If I’m being honest, I’m a bit of an anglophile. Which means pretty much anything from across the pond grabs my attention. But anything Marianne Taylor Photography sends to me pushes me over the edge. I’m completely obsessed with her gorgeous images, and when she is brought on to capture a wedding like this (I’m having a hard time not inserting twenty exclamation points) I can’t help myself but to put up an out of office and spend a few moments alone with the gallery.
From the gorgeous bride… Tom and I met at our friends wedding two years ago. We had both been friends with the couple for over eight years so it was surprising that we’d not met before. We hit it off immediately and although we lived three hours away from one another, we spent the next six months commuting every weekend so we could be together. It didn’t take long for me to up roots and move down to Cornwall so we could be together permanently and three months later Tom popped the question on my birthday by the beach.
We got engaged 13 months before our wedding, and our immediate thoughts were that we wanted an outdoor humanist wedding. In England this can be tricky, especially in May but we decided to go for it by having a small marquee in our garden. Thank god we did! The sun was out but it was rather windy…so the tent was perfect. The ceremony was perfect too with the whole congregation crying throughout our personnel vows. It was incredibly heartfelt but lots of fun too. We sang ‘I’m a Believer’ by The Monkees and ‘Get by with a little help from My Friends’ by the Beatles. Everyone sang up and the ceremony was exactly as we dreamt it would be. We were blown away and grinning from ear to ear.
Our friends, family and bridal party were amazing throughout the whole weekend. Their support towards preparing for the day was unbelievable and to have such a dedicated team, so happy to help actually brought me to tears. Their love and support was so appreciated. We really wanted to inject our own personality into our day and as my husband is an amazing carpenter, he decided to hand-make our bar and coffee tables, the table centre blocks and cake stand. His help and enthusiasm towards the day made all my dreams possible. I loved my grandmother deeply, so to have her presence at our wedding was very important to me. We decided to paint the vintage furniture she’d left me in her will, and we placed the pieces within the marquee. Having her handmade tapestry stool sitting there made my day.
My dress was so enjoyable and I’d spent months looking forward to wearing it. I felt it was very ‘me’ but perfect for an English sea-side wedding too. Tom looked so adorable and I’m pleased we spent the time to ensure he felt so comfortable in his attire. As a film editor, jeans and t-shirts are his everyday look, so to see him so dressed up was amazing. I’m also very proud that our family went all out with their hats! We’re British, so hats are a must! I was truly proud of their parade on our behalf.
Lastly, the fly-by which was arranged as a complete surprise blew us away. We were in total shock but it was truly amazing and it was the icing on the cake. We loved every second of our day and we’re just so grateful to have had Marianne as our photographer too. It was very important to us that our photos captured our day as we felt it inside and as we wanted to remember it. Marianne’s style suited us perfectly, and they will be a lifelong memory of the magic and excitement we both felt on the day.
Photography: Marianne Taylor Photography | Event Planning: Sarah Vaux | Flowers: George MacKay Flowers | Dress: Naomi Neoh | Invitations: Charlie Scribble | Shoes: Benjamin Adams | Bridesmaids dresses: Phase Eight | Caterer: The Park, Mawgan Porth | Band: The Modern Way through Alive Network | Groom's Attire: Paul Smith | Bridesmaids robes: Plum Pretty Sugar | Humanist celebrant: Zena Birch