Ishbel & Tom's Whimsical Autumn Seaside Wedding at Wembury, Devon
If you come down to the sea today, you’re in for a big, whimsical surprise. Back in September, we journeyed beyond the border of our beloved Cornwall over to the far flung foreign lands of Devon. We joke, we love Devon but when you live at the very bottom of Cornwall, it’s not often we get an opportunity to explore much of the beautiful Devonshire county so we were super excited to capture Ishbel & Tom’s wonderful wedding at Wembury.
AN ALTERNATIVE, MAGICAL DEVON WEDDING
We’ve actually known Ishbel for a few years now, she’s the little sister of one of my best friends Ailsa of Ailsa Munro Bridal and Sarah has been doing their family photography for a few years, capturing the littlies as they grow. When Ishbel got in touch to book us for her wedding to her Tom, we worked out a date where we would all be free as there was no way we couldn’t be there to capture this most special day and we knew she would have such a unique vision for wedding.
When we arrived, we couldn’t believe our eyes. It was a beautiful sunny morning and Ishbel & Tom had set up a funky woodland style tipi out on the clifftops overlooking Wembury. The field had a wildflower patch and dreamy views down to St Werburgh’s church where they’d be getting married later that day.
Ishbel & Tom defied convention by getting ready together at a beautiful rented barn conversion in the village of Wembury with their families. They already owned a house together and wanted to do their couple photos in the morning at their favourite beach, Mothercombe Bay so they could spend more time in the afternoon with their guests. We love this idea and it meant we didn’t have to rush at the beach to get those pictures (We really hate dragging our clients away from their guests for photos and we always feel so guilty about it) and it meant that they got to make some lovely real memories on their wedding morning and get in the sea for a splash. We all ended up in the water… it was so good!
Ishbel & Tom were self proclaimed awkward in front of the camera and wanted really candid photos that showed their fun loving and mischievous personalities with lots of focus on their nephews and nieces who would be guests at the wedding. We ended up catching a touch of romance though, awkward or not but how can you help yourself on a wedding day? Even the most non-PDA of couples can’t resist a bit of romance or shedding a tear when their reading their vows or sharing a moment away from their guests. Personally, we thought they smashed it ;)
WEDDING DAY DETAILS
We headed to their favourite beach which was looking dreamy in the autumn light. Being the offseason and relatively early in the day, we almost had the entire place to ourselves! Another reason to do your photos before the wedding ceremony if you want to do a couple session by the sea… although perhaps this isn’t the option for the bride who’s wanting to keep her dress free of sand!
After a fun morning on the beach, it was time to head back to the barn to help the bridesmaids get ready and for Ishbel’s hair change. After opting for beautiful long, ethereal fairy hair for the relaxed beach photos, she wanted something a little more formal for the wedding ceremony and was having Lisa Gadsby the hair stylist craft an equally fairyish braided up-do.
Important wedding day advice!
Take Ishbel’s lead and make sure you eat lots of food before your wedding :P It’s easy to get caught up in all the excitement and forget to eat or the adrenaline will repress your appetite. You don’t want to be running on empty and having snacks to hand is always helpful. Who doesn’t love a pringle?
An autumnal church wedding at St Werburgh’s in Wembury
HWatts florist decorated urns outside the church beautifully with bushy, autumnal and elegant arrangements to match the bridesmaids velvet Jenny Yoo gowns which Ishbel sourced from America and were delivered via Submarine with a little help from her dad! Ish rocked up to the church in her dad’s VW Beetle (not a submarine this time) and added a beaded veil to her look before greeting her bridesmaids and heading inside to get married. Thick clouds rolled in from the bay as the congregation assembled and we were so glad we did the couple photos in the morning!
Just before dinner time, the winds rolled in off the sea and the guests took their seats ready to be served a delicious three course meal served by Pickle Shack. The food was So good! These guys definitely get our recommendation if you’re looking for creative wedding food that’s different to the usual.
Tom & Ishbel’s wedding was super family focused too so they put a lot of thought into making sure the littles were entertained with goodies at their place settings and blankets to snuggle up in in the evening.
DINNER & SPEECHES INSIDE A COSY TIPI
As the weather worsened, things just got cosier inside the tipi with all the fairy lights strung up. Tipi’s can be tricky for lighting so candles + fairy lights = lots of pretty, ambient light! Plus all the cosy feels. Creating an atmosphere with lighting at weddings is such a powerful tool for making a memorable day.
The couple had a traditional Ceilidh band play for the evening - a nod to Ishbel’s Scottish roots. Everyone had a real cosy time partying in the twinkly tent while the coastal drizzle rained down outside. It really was an ‘all the weather’s sort of September day which we think made it all the more magical.
We hope you enjoyed viewing their dreamy day!
Thanks Tom & Ishbel for braving the cameras and for a rad time :) Such a beautiful, family focused wedding.