Wedding at Ocean Kave, Devon

Meeting on a blind date, Ella and Lee hit it off straight away, but even Ella couldn't foresee what a romantic proposal Lee had in store for her a couple of years later. Organising a passport renewal for her, Lee whisked Ella off on a mystery trip to the airport, before surprising her with a romantic Valentine's weekend to Dublin.

"I screamed with excitement as this was somewhere I'd always dreamed of going," says Ella. "Lee took me to the love-lock bridge, which was covered in red roses ready for Valentine's Day, and presented me with a padlock engraved with both our names and the date, for us to lock onto the bridge." The next day, at an exclusive restaurant overlooking the water, Lee proposed over a bottle of champagne. "Of course I said yes, and everyone in the restaurant was cheering and clapping," she remembers.

Originally wanting to get married abroad, the couple decided against the idea in favour of having more of their family and friends attend. "My dad and his partner couldn't fly abroad, so I decided having my dad walk me down the aisle was more important," she explains. "Lee had holidayed in Devon with friends and said how lovely the area was, so we began searching online and found Ocean Kave, a unique and magical coastal wedding venue," says Ella. "When we saw the venue, it was love at first sight."

With 60 acres of private grounds within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on north Devon's stunning coastline, it also had luxury accommodation on-site, perfect for the couple's families to stay. "When I saw the cave where the ceremony would actually take place for the first time, I could not hold back the tears," she reflects.

Opting for a 'less is more' colour scheme with shades of lemon, pale grey and cream, Ella's ivory lace dress with pearl detail took centre stage. The touching ceremony saw the happy couple utter beautifully heartfelt, handwritten vows, with Ella promising to "support your dreams and respect your differences" and Lee vowing to "make our relationship and your happiness my priority".

A harpist played the couple's favourite song - Snow Patrol's 'Chasing Cars' - as they walked back down the aisle as husband and wife, before guests enjoyed Pimm's and sat down for a mouth-watering meal in the Sunset Lounge. The wedding breakfast comprised antipasti platters followed by a buffet barbecue that included chicken and coriander brochettes, seafood brochettes, pork loin steaks with honey glaze and locally sourced lamb and mint burgers. The culinary extravagance was topped off with salted caramel and chocolate tart, and lemon and lime cheesecake. Then the food gave way to dancing, with the DJ under strict instructions "not to play any cheesy wedding music!", before the guests retired to their accommodation.

"Make a holiday of it, even if you're not getting married abroad," says Ella, when asked about advice she'd offer to couples in the throes of wedding planning. "We had 42 guests stay the whole week at Ocean Kave, and we savoured every moment."

Photography GRW Photography grw.photography
Venue Ocean Kave oceankave.co.uk

Dress Crown Joolz crownjoolz.co.uk

Groom's outfit Coes coes.co.uk

Bridesmaids' dresses BHS bhs.com

Hair & make-up Sam's Hair & Beauty samshairandbeautysalon.co.uk

Harpist Susan Sherratt suetheharpist.co.uk