A Pronovias gown + Pinks and Mints for a Cornish Barn Wedding

I have a love affair with Cornwall; I love its wild, dramatic coastline, the friendliness of its inhabitants and the almost tropical feel of its gardens. Whenever I’m there I feel totally free and healthy and in awe of the elements and the beauty of nature. So when I discovered that today’s wedding took place in St Neot, Cornwall, I was over the moon and couldn’t wait to take a look.

The bride and groom are Lou and Ryan, both actors, who met at The Met Film School in London. They chose to marry in Lou’s home county of Cornwall with a church wedding at Saint Neot Church on 29 April 2017, followed by a reception at Trevenna Barns, Liskeard, which they took over for the weekend. Their day was inspired by a colour palette of pale mint and pink, gold and splashes of coral, with allusions to their backgrounds in film and theatre in the styling and detail. You might see the words ‘All You Need is Love’ popping up in these images, a reference to their very first date where they bonded over The Beatles.

Video by Cupcake Video

Lou tried on over forty-five dresses in her search for her gown and loved the experience of trying them on. She eventually decided on the ‘Presea’ gown from Pronovias – a fitted gown with a dramatic train and beautiful flowers embroidered on its bodice.

“When else would you get to try on stunning, glamorous, sexy, breath-taking dresses that you will never have the opportunity to wear again? I tried everything – princess, mermaid, huge, slinky, sparkly, elegant and I quickly discovered what details I liked. The Wedding Company was the last ‘for fun’ boutique we went to and it was here that I found ‘The One’. I knew at this stage that I wanted an open back and something slinky rather than a fuller skirt, and I loved the theatricality of a long train.”

Photography Freckle Photography

It’s brilliant to hear that Lou used Love My Dress as a big source of inspiration for her marriage to Ryan, so thank you for your lovely words.

“I love, love, love and live for ‘Real Weddings’. To see ordinary people create things that are so unique, stylish, beautiful and creative gives you the feeling that you can do it too. I hadn’t anticipated how much of a creative venture planning a wedding can be and it really means a lot to know that I will be amongst weddings that have so excited me! The weddings on LMD are right up my street – fresh, colourful, creative, unique, beautiful – all without any pretentiousness.”

“I wouldn’t have necessarily picked out this dress initially, but after explaining what I was looking for Abby knew exactly what to suggest and that I would love Presea and even surprised me by hiding the length of the train until I had the dress on-a real ‘wow’ moment when she unveiled it. They were always really kind and attentive and made me feel very special.”

“What I also fell in love with was the illusion neckline which meant that I had beautiful embroidered flowers creeping up to my shoulders. I adored the mixture of satin and lace. It felt vintage yet sexy and I hate a cliché but it truly felt like it was ‘the one’ for me the moment I put it on.”

We love hearing about brides finding special suppliers through Little Book for Brides, and Lou came across both Rachel Simpson Shoes and Liberty in Love on the directory. She chose the ‘Isabelle’ shoes in Ice Blue.

“I loved them so much and continue to love them as they are something that I will wear again and again. They are the most beautiful shoes I have ever owned. I got to live my Cinderella moment in these beauties!”

The bride’s hair was plaited into a relaxed boho style and adorned with an intricate but delicate Lottie-Da Designs headpiece.

“Ione Kutz did both my hair and make-up. She is very much about creating a natural boho look which I really liked. I knew I wanted my hair up to make the most of the open back and detailed neckline on my dress but I also knew I didn’t want it to look ‘over-styled’. I loved it; it was messy, boho, relaxed but felt special.”

Her chapel-length Amanda Wyatt veil was also found at The Wedding Company. Its long length and embroidered edge complimented Lou’s gown and it flowed beautiful in the Cornish wind.

“I wore my late nanna’s engagement ring, a green onyx bracelet from Monica Vinader gifted to me by Ryan the morning of the wedding and earrings by Stephanie Brown at Liberty in Love.”

If you’re like me, your eye will instantly be drawn to these beautiful flowers by Sharon Mesher.

“With a very muted base colour palette I knew I wanted the colours in the flowers to ‘pop’ and bring everything to life. I was also keen to have peonies; I love the way they transform as they open up and how they are beautiful at all those stages. I love also that they are big and bold and make a real statement!”

“After being dissuaded from this vision from other florists it was so joyous to meet Sharon Mesher who ‘got me’ right from the word go. She took my ideas and turned them into more than I could imagine. I wasn’t expecting something like flowers to make me so emotional – when I saw them I felt all kinds of joy, they just lifted everything. Sharon is an unbelievable talent at what she does.”

Lou found finding bridesmaids’ dresses challenging, as like many brides, she needed something that would flatter different sizes and shapes. Her final choice was No 1 Jenny Packham at Debenhams.

“Three of the girls wore a pale pink dress heavily covered in beading, while three of them wore the same shape and style of dress but in mint with beading around the neckline. The beading caught the light beautifully.”

Lou and Ryan both work as actors at The Met Film School in London and it was here that we met one freezing cold day in February and got to act opposite each other in a film in which Lou played Ryan’s downtrodden Angel. Ryan proposed just before the couple’s 4th year together on Bodigga Cliffs near Looe in Cornwall (where Lou grew up) at a particularly special spot (where as a kid Lou would stop to recite lines out to the ocean when walking the dog).

Ryan got down on one knee and popped the big question with his Grandmother’s beautiful engagement ring. Alternating bursts of brilliant sunshine then downpours meant that they were blessed with a day of rainbows, smiles and lots of prosecco! They were married 14 months after Ryan proposed.

Whilst the girls got ready, Ryan was dressing in a John Lewis suit with a tie in Lamont Clan colours to honour the Scottish heritage of his late grandpa. His rose gold pocket watch from Greenwich Pocket Watch Company was a gift from Lou, and engraved on the back with his initials on the front.

Lou’s favourite song, The Beatles’ ‘Across the Universe’ was played on a piano whilst she and her dad walked down the aisle of the beautiful Saint Neot Church.

“Our vicar was very much all for us doing things differently. One of the details about the ceremony that we loved was having our groomsmen and bridesmaids stand up the front with us the whole ceremony – it made us feel really supported, buoyant and there was a real sense of togetherness.”

“Our friend Amy did our Bible reading which was from Colossians 3:12-14. We also had my lovely friend Beth read Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 18’ –  Ryan read this in a play he did in Edinburgh, it’s my dad’s favourite and I knew I wanted to get Shakespeare in there somewhere.”

“Ryan’s mum read a poem that his grandfather had written for his grandmother after they had first met, and one of my favourite moments was when our friends Gail and Jonathan read a tweaked version of ‘The Lovely Dinosaur’ making it personal to us. Our vicar loved to mix things up- we had Gail and Jonathan get up and do their reading IN the aisle at opposite ends which we felt worked really well and gave the opportunity for people sitting at the back to get a good view.”

“We both knew we wanted something different from a plain traditional wedding band so Ryan got a rose gold hammered band from Averie Jewelry on Etsy and my Ernest Jones ring has a gold and diamond twisted design which looks vintage and suits my vintage engagement ring perfectly.”

The couple were lucky enough to have Polperro Fishermens Choir sing during the ceremony too. Afterwards, the guests travelled to Trevenna Barns in vintage coaches from King Harry Coaches, whilst the newly-weds were driven in a simply beautiful 1930 Franklin 147 Salon Special hired by Ryan from CDEC Cars in Plymouth.

Freckle Photography has captured the happiness of the day, as well as the beauty of Cornwall, wonderfully. The photos of Ryan and Lou in the wind by the sea are so lovely.

“Choosing Emma Latham at Freckle Photography was the best decision we could have made. She is an all-round remarkable human being. When we first saw her images they literally made us smile from ear to ear.”

“They capture life, joy, emotion and love in a light that takes your breath away. It was so important to us to be surrounded by lovely people on our most special day and we were so blessed to have suppliers that felt like friends. Emma was no exception. She was a dream on the day and we’re so in love with the photos.”

Whilst Emma captured the day on camera, Cupcake Videos shot the beautiful film.

“We had Miles Cooper from Cupcake Videos shoot our wedding and again we’re so lucky to have such a great bloke and top talent be part of our wedding. He was so discreet we barely noticed him but when we did get to chat to him he was the coolest guy. Again, we LOVE our video.”

 

The couple took over Trevenna Barns for the weekend, hosting their friends and family there on the night before the wedding as well.

“We were very keen to have somewhere that could accommodate guests for the weekend because we wanted to soak up as much of the wedding for as long as we could. Walking into Trevenna we just got ‘the feeling’. There was something classy, relaxed yet special about Trevenna both on our visits and on the day.”

The couple made the venue personal with references to their backgrounds in film and theatre.

“We were keen to include as many details as possible that were personal and unique to us. Our table plan involved a bridesmaid and groomsman handing out theatre-style tickets to ‘The Table Plan’, detailing where each guest would be sat. The table names were places in our favourite films (‘Kellerman’s’ from ‘Dirty Dancing’ for example) and even our photo booth frame for guests was in the style of a clapperboard and film reel.”

They also added light-up letters from South West Letter Lights, giant Love and Stuff balloons and mint, pink and gold lanterns hanging from the canopy which looks so pretty. I just love their idea for an alternative ‘guest book’.

The stationery and on-the-day details were designed by Jo Arbor in a mint and pink colour palette.

“There is an image of myself and Ryan sitting up on the moors (not far from Trevenna itself) looking out across a vast landscape with our arms round each other that perfectly captures the contentment and love I was feeling at that stage in our relationship. I knew I wanted to incorporate that image in our invitations somewhere. We have a wildly talented friend who is an illustrator who drew this image in pen and ink along with a flower design which we set against an ombré pink and mint background. These designs featured in our invitations, through to our order of service and menu cards.”

Lou’s father, an artist based in Looe, provided the favours –  postcards of his watercolour paintings with a handwritten thank you note on the back for each guest. There were also paper bags of fudge made by Lou’s sister, with the date, Lou and Ryan’s names and ‘Love is All You Need’ written on them. The lovely tiered cake, decorated with sugar flowers and a gold calligraphy ‘Love’, was made by Lou’s very talented aunt.

“She took our ideas and turned them into something beautiful. What I love about these meticulously created flowers is that you can keep them- such a beautiful memento of the day!”

  

Entertainment was provided by the couple’s friends and family, and Lou took to the mic too for a rendition of The Beatles’ songs with a friend.

“We are extremely fortunate in that Ryan’s brother-in-law plays the bass for The Lionels who are quite simply brilliant, so that was the easiest decision we could have made.”

The first dance was to Phil Collin’s ‘Groovy Kind of Love’, but Lou had a surprise for her new husband later on.

“A favourite moment was ‘The Dance’. I love dancing so much; it’s my absolute favourite thing to do. It’s also Ryan’s favourite thing to watch and he said whilst watching me dance to Beyoncé at a party that it was a key moment when he realised he was falling in love. So, imagine my bridesmaids’ dismay when I tell them I’m teaching them a dance to perform at the wedding!”

“I asked Ryan’s friend Ashley to make a mix of songs and sayings that Ryan thinks are funny or that means something to us as a couple and taught the girls (over various video messages in my onesie and heels) a dance. Performing this at the wedding was so much fun-the girls are all amazing dancers and were brilliant. Seeing the look on Ryan’s face was priceless.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“I advise any bride-to-be to delegate on-the-day jobs. I was so super organised from the moment Ryan proposed but I hadn’t thought about things that needed to get moved/orchestrated on the day and most importantly I hadn’t designated a time-keeper which meant that I was really late to church and the whole day overran for one reason or another.  I don’t think the day suffered for this but it would have taken the stress away to have said to someone – here is the timetable for the day; don’t let us stray too much.”

“Soak up every minute. It’s so hard, from the moment your fiancé proposes, to not imagine how this day will be. There’s so much pressure on just twenty four little hours, it’s hard not to feel the weight of that. But just remember on the day what it’s all about and take things moment by moment, relish every second and keep looking into your husband’s eyes. It’s a day about family, friendship and most importantly, love. Take delight in every single moment!”

I’ve so enjoyed writing about your wedding today Lou and Ryan, so thank you so much for sharing it with us and these lovely photographs by Freckle Photography.

Right, I’m off to plan my next Cornish adventure. Have a great day.

Ele xx