Selecting St Paul's Church in Yelverton for their ceremony and the church hall for their reception, Katie and Robert swiftly honed in on their personal aims for the day. "We knew from the get go that we wanted our day to be really relaxed, fun, informal and filled with love and laughter," says Katie. "We wanted to put our creative stamp on a venue to create a fete/jamboree look." The church hall provided the ideal space. They achieved the look with a colourful fiesta of bunting, paper honeycomb decorations, 'love' balloons and mint and pink blooms. "The hall decorations were really gorgeous and were made by a team of nimble-fingered relatives," says Katie. Adding to the personal mood, Katie designed the order of services, wedding invitations and nametags for the tables, while Rob crafted items such as the table plan and signs, and his parents sourced the vintage tableware.
Katie wore a beautiful 1930s' style dress featuring a high neck, dropped waist and layered blush and ivory lace. She accessorised with a scull cap veil, a hairpiece painted in blush shades to match her dress, and baby blue heels, which she swapped for her trusty cowboy boots in the evening. Rob wore a sharp navy baroque suit and mint and dusty pink bow tie, which echoed the colours of Katie's bouquet.
In the spirit of a quintessentially English wedding, after the church ceremony, guests spilled onto the green and tucked into a Devon cream tea, pasties, beer, Pimm's and lemonade while David Chorley played a personalised selection of songs on the acoustic guitar. Tapas were served as a series of sumptuous sharing platters in the church hall, while a 'bake the cake' competition served up a tantalising selection of homemade creations for dessert.
Children and adults indulged in some playtime courtesy of a bucking bronco, giant Connect 4, a unicycle and soft play area, followed by a photo booth and bonfire in the evening. Black Jack Davey later entertained with Irish sing-a-longs "and the odd hilariously crude joke. Needless to say he went down a storm and the dance floor was full all night!" comments Katie.
Looking back, Katie and Robert select the same favourite moment. "The atmosphere in the church during the service was electric. Rob said whilst waiting for me to arrive that he got a real buzz from everybody stood behind him and loved the adrenaline and anticipation of waiting for me. I have to say the atmosphere when I arrived was amazing; both the vicar and the choir commented on the crowd participation."
They offer some sterling advice to other couples. "Try not to worry about the small things such as favours; on the day nobody will notice," suggests Katie. "Instead think about the timings and entertainment on the day. This was a priority for us and, in the end, the day was fantastic because there was never a dull moment and it felt like a party and real celebration."
Photography Freckle Photography www.frecklephotography.co.uk
Venue St Paul's Church, Yelverton followed by church hall
Catering Westcountry Hogroasts www.westcountryhogroasts.com
Dress YolanCris from London Bride Couture www.londonbridecouture.com
Veil Elizabeth Dickens from The Wedding Company
www.the-wedding-company.co.uk
Flower girl dresses Dollcake www.dollcake.com.au
Hair Jamie Sullivan at David and David Salon www.davidanddavidhairsalon.co.uk
Make-up Leanne Whatley
Groom's outfit Ted Baker www.tedbaker.com
Flowers Charlotte
Entertainment David Chorley
Making Walls Smile Photography www.facebook.com/makingwallssmilephotography
Black Jack Davey
Copyright Wed magazine 2015
