Carolyn & Martin's Wedding Story
We chose our venue, close to St.Just, as it has a strong family connection for us – Martin grew up there and we have a house there. The Cape Cornwall Club offers stunning views and we think the Cornish Coast is just a fantastic setting of natural beauty. We both love the sea so wanted a wedding with sea vistas. Special thanks to Leanne and Andy at Cape Cornwall Club – they had only just taken over the club and really went out of their way to ensure we had a fantastic time. I can’t recommend them enough. The Club is perfectly placed as a setting of outstanding natural beauty and they should be a first choice venue for Cornish weddings.
For our theme, we chose shades of blue to reflect the coastal area and a hint of nautical touches, as we have done some sailing and again to reflect the coastal setting.
I wanted a custom made wedding dress and chose Ann Wallwork as she is in Truro. I wanted to use as many people from Cornwall as possible. Ann also made the 2 dresses for the younger girls, Ellen and Daisy, although they weren’t bridesmaids as such. Martin’s daughter Ysobelle’s blue dress was made in Vietnam as she had just been on holiday there, and was Blue to match the theme. We wanted a very casual summer party feel to the wedding. So no suits. Martin opted for tailor made blue trousers, white shirt and a waistcoat – all tailor made in Hong Kong. The silk for the waistcoat is from Liberty of London.
I bought items from Etsy such as bunting and for the place names on each table, we used a mixture of drift wood or sea glass with guests names on them. Each table was designated a nautical flag to represent the letter of our hashtag that people could add to photos on Instagram. We thought numbers on tables seemed too formal and the nautical flags painted onto blocks on the tables added to the nautical theme in a subtle way. We also added antique silver tealight holders and there were small china lanterns in the hall in pale blue, grey and white which was a small nod to our home here in Hong Kong. Blue paper napkins that were personalised with our names and the date and had starfish or fish on them were in cocktail size, dinner size for the sit down meal and luncheon size for the Cornish pasties that were saved in the late evening whilst the band were playing.
For us, our wedding was most memorable for being relaxed and fun. I think the ceremony was friendly and moving; you could really feel all the love from family and friends. We gave each of our grown up children a part to play as we appreciated their love and support of our long term relationship and it was they who really encouraged us to marry and throw a celebration. The food was excellent – all sourced locally. The marquee we hired was perfect to give a relaxed feel and splendid views of the sea. All the colours worked really well and the whole event went off well and was enjoyed by everyone. I think the most memorable moment for me was walking up the aisle to see Martin. After that, it all sort of went quickly and was a buzz of happiness.
Since we are not in Cornwall all the time, I used the help of an excellent wedding planner Jenny Wren. She coordinated all the suppliers and prepared a run through timesheet schedule, as well as setting up the day before. Her experience was well worth it on the day as things really went well and there would have been things I had not thought of. I also think that having a clear idea of the vibe you want to create will guide how you plan your day. We wanted a summer, casual and relaxed party feel as everyone attending was on holiday to Cornwall. So the venue to showcase beautiful Cornwall, local produce for fresh food and great music were all important to us.
