Katie in Yolan Cris for her Tunnels Beaches Wedding in Devon

30 Tunnels Beaches wedding Devon copy

Hello lovelies, we’ve such a beautiful wedding for you today, an event that embodies the spirit and joy of weddings in a way that we love to share here on Love My Dress.

Wedding photographer Katie married her beau Richard last summer, at Tunnels Beaches in Devon. The couple had already married via an intimate ceremony back in 2020, but fulfilled their ambition to marry with loved ones present, by the sea, on 30th July last year. The occasion was captured beautifully by photographer Ash Powell. Enjoy.

The Vibe

We love the English coast and find the sea so relaxing and calming. We just knew Tunnels Beaches in Devon would be a serene experience for us. My bucket list included dipping my feet in the sea on her wedding day!

As I am a wedding photographer, I really longed for a non weddingy wedding! Tunnels Beaches dramatic slate rock backdrop didn’t need dressing up, and stood alone on its own as an incredible setting.

The Dress

My main dress was a Yolan Cris two-piece from the Knutsford Wedding Gallery.

After such a long wait, I just couldn’t wait to wear my Yolan Cris dress; it was the first dress I had tried and was exactly what I wanted. I love wearing high neck and long sleeve styled outfits so it was perfect.

Bridal Beauty

Big thanks also to Rui Macedo for my bridal ponytail, and Helen Brady for her makeup artistry skills – they both absolutely nailed my vision, and travelled so far for us.

We both wear Jo Malone scents which compliment each other. I wear the Rose & Bergamot, and Richard the Bergamot & Oud. We love how intense and long lasting the scents are.

The Boys

Richard had a custom made black tie suit at Henley House, it was perfect!

Hugh, our little boy, was only six months old so we had a soft material black tie suit made for him.

Ceremony

My dad walked me down the aisle – Richard with Hugh in his arms – a moment that will be treasured forever and one Richard said is his proudest moment to date.

We walked arrived to ‘Music To Your Eyes’ from the ‘A Star is Born’ soundtrack.

The most incredible moment for us on the day was walking down the aisle and meeting eyes, knowing this was the moment we had been waiting for (and not knowing if it would ever happen) was surreal and something that will stay with us forever. To have our son Hugh there was just perfect and we just both feel so blessed.

Our videographer’s husband, Dave, actually recommended our jeweller; Element Bespoke Jewellery. They were really sweet with the whole design process, and did a great job.

Our celebrant, Jen, coordinated totally unique vows to one another where she revealed our answers of the same questions we had been asked by her. It was really special to hear how in sync we were with our feelings for each other and the lives we have built together. I also read a poem I had written for Richard. Richard had also written a lovely poem which he said during his speech. We both had them framed and gifted to each other for our first anniversary – a beautiful coincidence!

How They Met

After years of knowing each other, (and both being unavailable) we bumped into each other at a party with mutual friends. We were pushed together by our friends mum as she knew we were both single, and the rest, as they say, is history.

It wasn’t long before Richard sold his house, and we bought a house together to build our lives together. We’ve accomplished so much together already, with rebuilding our home, having our beautiful boy Hugh, an intimate church (covid) wedding in 2020 and our Tunnels Beaches wedding we had dreamt of from our initial booking in 2019. With the uncertainty of covid, we didn’t hesitate to carry on with our life plans and kept our promises and dreams with each other.

Reception

We had a lot of guidance and styling from Flores Poetique whom dressed the tables for us and sourced some wonderful local suppliers. She unfortunately fell ill post covid so we were so lucky to have the help of The Floral Cheyne, who travelled from the Midlands for us for all our florals 🙏🏻

Tunnels Beaches supplied the incredible seafood BBQ feast – it was all fresh local produce and didn’t disappoint.

As we were travelling from The midlands we had a faux cake! It was there for show, and we took pre cut frozen cake to thaw out for the wedding day evening feast!

Caboodle Weddings hand scripted our guests names on ouster shells which Inky from Flores Poetique collected near her Devon home! They are being used in our bathroom as ring plates. They really do put a smile our faces every time we use them. They were really lovely keepsakes for everyone and love seeing them in our friends homes!

Videographer

We had Leanne Perrins for our videography. She photographed and filmed our church wedding back in 2020 for us. Our babies were also born a day apart, so it was really special to have her there with us. She came with her husband and baby too during the meal so we could have a little reunion!

Veil & Accessories

I borrowed my friend’s gorgeous veil. She couldn’t make it to the wedding as she had just had a baby, so it was wonderful to have something of hers to wear on the day. It was so light it caught the wind beautifully.

My shoes were Tory Burch, they were perfect; a low sling back heel, with the perfect pointed toe.

They were so comfortable and classic looking.

I was gifted a beautiful Swarovski tennis bracelet from her friends which I love. I also wore a blue sapphire ring from my late grandma. It was my old borrowed and blue, and just so lovely to have something of hers to wear.

Photographer

We chose Ash Powell as our photographer, and cannot thank her enough for her incredible captures. Her eye for stunning scenic backdrops drew us in to her work. She is incredibly artistic, and did us proud with every single shot.

Evening & Dancing

I changed in the evening into something I could freely dance in – a dress by Roland Mouret.

Our first dance song was can’t fight this feeling anymore by Bastille. Katie loves Bastille, & we loved it in the John Lewis advert, especially the message in the lyrics!

Words of Wedded Wisdom

If we were to change anything it would have been to have a stylist.  I tried to take on a lot of extra work leading up to the wedding which was overwhelming.

Organising a wedding with a small child is hard, and your evenings just seem to be swallowed up with wedmin!

The budget fluctuated so much as accommodation had to change with a new rearranged date, and we had certain suppliers unable to work with us.

We also had a 2020 wedding to pay for, so we went over budget by quite a lot. We wouldn’t change a thing, and felt so blessed to be able to have an intimate local catholic service in 2020 + a relaxed beach wedding in 2021. We were able to have the best of everything and just loved every second of both weddings.

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Bridesmaids

We had Katie’s older sister as a bridesmaid who wore black to keep with the black tie theme.

Credits & Thanks

Annabel

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.

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