"My plan was to hire a kayak and find a quiet spot to propose, but on the day it was full of 18-30 groups blasting music out on pedalos. On the way back we saw a campsite positioned perfectly on the cliff face of the gorge with incredible views. I set up a table with candles, wine and tunes, and dropped to one knee, then we put a blanket on the van roof and lay on it stargazing... and saw five shooting stars!"
"Plants, pom-poms and fairy lights", were the key features of a wedding day brimming with fun and personal touches, taking them from St Petroc's Church in Padstow to a marquee reception at Prideaux Place. Green wine and water glasses collected for two years prior to the event "added a bit of colour to the tables", says Liam. "We had everybody involved in finding them; it was a good way of involving people in the planning."
The contributions of family and friends really helped the couple to stamp a personal dimension on their day: Rosie's cousin designed the table names based on a celebrity food name game the couple play (including 'Cod Stewart' and 'Quiche Ledger'), the wedding stationery was created by Liam's graphic designer brother and Rosie's mum created the bouquets and floral arrangements for the church.
Following the ceremony, the entire congregation walked and sang the whole way from the church to Prideaux Place together. "We also had our own traffic warden to stop the traffic - a family friend of ours with a homemade 'stop in the name of love' hat on!" laughs Liam.
Inspired by Rosie and Liam's favourite foods and their campervan travels, the delicious menu featured a lot of pastel de natas (Portuguese egg tarts). "We spend a lot of time in Portugal with Rosie's family where we basically live off them!" explains Liam.
As evening fell, funk maestros Freshly Squeezed and a DJ set by Liam's brothers kicked off an unforgettable party.
"Our first dance lasted the whole of five seconds before we encouraged everybody to join in! We danced to Sister Sledge's 'Thinking of You' and it was the most perfect song to have for us. Nobody stood still," remembers Liam.
Walking back to their holiday cottage at 7am the next day proved another memorable moment for the couple. "Rosie was still in her wedding dress and I was in my suit! It's safe to say we eked out every minute of celebrating with our friends and family!" says Liam.
"Go with your gut on the suppliers you use or take recommendations. If you don't get a good feeling from the people you are working with, don't do it!" Liam warns other couples of the potential planning pitfalls to avoid.
"If you are planning a free bar - keep it simple," he adds. "We tried to offer too much variety when really people would be happy with anything you supply, so keep your drinks menu small but well stocked!"
Photography Thomas Frost Photography thomasfrostphotography.com
Venue St Petroc's Church & Prideaux Place prideauxplace.co.uk
Catering Fego Food Co devonwedding.catering
Dress Martina Liana essensedesigns.com/martina-liana
Cape Charlie Brear charliebrear.com
Sequin party cape Primark primark.com
Bridesmaids' tops & flower girls' outfits Monsoon monsoon.co.uk
Groom's outfit Reiss reiss.com
Groomsmen blazer and tie Ted Baker tedbaker.com trousers Zara zara.com
Hair & make-up Serendipity by Amanda Jane newquayhairandmakeup.co.uk
Flowers Twigs & Greens twigsandgreens.co.uk
Entertainment Freshly Squeezed freshlysqueezedfunk.co.uk
Copyright Wed magazine 2019
