Real wedding at Watergate Bay

Steve popped the question to Felicity when the couple went for a walk on Chesil Beach in Dorset after dinner on a beautiful, warm evening as the sun set.

Having holidayed from their Reading home to the north Cornish coast a number of times, Felicity and Steve chose Watergate Bay as the venue for their intimate beachside bash. Without a formal colour scheme, dark purple was selected for the bridesmaids' dresses because it suited all the girls and then much of the day's decor naturally followed suit such as the stationery and the aubergine calla lilies in Felicity's bouquet. Other details were minimal in order not to distract from the hotel's stunning sea views, so with a smattering of vases, candles and fairy lights, the spellbinding scene was set.



Canapes and flutes of Camel Valley welcomed guests on to the terrace of the hotel after the ceremony, while the pair stole away for a private photo shoot before a delicious dinner was served. Steve planned the wedding breakfast, pairing wines with the various courses that included Cornish crab with chilli and fennel on sourdough bread to start, beef Wellington with dauphinoise potatoes and French beans for the main course, and chocolate fondant and salted peanut ice cream for dessert.



"Armed with a couple more bottles of champagne, most of the guests went down to the beach to play boules and rounders after the meal," says Felicity. "There was a lifeguard on the beach in tiny Speedos, which then led to some hilarious pictures of him with me, and then all the bridesmaids, and then Steve...and then my mother," she remembers. "Steve and I then had some more sunset pictures along the cliff path."



Along with a stack of cheeses and a selection of breads, pasties, cold meats and pickles, the evening featured the newly-weds' slightly reluctant first dance to Dusty Springfield's Spooky. "Steve hates dancing but we felt we needed to do one to introduce the evening so we chose one of Steve's favourite songs; it has a cool vibe to it and, most importantly, it's only two and a half minutes long!" laughs Felicity. A carefully selected playlist then kept the dance floor in full swing for the intimate group of 34 guests. "There was much dancing, laughing, merriment, more food, many espresso martinis and fond goodbyes around midnight," adds Felicity. "The whole day was absolutely fantastic from start to finish."

Photography Picshore Photography www.picshore.co.uk
Venue Watergate Bay Hotel www.watergatebay.co.uk
Dress Ian Stuart at Bride to Be www.bridetobe.co.uk
Bridesmaids' dresses Dessy www.dessy.com
Groom's outfit Anthony Blay www.anthonyblay.co.uk
Hair Capella www.capellacornwall.co.uk
Make-up Suzi Winter www.makeupartistcornwall.co.uk
Flowers Kelly Ann's Flowers www.kellyannsflowers.co.uk