Corrina & James
Corrina & James
Ceremony and reception venue: Landulph Church and Pentillie Castle
We met...
On a dating app!
How did your proposal happen (when and where)?
We got engaged in Italy in September 2019. We were holidaying on the Sorrentine Peninsula close to the Amalfi Coast and on our first evening there, decided to take a sunset hike to a local beauty spot which had been recommended to us. The walk would take us to Punta Campenella, the most extreme point of the Sorrentine Peninsula and home of the mythical Sirens. We were told that if we timed it correctly, we would be able to watch the sun setting behind the nearby island of Capri, which sounded wonderful! We set off on our hike and sure enough, as we approached the end of the path we could see the sun beginning to set.
James asked if I would like him to take a photo and then proceeded to get down on one knee and start rooting around in his bag, seemingly for his camera, whilst I looked for a good spot for a photo. Noticing I had wandered off, James called me back over and then began to tell me how much he loved me, which, although very sweet, I did think was quite odd timing until I noticed that it was not his camera in his hand at all, but a ring box! The rest is a bit of a blur, but I of course said yes and we then had a wonderful evening celebrating.
Length of engagement…
We had planned a relatively short engagement of just 8 months, however, the world had other plans and after 2 postponements due to the pandemic we finally tied the knot 2 years after becoming engaged.
In three words, how did you imagine your wedding day?
Intimate
Relaxed
Elegant
How did you choose your venue?
We knew that we wanted a relatively small guest list and we also knew that we wanted our close family and the bridal party to be able to stay with us for the whole weekend. We were very much seeking the feel of a weekend getaway, that also happened to have a wedding in the middle. I had a couple of venues in mind already which we visited on our return home to Cornwall, however neither of them felt quite right.
We had become aware of Pentillie from watching the Sky drama ‘Delicious’ where it is used as the central filming location and James suggested we take a look around. I was initially reluctant, convinced it wasn’t right for us, however half way through being shown around, James whispered to me “you like it!!” and he was absolutely right, I was completely sold! We then visited a couple of local churches as we were to have a church wedding and fell in love with the one at Landulph, which is a very short drive from Pentillie. Everything had fallen in to place!
Often the aspect that makes a wedding original to the couple is the detail/theme – tell us about the special details of the day and how you implemented them (colours, theme decorations, centre pieces, favours, photo booths, DIY etc).
The details of our wedding did evolve quite a lot over time as planning a wedding for May is rather different to planning one for December, or October!
The colour palette we went with was quite neutral with muted greens, blush pinks and a soft champagne, as we wanted to keep things simple and pared back. Pentillie itself is already beautifully decorated, so all we added were some floral arrangements (which had also been used at the church) on mantels, tables and the banister to tie everything together. We had a harpist play both at the church and drinks reception which was just beautiful and really helped to create the ambience we were looking for.
We had one large horseshoe shaped table for our 50 guests, which was really important to us as it helped to create the intimate feeling we wanted. This was beautifully dressed by our wonderful florist with foliage and candles, as well as a larger floral piece at the top centre. Our wedding favours were champagne flavoured real wine gums and the place cards were all hand written in calligraphy by myself, as well as the table plan which I wrote on a large gold framed mirror. This had not been the original plan, but I needed a lockdown hobby and it seemed like a good use of my time!
Instead of a wedding cake, we decided to have a tiered tower of (mainly Cornish) cheeses, which we both prefer to cake. This also then acted as our evening food along with crackers, chutneys and other accompaniments. Not wanting our guests to miss out on a sweet treat however, we also hired a s’mores bar which was every bit as delicious as it sounds!
During the evening, we decided against a disco and instead hired a ceilidh band to play a couple of sets. We felt this would be more inclusive for our range of guests and would give us more time to spend chatting with them. The band and dance caller were absolutely fantastic and everyone commented on how much fun they had as well as how lovely it was to dance with lots of different people - it was real highlight of the day.
Were you inspired by anyone on social media? Pinterest/Instagram etc?
I used Pinterest mainly to look for examples of things like hair styles and flowers, which I liked to help give our suppliers a feel for what I wanted. I found this much easier than trying to describe it with words!
Please give a brief account of your wedding planning story i.e., priorities, highs & lows, challenges etc…
The biggest challenge for us was of course Covid-19 and the uncertainty it created. We were only 7 weeks away from the wedding when we first had to postpone due to lockdown and it was utterly heart breaking. Our second date in December could have gone ahead, however it would have been restricted to 15 people, which is not what we wanted and we are pleased now that we held out and were finally able to have the day we wanted in the end. We were extremely lucky in that all of our suppliers worked extremely hard to accommodate our ever changing plans and really supported us throughout. This is especially true of our Wedding Coordinator at Pentillie, without whom we would have been absolutely lost – she is one in a million!
What food did you choose for your day, wedding breakfast and evening buffet, and why?
Our wedding began on the Friday night with a Cornish cream tea and local Cornish pasties for our guests staying with us at Pentillie. We are very proud of our adopted home county and wanted to incorporate some of the food it is famous for into the wedding.
Our canapes mixed Cornish produce with a taste of Italy, nowhere more so than in the arancini – our favourite Italian street food snack with a Cornish twist in the shape of the crab filling. As a pescatarian myself, I didn’t want meat in any of the canapes and our caterers did a fantastic job with this producing a trio of items which were meat free, beautiful and delicious!
For our wedding breakfast, we offered guests a choice of 3 dishes for each of the courses and I wanted to make sure that the veggie and fish options were at least as good as the meat one. At least one caterer we looked at fell down in this area, which I found very disappointing, however the caterers we used rose to this challenge and produced the options of a Pollock and Haricot Bean Cassoulet or Mushroom Pithivier - both of which rivalled the meat option of Beef Rib in the selections made by guests. The starters and puddings were also both exquisitely presented and very tasty - the only complaint anyone had was that the portions were so generous they were struggling to finish!
What was the song for your first dance, and why?
Our first dance song was ‘Lover’ by Taylor Swift. I am a huge fan of hers and was very pleased James allowed me free reign to choose what I wanted. We were also lucky that our harpist offered to learn another of her songs ‘Love Story’ and played this at the church during the signing of the registers.
What was the most important investment for you? For example, food, drink, clothes, honeymoon?
For us, the most important things to spend on were the venue, the food, the photographer/videographer and the honeymoon. I think postponing the wedding so many times really put into perspective what was important and what was just details – which actually was super useful.
What was your favourite part of the wedding?
I can’t possibly choose one part! I loved every single second of the day and I wouldn’t change a thing.
What is your top tip for other couples?
Surround yourself with the people who mean the most to you and remember to enjoy it – everything else is just details.
Suppliers:
Dress: Wed2B
Grooms Suit: T M Lewin
Bridesmaids Dresses: Maya @ Asos
Hair & Makeup: Sjani @ Makeup by Ione
Flowers: Milli Fleur
Caterer: Divine Dining
Cake: The Cheese Shed
Additional Food: S’mores & More
Photographer: Noah Werth Film & Photography
Videographer: Tick Tock Films
Music: Ruth Wall Harpist & Bowreed Ceilidh
Our wedding coordinator Chrissie would be delighted to show you around Pentillie! To book a time to suit you, please call 01579 350044 or email weddings@pentillie.co.uk.