Emma and Mark first met in St Ives when she was holidaying and he was working as a builder next door. "Mark used to ask me if I'd like to join him walking his dog and it all went from there. We were married exactly 10 years later!" says Emma.
The couple's first home was a beach chalet on Gwithian Sands. "We loved our time there and our daily clifftop walks at Godrevy looking down at the seals on the beach," says Emma - so it was a fitting spot for Mark to propose. "It was a beautiful day and I stood up to take photos, then Mark pulled the ring out of his tobacco packet! We then had a picnic on Gwithian before going back to Fowey for dinner out with my parents."
The location of their holiday home and many a childhood escapade, Fowey was the instant choice for their wedding venue. "Fowey Hall has such a wonderful feel to it with stunning views of Fowey," adds Emma. Designing a "classic, elegant, traditional and timeless day with inspiration from the coast", the event assumed an oceanic aesthetic with a palette of blue, turquoise and ivory.
"The guest experience and the finer details were really important to me to make our wedding really 'us' and make it stand out from the crowd," explains Emma, who organised welcome Cornish fudge in guest rooms, beach huts for guest favours and 'sail away to your seats' escort boats.
What's more, guests were treated to a three-day stay at Fowey Hall where the wedding party enjoyed exclusive use for the duration of the weekend. The celebrations began with a Cornish cream tea followed by a barbecue with entertainment from sea shanty singers, The Press Gang, and magician, Dan Brazier.
Blessed with more sunshine the next day, Emma carried a simple bouquet of ivory roses to complement her custom-made gown as she glided through the stunning flower arches toward her grand church entrance.
"The ceremony was so personal," she says. "One of my favourite parts was when my mum read out an extract from 'The Wind in the Willows'. It is thought that Fowey was the inspiration for the book and it was written at Fowey Hall. When we came out of the church, we walked through the streets of Fowey with our 100 guests following behind us. The streets were lined with people, all the residents and shopkeepers had come out to see us! We reached the quay and stood at the top of the steps for a kiss and a wave to our guests before our newly-wed cruise!"
An afternoon reception featuring live music from The Top Bananas alongside canapes, drinks and ice creams was followed by a wedding breakfast comprising pan-fried sea bass and breast of Creedy Farm chicken finished with lemon tart and sticky toffee pudding.
The Dukes of Havoc kept the party vibe in full swing throughout the evening, which also saw sparklers and a fireworks display. The next day, everyone unwound with a day of boating activities including dinghy-sailing, motorboats, kayaks, walking tours and a harbour cruise all thoughtfully pre-arranged: the perfect endnote to Emma and Mark's three-day wedding spectacular.
Photography Charlie Campey Photography charliecampeyphotography.co.uk
Venue Fowey Hall Hotel foweyhallhotel.co.uk
Dress Caroline Castigliano carolinecastigliano.com
Groom & groomsmen's outfits Peter Posh peterposh.co.uk
Bridesmaids' dresses The Dessy Group from Bea's Bridal Studio beasbridal.co.uk
Hair & make-up Cabello Hair Design cabellohairandbeauty.co.uk
Flowers The Velvet Daisy thevelvetdaisy.co.uk
Cake Peboryon peboryon.com
Ice cream Icicle Tricycle icicletricycle.co.uk
Stationery De Winton Paper Co dewintonpaperco.com
Videography Mills Films millsfilms.co.uk
Entertainment The Press Gang pressgangcornwall.co.uk
Dan Brazier danbrazier.com
Classical Strings classicalstrings.co.uk
The Top Bananas thetopbananas.net
The Dukes of Havoc thedukesofhavoc.co.uk
Fireworks Celebration Pyrotechnics celebrationpyrotechnics.com
Copyright Wed magazine 2019
