Emily & Fern: An Intimate Coastal Wedding in Cornwall

We knew we didn’t want a big wedding; the thought of having to give 100+ guests our energy and attention made us realise it would take it away from each other. We also knew we wanted to have a coastal wedding. I’m Scottish, so we spend a lot of time up there, and Fern’s from Suffolk, but we wanted somewhere that wasn’t tied to either of us individually, so it could feel tied to us as a couple. We had never actually been to Cornwall, but when we did a search for ‘intimate coastal wedding venues’ and Treseren came up, without sounding cliché, we fell in love with the place. The simple, understated yet elegant decor made it feel like a beautiful canvas, letting us make the day our own without too much background noise.

F – So my lovely maid of honour, Rachel, made a very fitting reference in her speech. She asked if anyone had seen the film 27 Dresses. Because the main character had accumulated 27 bridesmaid dresses from various weddings, she said that the drawn-out process Emily and I had gone through to find the right dresses meant we were nearly at that number by the end. She exaggerates, of course, but it was a bit of a process to be completely honest. Neither of us wanted to pay the going rate for traditional dresses, so we knew we’d buy from high-street or online brands rather than the traditional bridal boutiques.

We both love fashion, so we also knew we wanted pieces that felt quite editorial. The issue we didn’t plan for was how these dresses would fit us. Let’s just say we had a fair few dresses arrive at our house and be sent back! Since we only planned the wedding in five months, it got a little hairy at the end. I think the dresses we eventually settled on arrived a few weeks before the wedding day. Emily’s dress was from Whistles, and mine was from Reformation.

E – Firstly, I want to shout from the rooftops how incredible Treseren are and how dedicated the entire team is to making your day as truly special and unique as possible. We didn’t feel stressed at any stage of the planning, the lead-up, or the day, and that is down to how expert the team are at managing every element of your wedding. What Treseren do is truly magical, and we felt lucky to have spent such a special time at this incredible venue.

We got our gorgeous flowers from Emily at Three Acre. She’s really dedicated to sustainable practices, and you can tell how much love she pours into her flowers because they are stunning.

F – I think we had always thought the idea of eloping sounded like it suited us as a couple. I would describe us as extroverted introverts. I love my friends, being social, and having a good party, but my favourite part of any event is when I get to go home. We loved the idea of the day being intimate, without having to think about anyone else. I think the number of people at more traditional weddings can feel really overwhelming. I’ve seen so many of my friends and family spend their whole wedding day separated from their partners, going around to distant relatives to thank them for coming. It might sound selfish, but I didn’t want that for us, and neither did Emily. We wanted the day to be about us, so we could truly enjoy it. We wanted to share our very intimate day with the people who are really integral to our lives. Then we found Treseren, which combined the two halves of ourselves: the introvert who craves peace and calm, and the extrovert who still wants the day to feel like an event and a celebration.

Our incredible menu on the day was brought to life by Chef Fiona; every guest said it was the best food they’d had at a wedding by a long Cornish country mile! The fantastic Michele at Craftycakehole made our cake. I’m not a cake person by any stretch of the imagination, but the cake that Michele made for us was so delicious that I was eating it for days after the wedding!

Our photography was done by the fantastic Sofie Michelle, who felt more like a friend we’d known for years on the day. She slotted completely into our day; we barely knew she was there half the time, and the other half we spent laughing and joking with her! The photographs perfectly capture our joy on the day.

F – When I think back to the day, I remember being in the gorgeous bedroom waiting to go down to the ceremony. I was filled with such excitement and energy. There was a warm, midsummer buzz outside, with light streaming through the open window. I could hear the string quartet downstairs beginning to play for the guests. I thought about Emily and how I knew she’d been down to the beach with our boys for a swim. That moment was just so beautiful. I’ll never forget that feeling.

E – If you’re planning a small wedding, don’t feel guilty about your guest list!! We told only the people coming to the wedding that we were getting married, which meant keeping it a secret for 5 months from our wider family and friends. We announced our marriage with a beautiful photograph from our day at Treseren, and everyone was so overjoyed about our news that nobody was disappointed that they weren’t there; they were just so happy for us. We ended up having a big party back at home in Manchester with all our other lovely friends and family to celebrate, and it felt perfect!

Having a small wedding is also the perfect opportunity to do things with more flair. We are massive foodies, and our worst nightmare would have been hosting a wedding and serving guests food pre-prescribed by the venue, with limited options, and it wouldn’t have felt very ‘us’ either. We worked with our private chef to craft a menu filled with all our favourite ingredients, and she brought it to life BEAUTIFULLY! We also had an incredible cheeseboard at the end of the night, and it felt really special having all our guests huddled round, enjoying a bit of cheese.