Huge congratulations to Gemma & Jason on their wedding at St Ives Harbour Hotel. This was the third Cornish Farmer wedding I’ve photographed and they are always great fun to photograph. So much laughter, hugs, kisses and emotion. Just the way every wedding should be.

I had many favourite moments from Gemma & Jason’s wedding… but the standout moments were the guard of honour outside the church in milking coats & pitchforks, the cutting of the cake where Jason Cut his finger on the knife to the crazy dancing for the first dance.

Here are a few words from the bride and groom about their day their lovely wedding at St Ives Harbour Hotel.

How did you first meet?

We met on an alcohol-fuelled August Bank Holiday Weekend in 2011, sadly at Club 2K, not the infamous Barn Club!

Please describe the proposal

We were staying at Moorland View Cottage in a remote village on Dartmoor near Bovey Castle. We had been for spa treatments at the castle and had strolled back through the woods and eaten some tea. We decided to chill out in the huge copper bath and that’s when Jason asked me. I presumed we were just having a ‘discussion’ so it was all very confusing & surreal pretty much until the next morning!

The dress – where did you find it, and what was it like? Who did you take with you dress shopping and how did you find the whole experience?

My Mum has been taking my Grandparents to Exmoor for years now and since before we even got together, she would return and comment on the beautiful dresses in the window of Parham House Brides, a boutique in Dunster. Thus when the time came and we couldn’t find ‘the one’ in Cornwall, we decided to make the journey up. Ironically, Suzanne Neville, the designer we had been looking at was stocked there and unbeknown to me, I selected one of her dresses- not lace which was originally the vision I had in mind.

I loved trying on all of the gorgeous dresses, but obviously especially adored mine. Susan, the lady who owned the shop was extremely helpful and honest about which cuts and materials were more flattering- something which I really appreciated.

Wedding at St Ives Harbour Hotel

What were the reasons for choosing the St Ives Harbour Hotel as your wedding venue?

 I’m from Ludgvan and my family have been farming at Ludgvan for many years, I was christened there and it’s where I go to pray. St. Ives was where we had our first date and when we visited venues we just really liked the feel, the views and the wedding planning staff.

When planning your wedding, did you have any help or did you do it mostly yourselves? What were the most important aspects for you (eg. the photographer, the food, the decor…)?

We planned the wedding mostly by ourselves with help from our families and friends. The most important thing about our day was that ourselves and our guests enjoyed themselves :)

What was your wedding inspiration? (think decor, overall theme and feel of the day, etc)

Hmmm, I guess colour; bright, joyful colours and fun. We wanted it to be a happy day that reflected us as people and as a couple together.

Describe some of your favourite wedding details and how you came up with them.

I loved the different colour bridesmaid dresses as that was a bit different and the gorgeous wildflowers. I also loved the table name cards that Jason came up with, and table names, in spite of my initial reservations about having cows on our tables!!!

Bride: What advice would you give to future brides for their wedding day?

Do what makes you and your partner happy, those who matter will support you, those who don’t then cut them. Don’t scrimp on the things that really matter to you as a couple, you’re only doing this once. Enjoy it, don’t get caught up in the politics/traditions. Eat the food, laugh with crinkly eyes and scrunched up nose, dance and get red and sweaty and take it all in as it really does go super fast!

Groom: What advice would you give to future grooms for their wedding day?

Jason: Do whatever the Bride wants to do!!! ;) On a serious note; do whatever you two want to do and don’t worry about what others think.

Any advice for those planning their wedding now?

Set a budget and stick to your savings plan, be realistic.

What’s your top tip for saving money?

Don’t buy lots of new clothes, take the hit and eat in instead of going out at the weekends, let your husband do the weekly shop!! Remember this is a temporary state of living, you will socialise again!!!
Jason: Cut out all the treats as it’s worth it in the end

… and which elements of your wedding are you glad you spent more on?

Everything; my dress & accessories, bridesmaids dresses, suits, ties, enough food including canapés, flowers, having our fab photographer & videographer there for long either side of the day- enabling the memories of our special day to live on forever.

What’s the best thing about being married?

Gemma: Feeling like we’re properly together forever, more officially and continuing to live and hang out with someone who you love & have fun with.
Jason: Not having to plan a wedding!

As usual, here is a selection of favourite from Gemma & wedding at St Ives Harbour Hotel.  Please feel free to share on social media, or leave a comment.

If you planning to have a Ludgvan Church wedding then please do not hesitate to Contract me for a quote or to view more photographs head over to my blog.

Suppliers: Bridal Preparation: Mum’s House | Wedding Ceremony: Ludgvan Church | Wedding Reception: Marks & Spencers | Wedding Planner: n/a | Dress: Marks & Spencers| Make up: Marks & Spencers | Hair: n/a | Bridesmaid dress: Ebony Rose at Marks & Spencers | Grooms suit: Ted Baker at Marks & Spencers | Flowers: Marks & Spencers | Cake: Marks & Spencers | Entertainment: Resident DJ and The Sandy Acre 7  Videographer: Sean White Wedding Films

26 Comments

  1. Hi Cornish,

    Thank you for sharing with us. I recently started offering photography services in Dubai. To be honest, I liked your pictures. By the way, What camera did you use and at what ISO?

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