It was such a pleasure to photograph Sam & Verity’s wedding at the Rosevine Hotel. I’ve known Sam’s mum for a number of years as shes works as a wedding registar in Cornwall, so it’s not every day that your mum is able to officiate your wedding.

Here are some of my favourite images and a few words from Sam & Verity about their wedding at Rosevine Hotel.

How did you first meet?

Sam and I met when we were both cabin crew for Virgin Atlantic, we first crossed paths on a flight to New York, a few years later we bumped into each other again in London and went on a date.

Please describe the proposal

It was a very crisp sunny December day a week before Christmas in 2017, and we were in Bushy Park near Hampton Court, which is one of our favourite places. In a very quiet spot by the water, Sam got down on one knee, with my beautiful ring (it fitted too).

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 dress was actually a 3 piece outfit made by a relatively new designer called Catherine Deane whose based in Wapping, East London. I’d been recommended to Catherine by my sister in law, and I loved her very dainty, simple and elegant styles of dresses. My ‘dress’ was actually suggested to me by the bridal assistant, as a last try on.

Initially, I wasn’t sure, but as soon as it was on, I just knew, the final deal-breaker was my mum and sisters facial expressions, they were priceless. I bought it there and then. I very nearly had to cancel the appointment as on that particular day the snow in London had been really bad, and was getting worse, I’m so glad we made it, as it turned out that was the last day I was able to order the dress before her new collection launched.

I didn’t really know what I wanted when I was looking for my dress, but I think it definitely a case of what something looks like on a hanger is very different when you’ve actually got it on

what were the reasons for choose to have your wedding at the Rosevine Hotel?

Having trawled through Cornish wedding venues online and sent out lots of emails, two particular venues caught my eye to go and see. The Rosevine Hotel was the second of the two we went to visit, and instantly I just knew it was where we wanted to get married. The view was incredible, and I just loved the boutique-style furnishings and friendly feel.

They also specialise in smaller intimate weddings, which I loved. My new mother in law married Sam and I, as she’s a wedding registrar, so it was really special that we got married in Cornwall, where Sam’s family are from, and I had spent many family holidays growing up, so have such fond memories of.

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…)?

The majority of the wedding I arranged and planned by myself, I found it ‘relatively’ straightforward, maybe because we had an October wedding date, so once I’d done a bit of research on suppliers, I think we pretty much got everybody on board that we wanted which we were very pleased about. I had help from the fantastic Nicola, whose the wedding and events coordinator based at The Rosevine Hotel, she was very much on hand to offer suggestions and help, make recommendations and put me at ease, she was brilliant throughout the whole experience.

The Rosevine pretty much gave us free rein on how we wanted to decorate/style our wedding, and it was done exactly how we wanted, for my flowers and candles were the biggest part, I just imagined wanting a very romantic and cosy style wedding. Oh and to choose a fab photographer to capture it all (Paul was fantastic).

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

An autumnal romantic, colourful, cosy and elegant wedding by the sea. My favourite part of all the wedding prep was the flowers. We were very lucky that wonderful George Mackay was available, and she totally got me. A lot of the ideas from the wedding were based on my dress, and that I had always wanted to wear a flower crown.

I really just wanted flowers and candles to decorate the venue, and in a very un-uniformed, loose feel, not too matchy, so we had an array of beautiful flowers and candles scattered throughout.

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

My mum made our confetti from homemade and grown rose petals. The colours were beautiful.

We had a silent disco for the last hour and half of the wedding which was a huge success. Both Sam and I had compiled a channel of music each, and the third, our DJ freestyled. Everyone was pretty much on the dance floor, even the staff had the headphones on whilst giving out pasties.

Instead of having a photo book, we had our guests sign and leave messages on a picture frame around a photo of Sam and I. We have since replaced the photo with our favourite snap of the day.

I loved having a string quartet play for us during the ceremony and post-wedding drinks. It set such a lovely atmosphere, and the ladies, Melegari Strings, played music which was relevant to both Sam and I which made it extra special.

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

People kept telling me before we got married, that there will always be slight things that only you will notice if they’re, not 100%. This is so true, I think you really just have to let go, trust all the people you’ve chosen to supply for you on your special day do their job, and relax and enjoy it. It goes so fast. Try and definitely have a moment to think….’wow this is our wedding.’

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

Take it all in and enjoy it, everyone is there for you.

Any advice for those planning their wedding now?

To do research and read reviews, so you have the confidence you’ve booked credible suppliers. I found Instagram really good in looking for ideas/inspiration.

What’s your top tip for saving money?

Have a budget in mind before you start booking, as it very quickly can escalate. Also, things pop up that you almost forget to factor in….like the cost of signing the register etc. Also not to get carried away, I’d look at Pinterest, and actually, unless you have endless amounts of money, I just had to take elements of what I’d seen and not get carried away.

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

As most of our family and friends were travelling such a long distance to come to our weekend wedding, we really wanted to make sure we’d organised a fun weekend with great food, drink and setting and accommodation. I’m so glad we chose The Rosevine who could provide this all for us, so was definitely money well spent.

What’s the best thing about being married?

Being a Mrs!!!

If you planning to have a wedding at The Rosevine Hotel then please do not hesitate to contact me for a quote or to view more photographs head over to my blog.

Suppliers: Wedding Venue: The Rosevine Hotel | Wedding Planner: Nicola from the Rosevine | Dress: Catherine Deane | Make up: Amy Potter | Hair: Lisa Gadsby | Bridesmaid dress: Coast and Karen Millen | Grooms suit: T.M.Lewin | Flowers: George Mackay | A family friend | Entertainment: Melegari Sting Quartet | Evening Entertainment: Fistral Stereo (DJ Robin Paris)