Amber & Ryan's Wildflower Intimate Spring Wedding at Pengenna Manor, Cornwall

Back in the late spring, Amber & Ryan celebrated their Cornish wedding with their nearest and dearest at the beautifully rustic barn & historic house venue, Pengenna Manor. It was a soft & misty sort of day with a light drizzle but that didn’t damper the celebrations or spirits of the bride, groom and their guests.

If you love all things romantic, countryside & rustic, read on…

A whimsical, wildflower wedding in Cornwall

Full Day Wedding Photography captured by Sarah

I love working at Pengenna manor as it’s such a beautiful and historic house and it has so many of the things that inspire our style and work; cobbled stones, bucolic scenes, rolling hills and rambling ancient buildings and barns. There’s so many nooks and crannies and I always love the view through the door of this 800 year old manor house.

I always get excited too when Emily Talling at 3 Acre blooms provides the flowers, we’ve worked a lot of weddings together this year! The moody light through the leaded windows made the perfect opportunity to create some dutch masters vibes photos with this english meadow garden inspired spring blooms. Just look at those perfect Scabious!

Another thing Jon & I both love when capturing weddings is capturing the little details that help relive the story of the day. Of course we love natural documentary and romantic portraits but we also love the little things that can often go unnoticed when you’re swept up in the excitement of the day. Little things like the seasonal flowers in bloom, how the sky looked… little signs of nature that encapsulate your day.

If you like pets, then this is the wedding for you! Our two favourite types of guests at weddings are pets and kids and this wedding had both! There’s always mischief to be had when you combine the two. This golden pupper Loki belonged to the bride and groom and he even had his own personalised neckerchief for the occasion.

The original dry weather plan was to have the ceremony in the little pagoda overlooking the hills but a wave of drizzle came in sending everyone into the cosy, stone barns instead. Amber & Ryan were wed beneath the string bulbs but just as the ceremony finished, the cornish mizzle gave way and we were able to head out to the pagoda for their confetti train. In keeping with their wildflower theme, they opted for eco dried petal confetti which not only looks beautiful but is naturally biodegradable. We always advise our clients to use biodegradable confetti and you can even dry and make your own easily if you opt for petal confetti.

The couple had two lovely homemade wedding cakes - a classic marzipan & fruitcake and a rustic victoria sponge decorated with garden flowers. The theme of the day was definitely meadow flowers as there were so many little pressed flower touches on jars and bottles, signs and a giant log ring acting as a cake stand.

Rather than a traditional suit, Ryan the groom and his groomsmen opted for a chinos & blazer waistcoat combo adding another shade of blue to the soft, dusky colour palette. It was such a pretty spring wedding with so many natural eco touches to the decorations with absolutely every decoration being homemade by the couple and their friends and family. It was a real DIY wedding.

We wandered down to the meadows, through the patches of wildflower borders for the couple photos while we had a dry spell and the valley was looking so verdant and fresh. Pengenna Manor is such a beautiful venue if you love the countryside and being immersed in nature and are looking to host a wedding that’s rustic and relaxed.

Some more rustic homemade touches to their decor… I loved their pressed flower bottles! They look like they’d be a great thing to decorate the home afterwards and keep fresh flowers in as a momento from the day.

Kids at weddings are the best! They’re always full of smiles and mischief. It was so nice to work at a dog friendly wedding venue too - I love it when couples bring their pets to their wedding day.

Speeches were held in the small marquee after dinner before we dashed outside with our umbrellas for some informal group photos.

The tiny but perfectly romantic little front garden to the manor house is one of my favourite spots. I like to keep the locations varied and creative for the group photos where possible and I can’t resist a historic house backdrop. Still can’t get over these dashing blooms by 3Acre. When Amber gave Emily the flower brief, Amber explained to me that she gave Emily free reign to do her thing with a loose ‘meadow’ theme and that’s always the best thing you can do with a creative. If you pick somebody, it’s because you love their style so giving them the opportunity to work their magic will always yield the best results. One of the biggest pieces of advice I’d always give when searching for wedding vendors, pick people who consistently produce work you love. If you want them to do something different that’s not in their usual style, that’s a red flag that they’re probably not the right vendor for you. Amber was besotted with her beautiful wedding flowers and they really complimented her romantic lacy, leafy wedding dress which had a very fairyish vibe.

Clear umbrellas are always a good choice at weddings too! They go with all colour schemes and don’t distract from the pictures too much. In fact, I even think they look quite cute when they’re covered in rain drops.

… and they’re always good fun for a cheeky shot or two like this.

As it was such an intimate wedding, Amber & Ryan held their first dance outside in the pagoda. I mean, why wouldn’t you with all those festoon lights twinkling in the mist and the rolling hills creating the most amazing backdrop. This is where a bluetooth speaker always comes in handy!

Even the bridesmaids got involved too.

As the sky turned dusky, the guests whipped out the sparklers for some fun. I love dusk sparkler photos as you can still see everyone’s faces in the pictures. Especially if your wedding is in midsummer when the nights are long and you want the kids involved in the fun, a dusky sparkler tunnel is an excellent solution and you don’t miss out on the twinkly magic.

Rather than a big dancing evening party, the congregation chilled out with some games and hanging out under the festoon lights winding down gently. Everything was so atmospheric in the mist. I had such a wonderful time capturing this dreamy, spring wedding in Cornwall and I hope you’ve found some inspiration if you’re also planning an outdoor wedding celebration. Always have a wet weather plan that you love just as much as the dry weather plan and don’t forget that a bit of Cornish mizzle can’t put a dampener on your day.

Thank you so much Amber & Ryan for having me capture such a special memory and treating me like one of the gang <3 Big hugs, Sarah x