Wedding at Polurrian Bay Hotel

Katie's first date at a restaurant with Sam, after meeting through Tinder, told her all she needed to know. "We just hit it off," she says. "It only took that first date to know he was The One." And the feeling was clearly mutual; after just a year, Sam took Katie back to their first date restaurant, and then proposed in the gardens of a nearby holiday cottage he'd booked.


Choosing seasonal yellow and blue flowers, including blue irises and daffodils, the bouquets were bound with hessian for a rustic look, and flowers were arranged in milk churns as a nod to Katie's dairy farmer parents. With an overarching sense of springtime underpinning the theme of their March wedding, Katie and Sam could not have been more surprised by the weather on the big day.

"There was a blizzard!" laughs Katie. "There was chaos outside; cars being abandoned, guests struggling to get to the church and the ceremony ending up being an hour and a half late! There were so many people arriving on tractors, the groom and his party had to push cars out of the way en route to the church, and the vicar abandoned his car and walked to the church."


Returning to the hotel for the reception, Katie cites her favourite part of the day as "walking into the reception full of all our family and friends stood under stunning cherry blossom trees. They were so different and cosy and brought a touch of spring inside."

Wedding guests tucked into a feast of various meats and cheeses, mini toad-in-the-holes, duck hoisin wraps and fish goujons, with lemon posset and chocolate mousse for dessert - and that wasn't all!

"We had our own ice cream for guests to help themselves to throughout the day; we make luxury, artisan ice cream at our farm in Devon - Taw River Dairy - and serve it out of our vintage style trike. Our friend also made us a three-tier cake with sugar craft flowers to match the seasonal flower arrangements of blue irises, daffodils and primroses."

Then it was time for dancing, with live band, The Qwest, getting everyone to their feet. "There weren't a lot of guests there due to the weather, but the band got everyone up dancing and we all had a great time," says Katie.
And if there's one piece of advice she could give, it's: "Do not overthink and agonise over things too much. On the day, everything seems perfect regardless." And that's from a bride who got married in a snowstorm!

Photography Toby Lowe Photography tobylowephotography.co.uk
Venue St Martin Church Polurrian Bay Hotel polurrianhotel.com
Flowers Everett and Ruth Tripp
Cake Jane Moor
Styling Unique Designs by Tina uniquedesignsbytina.com
Hair and make-up Joy Hairstylist & MUA facebook.com/joyhairandmakeup
Entertainment The Qwest theqwestband.com
Ice cream Taw River Dairy tawriverdairy.co.uk/events