It was while studying in Miami that Kieran and Kat made firm friends. “It was nearly 10 years before we finally realised we were in love with each other!” says Kat. Before too long, a trip to Edinburgh resulted in Kieran proposing with a poem he'd written, and a ring hidden inside a Harry Potter book under the chapter entitled The Unbreakable Vow.
Choosing to wed at Pencarrow, the couple set to work planning their festival wedding. “We loved it because it offered so many different areas in one venue, from the wisteria-laden arbor to the gardens, the glamping area and the woodland Nightcap Bar,” says Kat. “We knew it would make our dreams come true.” Choosing to pull their DIY wedding together themselves, their colour scheme was inspired by wildflowers, particularly the mix of reds, blues, purples and greens on Kat's Sassi Holford wedding dress.
The wedding began with fortuitous timing, with their son Leo waking up from his nap just in time to attend the outdoor ceremony in front of the wisteria arbor. “He joined us at the altar as we signed the register,” says Kat, who reveals the ceremony was one of her favourite moments from the day, particularly “my husband finally hearing the poem I wrote as one of our readings, and seeing him actually cry!”.
A champagne reception then made the most of the expansive gardens before a traditional Indian tuktuk ferried guests to the walled garden for drinks, canapés and garden games.
The couple and their loved took their seats in the marquee for speeches and a wedding breakfast comprising a Cornish charcuterie and sharing platters of butterflied legs of Cornish lamb. A two-tier carrot cake and chocolate and Guinness cake, decorated with dried wildflowers, rounded off the feast. And as the food was brought out, there was a surprise in store for the newlyweds.
“My parents had secretly booked singing waiters who started singing to us all. We had guests standing on the chairs singing and dancing You're Just Too Good To Be True,” says Kat. “It was truly the most magical moment that we didn't even know was going to happen.”
The night then turned into a real party, with dancing to a live band, before everyone donned silent disco headsets and headed into the woods to the Nightcap Bar. “I’ll never forget seeing all our friends dancing in the woods and realising that everything we had wished for had come true,” says Kat. “We danced around the firepit under the disco ball into the wee hours, before falling into our tipis in the glamping field.”
When reminiscing on her magical day, Kat has advice for those planning to do a lot of it themselves. “If you’re going to book a venue that is essentially ‘DIY’ then I'd definitely recommend a wedding planner, because bringing all the parts together is much more work than you realise!” she laughs. “And remember – love is in the details. The favourite parts of our wedding were the personal touches we'd made; these are what so many people took away from the day.”
Photography Stuart Dudleston stuartdudleston.com
Venue Pencarrow weddingsatpencarrow.com
Dresses Sassi Holford sassiholford.com Rixo rixolondon.com
Groom’s outfit Edit Suits Co. editsuits.com
Bridesmaids’ dresses Monsoon monsoon.co.uk
Groomsmen’s outfits Moss Bros moss.co.uk
Hair Hair by Emma C hairbyemmac.net
Make-up Ione Makeup and Hair Artist makeupbyione.com
Flowers The Velvet Daisy thevelvetdaisy.co.uk
Entertainment harp Jessica Louise Sutton jessicalouisesutton.wixsite.com/jessicalouiseharpist
Daisy Taylor daisykate.com
The Wanderful Four alivenetwork.com
Cake Oona’s Cakes instagram.com/oonascakes
Stationery Ella's Books ellasbooks.co.uk
Tableware Trevarno Event Hire trevarnoeventhire.co.uk
Festival flags The Event Flag Hire Company eventflaghire.co.uk
Videography Baxter and Ted baxterandted.co.uk
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