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.
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.
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.
Discover more beautiful venues & suppliers here
Bridesmaids
We had Katie’s older sister as a bridesmaid who wore black to keep with the black tie theme.
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.