After meeting “the traditional way… on a dating app”, laughs Lucy, she and Ivan were on holiday in Stockholm when he put his proposal plan into action. “I was cross with Ivan who had snuck off to ‘do some work’. Of course, he was actually buying the ring!”
When venue-hunting, the couple landed on the magical Castle of Trematon near Saltash (please note: the venue no longer hosts weddings). "We had only seen it in photos until we arrived on the day, but were confident it would be completely perfect,” says Lucy, who set to work on the planning of the day. “Organisation is my favourite thing, so I did almost all of it. Ivan was happy with this arrangement!”
The venue itself – the family home of the House of Hackney interior design founders – was the main source of inspiration. “It’s a place for the imagination to run riot, where they use leopard print carpet as a ‘background’ feature,” says Lucy. “We used what we found at the venue after a wise friend advised us not to worry about napkin colours. A wonderfully chaotic mix of floral prints, serpent-shaped napkin rings and mismatched crockery made a surprisingly pleasing tablescape.”
Choosing to stay at the venue for a week meant that “our 11 guests got to spend time together as one new family”, she explains. The designated wedding day began with “manhandling a harp down to the poolside!” with the guests relaxing in sun loungers rather than chairs.
“We walked simultaneously down the poolside to a song our harpist had learned especially for us,” says Lucy, whose brother led the ceremony, while Ivan’s brother read the vows and his sisters read a poem the couple had written. “Ivan delivered the rings via a remote-controlled car he had built!” Wearing a Valentino silk cotton dress in lime green – made by her mum – and a flower crown, Lucy and Ivan exchanged vows by the pool, before enjoying cocktails and games on the croquet lawn.
A personalised menu of cocktails continued throughout the day, with exotic canapés such as curried Dexter beef tartare, and truffle, honey and blue cheese crème brûlée. The wedding breakfast was a seven-course spread, with highlights including Dartmouth crab mille-feuille, Isle of Wight heritage tomatoes with basil sorbet and Comté cream, and an unforgettable chocolate delice with pistachio ice cream and Caramac sauce. “I handwrote each guest's personalised seven-course menu on Tuppence Collective paper,” says Lucy. “In hindsight this was futile due to my illegible doctors writing!”
A “super sexy 1970s black forest gateau” rounded out the meal, along with a Cornish cheese stack, before the couple’s first dance took place in a disco room inspired by the couple’s favourite venue, the Margate Arts Club. “Everyone – including Winnie the Italian greyhound – danced together from the beginning,” says Lucy. “The survivors ended with a late-night swim in the outdoor pool."
Looking back, the couple couldn’t pick a favourite memory of the day. “Every moment was magic. We were so glad to have the time to enjoy it at leisure, and to watch our respective families become one.”
Photography Alan Law Photography alanlawphotography.co.uk
Venue Castle of Trematon houseofhackney.com/uk/castle-of-trematon-experience (Castle of Trematon no longer hosts weddings)
Suit Warp & Weft warpandweftoldtown.com
Flowers Perdie’s Flowers perdiesflowers.co.uk
Catering Jamie Rogers of Twenty Seven 27devon.co.uk
Drinks Sauce saucecornwall.co.uk
Cake Saffron Huns instagram.com/saffronhuns
Cheese stack The Greet Cheese Delivery Company thegreetcheese.co.uk
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