Congratulations if you have just got engaged during the festive season; exciting times ahead! If you are looking for weddings full of ideas to, ‘ahem’, copy, then you are going to love this fabulous West Stoke Farm wedding. Everything in this wedding is fun; from the camper van and hand-draw map invitations, to the ‘fizz on the field’ with all the guests wearing top hats and tails… and we don’t me the traditional version!
Philip and Hannah created the most amazing wedding. We hope you enjoy browsing through the fab pictures, taken by Honeydew Moments.
A Wedding We’d Like to Go To
“We had a brilliant wedding day. We didn’t want to get sucked into having a day full of the ‘right’ stuff, so instead we decided to have the wedding we’d most like to go to. It took a lot of hard work and effort, but it was so much fun. We haven’t laughed (or cried) that much in years!
Everything DIY
“We made everything ourselves, from the wedding invitations, to the tails, to the place names. We used a lot of brown paper and card, red and white string, textured paper and rubber stamps. The invitations were little maps a friend had drawn sealed with wax in mini brown paper envelopes. It was great fun making everything exactly the way we wanted, and it had a lovely rustic feel to it.”
A Serious Affair
“I arrived at the church in our beloved T25 camper van. Our church service was fairly formal because we wanted the actual marriage bit to be a serious affair. Actor friends did readings, and our sister-in-law sang throughout the signing of the register, making it even more special.”
Fizz on the Field
“We managed to keep the West Stoke Farm wedding celebrations a secret from nearly everyone attending. Everyone was therefore quite surprised to find themselves split into teams to compete in “Fizz on the Field” wearing Top Hats and Tails. It was so much fun, and everyone loosened up and got involved!
“The main meal was a Hog Roast followed by home-made summer puddings in little jars. Throughout the night we had a room full of French cheese, hams, sausages etc that people could help themselves to. We also had a self-service bar area with locally brewed beer, little snack bags, and wine in ice buckets.”
Brilliant Friends
“The barn looked lovely thanks to our brilliant team of friends and family who spent the day before setting up in the rain. A family friend did our beautiful flowers, the speeches had everyone in tears, and the band were brilliant.
“The cheese cake also looked fantastic. We drove to France in the camper van and bought the wheels of cheese, along with all the table wine and fizz. One of our friends made the brilliant giraffe cake toppers, and another spent the wedding morning sewing together redcurrants and collecting ivy to decorate the cake.
“Our West Stoke Farm wedding was such a fun day with so many great friends from all over the world. We just couldn’t stop grinning.”
In September another chapter in the history of The Duke of Cornwall Hotel was written. Past couples who’d married at the Duke were invited back to share their stories. Dressed in their finest and armed with wedding albums, they walked the red carpet up the grand staircase to the Hayward Room, ready for an afternoon of reminiscing.
The atmosphere was incredible. The room quickly filled with laughter, talk of days-gone-by, and discussions about how much fashion and the hotel had changed.
Toby Lowe captured the event, recreating some incredible shots. Freelance writer and journalist, Laura Joint, took the time to sit with couples to find out more about their big days. So, grab a cup of tea and join us for a story or two…
Floating Hats, ‘Bespoke’ Dockyard Confetti, and a Mad Dash to the Hospital
Colin and Jill May tied the knot on 17th January, 1959
“We married in a Nissen Hut because, after the war, that’s where the register office was in Plymouth,” said Colin, who served in the Royal Navy.
“It was blowing a gale that day and we’d decided to start our honeymoon with a night at the Edgcumbe Arms. We got on the Cremyll Ferry and Jill’s hat, the one she’d worn at the wedding and the reception, flew off and headed off down the river. The boatman managed to hook it out but it was obviously ruined. It was very funny and I burst out laughing … but the marriage nearly ended there and then!”
No such worries … 57 years later and Colin and Jill are still happily married and living in Plymouth.
Michael and Christine Eascott, and John and Carole Eascott
Brothers Michael (retired fireman) and John (retired police officer) both held their receptions at the Duke, in 1966 and 1969. Christine brought their reception invoice to the event.
“There were 49 people and we had a roast dinner, wedding cake, flowers and a 3-piece band. The bill came to £92 pounds, eight shillings and sixpence!”
Carole recalled that after her wedding, they went straight up to the hospital to visit one of her friends who should have been a bridesmaid but missed it because she needed an emergency thyroid operation.
“I went into the hospital with my wedding dress on!”
John, meanwhile, has a different memory…
“Argyle won that day. We got on the train to go to London, where we were starting our honeymoon. The supporters were on the train, together with a load of toilet roll which they used to throw in those days!”
Anthony and Marion Banbury married in 1965
Last year Anthony and Marion celebrated their 50th anniversary. Marion worked at Devonport Dockyard at the time, which was great when it came to having ready-made confetti.
“I worked on the punch card machines to calculate the men’s wages, and these tiny pieces of paper would drop into the bin. We’d save them up for whenever anyone got married to use as confetti.”
Mike and Val Hutchinson married in March 1968, despite her parents’ reservations about the match
“I was 16 when I met Mike and he was 18. We got engaged when I turned 18 but my parents wanted me to wait until I was 21 before we got married. In fact, they weren’t happy with me getting married at all; they said that we were too young and it wouldn’t last. I was 20 when we married… and here we are, 48 years later!”
An Amazing Coincidence
There was an amazing coincidence when two of the couples got chatting and it emerged that they’d both tried to book the same wedding day!
Leila Nottage, from the Duke of Cornwall, explained…
“One couple wanted to get married on the bride’s birthday, but when they rang the hotel they were told the date was already booked. They therefore had to re-arrange for the week before. This couple ended up sitting on a table with the couple who took their wedding date! What are the chances of that?!”
A Big Part of the Hotel’s History
“It was such a lovely afternoon,” said Leila. “We have a unique history here and our wedding couples and their stories are a big part of that.”
Giving wedding favours to your guests as a thank you for spending the day with you has been a tradition for a long time. However, a current trend is to provide a sweet treat table for your guests to help themselves to, rather than providing wedding favours. Treats Allowed offers the most exquisite array of luxury sweet treats and chocolates, as well as cakes and biscuits. Their luxury range of unforgettable chocolate is handmade in the UK.
We sampled some of the items they offer and they blew us away. Not only did they look incredible, they all tasted amazing. And the fudge… Wow! You MUST try the fudge!
Their treats are perfect for creating a really special sweet treat or dessert table at your wedding. Imagine the look on your guests’ faces when they see the delights!
Treats Allowed Bespoke Service
Treats Allowed provides a bespoke service unique to each wedding, and they will work with you to ensure every detail is just perfect. They pride themselves on creating an ambience wedding guests will remember.
If you do decide to follow the wedding favour tradition, Treats Allowed have the best sweets treats to put a smile on your guests’ faces. They also offer beautiful wedding favour boxes to present them in.
Personalised Packaging
Treats Allowed’s products not only taste delicious, you can have them personalised with your own uniquely designed packaging too. Their cutting edge printing equipment ensures striking results.
Treats Allowed caters for the most intimate to the most extravagant wedding; no task is too big or small. Whatever theme or colour, they have a wide variety of decorations and can coordinate your treats.
So, if you’re thinking of having a sweet treat table at your wedding or would like to give your guests special favours, check out Treats Allowed. You can find out more about their range of products and services at www.treatsallowed.com.
Mirror, mirror on the wall… who’s planning their wedding?! We are so excited to share this Snow White wedding shoot with you.
Disney films have been used as inspiration for wedding styling for a while now. The amazing creative team behind this styled shoot have incorporated cute ‘Snow White’ details, including the cottage in the woods, apples and, of course, the mirror.
The styling is perfect for a winter wedding, and the use of fur textures, deep reds, purples, dark greens and gold, portrays a look of luxury elegance.
Big thanks go to Living Radiant Photography for sharing this fantastic Snow White inspired wedding shoot.
Classy Yet Rustic Styling
“The inspiration for our shoot was a Snow White wedding. It would be a winter wedding with an intimate reception in the woods, and classy yet rustic styling.
“We used a colour palette of Merlot and gold with accents of blush pink and dark green. This worked well with the natural setting. Details such as monograms, fur textures and stunning furniture pieces enhanced the theme, and the cottage, deer figurines, and apples added key Snow White details.”