Jason and Olivia - a secret ceremony on a beautiful day x

Allow me to introduce you to Jason and Olivia.

This very beautiful couple live locally to us, and on their engagement, asked if they could have their ceremony at our house. 

Although our diary was squeezed, we just had to do something for this couple. Besides, I have spent about a year playing on a netball team with Olivia. We have that kind of solidarity one can only understand when faced with a whole bunch of very scary, and competitive, north Devon women, ready to breathe their onion-based dinner in your nostrils, every Monday evening.

The date also coincided with a rare mid-week afternoon when the house was empty for a few hours. So we went for it!

The day before, we went through the rehearsal. It was a gorgeous sunny day and we all hoped it would hold for the next day.

I met Sam (on the left) who was going to be responsible for the music, playing through an IPOD. He looks way too chilled for such a high level of responsibility! 

Olivia and her dad Quentin, practised the timing of the walk to the music. It was pretty emotional (for everyone except the couple themselves! LOL!), and this was just the practice.

And when the day arrived...the sun came up trumps.

The lawn was mowed, the leaves were blown, 

the roses trimmed, and the fabric under the Rose Arbour put in its place.

The chess set was ready

and we popped a hundred new, white chairs onto our lawn.

It is a legal requirement for civil ceremony venues, that we must display a sign which gives the names of the couple to be married, and the time of the ceremony. 

It also always makes for a nice pic.

Kelly from offshore blooms arrived with all the beautiful flowers. There were many kiln jars, as well as bunches of Gypsophila for our gorgeous driftwood planters (handmade by a lovely groom/now friend from his wedding here, a few years ago), many buttonholes and a lovely bouquet (more on those later).

 We were ready.

Olivia arrived first and we literally helped her 'tunnel' into her stunning gown. Olivia's mum (Sharon) and sister came with her and together they drank Prosecco and spent time trying not to cry, while buttoning up the dress.

Olivia's sister, Jordan, was Matron of Honour. There is something about Jordan that reminded me of Pippa Middleton! 

Matt Fryer (on the right) was their chosen photographer, and I already know he has some cracking shots (which I will be sharing on our FaceBook Page very soon)

 Jason arrived, in a striking Hugo Boss suit, looking very focused..

until Quentin came and gave him that father-in-law-to-be shoulder-grip/pat (depending on how you translate this pic). Jason and Olivia have known each other since university days so there is a lot of great history with the families.

Sharon too, left her daughter to wish blessings on her son-in-law-to-be.

So many captions, so little time...(thought you'd like this one Olivia!)

I popped into the Snug to give the girls the news that IT WAS TIME. They all came together, held hands and started sharing such gorgeous words to their sister and daughter that I stepped away. 

It was a really precious moment.

Olivia chose to walk round to the base of the long Rose Arbour at the bottom of the Italian Garden, to start the walk to the alter. 

Now might be a good moment to mention about Olivia's dress. Both the dress and the veil came from Frilly Frocks in Barnstaple (the dress is Viera by Scottero and Midgley) and her shoes were gorgeous flat gold sandals from Accessorize.

Jason's nieces Jasmine and Chloe made very lovely bridesmaids, as they took the first steps towards the guests waiting in the garden.

Jordan went next. 

I'm wondering what lovely last words, Quentin is saying here.

After a quick reshuffle of the train,under the Arbour,  they're off,

and into the loving vibes of close family and friends, who have supported them all the way and will continue to support them in their marriage.

They walked in to 'Butterfly' by Mad Dod Mcrea. It was highly evocative of summer and well, butterflies actually! I love it so much I am going to download it as my soundtrack of this summer.

It all felt so relaxed and informal with guests sitting on the wall and children playing around. Lovely.

Even little Oscar seemed to enjoy it!

I love the symbolism of this. Father handing over his daughter to her Groom to be her partner for life.

Sharon gave a great reading. She told me afterwards that she has always had a thing about hands and the stories that they hold, so naturally she was drawn to this poem and knew it was perfect for this day.

Brad, Jason's big brother, was the best man. It is such a shame I only managed to capture his back as he looked very handsome in his suit (from Next) and his (the groom's and all the ushers) amazing shoes were Loakes.

All the flowers, the buttonholes and the bouquets were made up of Tanacetum daisies, Gypsophila, Cornflowers, Craspedia, and Senecio. Together they created a natural, country air to the look of the wedding.

Jason's sister, Sarah, had written a beautiful speech for the happy couple.

It is no surprise, after hearing/reading this, that Sarah studied English Literature at Uni!

It was very moving; to the extent that Jason suddenly found the need to don his sunglasses..

and then everyone found the need to don their sunglasses!

The vows were made,

and the wind blew the veil at the perfect moment. Love this pic.

Someone looks happy :)

A few last words from the Registrar and then Sam began cranking up 'Best Day of my Life' by American Authors for the walk to the Terrace...

via a storm of confetti!

A cold beer and glass of Prosecco awaited them.

As guests milled, took photos and talked about the gorgeous ceremony,

an impromptu line-up formed. Everyone was keen to wish their new Mr and Mrs Slade well. 

Beer in hand, vows complete - Jason looks happy (and very handsome - can I say that?)

 Olivia grabs the chance for a pic with her new mum-in-law Leslie and sister-in-law Sarah.

Jason's nephew and usher, Kieran, had an unfortunate incident a couple of weeks ago when he broke his leg whilst playing on a play frame in our local park. On a bad note, he was on crutches and had to cut off his new suit leg.. on a brighter note, he has some great messages on his cast and missed a whole day of school :)

Family gather for impromptu group pics.

Our friend Gemma (Jason's sister) with her scrumptious son Oscar.

This one made me smile! The balloon above Jason's head is actually a birthday balloon, because the wedding date coincided with Olivia's birthday!

Jason and Gemma.

Before we knew it, it was time for everyone to head up to the nearby Plateaux. This is a gorgeous flat piece of land, owned by our neighbours, which overlooks the sea. 

There was a marquee set up ready and waiting for the guests to enjoy the rest of the day. 

Once there, Olivia swapped her veil for a gorgeous Gypsophila headpiece, and removed her shoulder straps on her gown.

More photo's were taken with the beautiful backdrop of Putsborough beach, and from all accounts, a great night was had by all! 

(Meanwhile I went on to run a stall at the school fete, which involved throwing sponges at people trapped in stocks - it's a glamorous life!)

Mr and Mrs Slade - it was a complete joy to have your wedding ceremony here. Your family has been through unimaginable times over recent years; but this day, this special day, was a complete celebration.  The love your family have for you is palpable and will carry you through the marriage to come.

 With love from us all at Pickwell

x

Katie and Ellis - beautifully traditional and flower-full of love!

Katie and Ellis had an early June wedding. Their vision was for a relaxed celebration weekend.

In the many months of planning, Katie and Ellis really took time in making sure that the weekend reflected care and love for all who they invited. They both love to laugh and have a brilliant and quick sense of humour!  On the weekend itself, everyone who came, created a really special atmosphere with some real laugh out loud moments for our gorgeous couple!

The weekend began with the arrival of the groceries.  Katie and Ellis arranged for breakfast hampers to be put in each of their guest's apartments to make sure guests were set for the Big Day! Here's Katie organising the food....

And all the family members joined in to make sure they were delivered to each apartment. Here is Ellis' mum Lynda - she was on hand to make sure all jobs on the "to do" list were ticked off.

The next arrival was the table centre pieces. I'll explain about these amazing flowers in a moment, but look at how gorgeous these are:

The amazing person behind these flowers is Jenny, also known as 'the flower fairy', 'Superwoman' and 'Katie's Mum'!  When I first met her, she told me she was going make up all the arrangements for Katie and Ellis' wedding. She said "they won't be any good, but they will be full of love."  She was mostly right - they were definitely full of love, but they were beautiful!

Here's Jenny hard at work, delegating to Grandma.

Even Auntie Carol was roped into the operation.

Jenny has never had any flower arranging training, she read a book on flower arranging and has clearly taken to it like a duck to water!

The colours all matched Katie and Ellis' colour schemes of pale peach and ivory.

Operation Flowers was a mammoth task, but everyone helped and it was a lot of fun! 

Here's Katie joining in!

Katie's wonderful friend and bridesmaid Sam, made for her this gorgeous table plan. It has all the places they will visit on their adventurous honeymoon!

Katie's brother Rob had the important task of delivering the beautiful wedding cake which a family friend made - all the way from Essex to North Devon - must have been a tense journey!

Providing the humour throughout the weekend, was the task given to Howard, Ellis' best man and big brother. I put my foot in it as soon as I met him, by saying he looked just like Ellis.....  Clearly it's the other way round, Howard is on the left, and our gorgeous groom, Ellis on the right!

Here we have some special wedding ducks, looking after a gift from some friends!

This is a glimpse of the "backstage" Pickwell wedding bit - Team Elliott getting the real ale keg ready for Saturday's fun!

In the evening, everyone headed over to the Village pub, The Kings Arms, for some hearty dinner, and one or two drinks before making sure everyone got their beauty sleep!

Saturday morning was a hive of activity in Bliss - the apartment that Katie and the girls got ready in.  Nat from Changing Faces made our beautiful bride and her best girls hair, even more beautiful!

While Rebecca also from Changing Faces did their make up.

Katie even organised for the girls to get their nails done in the morning!

There was such a lovely atmosphere of the girls getting together and having a good giggle!

Katie's bridesmaids Annie and Caroline made her this amazing scrapbook documenting her Hen do - sounded amazing, kayaking, games and lots of fun - such a sweet idea!

Notice these super cool dressing gowns Katie bought for all her bridesmaids - you can only just see it, but in sparkly writing it says "Bridesmaid" on the back, here's Annie modelling hers.

Even Lynda had one "Mother of the Groom"!

Now, I had so much fun being around the girls getting ready, I totally forgot to look in on the boys!  The first I saw of Ellis was when he made the transformation into groom and took his place greeting his guests.

Our groom and his best boys looked very handsome in their navy blue suits

And then it was time for the bride to make her walk down the aisle, bridesmaids first.

Then Katie with her lovely dad, Kevin.

Katie and Ellis had a beautiful and atmospheric ceremony in our ballroom, with twinkling tea lights, and the beautiful flowers Jenny had made. Katie walked down the aisle to one of my favourite songs - "Yours" by Ella Henderson.

During the signing of the register, their talented friend and bridesmaid, Tiffany, sang and played the guitar. It was so special and meaningful - it created a truly magical ceremony.

Here you can just about see their lovely photographer Georgina from Panache Photography capturing the newly weds walking up the aisle together!

After the ceremony, the new Mr and Mrs, and their guests, enjoyed some delicious canapés - 

yummy Devon crab,

And gorgeous local Beef.

The ballroom was set up for the wedding meal,

And although it was drizzly outside, it didn't stop our bride and groom heading out to get some private photo's of just the two of them, in front of the house!

After photo's the bride and groom greeted everyone as they entered the Ballroom for the delicious wedding meal.

Guests enjoyed this beautiful chicken and avocado starter.

And our caterers Guess Who is Coming to Dinner really outdid them with a rack of lamb, dauphanoise potatoes and seasonal local vegetables. Sadly I missed taking a photo of the main course, but I did get one of the guests enjoying the delicious meal!

And the pudding is a favourite of mine: passion fruit parfait with a mango coolie - so fresh and scrummy!

And then it was time for the speeches. Dad, Kevin, proudly took centre stage first to speak for his daughter.

Ellis gave a heartfelt, humorous and beautiful speech, thanking all family and friends for their love and support.

And then, Howard gave one of the funniest best man's speech we've heard. In a "This is your Life" style, Howard covered off Ellis' life in only the way a brother can. I cannot repeat a lot of it, but it opened with: 

Now, there are some things you never do in life: 

1. Eat yellow snow

2. Shout bomb on a plane

3. Wee on an electric fence

4. Compliment a man's watch while at a urinal

5. Ask your brother to do your best man speech!

Following speeches, guests headed to the Terrace for coffees, Devon fudge and a group photograph.

Katie and Ellis cut their wedding cake with a knife Jenny gifted to them when they got engaged. I am certain it will be used to cut several more significant cakes in their lives together.

After cutting the beautiful cake, they made their way onto the dance floor for the first dance!

It wasn't long before EVERYONE joined them!

Well, when I say everyone, I mean most...  others found the garden games more appealing in the evening!  Ellis is a big fan of garden games so brought along lots to add to tennis and giant chess.  This little one enjoyed a spot of evening cricket!

Meanwhile Ellis and bridesmaid Caroline enjoyed a shot of wedding day tequila!

Katie and Ellis, you have both been a joy to get to know, your wedding weekend was one that was full of laughter and such beautiful moments. We hope you and your family will all visit us again.  But in the meantime, all of us at Pickwell wish you both a lot of luck and happiness in your epic backpacking trip around South America!

Mucho amor y felicitaciones! 

Much love and Congratulations!

xxx

Ellie and John Jo's beautiful 'garden party' wedding

As spring met summer, Ellie and John Jo had a gorgeous wedding with spring flowers and heart warming, balmy Devon sunshine.  They wanted a relaxed "garden party" feel to their day: garden flowers, bunting, cool colours, and twinkling tea lights.

Meet Ellie and John Jo - our completely gorgeous couple:

Over the course of a year, they had meticulously planned a perfect weekend. Beginning on the Friday, Ellie, her lovely Mum and Dad (Lesley and Stuart), John Jo, and his cool surfer mum (Carol), decorated the house.

Look at the beautiful favours. Wild flower sachets in these cute bags,  all sewn by Lesley.

Lesley also made all the bunting, with some help from Ellie and Carol too.  It was a mammoth task, but well worth it, as everywhere looked so pretty. There was bunting outside, inside and even on the bar!

Here's a photo of Charlie from The Real Cut Flower Garden who grows all the flowers she works with in her own garden.  Ellie and John Jo wanted in-season flowers, so Charlie's flowers were perfect!

The wild flowers really lifted the entrance hallway.

These beautiful lanterns, which Ellie made from old jam jars, made the Bride's aisle look magical!

The vintage china completed the garden party look in the Ballroom.

And Voila! The Ballroom was ready for the next day.

There was a really chilled vibe at Pickwell on the Saturday morning,  John Jo and his best boys enjoyed a full english breakfast.

Meanwhile, Ellie, Lesley and Stuart had tea and soaked up some morning sunshine at the back of the house - she had to make sure the groom wouldn't see her before the moment!

Although the Saturday was Ellie and John Jo's wedding day, it was also a very important day for their niece. Grace is 2 years today! Ellie popped to Grace's apartment to give her a big birthday present!  It looks like Henry wanted to wear the birthday badge though!

And then it was time to get ready, here are Ellie and her sister (and Bridesmaid) Janine having hair and make up by Gemma and Gemma from Changing faces.

Getting ready is one of my favourite parts of the wedding day - just the girls, a few glasses of fizz, hair spray, make up and lots of laughter as they help each other into their wedding clothes!  Here is Ellie helping Abi, her other Bridesmaid and best friend, into her fabulous bridesmaid dress.  

And then Janine too (massive thanks to Rebecca Roundill, Ellie and John Jo's lovely photographer for letting me use some of her wonderful photo's for this blog - you'll see some more in a moment!)

Then, it was time for Henry and Grace to get in their page boy and flower girls clothes. Completely adorable!

Meanwhile, the boys were having their own fun getting ready.

Best Man Guy explores other purposes for a tie!

Finally, we get to see Ellie in her Wedding dress. As you can see, she looks stunning.  The lace and the little bit of sparkle is glamorous and effortlessly cool - the dress was perfect for Ellie!

While Ellie was chatting through formalities with the registrar, the Bride and Groom's mothers, Lesley and Carol took a moment!

And then it was time for the Bride to walk down the aisle, a few tears and a quick kiss... 

...proud Stuart led his daughter towards the Rose Arbour.

Here's a photo of the ceremony, the guests stand to welcome the bride to really beautiful music by Sorelli Strings. It was a really meaningful ceremony, a few tears and lots of cheers!

Here are the newly married MR and MRS as their guests throw confetti over them (Again, I wish I could take credit for this, but this is the talented Rebecca Roundhill)!

After the ceremony, guests enjoyed Pimms and fizz on the Terrace in the sunshine.

And tucked into some delicious canapés, thanks to our wonderful and super talented caterers Guess Who is Coming to Dinner? 

While some guests enjoyed getting involved in our garden games! I think Henry fancies his chances at Wimbledon later this year - watch out Murray!

This gave Ellie and John Jo a quick moment to sneak away to our woods for some atmospheric wedding photos - they really are a gorgeous couple!

It was time for the Wedding meal! All guests took their seats to welcome in Ellie and John Jo.

*Confession alert* I put my camera down somewhere and lost it for a while during the wedding, (which is why I am grateful to Rebecca Roundhill for her photo's) but it means I only managed to take a photo of the delicious starter - Black Sea Bream! They had a beautiful Rack of Lamb main course with dauphanoise potatoes and local Devon vegetables, and a summery Eton Mess for desert.

Stuart began the speeches, he said such sweet things about Ellie - such a great Dad!

John Jo's speech included an all important singing of 'Happy Birthday' for Dear Grace!

And then came Guy's speech.....  Can you tell how the groom was feeling about this last speech??!

In actual fact, Guy's speech was hilarious and heart felt in equal measure. No-one could have laughed any more.... or been more teary at the end, least of all him! Well done Guy! You certainly deserved that Whisky!

I must share this photo with you, while the speeches were going on, Henry decided he'd had enough of all the grown up chatter, and found this awesome wig in the photo booth props box! 

Ellie and John Jo love their cheese and so decided that for their wedding cake they would have a cheese cake!  All locally sourced from West Country Cheese, here in Barnstaple.

While everyone went outside for a group photo, the Pickwell team transformed the Ballroom ready for a fun evening of dancing!

The Bride and Groom cut their cake

And the first dance began.

It wasn't long before they were joined by all of their family and friends!

Ellie and John Jo had a great idea for their photo booth, a personalised banner with their own props!

The homemade lanterns twinkled outside as the evening came to a close, it had been such a beautiful day!

In the morning, bright eyed and bushy tailed, Ellie and John Jo and their guests enjoyed a delicious cooked breakfast courtesy of our chef Lee and his team.

They were able to relive the wedding day and share stories of who's dance floor moves were the best, or who had the funniest photo in the Photo Booth, as well as say a meaningful thank-you and good bye to all their guests.

And then it was time to leave Pickwell, although not without one last trick from John Jo's best boys! What's that rattling noise.........?!  

Ellie and John Jo, it has been a delight to meet your families and all of your friends, the care and consideration for those you love showed in volumes - it has been a joy to see your wedding grow from your ideas to a wonderful reality!

See you soon when you are in North Devon again

xxx

Ruth and Jonathan's wedding with a Scottish twist!

Here is Ruth and her gorgeous sisters, I wish you could hear their lovely Scottish accents through the photograph! When this photo was taken they had just taken all of the food baskets around the apartments. Unfortunately a small rain shower happened and they got a bit soggy! 

Sarah and Louise were wonderfully helpful with set up. Jonathan was on childcare for the day, looking after their daughter Arabella, leaving the girls free to get cracking.

Silver vintage tea lights and little vases of roses set off the fireplaces superbly.

Hydrangeas are in full bloom at this time of year and looked great in white pots on the window sills. It was lovely that these could easily be given away as presents or taken home to plant after the wedding.

The ballroom was laid up in two long banquet style tables, with more Roses, Hydrangeas and silver tea lights down the centre. 

Deryn from 'Twigs' was the florist for the weekend. The Hydrangeas again in this display looked amazing and picked up the pink and white theme.

So after a meal at the Rock Pub on Friday night, Saturday morning preparations began. The boys met for a beer and put on their button holes. I got rather a shock on Friday when I realised I went to sixth form college with 'the master of ceremonies', Simon (third from the right). I haven't seen him for 23 years, it brought lots of memories flooding back....you haven't changed a bit!

This was Simon back in the day (the one on the left), he always was the cool one with his bow tie undone, even before the Ball started!

 Ruth's dress was absolutely gorgeous, it had a pink hue that added a delicate softness to the overall effect. Thank you Pete Cox, Ruth and Jonathan's talented photographer, for the photos.

Stunning!!

Beautiful bouquet...

Now time for the kilts! Ruth's dad, Liam, was sporting his as they walk down to the rose Arbour. His sporran came in very handy for storing everyone's lipstick. Good old dad!

Here is the adorable Arabella walking in with Donna (Ruth's bridesmaid and oldest friend).

How cute and so well behaved!!

The ceremony was both wonderful and emotional, especially when Jonathan welled up....tissues anyone? It also had a delightfully relaxed feel, with the children sitting at the front on a rug.

Then drinks to celebrate, Prosecco or beer in the sunshine....

Served by the lovely Ollie and Will

Delicious canapes, two of of which were fresh crab tarts or....

Black Bream with lemon and ginger, scrummy!

Just caught Pete, the photographer, having a quick slurp of elderflower presse between snaps.

The happy couple.

The youngest kilted member of the clan....sooooo gorgeous!!

Speeches were in the Italian Garden before dinner. The three best men were brilliant and even had handouts!!

And so to dinner.

The place settings were pegged to glasses with tiny pink pegs.

The ballroom really did look splendid. This was the first outing of our new Pickwell chairs.

The children had their own table in the Snug, with lots of fun entertainment.

They had the same main course as the adults, just a mini portion. 

To start was English Asparagus, wrapped in Parma ham, with fresh Parmesan, served with a homemade wholegrain roll and butter.

For main course, there was local fresh fish Pie served at the table or.....

Devon beef and ale pie all served with Lyonnaise potatoes and a hand tie of fresh vegetables.

Pudding was Ruth's Cranachan, a traditional Scottish desert served with homemade shortbread on the side.  I can almost smell the wee dram of Whiskey in that cream!

Ruth is a real cheese lover, so a cheese cake it was! Supplied by our lovely local cheese shop in Barnstaple 'The West Country Cheese Company', where you can go and have a tasting and choose your cheese layers.

Cutting of the cake heralded the start of the evening celebrations.

Then the first dance. Jonathan loves his music, so had a significant part in choosing the playlist for the night. Alex from 'Off Beat Entertainment' did a great job, I think most guests barely left the dance floor....

...apart from the twilight tennis players.

Cheese and biscuits kept the dancers going.

This was our first night stocking real ale from our new local micro brewery the 'Braunton Brewery'. I made sure I got feedback from the guests and there was unanimous approval. 

The guest book provided great entertainment. Guests were asked to photograph themselves with the Polaroid camera and then stick the photo into the book with a message.

The fun of a selfie!

Congratulations Mr and Mrs Green! We felt so privileged to have hosted your wedding here and have loved every part of the journey with you. We are so glad that you have a holiday house down here, so we know it will not be the last we see of you and the gorgeous Arabella!

Our First 2015 Wedding- Sam and Andy's Spring Wedding

Sam and Andy had always wanted a small intimate wedding. Their idea was to spend wonderful quality time with their nearest and dearest whilst they celebrated their marriage. Well they certainly achieved that, their wedding had such an amazingly special atmosphere to it!

May I introduce you to Sam with her brilliant parents, Leslie and Duncan, who as you can see were ready for wedding preparation action.

Leslie and Duncan have a really lovely group of friends, who have clearly been a very important part of Sam's life. Here is Ann helping with afternoon tea set up. 

It turns out that Sam is a women of many talents!! Here she is making her own bouquets....

which looked fantastic!

This is the amazing cake that she also made herself!!

Here we have the groom, Andy, doing his bit. Andy and his mum, Liz, put up the photo strings.

How cute were they as little things!

It turns out that Leslie is also a dab hand with flowers, she put together all of the table centres.

Didn't she do well! The Freesias smelt so wonderful.

That was just the start of the flowers!

Here is Claire from Amaryllis adding the finishing touches to the fabulous staircase arrangement.

She also did these gorgeous mantle piece garlands and... 

the display behind the ceremony table. Claire is so hard working, her flowers take hours and you can really see why, beautiful!

With the house all ready, it was time to welcome guests up to Bliss lounge for afternoon tea. Leslie, Sam's mum, had baked the most amazing selection of cakes, each of which had its very own label.

The label photo shoot looked fun!

The cakes were delicious (I was 'forced' to try some, which didn't take much persuasion as they were scrummy!)

The afternoon tea was such a fantastic start to the wedding weekend, adding to the relaxed atmosphere. Then off to the King's Arm's private upstairs dining room for dinner, perfect!

The morning of the wedding, the girls got ready in Bliss apartment, with the help of the hair and makeup team from Colorseum, Bideford.

After a relaxing walk to the beach, Andy met with the best man (Alex) and his father in law to be (Duncan), to put on buttonholes. What a handsome bunch!

Duncan nervously waited outside Sam's door before he saw her for the first time in her beautiful dress....an emotional moment!

She looked so gorgeous!

They made their entrance across the terrace into the ballroom.....

where their nearest and dearest were waiting.

After a very intimate and special ceremony, it was onto the terrace for drinks and canapes, where the sun was now shining, whoop, whoop!

Scones and bubbles, yum! The Wisteria in bloom is really magnificent in Spring...

and so are the Bluebells. This is one of my favourite times of year, the woods are completely magical!

Here are Sam and Andy emerging from having photos amongst the Bluebells with their lovely photographer, Rebecca Roundhill. We can't wait to see the official photos, if the amazing engagement photo shoot at Putsborough beach is anything to go by!

Speeches were in the Italian garden with the sun shining, MC'd by Kate, the both beautiful and funny bridesmaid (Sam and Kate have been best friends since they were little).

So then in for dinner, with 29 guests the ballroom was set up with one large oblong table. This gave a great atmosphere where people could chat across to each other.

In between courses, guests filled out their 'notes to the bride and groom'.

Another lovely idea!

There was a surprise treat during coffee, Victoria, the best man's partner sang. She is a professional singer, so it was a nice surprise. In fact it was more than nice, it was both amazing and moving, with not a dry eye left in the house afterwards!!  Well done Victoria!!

The cake really was fab!

Then the first dance kicked off the evening celebrations.

Sam and Andy had made a photo booth out of the cherub settle.

How cool was this cherub!

Somehow the dressing up things made it onto the dance floor....

Leslie!?!

Congratulations Mr and Mrs Bassingthwaighte, I have loved being part of your wedding journey, you are a very special and wonderful couple and we wish you every happiness in your adventures through life together!

Rob and Kat's Natural, Local and Coastal Wedding

This was a proper local wedding and a celebration of the things that Rob and Kat love the most: 

their family, each other, Poppy the puppy and the great outdoors – especially the beach!

Rob and Kat brought a real sense of the laid back Devon vibe throughout the weekend. It all began on Friday with a cup of tea!

While Kat and her team decorated the ballroom with beautiful pieces of driftwood, candles and these beautiful pots of homemade Jam (made by Rob’s mum Mary and labels made by Kat).

Everyone then regrouped for the “Big Bunting Hang”. Amazingly, this was one piece of Bunting which Kat’s talented Mum made – it was the biggest piece of bunting I have ever seen – it zig-zagged across the whole length of the Ballroom! Everyone had fun hanging it… “to me, to you…!”

Rob and Kat together wrote an itinerary of their wedding weekend on our big chalkboard, so that everyone knew what was going on at different times of the day, and signed it off together!

Their beautiful wedding cake had this gorgeous cake topper made by Kat herself. While we were planning their wedding, at the meeting on her 'to do' list was always “make Rob” so it was great to see miniature Rob finally made and joining Kat and Poppy the puppy!

So on a blustery Autumn Saturday morning, Kat and her closest family and friends, started the day with a cup of tea in jammies! Meanwhile the boys were up early and headed off for an 11k run!

Bridesmaid Kate carefully laid out everyone’s beautiful dresses.

We got to see the beautiful Wedding Dress – a real classic gown with a contemporary twist -

and the Bride started to get ready.

Whilst everyone was getting ready, the very talented Kelly from Offshore Blooms arrived with Rob and Kat’s flowers – beautiful sunflowers – perfect for this outdoorsy, fun-loving couple. Kat decided on sunflowers after cycling past lots of these happy blooms earlier in the summer!

I took up the buttonholes to give to Rob – his Dad bore witness to Rob taking the box of beautiful blooms, in case Rob put them down and lost them!

Meanwhile, Kat showed a very beautiful response to her bouquet. She was so moved as it was an “I’m getting married today” moment.

Such a cheerful choice of flowers!

Here are three of the bridesmaids Claire, Charlotte and Emma with their bouquet’s. Having everyone get ready together is lots of fun, there was much laughter and cheer from Kat and Rob’s family!

After such an autumnal start, the day took a beautiful turn for Rob and Kat. The view across to Baggy Point was crystal clear – perfect for our beach loving couple.

Meet Kat’s gorgeous and very proud Dad, Tom, all dressed and ready to give Kat away.

Back in our apartment Affinity, the wonderful Hannah from Brighteye Beauty finishes Bridesmaid Claire’s Make-up.

While Amy from Tangles finishes beautiful Kat’s hair

While the girls finish getting ready and put their dresses on, the boys were busy in the apartment next door. In the background here is Mike Wells, Rob and Kat’s wonderful photographer.

Rob and his best boys are keen cyclists, so while I was chatting to Rob and his Dad, I was surprised when Best Man Ian walked in, in nothing but his “Crown Joules boxers” (all the boys wore these pants as it is a play on the surname of the Groom - you can buy your own here!) and these fabulous red spot socks! Red Spots for the Tour De France’s King of the Mountain! 

And of course the Groom wore yellow socks for the 'Yellow Jersey' or Tour de France Winner. One day Rob, you may win the actual Yellow Jersey… Just remember us at Pickwell when you do!

Kat and Rob were married at St Brannock’s Church in Braunton. Here we have the very handsome Groom and his best boys leaving for Church. We love the top hats - they are perfect for a Wedding.

Just before they left, just time for a groom photo with Rob’s mum, wearing blue for her boy!

As the boys were leaving, we got our first glimpse of Kat in her dress - stunning!

A moving picture of Mum with her daughter on her wedding day. Wedding days are such special moments for mum’s and Linda glowed all weekend with pride!

A stunning photo Mike Wells set up – I sneaked in to take this photo of Kat in front of our window in Affinity!

This is William; Kat’s brother and sister-in-law's son, who had a VERY important role as Page Boy!

Here is our Bride ready to be married at Church…

Followed by her wonderful bridesmaids.

Last minute check before everyone headed off – all looked beautiful; classic but still capturing Kat and Rob’s fun and laid-back Devon personality!

After the ceremony Kat and Rob stayed at the church for private photos. Guests headed back to Sunny Pickwell for Pimms, Ale and Cider – properly Devonshire! They also enjoyed some delicious canapés: Butterfly Prawns, Somerset Bree with tomato and pepper compote, Honey and Mustard Sausages and Yorkshire Puds with Devon Beef.

And here are the brand new Mr and Mrs Joules! 

They arrived back to cheers from all their family and friends.. Check out how beautiful the back of Kat's dress is!

Guests were seated to enjoy glasses of wine and sharing pies: scrummy Steak and Ale and local Chicken and Leek with a host of local seasonal veggies.

In-between courses, the MC read out telegrams from those guests who were unable to make it, but still wanted to send their blessings. Kat’s dad followed, who shared some lovely stories!

For their dessert, Rob and Kat were very decisive: Profiteroles! Our wonderful caterers made these blooming homemade profiteroles and served them with jugs of butterscotch and chocolate sauces. My favourite pud ever!

It was time for Rob’s speech. After gifting his parents a huge pear tree and other lovely plants, he shared stories of how he and Kat met. Kat was visiting her friend who was a housemate of Rob's. Rob claims, he walked into his lounge to find Kat watching 'Jeremy Kyle'… Kat's version is slightly different, she says she was watching 'This Morning'… either way, the rest is history!

Whichever the programme, I’m sure you both now have a fond place for daytime TV?!

Best Man Ian delivered a hilarious speech. He and Rob have been best friends forever.. and Ian had plenty of stories to share!

I love to see how different couples choose to create their guest books – Rob managed to capture the exact moment he proposed to Kat in the Caribbean and they used this defining image for guests to sign around. Amazing!

After the speeches, it was time to cut the wedding cake with a sword! The sword represents Rob’s time in the Armed Forces and is a special family heirloom.

In the evening, Rob and Kat had more friends join them, and they were welcomed with wedding cake, proper Devon Fish n' Chips and the first dance to 'Hey Ho' by The Lumineers!

They chose to have a second dance with everyone to “Happy” by Pharrell Williams.

The band then kicked in, beginning with “White Wedding.” 'The Garden Club' a local North Devon band were brilliant and played some rocking tunes which everyone danced to all night!

To end their amazing day, Kat and Rob’s family and friends gathered around them while they danced in the middle – so cute, a perfect end to a perfect wedding day!

Sunday morning, everyone was sprightly and enjoyed a hearty breakfast in Bliss and Affinity apartment lounges before guests set off for home.

Rob and Kat, you are an amazing couple and really looked after all of your family and friends over your wedding weekend. We loved seeing your wedding plans develop, meeting your friends and family and we so enjoyed your wedding. We’ll see you around North Devon! 

Lots of love and good wishes for your journey together as Mr and Mrs Joules! 

xxx