Choosing to get married at St George's Church in Modbury, the couple took their vows in front of their loved ones, then had family pictures at the church before moving on to their reception at Mount Folly Farm at Bigbury-on-Sea.
"The moment we arrived at the reception and saw all our guests taking it all in, it felt like our hard work had paid off! Everyone was blown away by the view at the reception too," reflects Gemma.
Keeping colours simple and taking inspiration from the amazing setting, the couple chose white gypsophila and hydrangeas with green foliage for their floral design, and used pebbles from the beach as place settings.
"I found you could be really big and bold with flowers when keeping colours simple without overpowering," says Gemma. "We used herbs from the farm to decorate the drinks tables and bar, with lots of white confetti-style balloons."
Deciding to eat before the speeches, guests were served canapes of beef carpaccio with truffle and horseradish; crab with avocado and coriander; tomato, basil and roasted pepper bruschetta; and polenta-coated chilli squid with a lime and chilli dip. A hearty main course of pressed pork belly, mustard pomme puree and savoy cabbage was followed by a sharing pavlova on each of the tables.
"We wanted the food to be from the local area and take inspiration from the setting," says Gemma. "Everyone was blown away by the fantastic food, and our catering company had a fantastic matre d' who made sure everything ran to time, which meant we could relax and enjoy the day."
And wanting all their guests to enjoy themselves too, Gemma and Simon had thought of everything, including how to keep the children entertained. "We bought some giant bubble makers and hoops for children to play with at the drinks reception, and had mask and jewellery-making kits for them to have something to do at the table - along with lots of sweets!" says Gemma.
After the speeches, the newly-weds cut the cake - a three-tier confection made by Gemma's mum - and then it was time for a DJ and live band to set the dance floor alight, with delicious pies to keep guests' energy levels up.
"The music was so much fun," says Gemma, who has some advice when it comes to evening entertainment. "If you have a band, ensure the start time is as late as possible - it means they will finish when the wedding does, so you end with a bang!
Photography GRW Photography
Venue St George's Church facebook.com/modburychurch Mount Folly Farm bigburyholidays.co.uk
Catering Dartmoor Kitchen dartmoorkitchen.co.uk Tom's Pies toms-pies.co.uk
Dress Jesus Peiro from Gillian Million gillianmillion.com
Bridesmaids & flower girls' dresses The Fairy Godmothers facebook.com/the-fairy-godmothers-894078233936145
Groom's outfit M&S marksandspencer.com
Hair & make-up Sarah Case sarahcase.co.uk
Flowers Twig of Salcombe facebook.com/twigofsalcombe
Transport Perrings Classic Wedding Cars perringscars.co.uk
Entertainment DJ Nick the Fish, Aftersun aftersunband.com Baker Ross bakerross.co.uk
Copyright Wed magazine 2018
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