Anna & Mark

We've got a gorgeous coastal wedding to share with you this afternoon. Anna and Mark held their reception at the wonderful Mesmear on the North Cornish coast, in a stunning tipi hired from World Inspired Tents. I know I say this all the time, but tipi weddings are my favourites and I love Cornwall, so it's a real treat to share this super pretty big day with you all. Anna looks beautiful in Clementine by Naomi Neoh, whose dresses we always adore for their femininity and gorgeous fabrics. And we love her ivory and metallic shoes by Rachel Simpson too. It's a classic Bridal look which Anna has softened with a gorgeous rustic flower crown, just perfect for a bohemian wedding by the sea.

The Bride

Anna the Bride: Before going dress shopping, I was conscious not to do too much online research before trying on dresses as I wanted to keep an open mind. However, once I stumbled across Naomi Neoh’s collection, I fell in love with the romantic, floaty gowns that seemed fitting for how I pictured our day. In particular, ‘Clementine’ caught my eye. No matter how many dresses I tried on, I kept coming back to her. On the day of our wedding, I was nearly 6 months pregnant, and this gown seemed to float over my bump whilst still nipping in at the waist. I had a bespoke veil made for me by Susan Gilby. Hair accessories – hair vine or fresh flowers? The hours I spent deliberating this must have added up! However...if you can’t prance around with fresh flowers in your hair on your wedding day...when can you hey? Bruallen Flowers created a simple, fresh gypsophila garland that was perfect, I loved every second of wearing it (and even wore it the next day!).

The Groom

We decided that traditional tails wouldn’t fit in with our day, and Mark wanted a nice suit he could wear again on special occasions. He went to Reiss and found a gorgeous dark blue suit that was tailored to fit. He chose a pin polka dot, light blue tie and light blue pocked square, also from Reiss to accessorise his suit and to match the bridesmaids dresses.

The Venue

We were very specific about the location of our wedding and there was really only one area in North Cornwall we wanted it to be held. Having grown up in Cornwall, and having made so many family memories in the Polzeath area, and since, many more after Mark and I frequented the area for camping and surfing trips, we knew this had to be it. Mesmear provided us with accommodation for us and our family, and a large meadow with which to create our own mini festival. We worked with World Inspired Tents to create a tipi that could seat all of our guests, had a chill out area with a fire pit to toast marshmallows, and a dance floor to party on into the evening.

The Décor

I wanted create a coastal/country theme that fit the location of the wedding, though I was keen to avoid having a strict colour scheme. For that reason I chose accessories and table decorations that had a natural concept but a personal touch. My Dad cut place name holders from branches that were cut down from a tree that was in our garden. My mum makes soap for a hobby, so the favours were handmade, organic soap that she made, boxed and decorated with dried lavender from a family friends garden. The table plan was made out of plant pots, and cake stand was a large piece of wood from Mark’s parents place. To fill the tipi, we all spent about 5 hours a few days before, making up pastel coloured pompoms to hang from the interior wooden structures. My Dad also collected pieces of driftwood out of which we made signs to put up around the tipi, and family and friends collected jam jars, which Marks mum decorated for the table centrepieces. It felt so special that all of our family had helped to put our day together.

The Flowers

I was fortunate that one of my good school friends family business is a Cornish nursery and florist. Nancy, my friend’s mum, from Emma’s Florist, helped me create my dream, rustic, bouquet, with light pinks, blues and leafy greens. For the button holes, Nancy combined roses and thistle wrapped in twine for an earthy, natural feel. My hair garland was from Bruallen flowers, alongside table flowers we made up in jam jars the day before.

The Wedding Party

I found the perfect bridesmaid dresses on Etsy by Coralie Beatrix. My main priority when choosing dresses was that my bridesmaids felt comfortable and confident and enjoyed the day. The wrap style dresses allowed them to wear each one however they liked, whilst the dusty blue colour and floaty texture fit well with being by the sea. My three flower girls wore pink dresses from Next with faux flowers in their hair. Mark chose co-ordinating ties and pocket squares for his groomsmen from Reiss. Sian from So Coco Rouge spent the morning doing our hair and make up and making us feel a million dollars, the perfect girly morning!

The Ceremony

It was important for us to be married in a Church, and we were extremely lucky that Mark’s second cousin, Rev Rob Hinton, agreed to travel from Kent to Cornwall to do our wedding service. Rob conducted the service beautifully and it was so personal to have a member of Mark’s family marry us in front of our closest family and friends. After the ceremony, my Granddad, who is lover and collector of vintage cars, drove Mark and I back in his vintage Daimler, that he had driven down from the Midlands especially. It was so special having him drive me to and from the ceremony.

The Entertainment

To add to the personal touch, we were so lucky that all entertainment was provided by friends, and the Groom himself! After the ceremony and back at the tipi, guests sipped bubbly and ate canapés whilst Mark's good friends, and band, Three Scotts and a Barman, entertained everyone. Mark's Dad, Ian did a lovely speech, and to my surprise, carefully choreographed and halfway through, Mark and his friends all got up on stage and started to sing ‘My Girl’! Mark himself is in a band, ‘Dry Clean Only’, and after dinner, they played a few songs and Mark sang, before Mark’s friend, and DJ, Chris hit the decks!

The Food

Mesmear created a menu of relaxed, local, comfort food, with Cornish pasties in the evening (well...it’d be rude not to!). As children, my sister and I used to visit Roskilly’s Farm and watch the jersey cows being milked, therefore, for desert, we got the Cornish Ice Trike to come along and serve everyone our favourite Cornish ice cream. Mark’s mum made our amazing wedding cake.

The Photography

I did so much research to try and find a photographer, and really it only came down to one guy…Nick Walker. I was thrilled he was available on our wedding day and captured it so perfectly.