Abigail & Charlie

Abigail & Charlie…

We met …

In 2016 whilst we were both living in London. Oddly, we both went to Exeter University at the same time, and even lived on the same road, but fate had other ideas and we didn’t meet until a couple years after we graduated.

Your first impressions of your partner:

We actually had what we now describe as the best, worst, first date ever, but at the time it just felt like the worst date ever! It’s a very long story, but somehow we ended up on a second date, and the rest they say is history.

How did your proposal happen?

Barefoot on the beach at Watergate Bay. We were walking our dog, Tiggy, and there wasn’t another soul in sight.

Length of engagement:

Just under a year.

In three words, how did you imagine your wedding day?

Personal. Understated. Luxury.

How did you choose your venue?

We knew we wanted to get married in Cornwall, so that was the easy first step. Then it was finding a venue where we could create a totally bespoke wedding that was completely authentic to us. A lot of wedding venues felt a little too ‘packaged’ for us, and Pentillie provided the freedom and flexibility to create the exact wedding we wanted.

Often the aspect that makes a wedding original to the couple is the detail/theme – tell us about the special details of the day and how you implemented them (colours, theme decorations, centre pieces, favours, photo booths, DIY etc). 

We wanted every aspect to feel really personal and authentic to us as a couple so we designed and created a lot of elements ourselves. We chose caterers that would create an entirely bespoke menu for us, our wedding favours were miniature bottles of homemade blackberry gin, all of the calligraphy was done by Abigail’s step mother and we provided our own champagne and wine so we could have all of our favourites.

Were you inspired by anyone on social media? Pinterest/Instagram etc?

No, we actually deleted social media during the planning stages of our wedding as we found being constantly faced with the ‘perfect’ wedding a little overwhelming.

Please give a brief account of your wedding planning story i.e., priorities, highs & lows, challenges etc…

As a couple, we had a really strong idea of what we wanted our wedding to look and feel like, so the planning stages were actually quite easy. We had all of the big suppliers chosen and booked within two weeks, and then it was just about fine tuning the details. We knew that the aesthetic was key, so once we had that nailed down the other decisions were much easier.

What food did you choose for your day, wedding breakfast and evening buffet, and why?

We are both big foodies, and we’re really conscious of using high quality, local, seasonal produce wherever we can so that was a huge driver in our choices. As a result the food was a really critical part for us. We worked with Fego Foods, who I cannot recommend enough, and they created the perfect, bespoke menu for us, drawing on all of our favourite foods. Almost every guest commented on how amazing the food was, and that really is a testament to Hannah & Al at Fego.

What was the song for your first dance, and why?

You Make Loving Fun - Fleetwood Mac.

What was your favourite part of the wedding?

We were so fortunate that we got to celebrate our wedding over 3 days at Pentillie Castle, so there are so so many great memories to choose from. The weekend as a whole was so utterly perfect, but I think the one element that will stick with us was just the overwhelming sense of love and joy in the room.

What was the most important investment for you? For example, food, drink, clothes, honeymoon?

We were quite focussed on making every element as perfect as possible, so we avoided adding lots of extras but made sure we invested well in all of the fundamentals. I’d say spending extra on the food and flowers/decor really took our vision to the next level. Alice from From the Wild created the most expectational hanging arrangements above the tables and Fuss Pots provided such gorgeous trees and foliage that the whole marquee felt like a beautiful botanical garden.

Adding on the extra night at Pentillie turned out to be one of the best investments we made, it was so special being able to get everyone back together the day after the wedding to celebrate and reminisce.

What is your top tip for other couples?

Stay true to yourselves. There’s always a lot of outside opinion and helpful suggestions, but ultimately this is your celebration and should 100% represent you as a couple.

Oh, and if you’re not comfortable in front of a camera, make sure you sit down and have a call with your photographers before you book them. Kez and Craig [from Hello Pictures] were so friendly and kind that we immediately felt at ease, and by the wedding they felt like old friends so we barely noticed the camera. We’d also really recommend having a trail/engagement shoot with your photographers, by the time you get to your wedding you’ll be naturals.

Suppliers:

Photographer: Hello Pictures

Brides Dress: Suzanne Neville (custom)

Brides Veil: Gillian Million (bespoke)

Brides Shoes: Emmy London

Bridal Hair: Ro Hair

Bridal Makeup: Own!

Grooms Suit: Clifton Suits (bespoke)

Grooms Shoes: Loake Shoemakers

Bridesmaid Dresses: Maids to Measure

Groomsmen Suits: Clifton Suits

Flowers: From the Wild

Stationery: Papier

Transport: Roaring 30’s Automobiles & own vintage Porsche

Ceremony Location: Landulph Church

Marquee: Hatch Marquee

Catering Equipment Hire: Abbots Event Hire

Decor Hire: Out of the Ordinary Event Hire

Plant Hire: Fuss Pots

Caterer: Fego Food

Cake: Cheeky Cake Company

Drinks Reception Music: Jodie Mark Pianist

Evening Music: Millway

Our Weddings Manager would be delighted to show you around Pentillie! To book your private viewing, please click here, call 01579 350044 or email weddings@pentillie.co.uk.