A piece of Liberty's silk fabric found while hunting for the groomsmen's ties saw a summery floral print form the inspiration for their palette. "We chose pink for the bridesmaids but also used yellows, greens and oranges in some of the decorations and stationery," says Bernice. "Because of the time of year and the amazing gardens at Chycara, our wedding evolved into a colourful summer garden party."
Bernice handcrafted the belt accompanying her beautiful guipure lace wedding gown, as well as the two-tier sticky date and lemon madeira cake, while the home-grown aesthetic was also carried by the 'pick and mix buckets' specially grown by the florist.
"As we live in London and only came down to Cornwall on the Wednesday night before our Saturday wedding, it was all a bit hectic and stressful in the final countdown," admits Bernice. "I finally let myself calm down and go with the flow when, on the morning of the wedding, I received a beautiful diamond necklace designed by Lawrence, which came with a handwritten note," she says. "I realised that the day ahead was really about marrying my best friend - and whether or not the dessert came out on time and on plates or napkins didn't really matter!"
But Bernice needn't have worried, as the day went off without a hitch, including the newly-weds being transported in ultra-memorable style from the church by a beautifully restored traditional Dutch sailing barge as they enjoyed an hour-long sail up the Carrick Roads estuary. "It was a peaceful moment of calm in the hectic day and a great photo opportunity!"
Arriving at Chycara to twist-on-a-cream-tea canapes followed by paellas served with rustic salads, Bernice and Lawrence let their hair down with guests as day turned to a dance-filled evening party.
"As most people had travelled quite a distance to Cornwall, we wanted to continue the celebrations the following day in a way that was most suited to our idea of fun, and the best hangover cure for those that needed it," says Bernice. "So we hired a big selection of stand-up paddle boards and kayaks from Ali at Looe Beach Watersports." The couple then disappeared to catch the Plymouth-Roscoff ferry for their romantic mini-moon in a converted windmill in the Vendee region of France.
Bernice's advice for those planning a wedding is to take a practical approach. "Once we found the venue, we started a Pinterest board to brainstorm decorations and stationery," she says. "It helped to spread the tasks out over the year it took to plan the day, using a tick list to make sure we met recommended timelines for booking things!"
Photography Salt & Sea Photography Co. saltyseaphotography.com
Venue Chycara chycara.co.uk
Dress Modern Trousseau moderntrousseau.com
Bridesmaids' dresses Ghost ghost.co.uk
Hair Elliegant Hair ellieganthair.co.uk
Make-up Kate Elizabeth facebook.com/KateElizabethBeauty
Necklace Warrenders Jewellers warrenders.co.uk
Groom's outfit Reiss reiss.com
Flowers Pipley Flowers pipleyflowers.com
Transport Sailing Barge Drifter sailingbargedrifter.co.uk
Catering PQ Event Caterer pqeventcaterer.co.uk
Entertainment Kabasa lightcircus.com/kabasa
Copyright wed magazine 2018
