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The Big Five: venue, decor, catering, cakes and flowers. Whatever kind of wedding you have, most brides and grooms will need to consider all or at least some of these factors. And whether you celebrate your day surrounded by your own things and memories in your family home, or at a five-star hotel you've only visited once before, each and every wedding can include homespun touches.
Creative types who thrive on staying up all night sewing lavender into heart-shaped favour bags will be in their element when it comes to planning and creating their dream day. But less creative b2bs, don't worry: if you still want complete creative control, but simply don't have the time (or skills) to pepper your day with your own handiwork, you can still get a DIY feel with our list of suppliers who can join you on your relaxed, homespun, DIY-heavy mission to create a flawless day that looks like it's been thrown together just so. DIY doesn't have to mean hours of hard work: any look that is yours and unique is DIY!
THE VENUE
There are a myriad of wedding venues available, with quaint and quirky boltholes popping up all over Cornwall. Although most couples cannot hold their official ceremony at home (unless where you live has a licence and, if outside, it takes place under a permanent structure), receptions can take place at homes, farms, on parents' lawns or even backyards. However, if a non-legal, celebratory ceremony is of interest (once you have completed your legal ceremony in a register office or approved venue), you can host it at home, or indeed anywhere, from beaches, fields and woodlands to offshore islands (and at any time, too, from sunset to moon rise!). Get in touch with The Guild of Cornish Celebrants (cornishcelebrants.co.uk) for more details.
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Absolute Canvas
Whatever venue you choose, one of the easiest ways to begin to DIY your day is starting with a blank canvas venue. And there's no better blank canvas than a marquee. With the addition of bars, lighting, staging, furniture and props, you can create an entirely bespoke backdrop for your big day.
Whatever venue you choose, one of the easiest ways to begin to DIY your day is starting with a blank canvas venue. And there's no better blank canvas than a marquee. With the addition of bars, lighting, staging, furniture and props, you can create an entirely bespoke backdrop for your big day.
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World Inspired Tents
Absolute Canvas (absolutecanvas.co.uk) offers a range of marquees, from handmade traditional canvas marquees through to contemporary clear span styles. From rustic and elegant through to achingly modern, they have the setting to suit, offering a range of features - including dance floors, furniture, lighting and bar hire - and a bespoke marquee design service to create the space of your dreams. Based on the Roseland Peninsula, Coast2Coast Marquees (coast2coastmarquees.co.uk) supplies a range of high quality modern frame marquees and traditional marquees, as well as an extensive selection of details - from linings and lighting to outside decking areas - to ensure your party space is personalised to perfection. And, combining a marquee service with event hire, Trevarno Marquees and Event Hire (trevarnomarquees.co.uk) supplies everything you need for your tailor-made wedding setting, from clear span and traditional marquees through to a host of party must-haves: think crockery, glasses, china and barware.
Absolute Canvas (absolutecanvas.co.uk) offers a range of marquees, from handmade traditional canvas marquees through to contemporary clear span styles. From rustic and elegant through to achingly modern, they have the setting to suit, offering a range of features - including dance floors, furniture, lighting and bar hire - and a bespoke marquee design service to create the space of your dreams. Based on the Roseland Peninsula, Coast2Coast Marquees (coast2coastmarquees.co.uk) supplies a range of high quality modern frame marquees and traditional marquees, as well as an extensive selection of details - from linings and lighting to outside decking areas - to ensure your party space is personalised to perfection. And, combining a marquee service with event hire, Trevarno Marquees and Event Hire (trevarnomarquees.co.uk) supplies everything you need for your tailor-made wedding setting, from clear span and traditional marquees through to a host of party must-haves: think crockery, glasses, china and barware.
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World Inspired Tents
For a spine-tinglingly atmospheric celebration space, the extraordinary Nordic tipis from World Inspired Tents (worldinspiredtents.co.uk) offer a beautiful and brilliantly versatile vibe; raise the sides for an open, airy space during the warmer months, or create a magical scene with open log fires and fairy lights during the winter.
THE D�COR
Inspire Hire (inspire-hire.co.uk) offers brides and grooms a decorative hire and bespoke venue styling service. With enough table centrepieces, accessories and decorations to cover every possible wedding theme, the choice is yours when it comes to your DIY decor. You might even opt for the DIY styling package, which allows you, your family and friends to work together to decorate your venue under the watchful eye of styling expert, Elle Winsor-Grime.
For a spine-tinglingly atmospheric celebration space, the extraordinary Nordic tipis from World Inspired Tents (worldinspiredtents.co.uk) offer a beautiful and brilliantly versatile vibe; raise the sides for an open, airy space during the warmer months, or create a magical scene with open log fires and fairy lights during the winter.
THE D�COR
Inspire Hire (inspire-hire.co.uk) offers brides and grooms a decorative hire and bespoke venue styling service. With enough table centrepieces, accessories and decorations to cover every possible wedding theme, the choice is yours when it comes to your DIY decor. You might even opt for the DIY styling package, which allows you, your family and friends to work together to decorate your venue under the watchful eye of styling expert, Elle Winsor-Grime.
Box and Cox Vintage Hire (boxandcoxvintage.co.uk) will also ensure you style your day the DIY way with an eclectic mix of items from their games collection, which includes everything from Splat the Rat, coconut shies and medieval stocks, to vintage trunks and typewriters; they have recently added a range of arches and bespoke backdrops to their services to offer a standout focal point for the vows and photographs.
Stargazey Wedding Decor Hire (stargazeyweddingdecorhire.co.uk) hires a wide selection of beautifully restored furniture, including vintage chairs hand-painted in mismatched colours, tables and deckchairs, as well as pretty finishing touches. Nothing sets a celebratory mood like bunting: Funky Flags Bunting (funkyflagsbunting.co.uk) offers a bespoke service and can customise with any lettering of your choice; take a look at the website for inspiration, ranging from rustic chic, elegant white and festival brights through to Cath Kidston classics and vintage 1970s' designs. And, for a dazzlingly distinctive touch, Say It With Lights (sayitwithlights.co.uk) can illuminate your day with whatever characters your choose.
THE CATERING
Recent bride Amelia catered for her entire wedding reception which they held in the garden of their new home. "We made ice cream, lollies and frozen desserts a few weeks in advance," she says, "and then the night before was a production line of smoked salmon mini bagels, potato salads, pasties and roasted vegetables kebabs. The biggest problem was where to store it all," she laughs, "so we ended up using all our friends', families' and neighbours' fridges!"
But if all that sounds too much like hard work, the giant cooking pots at Big Pot Kitchen (bigpotkitchen.co.uk) can create a rustic, DIY vibe all while someone else takes the strain. Bringing a fun spectacle to your DIY do, Big Pot Kitchen can cook in any location you choose, using locally sourced products; and, with menus bursting with the likes of Moroccan couscous with merguez sausage, beef bourguignon with crusty bread or vegetarian aubergine and butternut squash curry, the flavours and choice are nothing short of mouthwatering. They even hire vintage china and cutlery for a real dig-in-and-enjoy vibe.
Miss Tea Catering (misstea.co.uk) can bring her homemade lavender cake, lemon curd and tiny scones to the table - quite literally!
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THE CAKE
If mum or Auntie Jean is handy with a rolling pin and a dusting of flour, ask them to create your own, unique cake, from cream cheese frosting to undone naked cakes or even mini cupcake towers. Personalised cake toppers can also be added to really make it your own, too. Or get in touch with one of the county's creative cake designers who will bake and personalise your cake exactly to your, ahem, tastes.
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Emily Hankins
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Peboryon
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Emily Hankins
Emily Hankins' bespoke cakes (emilyhankins.co.uk) are not only hand-painted but are vintage-style, too. And that's not all: add intrigue to your tea party with her edible teacups and saucers! Peboryon (peboryon.com) delivers show-stopping centrepieces which can be personalised with sweet, subtle touches through to wow-worthy design. Cakes by Design (cakes-bydesign.co.uk) specialises in distinctive cakes: opt for personalised toppers or fun details which tell the story of your coupledom and loves in delicious style.
THE FLOWERS
Beautiful bouquets are a wedding day staple, but for a truly handcrafted feel to your bouquet, why not opt for a brooch bouquet, lovingly handmade by The Cornish Brooch Bouquet Company (facebook.com/cornishbroochbouquets)? Individually handmade to fit your personality and style, you can incorporate colour, fabrics or brooches that you hold dear to you, and you can even have mini versions made for your maids. Likewise, Pumpkin and Pye (pumpkinpye.com) craft quirky button or eye-catching silk flower bouquets.
Emily Hankins' bespoke cakes (emilyhankins.co.uk) are not only hand-painted but are vintage-style, too. And that's not all: add intrigue to your tea party with her edible teacups and saucers! Peboryon (peboryon.com) delivers show-stopping centrepieces which can be personalised with sweet, subtle touches through to wow-worthy design. Cakes by Design (cakes-bydesign.co.uk) specialises in distinctive cakes: opt for personalised toppers or fun details which tell the story of your coupledom and loves in delicious style.
THE FLOWERS
Beautiful bouquets are a wedding day staple, but for a truly handcrafted feel to your bouquet, why not opt for a brooch bouquet, lovingly handmade by The Cornish Brooch Bouquet Company (facebook.com/cornishbroochbouquets)? Individually handmade to fit your personality and style, you can incorporate colour, fabrics or brooches that you hold dear to you, and you can even have mini versions made for your maids. Likewise, Pumpkin and Pye (pumpkinpye.com) craft quirky button or eye-catching silk flower bouquets.
Laura Hingston
If you can't resist the scent and sight of fresh blooms, Laura Hingston Flowers (laurahingstonflowers.com) creates bespoke, breathtaking floral designs as well as installation pieces using flowers grown from her own fields! Meaningful ways to personalise her work are her forte. Philippa Kay at A Recipe For Flowers (recipeforflowers.co.uk), meanwhile, will hand-pick seasonal flowers and specially selected foliage to design natural style designs. Her floral philosophy? "Our flowers tell their own story and we want them to help share yours, too." Innovation and creativity is at the heart of the Bleujen Florist (bleujenflorist.com) ethos; while their designs range from classic to contemporary and vibrant to vintage, their rustic arrangements are just the ticket for a gorgeous DIY vibe.
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Bleujen Florist
Fancy creating your own floral arrangements? Wedding Flowers in Cornwall (weddingflowersincornwall.co.uk) runs a Flower School at Trelissick Gardens where brides-to-be can learn how to make bouquets, pew ends, pedestals and table decorations. Create a wildly beautiful look for your day with buckets of wild flowers at entrances, along the aisle or tied to pew ends or go for rustic centrepieces of seasonal, local flowers on your tables.
And that's not all you can DIY... anyone a petrol head? Call in favours like the loan of a swanky set of wheels to arrive at your venue; are there any budding filmmakers in the family? Let them loose with a video camera at the reception; and those uni friends who used to be a four-piece? Rope them into the evening's entertainment!
words Elizabeth Chester
Copyright Wed magazine 2016
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