Carly and Pete's Boho Beach Wedding on the Cornish Coast by Johnny Dent Photography

Today I am taking you off to one of my favourite places in the world, Cornwall. I spent my childhood years growing up in Cornwall, and even though I left when I was 18 to move ‘up North’ it still has a very special place in my heart, which is why I love featuring weddings from Cornwall so much. Today’s wedding features one of the most gorgeous Cornish wedding venues, Lusty Glaze Beach in Newquay. A stunning beach side venue with the most amazing views and terrific backdrop for photos. Carly and Pete have done an amazing job of making this wedding super pretty, with just the right balance of DIY projects to keep it personal, while bringing in the best suppliers to make sure it all runs smoothly. Johnny Dent Photography was there to capture the day for us in style.

‘Best Day Ever – Bldy Brilliant!’**

Carly and Pete were married on 25^th May 2018 (and Pete’s 35^th Birthday – double celebration and a date he will never now forget) The ceremony was held at Church: St Paul – Ludgvan with the reception at Lusty Glaze Beach in Newquay, Cornwall. ‘Pete’s mum was a vicar at St Paul (and sadly passed away 3 months before we got together), and so there was no question as to where we wanted our ceremony to be (albeit it ever so bittersweet on the day). Lusty was a no-brainer for us, we wanted to have a big party by the beach and Lusty gave us the laid back, boho wedding we were looking for! Plus a pizza oven! Who doesn’t want pizzas on their big day?! We ha 100 ish guests and it took 1 year and 3 months to plan.’

How they met
5 years, 3 months before the big day. We’d met several years previously in a dodgy karaoke bar in Vilamoura, Portugal. He was wearing a crazy shirt (like a dodgy Indian restaurant tablecloth), glasses with the lenses popped out and a bandana… it’s funny how your life can turn out a few years later!

The proposal
I went to Maine US for work and managed to wangle a flight home via New York and Pete met me for the weekend. We got some bikes out in Central Park and then Pete veered off by a rock and told me he had a puncture then got on one knee and proposed with a dog collar with a tag engraved with ‘I love you loads’ and on the back ‘Will you marry me?’ (we’d originally planned to got to the Cotswolds that weekend with our beloved dog Nelly and he didn’t want to waste the dog collar). I did find it odd that he wore a shirt that morning (most unlike him for a proper Cornish lad!)

How did you allocate your budget?
We set a loose budget which increased bit by bit as I got overexcited with buying wedding ‘must have’ tat!

Where did you splurge and where did you save?
We splurged on vintage buses (‘Dumpy’ and ‘Hughy’ – well worth the money) from the ceremony to the reception (there weren’t any ‘beach’ venues we liked nearer), besides it actually gave our family and friends a taste of the Cornish coast who had never visited. We saved on lots of crafty bits at the reception, e.g. wedding name pebbles, crafty beach hut table numbers etc… We also opted for a ‘scone tower’ as our wedding cake which was reasonably priced compared to most other wedding cakes! My wedding dress came under budget at £1k also, and given it’s boho vibe style I’d actually wear again.

How did you choose your photographer?
We met Johnny at a Boho wedding fayre and his pictures epitomised exactly what we wanted, fun, quirky photos which weren’t ‘staged’. He is a cracking guy and such a talented photographer and fitted in perfectly on our day! Pete was sold just on his wonderful, well-groomed moustache!

The dress
Dress: Catherine Deane (inc detachable overskirt) – Bolero: No.1 Jenny Packham – Shoes (wedding ceremony): Simply Be, Shoes (beach): Forever Soles (beaded thongs) – Bag: Katie Loxton – Jewellery: Joma Jewellery/Pandora (earrings) Engagement/Wedding Ring: Hyde Park Design, London

The suit and bridesmaids
Bridesmaid dresses: Lipsy – Bridesmaid Shoes: New Look -Men’s Shirts: Raging Bull – Men’s Trousers: NEXT

Theme or colour scheme
Coral/navy/teal

Flowers
Bohemian, vintage feel with large blousey heads of peonies, roses and ranunuclus in shades of coral, light pinks, ivories and creams

Decoration
Quirky, beach themed

Food
BBQ for the day, pasties and pizzas for the evening. Pimms & Ales for drinks as well as countless bottles of prosecco…

Wedding cake
Scone tower with figures of us and our beloved boxer Nelly

Entertainment
Demon Pen – Caricaturist
Band – Keiko Rise
And beach volleyball along with lots of games for the kids

Who supplied the stationery?
My brother designed the invites and I printed them through printed.com

Personal touches
The reception décor was a team effort by my mum, bridesmaids and myself – my mum even dyed the bunting to match the colour scheme as we couldn’t find the right colours. My bridesmaid Fran wrote each of our guest names on pebbles to cut costs, plus I have terrible handwriting!

Special moments
Wow, there were so many! Nelly walking alongside the bridal party in the church (we even made a floral collar for her to match us all). Pete wrote a poem which his best friend read in church which was incredible. Pete’s reception speech – it had me in equal parts laughter and emotion!. The floral arch was stunning! The vintage buses and the drinking games which occurred on the trip to Lusty!

Advice for other couples
Weddings are as cheap or expensive as you make it! We gave ourselves enough time to save money getting crafty before the big day with the bridal party – we loved our weekends pre-wedding-ing! Try not to stress on the day, you’ll care very little whether the flowers match the bunting etc on the big day. Just have fun, it sounds a cliché but it whizzes past so quickly, take some time to enjoy the day just the two of you! Also, makes sure someone records the speeches, I’m gutted I missed the recording of my dad’s speech.

Biggest surprise of the day
The pink sunset, my god it was stunning!