Within a weekend of meeting via mutual friends, Saskia and Sam had fallen “headfirst into a relationship”. Fast-forward seven years and it was on holiday in Harlyn Bay that Sam proposed, after a “week of carrying the ring everywhere in a highly suspicious ball of socks!”, laughs Saskia.
“The proposal had to be Cornwall, and so did the wedding. It’s our special place and we have spent lots of time escaping down here whenever we can,” she explains. “We chose Beacon Crag – it ticked all our boxes: on the south coast of West Cornwall, with beautiful sea views, space for tipi tents and no early dance floor cut-off!”
Inspired by the colours on Cornish coastal walks, their chosen palette of mixed bright colours — including greens, pinks, oranges, turquoise and yellows — looked stunning against the ocean backdrop. “We were particularly inspired by native crocosmia, which grows all over the hedgerows of southern Cornwall and pops with vibrant orange tones,” says Saskia. “We asked our guests to dress as brightly and summery as they could, and they really delivered!”
It was a family affair when it came to bringing their vibrant vision to life, with stationery designed by Saskia’s sister, Tatiana, using beautiful paintings of crocosmia, and her godmother, Sarah, handmaking and dyeing 200 napkins to match the multicoloured paper lanterns.
“My brother, Nick, cultivated and created all the fresh flowers and plants for the day, as well as hangers and boxes,” she says. “We wanted everything to be living and continue beyond just the wedding day – except my bouquet, which was hand-picked by my mum from her garden in St Hilary that morning.” The baskets were filled with cottage garden flowers and Nick also created small woven baskets for the tables, filled with herbs and flowers, for guests to take home as favours.
Their mini festival wedding saw the celebrations taking place at five different locations at the venue, starting down by the clifftop for the 4pm ceremony and moving up the hill to the dinner and dance tents. “It felt like each stage of the day revealed a new hidden location that left everyone, us included, in awe,” says Saskia.
The couple’s “deeply personal, emotional and thoughtful” ceremony was followed by clifftop drinks and canapés before a move to the dining tipi saw guests being treated to beef and catch of the day with Cornish new potatoes, followed by brownies. A performance by Sam’s brother and his comedy partner had everyone crying with laughter, and the hilarity continued with the speeches, which were also punctuated with many moving moments.
“Our first dance was to Fleetwood Mac’s You Make Loving Fun. We didn’t think we would enjoy it as much as we did, but it ended up being really fun and silly as well as romantic,” says Saskia. “The band then played until 1am, then we had a DJ until nearly 3am as there were still so many of us grooving away! People cancelled their taxis since they were having so much fun, and surely there’s no higher praise at a remote Cornish wedding than that!"
In fact, this nods to what Saskia would advise other couples when it comes to their wedding day. “Spend as much time on the dance floor as you can,” she says. “Chatting can happen any time but all your favourite people dancing together is rare!”
Venue Beacon Crag beaconcrag.com
Photography Barney Walters barneywalters.com
Tipis, tables, chairs, benches, festoon lights, fairy lights & disco ball The Cornish Tent Company thecornishtentcompany.com
Coordination Rebecca from Rebel & Anchor rebelandanchor.co.uk
Dress & veil Alexandra Grecco alexandragrecco.com
Suit Paul Smith paulsmith.com
Pocket squares Liberty libertylondon.com
Bridesmaids’ dresses Rewritten wearerewritten.com
Hair Joy Faull instagram.com/joyfaullhair
Make-up Suzi Winter makeupartistcornwall.co.uk
Flowers Nick Learoyd instagram.com/nickmgl
Buttonholes Laura Mallows instagram.com/lauraroseflowers
Catering Beautiful and the Feast beautifulandthefeast.com
Décor & tableware Abbotts Event Hire abbottseventhire.co.uk
Candles London Candles londoncandles.com
Generator Southwest Electrical Hire southwestelectricalhire.co.uk
Portaloos Andyloos andyloos.co.uk
Entertainment The Distractions thedistractionsband.co.uk
Barney Fishwick & Will Hislop instagram.com/giantscomedy
Mobile bar The Ship Inn theshipinnporthleven.co.uk
Videography Charlotte Dart charlottedart.co.uk
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