The popularity of petite and personal celebrations shows no sign of waning – and where lovelier to take your vows than in a tucked-away corner of Cornwall, where clifftops and seascapes meet countryside panoramas and subtropical gardens? Here, three couples share the stories of their elopement weddings…
Katie and Daniel married on the clifftops of Cornwall’s south coast at Beacon Crag
What made you choose an elopement'
“It was a bit of a journey of self-reflection and distilling what we really wanted from the experience,” explains Daniel. “When we started talking about our wedding plans, we both agreed that we didn't want it to be too big or extravagant – that’s just not us. What we wanted at the core was an intimate and close personal experience, and eloping was the perfect way to make that happen. It also made sense practically as I am from Canada and Katie is from the UK so it would be more difficult to align overseas guests and make it all work logistically. Of course, we missed having close friends and the larger family, but we plan on celebrating with them at a later date, so we get to have more parties which is a plus too!”
What drew you to Beacon Crag?
“Katie grew up in Cornwall and we both share a love of the ocean so we knew right away that somewhere in Cornwall, with its rugged coastline and beautiful beaches, would be a perfect setting for our special day. From the time we started planning to the wedding day was less than eight weeks so locking down a venue was top priority!
We wanted to get married as close to the sea as possible. When we stumbled on Beacon Crag, we fell in love with it right away. It’s literally just off the coastal path and you can see the ocean from almost every window! I loved that it felt like our own secluded pocket of heaven but was still walking distance to Porthleven. It was nice to be able to walk into town for dinner and drink celebrations after the wedding (and stumble back!) – which happens to be traditional for a Portuguese wedding (and special because I’m Portuguese). We spent three days there and it was lush; we went for coastal walks, watched the most amazing sunsets and just felt super peaceful. We were also lucky to enjoy perfect sunny days.”
How did the day pan out?
“It was like a dream. We woke up super early – pulling back the curtain to see pure lush ocean was a view and feeling I will never forget. Katie and I decided to seize the day and stroll down to Porthleven harbour and jump in for a fresh morning swim. It was so cold and so nice – the light was amazing and it was such a beautiful setting. We then had a warm coffee on a bench overlooking the sea. "After breakfast outside, we started the wedding preparations, before the special ceremony, which was outside on a flat terrace area on a cliff overlooking the sea. It was relaxed, chilled and very romantic. We couldn't have picked a better setting and day.
After the ceremony, which we also broadcasted live for larger family and friends to see, we settled in for some fizz and snacks before heading to a local beach with our photographer Tom. He captured the intimate moments, joyful moments and some crazy fun moments too – Katie and I took some skateboarding photos and I even did a backflip over her on the beach! We strolled into town and had dinner and drinks at Kota Kai and then enjoyed some live music at a local pub. Honestly, it couldn't have been a more perfect day in a perfect place!”
What stood out for you'
“Being surrounded by the ocean on a clifftop never got old; the view and serenity of the Porthleven area is gold.”
What are your words of advice for couples considering an elopement'
“Focus about what is important for you. Work with local businesses – they know the area best and will unlock hidden magic you couldn't get on your own. Be flexible and open – trusting our celebrant, make-up artist, florist and photographer to do what they do meant we got the best outcome with less stress.
Lastly, enjoy every moment, even the tiny ones. It happens so fast, but those small quiet moments will last forever."”
Photography Thomas Frost Photography thomasfrostphotography.com-
Venue Beacon Crag beaconcrag.com-
Celebrant Charmian Saunders, Southwest Ceremonies southwestceremonies.com-
Flowers Mellangoose Farm Flowers mellangoosefarmflowers.co.uk-
Make-up So-Buff so-buff.com-
Anastasia and Edoardo tied the knot in the subtropical climes of Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens
What made you choose an elopement?
“The idea of a traditional wedding did not fit us,” says Edoardo. “We wanted privacy and a moment for just the two of us.” -
What drew you to Fallen Angel and Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens?
“Before we arrived, we had never visited Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens or Fallen Angel, where we stayed in Mousehole, so we just hoped the pictures on the website were exactly what we were looking for. The house and the gardens were incredible, everything went exactly how we wanted. I particularly do not like attention and I was worried too many people would be curious, but the gardens are private, so I didn’t even have that to worry about.”
How did the day plan out?
“We literally did not get into ‘wedding mode’ until a few hours prior to the ceremony. On the day of the wedding, we woke up at Fallen Angel and had a coffee, then the make-up artist came in to help Anastasia while I was just reading a newspaper. The feeling of a normal day was perfect and it was, at the same time, very intimate.”
What stood out for you?
“The wedding was incredible – we drove ourselves there and met with the registrar and photographer; everyone was very happy to meet us. On our way back we had a private lunch booked at Fallen Angel, which was truly unbelievable. It was not just a lunch, but a moment to share: a life experience with the local chef and my wife. Magic.
In the evening we watched a movie and the next day was just like any other day! We went for a walk to explore Cornwall.”
What are your words of advice for couples considering an elopement?
“Make sure the day is about your love for each other. That moment was fantastic because it was not about anybody else; it was us and only us.”
Photography Verity Westcott veritywestcott.com
Venue Fallen Angel fallenangelcornwall.com by Petite Weddings petiteweddings.co.uk
Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens tremenheere.co.uk
Hair & make-up Jennifer Lorraine cornwallhairstylist.com
Catering Indulgence Catering indulgence-catering.co.uk
Olivia the greyhound instagram.com/my_olivia_the_iggy
Luise and Nina travelled with four close friends from Austria to celebrate their marriage in the gardens of Treseren
What made you choose an elopement?
“We wanted to have a wedding in our own style, where every detail reflected us, and we didn’t want everyone to get involved in the planning process,” explains Luise. “To begin with, we wanted to get married alone but, during the planning, we realised that there were certain moments we wanted to share with our chosen family: our lovely girlfriends.”
What drew you to Treseren?
‘We both knew we wanted to get married on or near a beach. After looking for venues in Greece, Italy and France, we searched for elopements and micro weddings in Europe. Within 10 minutes we sent each other Treseren, so we knew it was destiny. We agreed that if the venue was free on our wish date of 15th June (Luise’s dad’s birthday), we would love to get married there. We organised a call with Emma, who provided us with a virtual tour of the property and helped us envision our day. We fell in love with Treseren within this first tour, and seeing the property in real life had a totally new ‘wow effect’ for us.”
How did the day pan out?
“Nina and I woke early and went to the garden for two hours; it was the only time on our wedding day that we were totally alone. We talked about everything and nothing, and told each other what we were looking forward to on the day and what we were afraid of. We laughed, we cried, we snuggled and most importantly we shared our last moments together before the preparations began.
We then had breakfast with our friends, had our hair and make-up done and enjoyed some bubbly. After writing our vows and getting dressed, we had our talk with the registrar and the ceremony began. After the main event, we had a quick chat with our families via Teams and FaceTime and then Nina had a surprise for me: I always wanted to have a champagne tower, so she got one! After cutting the cake we had some finger food followed by a trip to the beach in our wedding dresses – we had so much fun but if a wedding dress gets wet it weighs a ton!
Back at Treseren, we had dinner, played table tennis and changed into our party dresses before heading back to the beach where Sofie surprised us with some sparkling bottles to spray at sunset. We had so much fun and Nina had to dump her childhood friend into the sea! We spent the rest of the evening around the firepit, played games and laughed a lot.”
What stood out for you?
“We broke with tradition when we chose to see each other before getting married. In our eyes it was the best decision because we wanted to share every emotion and memory together. We also asked our guests to wear black. In Austria you are usually not allowed to wear black at a wedding, but we saw a lot of videos with formal attire only and totally fell in love. The girls not only loved it because everybody could find a black dress in their own style, but they also could wear it again to another occasion.
The most important part for us was that we didn’t feel any stress. We – as well as our guests and our suppliers – were relaxed, made jokes and all felt like a part of the tribe. It was a perfect day with amazing food, good music, a lot of laughter, making memories with people who know us at our best and worst moments in life, and a dip in the sea at sunset.”
What are your words of advice for couples considering an elopement?
“Don’t be afraid to ask your venue or suppliers for help. Tell them your vision and wishes and they will tell you if it is possible or not, and sometimes they can give you an even better idea. Finally, trust yourself and cherish every moment with the person you love the most"
Photography Sofie Michelle Photography sofiemichellephotography.co.uk
Videography Sean White Films seanwhiteweddingfilms.co.uk
Venue Treseren treseren.co.uk
Hair Hair by Emma C hairbyemmac.net
Make-up Balance of Beautee balanceofbeautee.wixsite.com
Cake The Cornish Cakery thecornishcakery.co.uk
Catering Chef Natasha chefnatasha.co.uk
