Wedding at Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, Cornwall

Selina and Iain's homemade and heartfelt summer wedding at Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens

'We met at our university boat club toga party in 2007,' says Selina of her and Iain's serendipitous first encounter. 'I had come around to the idea that maybe marriage was never going to happen, but that was OK because all I really wanted was to spend the rest of my life with Iain, married or not. Then he proposed one windy February Sunday on the beach at Gwithian!' she reveals.

'It was a complete surprise for me. Iain had been planning it for months, having a beautiful custom-made engraved ring made, asking my dad and planning a family weekend in Cornwall (on the pretext of my brother's birthday). After the proposal, all the family ' who had been hiding in the dunes ' joined us for champagne. It was perfect!'

Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens provided the picturesque backdrop to their beach-themed day, where an al fresco ceremony took place in the pagoda before a tipi reception in the gardens. 'We loved the venue for its gorgeous natural setting and views across to St Michael's Mount,' explains Selina. 'And on a practical front, the facilities on-site make it much easier to organise.'

Casually styled, the day's dÃ©cor centred on a blue and yellow colour scheme to reflect their coastal-gazing location, which comprised bunting and more than 1,000 origami cranes. 'The cranes were my mum's idea and we got the whole family involved making them over the long dark winter evenings and stringing them up the day before the wedding!' says Selina.

Other family-made touches appeared in the invitations, which were based on a specially commissioned painting by the mother of the groom, Lyn, and the fudge wedding favours made by Selina's brother and his girlfriend. 'The name labels on these doubled up as our place settings,' says Selina before adding her top word of advice. 'Lots of people will want to help, so get everyone involved if you can!'

Another handcrafted element was Selina's stunning gown, which was a bespoke creation by local dress designer, Claire L. Headdon. 'I'd been really struggling to find something within my budget that I actually felt comfortable in, as I'm very much a jeans and T-shirt kind of girl!' explains Selina. 'Then on a trip home I found Claire and all my worries disappeared. She listened to my ideas and produced the perfect outfit for me. It fitted perfectly and was lovely and soft and comfortable to wear all day and dance in all night!'

Along with the venue, dÃ©cor and dress, the sense-spoiling treats didn't end there, with a barbecue-themed feast of beef burgers, halloumi skewers, pulled pork baps and falafel burgers with a variety of salads. 'Desserts were sticky toffee pudding or lemon tart ' perfect for a sunny midsummer's day!' adds Selina.

'Our photographer, Arianna, blended into the background really well and got us some beautiful photos of everyone having lots of fun!' says Selina as a side note before sharing her all-time favourite moment from her and Iain's fun-filled day. 'Stepping out from the pagoda, just married, holding my husband's hand and seeing the happy faces of all our friends and family celebrating with us,' enthuses Selina. 'We did it!'