Planning his proposal to perfection, Alex popped the question in front of the pair's university campus the night before their graduation ceremony. "Moments before, Alex had been commissioned as a US Army officer, so he was dressed in his full uniform," remembers Olivia. "The timing was perfect as my family had flown over to celebrate our graduations, so everyone ended up getting a lot more than they bargained for!"
Boconnoc was the natural wedding venue choice for the couple. "We spent a lot of our family holidays here throughout my childhood," explains Olivia. "I immediately fell in love with the venue's abundant history, unique character and stunning architecture. The perfect blend of old and new, Boconnoc truly is one of the most beautiful places we've ever seen."
Drawing on an English country theme, the decor carried a palette of light blues, ivory and lots of greenery fused with vintage touches, while the grounds were filled with blue hydrangeas, complementing the aesthetic perfectly.
Olivia dazzled in a vintage-inspired ivory gown with scalloped lace shoulder straps; Alex also struck the sartorial tone in his full military uniform, later changing into a dapper blue suit for the reception.
"One of my favourite moments was standing outside of the church after the ceremony and individually greeting each of our guests," says Olivia, looking back. "We didn't plan on doing this; it seemed to just happen randomly, but I'm very grateful for it! It's so difficult to talk to everyone on the day, so I'm glad we could take that moment to acknowledge everyone and to thank them for coming."
Canapes and prosecco on the lawn were accompanied by live music ahead of a sumptuous feast comprising a triple Cornish cheese 'bomb' followed by rolled breast of chicken and individual apple and pear salted caramel crumb tartlets, with an evening feast of fish and chips giving American guests some traditional British flavour.
"Make sure you have one notebook where you write down all your ideas, especially for the small details that make your wedding day special for you as a couple," says Olivia as a word of planning advice. "It's easy to forget these when you're stressed about the bigger things in the months leading up to the wedding, so I really enjoyed having my notebook to refer back to."
Photography Louise Eleanor Photography louiseleanor.com
Venue Boconnoc House & Estate boconnoc.com
Dress Sophia Tolli sophiatolli.co.uk
Groom's outfit The Grooms Room at The Wedding Company the-wedding-company.co.uk
Bridesmaids' dresses Quiz Clothing quizclothing.co.uk
Hair Stephanie Jasper
Make-up Emma Roberts facebook.com/emmarobertsmakeup
Flowers St Mellion Flowers stmellionflowers.co.uk
Cake Sheron King at Mad Hatters Studio madhattersstudio.com
Entertainment Esther Cole facebook.com/theesthercole The Swing Kings theswingkings.co.uk
Copyright Wed magazine 2018
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