Beccy and Tom were living in Bangkok when he presented her with a memorable Christmas gift. “Tom asked me to close my eyes and hold out my hands; when I opened my eyes, he was down on one knee holding out a ring!” she reveals. Both families flew out a couple of days later to celebrate, and planning soon began in earnest for their Cornish wedding.
“We got married in a field along the Camel Trail in St Issey near Padstow with stunning views of the estuary,” says Beccy. “Guests camped in tipis in the field just below our wedding field with equally amazing views!”
Taking a ‘tropical disco’ theme, pops of colour, streamers and disco balls adorned the marquee, while their VW campervan, Colonel Mustard, was bedecked with balloons and fairy lights. Hay bales and firepits were scattered outside for guests to sit around and savour the stunning views across the estuary. “We wanted to create a festival vibe!” says Tom of the laidback and personality-packed scene.
Many of the details were designed and made by friends and family, including the wedding invitation artwork which told their love story and personalised candles. The ceremony was also a highly personal affair conducted by the couple’s friend, Harry. As well as writing their own vows, Beccy and Tom secretly picked the songs for their aisle walks – Tom chose A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman for Beccy’s arrival and Beccy chose My Universe by Coldplay and BTS for their exit – performed by a steel band.
“Tom’s great-aunt Margaret read a poem, The Promise, which made everyone cry,” says Beccy of a particularly poignant moment from the day. “She’s no longer with us, so that memory is one we’ll cherish forever.”
The speeches were delivered ahead of the wedding breakfast, which was one of the couple’s main priorities. “Food is a big deal to us, so we spent a lot of time finding the perfect caterers who would personalise a menu for us,” she explains. “We wanted it to reflect us and tell our story.” A selection of nibbles reflected Beccy’s Indian and Tom’s Scottish heritage as well as their time living in Spain and Thailand. Starters of calcots were also rich in Spanish flavour, followed by low and slow chicken with sugar brine and wood smoke served with a range of sides including Catalonian tomaquet with flatbreads. For pudding, Beccy selected her favourite school dessert of cornflake tart with custard.
An evening of merriment ensued – “One of our favourite moments was riding on our friends’ shoulders and looking down seeing all our friends and family jumping around below us!” – leaving the newlyweds reflective of their dream-filled day, and full of advice for other busily planning couples. “Divide and conquer! You can’t both do everything, so play to your strengths. And remember that sometimes it’s worth paying a problem to go away!” says Tom.
“Also, if you’re planning to steam your own dress the morning of the wedding, do a test run!” she cautions. “Our steamer failed the night before the wedding. Thankfully, Old Station Laundry in Bodmin came to the rescue, steamed the dress to perfection the morning of the wedding and refused to take payment for it!”
Photography & videography Yeah Mike yeahmikephotovideo.com
Venue Tregonce Weddings instagram.com/tregonce
Marquee The Cornish Tent Company thecornishtentcompany.com
Planning & styling Rebel & Anchor rebelandanchor.co.uk
Dress Stephanie Allin stephanieallin.net
Dress steaming Old Station Laundry oldstationlaundry.co.uk
Hair Hair By Emma C hairbyemmac.net
Make-up Charlotte Albert makeupcornwall.com
Flowers Rose Valley Farm Flowers rosevalleyfarmflowers.com
Catering Woodfired Weddings canteencornwall.com
Cake Nicola Richman nicolarichman.com
Stationery Janki Patel instagram.com/illustratedbyjanki Lemon and Lime Design lemonandlimedesign.co.uk
Streamers Streamadelica streamadelica.co.uk
Napkins The Knotted Napkin Co. theknottednapkinco.com
Entertainment Real Steel Band instagram.com/realsteelband
