tied the knot on the 30th of June 2012 at an amazing venue in Cornwall called Fentafriddle. We picked this date as it was my Dad’s birthday {who sadly passed away}, and we thought this would be a great way to keep celebrating the date.


We didn’t have a wedding colour theme as such. The bridesmaid dresses were gold and cream, and our bouquets were based around the hedgerow. Daisies featured throughout. We both just wanted it to feel natural and bright.

Choosing our wedding venue wasn’t about location, as we looked all around the UK. Our most important request was that it had to be relaxed and child friendly, and we wanted our close friends and family to be able to stay with us before and after the big day. Wedding days can pass so fast and you just want to cherish the moment for as long as you can. 

When we saw Fentafriddle we both immediately knew it was the venue for us. The view over the sea just takes your breath away.



Because the landscape of the venue was so stunning we hardly had to do any decorating. Flowers required were minimal and I wanted to make the table plan and centre pieces myself for that personal touch.


Each table was named after a place that meant a lot to us, so we had Canterbury as we both attended university there, Kentish Town which is where we first lived together, and the head table was of course Trebarwith Strand where Fentafriddle sits proudly. and will always be in our hearts.


A local florist in Delabole called Bruallen did our wedding flowers. The ladies there are just amazing. Neither of us knew anything about flowers and they immediately understood our requirements. All I knew was that I wanted an antique rose to feature in my bouquet and I wanted the flowers on the table to be loose, natural and bright. Our wedding flowers were just lovely and most of them came from various local Cornish farmers that very morning.


At first we weren’t going to have a wedding cake and planned just going to have a desert that could be cut in front of our guests. Our caterer came up with the idea of a giant pavlova with fresh berries, and not only did it look stunning, but the flavours were immense. 


I really do recommend our caterer. The quality of the food was superb and she was so laid back about the day which rubbed off on us, and the people she employed on the day were great fun. Her name was Fee Turner. But in the end close friends of ours had a cake made for us as a gift, and it was beautiful and was cream and gold. So you could call us greedy as we ended up having two cakes!


Our wedding favours were stones inscribed with paraphrases from the readings included in the ceremony. Quite often we’ll go around someone’s house and the stone will be used as a doorstop or sitting on the side and it always makes me smile. We also placed a small card at each table-place, including a poem by Dr Seus and a brief thank you on the back. The main reason for both was to add a personal touch, but I won't lie, keeping costs down was also a factor. 



In the beginning I really enjoyed planning our wedding. But nearer the time I did start to feel the pressure, and even though I don't regret it now, I did start to regret having to do some of my DIY projects - the table plan and favours!



My advice to brides would be....let others help when they ask, don’t panic if things go wrong on the day. Our generator packed up at around 11pm and when I walked back in the marquee on the verge of feeling emotional and stressed all I could see were lighters in the air and my guests singing Wonderwall {by Oasis}. This turned out to be an amazing way to end the evening. You just have to not let anything ruin your day, and remember it’s probably only a problem to you, and not to your guests.



If you're having a marquee always request to see your order up and in working order long before your wedding. We were unfortunately disappointed with the quality of ours as it wasn't what we had ordered. But again only Ben and I noticed, guests were none the wiser. Don’t place too much emphasis on your wedding shoes if you're wearing a long wedding dress. No-one really notices details like this! Enjoy your day, as it’s one of the only times in your life you are surrounded by everyone you love! I don’t think I stopped smiling from the beginning to the end. 


Our wedding photographer was Alan Law. Both his profile and gallery attracted me to his work as we wanted someone that would be able to take natural photos, which is exactly what he did for us on the day. He also stayed late past the first dance, and fair play to him, as the drink had been flowing all day and at points the dance floor was quite intense. The result was we loved our pictures and we couldn’t have asked for anything more!


More Posts Like This One
Real Summer Countryside Wedding
Real Pretty Marquee Wedding

♥ Want to see seaside weddings ideas? ♥ Or how about more summer wedding ideas? ♥
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Monday 25 February 2013

Real Cornish Coastal Wedding: Julie & Ben

Even though it's freezing outside, this gorgeous Cornish coastal wedding is bound to warm you up, and get you inspired for your summer weddings. Julie and Ben celebrated their big day seconds from the sea, and a stunning {if windswept beach}. They didn't plan a particular wedding theme, but let their natural, bright wedding venue do the talking. I love Julie's elegant Lusan Mandongus wedding gown, with its sexy scooped back, and her simple up-do, while the flowers girls were super-cute in Monsoon. Julie's stunning bouquet included blooms collected from local Cornish farmers the morning of her wedding, and her florist found inspiration from the hedgerows - LOVE! Huge thanks to Alan Law Photography for these beautiful wedding pictures. We've got lots more reception shots to publish tomorrow - don't miss them!

My wedding dress was brought from a wonderful shop in St Albans called Satin Bow Bridal. The dress is a Lusan Mandongus gown called Gem and I just loved the low cut back. But it was tricky to find suitable underwear!


Both my hair accessory and my back drop necklace {perfect with my wedding gown} were from Chez Bec. My shoes were from Girls of Elegance and were called ‘Gwen’. But to be honest far too much effort went into picking the shoes, as no-one saw them and they got completely trashed from the soft ground.


We tied the knot on the 30th of June 2012 at an amazing venue in Cornwall called Fentafriddle. We picked this date as it was my Dad’s birthday {who sadly passed away}, and we thought this would be a great way to keep celebrating the date.


Choosing our wedding venue wasn’t about location, as we looked all around the UK. Our most important request was that it had to be relaxed and child friendly, and we wanted our close friends and family to be able to stay with us before and after the big day. Wedding days can pass so fast and you just want to cherish the moment for as long as you can. When we saw Fentafriddle we both immediately knew it was the venue for us. The view over the sea just takes your breath away.


Both of the adult bridesmaids' dresses were from House of Fraser, made by Anoushka G {both bought on sale}. The little flower girl dresses were from Monsoon. The top of the dress was gold crochet and they both looked adorable.



Poor Ben was left with the last of the budget so instead of buying a wedding suit or hiring one out we thought he should buy a suit that he could continue to use at work. It was a Charles Tyrwhitt suit and the colour was dark chocolate.


We met in Ibiza seven years ago at the Hed Kandi closing party {the same night Ben fell down some stairs, and only realised in the morning he had a broken leg!}. Unfortunately I only found out he was interested in me via my friend at the airport on the way home, and I was disappointed she hadn’t told me earlier! The same friend later went to a house party back in the UK and Ben just so happened to be there, and he asked her to pass his number onto me. I wanted very much to find out more about him, got in contact and the rest is of course history!


Ben proposed on New Year’s Eve 2010, right before we were going to enter into the Hogmanay Street party in Edinburgh. He got down on one knee and I presumed he was tying his laces so I walked a little further on. When I heard him call my name I couldn’t believe what was happening, and I think in shock I kept saying ‘really?’ for a good few minutes. Once I pulled myself together I gave him a big hug and said ‘of course I will’. At the time we didn’t have enough money for an engagement ring so he brought me a fabulous keepsake ring broken into three which is meant to represent the past, present and future.

Our wedding photographer was Alan Law. Both his profile and gallery attracted me to his work as we wanted someone that would be able to take natural photos, which is exactly what he did for us on the day. He also stayed late past the first dance, and fair play to him, as the drink had been flowing all day and at points the dance floor was quite intense. The result was we loved our pictures and we couldn’t have asked for anything more!


More Posts Like This One
Real Seaside & Sweetie Wedding
Real Nautical-Themed Wedding

♥ Want to see seaside weddings ideas? ♥ Or how about more summer wedding ideas? ♥
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Monday 7 January 2013

Real Tipi Church Wedding: Jess & Alistair - Reception Details

With tonnes of colourful, bright wedding details, and a wedding reception set in a tipi {so on trend}, you're going to love Jess and Alistair's big day. After their church wedding ceremony, they head to the beautiful Church Farm on the Wirral, right near the sea, for their wedding reception. With the help of friends and family, they DIY decorated their wedding tipi with bright paper lanterns, handmade hanging hearts, jam-jar tea-light holders, and pretty green ivy. Jess even created her own wedding table plan out of a humble piece of mdf, plus blackboard paint! I love the countryside feel of the hay-bales, wood-fire and cheesecake, and it's all pictured perfectly by Victoria Phipps Photography. If you missed Part 1 click here, and don't miss Jess' answers to our questionnaire - she has tonnes of inspirational wedding advice.


We got married end of July 2012 in Thurstaston, on the Wirral Peninsula. The ceremony was at St Bartholomew’s Church and the reception was in Papa Kata tipis at Church Farm on the Wirral.



We had three different florists for my bouquet, the church and the reception. My bouquet and the bridesmaid’s corsages/groomsmen buttonholes were by Eden Florists in West Kirby, Wirral. Friends of Alistair's mother did the flowers for the reception, and members of the church did the church flowers.




Al is wanted quite a traditional wedding, and I wanted something fun and relaxed. We compromised by having a church wedding and a tipi reception. The church had meaning for both of us as it was where my parents had got married, and it's somewhere Al and his family had visited on Sunday walks.

We didn't have any wedding theme as such. We just wanted a colourful and personal wedding. Creating a fun atmosphere was important to us, as was throwing an amazing party with some seriously tasty food!


There were a few of DIY projects, and as the reception was in a tipi there was a lot of decorating to do. The blackboard table plan was some cheap mdf, that I painted with black board paint. We collected lots of jam jars for rustic tea light holders, and the green ivy was picked and put up by Al’s mum and a couple of her close friends.



As part of my hen-do we did a crafty session at a local artists studio where we made hanging hearts in different colours. We put these hearts up as part of the decorations. I painted numbers on white paper lanterns for hanging table numbers, and the hanging lanterns for the dance floor were bought and set up by us. 


I like to illustrate in my spare time, and we thought it would be nice to have an illustrated wedding invite. Jim Fleming, a local artist illustrated our cards. I added in the lettering, and drew a whimsical map, and I also wrote the place cards and the table plan.

We were lucky enough to have two cakes. We went for a cheesecake from the Liverpool Cheese Company, and Al’s mum baked a yummy fruit-cake wedding cake for us.


We spent a year planning our wedding, and tried to not let it take over our lives. We had creative control over every aspect, which made the day just what we wanted, but it was also a lot of work!


My advice for other brides starts with learning the art of delegation! We couldn’t have planned the day we had without the help of our parents, our friends and anyone else who offered assistance.


Our photographer was Victoria from Victoria Phipps Photography. We really liked her natural photography style.


♥ Want to see London wedding ideas? ♥ Or how about more pub reception ideas? ♥
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Real Tipi Church Wedding: Jess & Alistair

Brighten up your day with this fantastic colourful wedding day, set by the sea, on the Wirral peninsula. The lovely Jess and Alistair had two different visions for their big day, but compromised between traditional and quirky, with a church wedding and a tipi reception. With bright blue cornflowers, red roses, pink peonies and yellow daffodils, Jess' beautiful bouquet epitomises the theme colours for this gorgeous wedding, and I've completely fallen for her bridesmaids' floral dresses, and vintage-style corsages. Jess' lovely vintage gown was refashioned from her mother's wedding dress, and her blue wedding shoes were a bargain from a local supermarket! Don't miss all the gorgeous wedding reception pictures - due to go live later today. Huge thanks to Victoria Phipps Photography for her beautiful work - she captured every stunning detail.


My wedding dress had been my mothers wedding dress from the 1970s. I tried on lots of lovely dresses but none on them were what I had envisioned myself wearing. My mum was more than happy for me to customise her dress as it had been sitting in the attic for the last 37 years. A local dressmaker at Anna May Couture in West Kirby interpreted my ideas and made the dress.


The headpiece was borrowed from my bridesmaid from when she was married. I did want a floral head garland but once I put my friends headpiece on it just seemed right. 



We had three different florists for my bouquet, the church and the reception. My bouquet and the bridesmaid’s corsages/groomsmen buttonholes were by Eden Florists in West Kirby, Wirral. Friends of Alistair's mother did the flowers for the reception, and members of the church did the church flowers.

I knew I wanted floral bridesmaid dresses. The girls tried on dresses from Phase Eight and they ticked all the boxes!


I loved my blue wedding shoes, and even better, they were from a well know supermarket and didn’t break the bank. Everyone commented on them and thought they must have been expensive.

Al wanted to stay traditional and went for suit with tails, hired from Moss Bros. His tie was from Charles Tyrwhitt. He picked out the blue ties for the ushers and the camel coloured waistcoats.



We got married end of July 2012 in Thurstaston on the Wirral Peninsula. The ceremony was at St Bartholomew’s Church and the reception was in Papa Kata tipis at Church Farm on the Wirral.

Al is quite traditional and I wanted something fun and relaxed. We compromised by having a church wedding and a tipi reception. The church had meaning for both of us as it was where my parents had got married and somewhere Al and his family had visited on Sunday walks.

We met at a party - I was already friends with Al’s brother. We proceeded in bumping into each other at various gigs and nights out, and realised we had a lot in common {the-who-asked-who-out part is greatly contended!}. We had been together for 4 years when we decided to do a European road trip. We drove around Europe with the final destination being a day in Paris.

We spent the day touring the sights, and in the evening Al had booked a table in the wonderful restaurant. It was so busy, we were squeezed onto the end of a table almost on the laps of the couple next to us. We ate late and as the restaurant emptied out they moved us to a table of our own for our desserts and coffees. Al proposed over the crème brûlée.



Our photographer was Victoria from Victoria Phipps Photography. We really liked her natural wedding photography style.



♥ Want to see seaside wedding ideas? ♥ Or how about more colourful wedding ideas? ♥
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Before the Big Day - the Best UK Wedding Blog.
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