Wedding at Cockington Court, Devon

Amal and Matt met on a dating app before embarking upon their first date together at a local bar, which led to them becoming 'instantly inseparable'.

'It was a Friday night, and we were about to pick up some fish and chips. While we were waiting at home, Matt asked me to close my eyes and listen to a song that he wrote,' says Amal of her sweet proposal. 'It was such a beautiful love song with acoustic guitar, violins and soft vocals, and when I opened my eyes, he was holding the ring and asked me to marry him.'

Selecting Matt's parents' garden as the venue for their wedding, the couple set about creating a celebration with 'a relaxed festival vibe filled with colour and music'.

'Matt's parents decided to completely relandscape their garden and even put in a mini waterfall!' says Amal. 'Matt's mum was busy all summer planting flowers in the garden as she wanted to make sure that there were lots blooming in time for the wedding.' Colour was accentuated by the bright dress code, along with more gorgeous floristry including dahlias, roses, delphiniums, lisianthuses, carnations, chrysanthemums and foliage.

In the marquee, a palette of pink, orange, blue and soft green was carried by colourful floral stems in glass vases alongside pillar candles as centrepieces. The scene was completed with pale pink runners, sage green napkins, wooden charger plates and abstract place cards. 'As for the rest of the marquee, we chose hanging flower stems in the middle of the ceiling with colourful vintage lampshades,' says Amal. 'Outside we also had a mini tipi with rugs and cushions for the kids.'

The couple's civil ceremony at the Tea Room in Cockington Court was followed by a horse-drawn carriage ride around Cockington Village, then scenic photos at Thatcher Point. The newly-weds then returned to Matt's parent's house for a mini ceremony to include the guests unable to attend that morning.

'This was a bit more personal, with readings and musical performances from friends and family, and we wrote our own vows for this one too,' says Amal. 'Dan (Matt's brother) sang one of his originals on his ukulele, Lawrence read 'The Art of Marriage' by Wilferd Arlan Peterson and Nick and Louise (Matt's brother and sister) wrote an original song called 'Wedding Song', performing as a duet with Nick on his acoustic guitar.'

Plenty of eating, drinking and dancing then ensued, including sharing platters of lemon and herb chicken, Cajun lime salmon and ground rump steak burgers alongside vegetarian dishes of burgers, grilled vegetables and halloumi. For dessert, the wedding cake was served in addition to salted caramel brownies, macarons and seasonal fruits.

'My favourite moment was when our dog Bella walked into the middle of the dance floor and joined us during the first dance, stealing all the attention!' laughs Amal. 'We always say that she's our third-wheeler and this was true even on our wedding day!'

Enlisting professional help is one of Amal's top tips for those planning their dream day. 'For marquee weddings, there is a lot of additional responsibilities especially with setting up, decorating and tidying up afterwards,' she says. 'Consider a wedding stylist and coordinator so you can have peace of mind on the day. Working with a stylist will help you bring all your ideas to life and having someone there to coordinate it all and solve any teething problems is absolutely worth its weight in gold. Nikki at Knots & Kisses understood my vision and put it all together beautifully.'

She adds: 'Don't worry about the small stuff. For us, our friends and family really made our wedding. We felt the love and sincerity around us which made it such a special day.'