Pencarrow Rebecca and James

Pencarrow the perfect place to marry

With a significant portion of Rebecca's family and friends from Wadebridge, the venue search around North Cornwall began.

"We knew we wanted to start venue hunting near Wadebridge as my family and friends are from there, so a significant portion of the guests would not have to worry about travel plans and accommodation. We were looking to cater for around 180 guests, so both capacity and budget were a factor."

After looking at a selection of venues around North Cornwall none of which really ticked all the boxes for them, Rebecca's mum mentioned Pencarrow so they decided to visit.

"The grounds really struck us as the perfect place"

The grounds were perfect for the ceremony and celebration drinks, and the newly built permanent marquee was perfect for their reception.

Kiss Photography

Rebecca and James had seen Ricky and Jenny's work before. A couple of their friends' had married a few years ago and chose Kiss Photography

"We knew the couple were great to work with and the shots for the other weddings were so beautiful that we didn’t even look at anybody else; they were our first choice and are incredible at what they do."

Nothing forced or over the top simplicity was the key

It was important for this couple that nothing felt forced. Nothing over the top – simplicity was the key. They didn’t want to enforce anything on their guests (other than the where and when!)

"Everyone could make their own plans and join in the fun as much or as little as they wanted."

Both wanted the day to be a reflection of who they are – both individually and as a couple; from the favours, table names and food choices were inspired by their favourite things.

The colours for the day green and white, with shades of blue.

They had green and white decorations to go with the bouquet; bridesmaids and ushers wore shades of blue. Everything had a rustic, rural feel to it; for example, Rebecca and James chose trestle tables with white runners Rebecca's mum made, instead of round tables with tablecloths.

"Our favours included miniature dinosaurs (James loves dinosaurs) and the ’back down the aisle’ song was the theme from Jurassic Park; my Mum hand made all of the favour bags and all of the confetti cones, which were tied with small wooden hearts.

All the music reflected our favourite songs and our friends made up the evening band. Everything was just who we are on a day-to-day basis!"

Nico and her team at Pencarrow really went above and beyond throughout the entire process.

One of the things that attracted Rebecca and James to Pencarrow (apart from the stunning grounds) was how well they got along with Nico and how they all seemed to have similar tastes.

They were in safe hands and knew they could trust her to deliver what they wanted. They didn’t have to worry about anything at all on the day or during the lead-up to the wedding.

"We basically let Nico take complete control!"

"That is how good she and Jasmine are at their jobs, and shows how much we trusted them."

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A wedding feast by The Good Food Catering Co

Food is hugely important and both wanted to make sure that their guests were treated to a feast. Nico recommended Lucy and Mike at The Good Food Catering Co. being based in Wadebridge meant that all the produce was locally sourced.

"The afternoon canapés were chorizo and sweet potato skewers, dill scones, parmesan shortbreads and scotch eggs."

the wedding breakfast

"Gorgeous mozzarella and sweet potato salad with chilli and blueberry dressing, Sausage and mash (James’ favourite dinner) or feta and mushroom filo swirl."

The Wedding Cake

"We wanted to ensure that our wedding cake was really appreciated and decided to use this as our dessert, which also meant that we cut the cake before dinner."

The cake was made by Sarah Chapman a great friend of Rebecca who owns Indulge Catering.

There were 5 tiers of Rebecca's favourite's chocolate, carrot, lemon drizzle, and Rebecca's absolute favourite!!! Victoria sponge and red velvet.

"There were so many compliments about the food and many of the guests asked to meet Sarah to compliment her personally. Just like the rest of the day the food was not too fussy, just what we enjoy eating, simple but delicious with gorgeous flavours!!!"

The dress!

Rebecca wore a custom-made dress by a friend-of-a-friend called Gemma Leakey, based in Birmingham.

"Gemma is incredible at what she does, a truly talented designer, who made sense of the sometimes very vague, sometimes incredibly specific ideas I had for the dress."

The dress itself was made of silk chiffon, with a cowl neck, silk sleeves and silk buttons on the cuff and down the back.

"It was simple, beautiful and comfortable! I didn’t need to adjust or change in any way and wore it totally happily for the entire day."

accessories

Wanting everything to be entirely natural, Rebecca wore simple silver stud earrings and carried a silver Whistles clutch bag that she loves and has had for years. Her shoes were flat silver sandals from Dune.

"My favourite accessory was hand-made for me by Alice at Botanique; four hairpins with wild, preserved flowers; I discovered her stall (totally by chance) one afternoon in & Other Stories on Oxford Street – Alice offered to hand-make the pins with my choice of flower and colour. She also made a corsage for my Mum’s jacket."

Favourite part of the day

The entire day was exactly as they wanted it to be and are just so happy with how everything turned out.

"The silent disco in the woods around the fire pit at the end of the night was pretty epic though!

James says that his favourite part was waving at me as I walked down the pathway from the main house to the arbour just before the ceremony began. I’m sure the fact he was performing as part of the band was also a high point for him!"

Top tips and advice for other couples embarking on their wedding journey

"Get organised and make a plan – the six months before the big day will effectively extend your working day by several hours, and your working week by an extra two days! If you can somehow build it into your work routine, that really helps because it will not go away – there is always something to do!

Get a big spreadsheet for all your finances – there will be lots of costs you weren’t expecting and you need to know you can afford to pay the bills when the time comes!

Make the day what you want it to be – don’t get caught up in other people’s ideas or plans – it should be what you and your partner want!"

• Venue: Pencarrow
• Wedding Catering: The Good Food Catering Co.