Olivia and Rich, Chypraze Farm and Wedding Barn, Cornwall
Love & Loved bride Olivia shares the special moments of her wedding to childhood sweetheart Rich and tells us all about the personal touches, hand made decor and why they chose to elope to the Cornish coast.
It was Olivia’s happy childhood memories of Cornwall and Devon that lead the couple to choose the seaside town that would play host to their wedding day. Olivia tells us “Having holidayed in Devon & Cornwall most of my childhood with my family, it's a place that feels like a home away from home and it was a place that I introduced to Rich when we first got together. We naturally gravitated towards a venue on the South Coast.” Rich wanted a barn and Olivia wanted a sea view and remarkably they found exactly that! They went to view Chypraze Farm and Wedding Barn whilst on holiday in Cornwall and fell in love with it, they knew that's where they wanted to get married. Olivia Said “It had a really relaxed feel and felt just right.” Chypraze Farm and Wedding Barn is a rustic wedding venue on the cliffs of the North coast of Cornwall, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The property itself is a restored milking barn situated amongst stunning sea views and rolling beach. This rustic hidden gem was the perfect back drop and so Olivia and Rich kept their decor simple choosing to incorporate their hobbies within their scheme.
Olivia & Rich saying I do at their rustic barn wedding on the Cornish coast.
Simple ribbon garlands hung from the barns wooden beams and the couple said I do in front of an eye catching circular wedding arch adorned with a bright floral display predominantly made of Sunflowers, Olivia’s favourite flower.
Olivia knew she wanted earthy tones in their colour palette to suit the rustic barn setting. So they went for ochre, rust orange, teal and forest green. These colours were heavily featured throughout the wedding, from the Rewritten bridesmaid dresses all the way down to confetti and ribbons on their wedding cars!
Olivia with her bridesmaid wearing the Florence Wrap Dress from Rewritten
The brides floral lace wedding dress by E&W Couture sprinkled with confetti
The smaller decorative details for the wedding were a little nod to their hobbies and things that they love doing together such as their "Order of the Day" belly board. The couple love surfing and belly boarding and so they had a customised belly board made by Dick Pearce, a Cornish company based in Newquay which stood at the entrance to the barn. Having tested it out a couple of days after the wedding it is now pride of place in Rich's office at home on the wall!
Customised belly board Order of the Day sign
I asked Olivia what some of her favourite parts of the day were. She said “Where do I start?! I think one of my favourite things we made were our table decorations. These were mini pom pom garlands and each pom pom was one of our four main colours. I had pinned the idea even before we got engaged and it was something that Rich and I both really liked the idea of and, after many trips to Hobbycraft and sifting through various colours and types of wool it took off! Something that I loved was that the poms poms were made by us, in our little flat whilst binge watching series on Netflix. On the day of the wedding each of our guests turned them into something different such as necklaces, bracelets or an attachment to their wedding outfit!”
Groom Rich accessorising his waistcoat with their homemade pom pom garland
Another personal touch was the wedding favours. Olivia and Rich made S'mores in little cardboard boxes for each of their guests and had a fire pit lit after their first dance for everyone to go and enjoy them. It's something they always have on camping trips away and is something Olivia automatically associates with being by the coast. She says “it was just an amazing feeling to have all our guests gathered around a firepit enjoying them.”
S’mores wedding favours and a handmade pom pom garland for each guest
When it came to choosing her wedding dress, Olivia found the thought of dress shopping daunting. The couple got engaged in February 2022 and knew that they didn't want a massively long engagement. They had thrown around a few dates for May/June 2023 but she didn't actually start thinking about a dress until the last week of August 2022 and that's when she found Loved and Loved.
“I saw Vicky the first weekend in September and took my Mum, Mother and Sister in Law to be and was so nervous. I hated the idea of all the attention being on me and was scared that I would look frumpy and just wouldn't suit any wedding dress style but Vicky was so warm and welcoming and made the whole experience absolutely amazing. She totally understood everything I wanted and had lots of different ideas to offer and it felt like I was going to a friend's house to try on clothes. She was fantastic!” Olivia tried on 8-9 dresses and it was dress five, Fflur by E&W Couture that she put on and everything felt perfect. Olivia describes that moment as “probably one of the first times that I put on a piece of clothing and looked at myself in the mirror and thought "Wow, Liv you look great!". I loved everything about it but my favourite part had to be the sleeves!”
Olivia choose a relaxed style dress with a nod to the beachy, boho vibe of her day
The couple enjoyed photographs on the beach
Olivia completed her wedding day look with delicate jewellery and a customised jacket for when the sun went down in the evening. Olivia commissioned us to create a hand painted design that incorporated her wedding florals and colour scheme, including the brides favourite Sunflower. The casual vibes suited the atmosphere that the couple created, as guests relaxed around the fire and the bride and groom took some time out to stroll along the cliff edge and sandy beach.
Olivia’s unique hand painted bridal jacket
So what would be Olivia and Rich’s advise to other couples planning their wedding day? They would encourage other couples to soak up every moment because there is nothing like planning your dream day! Even if you have to do the table plan 10 times, soak it all up because it's amazing. Also, remember that it's your special day, don't try and please anyone else, you do you! That sounds like the perfect advise.
Suppliers:
Dress: Fflur by E&W Couture from Love & Loved
Photographer: Lilac Skies photography
Venue: Chypraze Farm & Wedding Barn
Confetti: Flutter darlings
Bellyboard: Dick Pearce