After meeting at work and "chatting about bike wheels", a snowy Christmas Day proposal in Canada set the scene for Emily and Will's wedding. "It was beautifully sunny and we had just walked along a ridge to get to a good area to ski and Will suggested we sit down for a while," reveals Emily. "Suddenly he was kneeling in the snow and I saw a beautiful ring tied around the neck of the bottle."
Embracing the great Cornish outdoors, Emily and Will set about planning their ceremony at St Agnes Church, followed by a clifftop marquee reception at Newdowns Farm.
Focusing on a "loose colour scheme" of pinks, greys and blues, the day began with Emily getting the couple's six-month-old twins into their wedding day attire, before dressing in her Pronovias gown with flowing train. "It was so much fun to wear such a big dress!" remembers Emily. "When I arrived at the church, there were people waiting outside to see me, and the bells were ringing. The service was really personal and much more moving than either of us expected!"
However, with the weather not complying on the day - "it was so windy and wet!" - the couple were determined not to let it rain on their parade. "We left in a Fiat 500 convertible," laughs Emily. "With the top down - even though it was raining!" After the service, the couple went down to Chapel Porth Beach for photographs. "It was great - the beach was empty because it was so rainy, and it was great fun just being able to relax and get sand between our toes."
Warming up with a cream tea served on mismatched vintage china at Newdowns Farm, the marquee reception continued with speeches and cutting the cake made by Emily's mum, before sitting down for dinner. The feast included Cornish smoked mackerel, spatchcock chicken grilled over charcoal, and almond chocolate cake with clotted cream and soft fruits for pudding. "Woodfired Weddings cooked everything over charcoal and we were hoping to have the fires out in front of the marquee, but it was so windy and wet they had to shelter behind it," says Emily. "I'm not sure many people realised that everything was cooked outside!"
The rain stopped and the sun came out just in time for the newly-weds to head to the cliffs for a few more photos. "It was great because we finally got to see the views we'd picked the site for in the first place," says Emily. "We got back just as the ceilidh started, and we hardly stopped dancing until the night was over."
And as for Emma's advice for other couples? "Get the big things sorted as early as you can then relax!" she says. "All the other things end up needing to be done last minute so take the week before the big day off if possible and surround yourself with as many friends and family as you can. And remember - no-one knows about the things that you planned but didn't quite come off, so don't stress about them!"
Photography Kirstin Prisk kirstinprisk.co.uk
Venue St Agnes Church & Newdowns Farm newdownsfarm.co.uk
Catering Woodfired Weddings
Dress Prudence Gowns prudencegowns.com
Bridesmaids' dresses Monsoon monsoon.co.uk
Suits Moss Bros moss.co.uk
Hair Gossips Spa & Salon gossipsspasalon.co.uk
Bouquets Philippa Kay
Entertainment Kesson Tus
North Cornwall Ceilidh Band facebook.com/northcornwallceilidhband
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