Stella Maris {The Star Of The Sea}

Named Stella Maris, meaning star of the sea, this beautiful property from Unique Home Stays lent itself perfectly to the inspiration shoot for Fern Godfrey Weddings. Combining beautiful florals, a blush pink wedding dress, a black tie dress code, a trio of wedding cakes (because one is never enough) and a beautiful waterside location, I'm hoping it'll make you all want to get married in Cornwall... Cornwall has always felt like a magical place to me. I holidayed here as a child, we moved down here on the romantic notion of having a more bohemian, spiritual lifestyle and we've started our family here. It's an incredibly beautiful place, filled with breathtaking locations and so it made perfect sense to create a wedding inspiration shoot here. Unique Home Stays offer an unrivalled edit of homes to hire, including many where you can get married, but the intimacy of Stella Maris, with it's elegant, nautical decor and slightly wild boat house really appealed to me. It felt seafaring, Cornish through and through, but with all the luxury and style you would want for a wedding.

I have an endless obsession with pink wedding dresses and have always wanted to shoot with one. But the dress I had in my mind just didn't exist. I stumbled across Jo of Julita London on instagram and instantly knew I wanted her to make something specifically for the shoot. We spoke on the phone, hit it off immediately and I commissioned her to make a dress. Jo has that gorgeous feminine, bohemian, floaty style I love and is all about the embellishments. From sleeve styles, to the perfect shade of pink, from sequinned tulle samples to last minute changes; we were both on the same wavelength and I completely trusted Jo to make my dreams a reality. When she arrived with the dress for the shoot I was blown away, and I'm sure you'll all agree - it's breathtaking. (If anyone is contemplating a bespoke dress, I cannot recommend her enough, she's utterly fabulous all round). Hair and make up was done by the amazing Ione, who is literally my go-to girl for bridal beauty and is a dream to work with.

I'm really lucky to live in Cornwall and be at the forefront of the wedding industry with my position here at Rock My Wedding. My wedding planning business, Fern Godfrey Weddings, will take on a handful of weddings each year, predominantly in the South West, offering a full wedding planning service only. I'll work with couples from the very start of their planning journey, to help create the wedding they've always dreamt of.

When it came to a photographer for this shoot, James Frost was the only man for the job. I've long admired his work, he has been featured numerous times on RMW and I've always found his photography very thoughtful and considered. He frames things beautifully and captures so much raw emotion, I was really excited to work with him. It then transpired that he used to live around the corner from us, and we know lots of the same people - serendipity at it's very best. James captured some incredible images and caught the light perfectly. It was a dull and misty day but somehow the combination of James' skill and the Cornish magical light made everything look dreamy. Stella Maris is surrounded by ancient pine trees and given James' expertise at capturing landscapes as well as weddings, we jumped at the chance to shoot our gorgeous couple outside too. The couple shots are some of my very favourites and such an important time to weave into your actual wedding day. When it came to creating a film, my good friend Caroline and her super talented husband Chris at Baxter & Ted wove this stunning love story using the most beautiful frames. It was fantastic to have the whole day brought to life with moving visuals and they were a total pleasure to be around. Like James, they have a really calm vibe, just the kind of souls you need to be around on your wedding day.

Black tie weddings have been big this year, and this trend is set to go nowhere. It instantly ups the glamour stakes and sets the tone for a stylish wedding day. With such a show stopping gown, we needed a smart black tux and Marc Wallace was the man for the job. Not only that, but Marc is based in Bath and I was keen to involve lots of South West suppliers as the region is just brimming with talented creatives.

The overall look for this shoot was very much about relaxed, understated luxury. The colour palette was dusky pinks with golds and charcoal grey. My wonderful friends, Emily and Lucy of 3acre Blooms brought together the floral brief to perfection, I cried when Emily opened the boot of her car to reveal the floral bounty. The smell was incredible. We used a mixture of ranunculus, butterfly ranunculus, roses, anemones, tulips, magnolia, hawthorn blossom and jasmine. The soft tones of the flowers were set off beautifully against the heavy, dark charcoal-grey linen, which I loved in the raw, white wash walled boathouse. To echo the soft and romantic florals, Christine at Peboryon created the most stunning trio of cakes. They were truly elegant, but simple and striking, which is absolutely my favourite kind of styling. We created a cosy candlelit dessert table, and imagined guests tucking in to a slice with a glass of Champagne in the evening. It was important to me to echo the name of the property 'Stella Maris' in the design for the shoot, so celestial details were important. Carrie Elizabeth is a favourite jewellery designer of mine who uses lots of star and moon shapes in her work, and her rose gold necklaces and rings worked beautifully with the dress. The plates I used on the tables also had a very subtle crescent moon shaped edge to them, but each one looked slightly different, and I loved this perfectly imperfect look. For favours, only Tinkture rose gin would do. Not only is it the most delicious gin you'll ever taste, but the packaging is utterly gorgeous too. Tinkture sell wedding favour sized bottles and if you're after something a little bit special to gift your guests, then I'd highly recommend them.

If you're hoping to get married in the South West and would like the help of a wedding planner based in Cornwall, then I'd love to hear from you.