Good morning lovely ones, as you’ll be reading this, I’ll be in London spending time with good friends ahead of my birthday on Sunday. It’s a big one, so I’m making the most of having a few days left with an age that begins with the number 3! An evening spent with my dear friend Kate Halfpenny last night just reaffirmed to me what good friendship is all about, so I’m feeling on a natural high this morning and raring to share this sublime, summer seaside wedding with you.
Business partners Claire and Olly who own a barbershop called Gents Quarter in Baildon, West Yorkshire, got married on 21 June this year at the scenic Porthilly Farm, Daymer Bay in Rock, Cornwall. The combination of seaside, sunshine, smiles, colour and happiness make it a really joyful experience looking through these images shot by Jess Petrie, whose own Whitby beach wedding featured on Love My Dress recently.
“We wanted a little formality to our day and to keep the running fairly traditional. But we also wanted a relaxed feel which we definitely managed to achieve. Being by the sea and beach in the glorious sunshine helped with that one! We decided the day before the wedding that we should make use of the gorgeous weather that we’d been promised, so I asked the marquee guys to put the dance floor outside, under the festoons and under the stars – this still makes me excited now!! Spontaneous decisions are often the best.”
Photography Copyright (c) 2014, Jess Petrie
“Olly and I met in 2008. I had decided it was time for a new hairdresser and chanced it at my local hairdressers. Little did I know that it was to be the first day of the rest of my life! My next appointment with the new scissor wielder in town was memorable and we were inseparable. His smile changed everything. In fact, that smile still changes everything.”
“Over the last twelve months, anything pale blue and anything gold belonged to me! I bought pretty much anything in those tones. Right up until a week before the wedding, everything was being sprayed, wafted or glittered in gold – It was literally sparkly heaven.
The bridesmaid’s dresses were made by a local retired lady.. On the final fitting, we knew that the dresses were lacking some form of bling! A panic email to Katy from What Katy Did Next and two belts were designed, made and were bloomin’ perfect! The light blue dresses and gold leather belts are such a lovely combination.
My bridesman’s suit was from Next. His bow tie and pocket square were both from Ted Baker.”
“I am from Warwickshire and Olly is from Yorkshire which is where we live with our two children. We chose to get married at St Enodoc Church, Daymer Bay, Cornwall. I lost my Mum three years ago and her ashes are laid to rest at St Enodoc along with her Dad, my Grandpa. My family have been enjoying holidays on Daymer Beach for forever, well at least since the 50’s! Getting married at St Enodoc was the closest I could get to having my beautiful Mum, my best friend, at my wedding and I felt very close to her.
St Enodoc also happens to be one of the most beautiful beach-side churches ever. Situated on the headland above Daymer Bay beach, the views stretch over the Camel Estuary and I remember seeing boats sailing in he sea as we walked the across the fields dodging cow-pat (yes, really!) to the church. It’s a 10 minute walk from the nearest car-park but this little gem of a chapel is worth all the grass stained and muddy heels in the world.
From the 16th century to the 19th century, The church was buried amongst the sand dunes.”
“Our reception was held at Porthilly Farm, Rock, Cornwall. Porthilly is a working oyster farm and their estate extends onto the the headland which is on the Camel Estuary overlooking Padstow. The Marshall’s who own the farm couldn’t do enough for us. Because the weather was so hot, they were rallying round shifting oysters out of their refrigerated rooms so we could keep our flowers cool and keep the champagne chilled!
They don’t have a website, but Kate Marshall from Porthilly can be contacted via email: [email protected].”
“Yorkshire based florists, Emmas Weddings & Events, travelled 380 miles with a van full of flowers! Emma and Rebecca are sisters and they own the florist shop next door to our barbershop. They are of course great friends of ours too, I mean, who else would travel that far to do flowers! They used lots of pinks and peach tones which all looked stunning.”
“When they arrived in Cornwall, they were given an area of a cowshed to use at the oyster farm where we had our reception. They’ve labelled it as being the best office ever! They then had the task of carting all the flowers to the church across St Enodoc Golf Course – there really is no easy access to this little church in the middle of nowhere!
Emma and Rebecca really involved themselves in my planning. They knew exactly how it all looked inside my buzzing head and it all looked perfect. Stunning. Beautiful. Even more touching was that they’d made me a small version of my bouquet which I could leave with my Mum after we came out of the church.”
“I had two children from a previous relationship and I adored watching their relationship with Olly grow. I was smitten by his ability to make us all laugh and cry at the same time. We all fell utterly in love with him.
On June 6th 2012, my birthday, we had our annual family holiday in Cornwall (can you tell how much we love the place!). I was busy opening my presents when I noticed Olly on one knee with the children by his side. Yeap – the boy proposed! Apparently this was meant to happen on the beach, but Olly feared that the children couldn’t keep the secret any longer, so instead it all happened in a caravan.”
“Our stationery was designed by Heather from Remember November on Etsy. I sent her some ideas through and instantly, Heather created the ‘look’ which would feature throughout our stationary.
The stationary was printed by TIG, a Yorkshire based printing company.”
“I wore Coco Mademoiselle Eau de Parfum by Chanel which was given to me by Olly. I love this scent and it’s definitely my favorite.”
“I didn’t enjoy shoe shopping because I really do not do heels. I cant walk in them and I find them uncomfortable. However, I stumbled across Love Art Wear Art and in particular, the style ‘Scarlett’ in ivory. I didn’t manage to wear them all day, but they were comfortable and very sparkly.”
“I had a veil but sadly I don’t know who it was made by. I know it was Venetian lace as this broke our ‘100 British’ rule, however, Venice was our first holiday together so for that reason, ‘rules are made to be broken’ applied!”
“My hair comb was designed and made by Katy Howieson from What Katy Did Next. Katy was a pleasure to work with and was very patient during the design process. I knew I wanted gold and I was inspired by Katy’s ‘Reign’ collection which gave us a head-start on the initial design process. Katy also made our ring cushion along with the rather gorgeous gold belts that my bridesmaid’s adorned.”
“Our flower girl, and beautiful daughter, wore a gold dress from Monsoon. Her gold sparkly pumps are from The Children Salon by Billieblush.”
“My dress, called ‘Louisa’, was made by Devon based Kate Walker and I purchased it from The Swanky Bride in Kirkburton, Yorkshire. This was the only dress that made me cry. That’s always a good start! Closely followed by the ‘swishing’ noise it made when I walked – SOLD! The dress was also 100% British made – another important factor of our day; Support British, support local and support small businesses’. Everything had to fall into this category. Challenging as it was.
Although I dealt with the loss of my Mum relatively well, I did find dress shopping without her particularly hard. The one person I trusted the most to tell me if I looked beautiful or hideous , to share my joy and excitement of finding ‘the one’, wasn’t there. It was also a tiring task of explaining to everyone why my Mum wasn’t shopping with me. But, a reality check and 50 packs of tissues later, I made sure I enjoyed my dress shopping journey with my bridesmaids and bridesman, and from that moment on, I felt guided by her presence.”
“Olly had a bespoke suit made from Reiss. It was a dark navy blue which he teamed with a gold tweed bow tie and pocket square from Mrs Bowtie. His suit had our initials and our children’s initials embroidered on the inside pocket along with the date of our wedding.
I bought Olly a gold pocket watch. It’s something he’s always wanted. I had it engraved with his initials.”
“With my Mum passing away and no Father in my life, Our son, Harris, walked me down the aisle. He’s 9 years old and he took on the role with the most amount of pride that I have ever seen in anyone. Just as Harris and I entered the church, very calmly he pulled on my hand, looked at me and told me I looked beautiful. His timing was perfect. Harris spent months writing a speech that left everyone in tears. He was funny, he was loving and his confidence still amazes me.
We entered the church to ‘I Wasn’t Expecting That’ by Jamie Lawson. Our usher, Joe, sang an acoustic version – it was beautiful and perfect. Lyrically, it was perfect; ‘Without an innocent kiss, what a life I’d have missed’. We had those lyrics printed on the back of our order of service.”
“Our daughter, Jessie, was the first to enter the church, followed by my bridemaids and bridesman. The aisle is very short so we wanted to make the most of it. The wedding ceremony was as much about our children as it was for us. We were not just getting married, but we became a family. We therefore had the children with us at the altar during the vows and the blessing.
Our vicar, Reverand John May, really got to know us and tailored our wedding perfectly. He also acknowledged my Mum in a sensitive and thoughtful way.
Towards the end of the service, we had a family blessing which was really personal. Both of the children were invited to the altar to join us and it’s a moment that I will remember forever.”
“During the service, Olly’s Mum read Seaside Golf by John Betjemen. Betjemen is buried at St Enodoc Church, and our Chief Bridesmaid read ‘Friendship’ by Judy Bielicki – I found readings really hard to find. I wanted something that reflected Olly and I and ‘Friendship’ did that perfectly.”
Friendship’ by Judy Bielicki:
‘It is often said that it is love that makes the world go round. However, without doubt, it is friendship which keeps our spinning existence on an even keel. True friendship provides so many of the essentials for a happy life-it is the foundation on which to build an enduring relationship, it is the mortar which bonds us together in harmony, and it is the calm, warm protection we sometimes need when the world outside seems cold and chaotic. True friendship holds a mirror to our foibles and failings, without destroying our sense of worthiness. True friendship nurtures our hopes, supports us in our disappointments, and encourages us to grow to our best potential. Bride and Groom came together as friends. Today, they pledge to each other not only their love, but also the strength, warmth and, most importantly, the fun of true friendship.’
“My wedding ring is the most precious item of jewellery I will ever own. When my Mum passed away, I inherited her wedding ring and my Nana’s engagement ring which my Mum also wore. I somehow wanted to combine the two rings so I took them to Chris Stoner, from Christopher Stoner Fine Jewellery in Harrogate. We worked through some vintage designs which would incorporate the diamonds from both rings.
The finished result is a platinum vintage set with diamonds. The sentimental value of my ring is priceless. Chris did such a great job and was a delight to work with.”
“Our marquee was from The Beautiful Tent Co. I was on the look out for something a little less ‘corporate’ looking and loved the shape and style of their tents. I also saw them feature on TV with Kirsty Allsop. We were really happy with the service they provided and they were especially helpful when it came to liaising with our other suppliers (furniture, generator, loos etc) – that was a big relief and they helped bring it all together on site.
The festoon lighting was worth every ounce of the planning. Richard from System Electrical provided us with detailed drawings so we knew how they were going to look. They were definitely a show stopper!”
“We used Fee Turner Catering and boy are we glad we did! Fee did so much more than she was asked to and was just an all round amazing lady! And we haven’t even got onto the food yet…!!
We had a few meetings with Fee to discuss our menu. But to be honest, once we agreed on the mini cornish cream tea canapés, the rest didn’t matter!
Our guests were greeted with pink fizz from Saumur on arrival to help wash their Oysters down. The oysters are farmed at Porthilly which is where we held our reception. Fee’s staff were smart, polite and professional.”
“We didn’t have wedding favours laid out on the tables as they’re rarely taken home. So instead, we had ‘Hangover’ bags which we hung onto bottles of water for when our guests left. They went down very well let me tell you! They were made by Clemintine Weddings on Etsy.
We named our tables after gents hairstyles, it was a funny way of acknowledging our Barbershop. The day before we set off to Cornwall, we sent all of our guests postcards with the words: ‘Salty toes and sandy kisses from the soon to be Mr & Mrs’. This got everyone in the mood for a seaside wedding!”
“I struggled to find any designs that I liked and by chance, I saw a cake on Pintrest which I loved. Sadly, I can’t remember where I saw it and therefore can’t give credit to anyone.
Olly’s Aunt baked the tiers which were fruit and passed it onto a dear friend of the family who’s been decorating cakes for longer than she’ll allow me to say. However, she did say that she wouldn’t be using gold leaf ever again! The two gold tiers are covered in 23 carat edible gold leaf.”
I think the cake you found on Pinterest Claire was probably this one by Rosalind Miller, which we featured on Love My Dress here 🙂
“I collected Jo Malone candles in Lavender Loveage on the lead up to the wedding, they definitely created a very memorable scent throughout the marquee. I mixed them up with other candles to keep the cost down. They burn for hours so I’ve kept them and I will wait for our first anniversary to light them again.”
“We bought some giant balloons from Bubblegum Balloons – they were such fun! Living By Liz made our vintage crates with our names on. I love that we can use the crates over and over again, and we have!”
“For our first dance, we chose ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by Dire Straights leading into ‘Dancing In The Dark’ by Bruce Springsteen. These were my Mum’s favourite songs and we like them too.
Just as the sun began to set, it was time for our first dance. With nothing but the sky above us, the warm glow from the sleepy sun, it was magical. As soon as The Dunwells started playing ‘Dancing In The Dark’, everyone hit the dance floor – this was, by far, the best way of remembering my Mum.”
“During the last verse, I noticed that the sun was just about to disappear behind the cliffs, so Olly and I left the dance floor and had some time on our own stood right on the edge of the headland, overlooking Padstow, and watched the sun go down. We were quite literally dream-catching. It was our time.”
“Putting the dance floor outside was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my entire life! Oh, and the fire-pits with a basket of marshmallows on skewers – they went down very well.”
“Lucky for us, our usher, Joe and his brother Dave, are in a band called The Dunwells. Signed to a record label in USA, they flew in to the UK just a couple of days before the wedding to play for us.
Joe and Dave also played in the church which was incredible and very emotional!
In the evening, they teamed with their younger brother, Matt, who’s also in a band called City Of Lights and totally blew everyone away. The residents of Padstow are now their newest fans!”
Words of Wedded Wisdom…
“Let your heart guide you – I can honestly cannot think of anything I would have done differently. I contemplated all kinds of entertainment from photo booths to magicians, but our money would have been wasted. The music, the dancing and the views was more than enough.”
Oh how absolutely, completely and utterly beautiful – I adore how the various elements collide to create these beautiful and joyful images that I’ve literally smiled all the way through looking at in preparing this feature.
Huge congratulations to you both Claire and Olly, it has been such an honour and pleasure to share your day. And my heartfelt thanks to Jess Petrie too for asking me to share her beautiful and inspiring work.
Have the loveliest of mornings,
Annabel xx
Photographer – Jess Petrie
Marquee Hire – The Beautiful Tent Co.
Venue – Porthilly Farm, Rock, Cornwall
Wedding Dress – Kate Walker via The Swanky Bride
Headpiece – What Katy Did Next
Shoes – Love Art Wear Art
Bride’s Scent/perfume – Coco Mademoiselle Eau de Parfum by Chanel
Groom – Reiss + Mrs Bowtie
Bridesmaids – local seamstress
Flowergirls – Monsoon + The Children Salon by Billieblush
Florist – Emmas Weddings & Events
Cake – DIY/Family
Transport – We hired a Jaguar mark 2 from Claive’s Classic Cars
Entertainment – The Dunwells + City Of Lights
Rings – Heirloom rings combined by Christopher Stoner Fine Jewellery
Catering – Fee Turner Catering
Stationery – Remember November on Etsy
Makeup – Make-up by Jaala + DeModa Hair & Make-Up Artist
Giant Balloons – Bubblegum Balloons
Personalised vintage crates – Living By Liz
Annabel View all Annabel's articles
Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.
Wow! What a gorgeous wedding. I love all the tiny and thoughtful details and the weather looked perfect for a Cornish wedding x
What a stunning wedding and a beautiful account from the blushing bride. I’m sure the Mother of the Bride would be so so proud of them all. With only a few weeks until my big day, I’m so inspired by this wedding! Gorgeous! Congratulations xxx
Wow this one is the first one to make me cry – love the I remember and the tiny touches.
What an absolutely stunning wedding, and a gorgeous, gorgeous family! Makes me what to do it all over again!
What a stunning wedding and a beautiful account from the blushing bride. I’m sure the Mother of the Bride would be so so proud of them all. With only a few weeks until my big day, I’m so inspired by this wedding! Gorgeous!