The Scarlet Hotel Elopement Wedding

Aude and Ryan

I was lucky enough to shoot Aude and Ryan’s elopement at The Scarlet Hotel. Certainly, ‘The Scarlet’ is the perfect venue for elopements, tucked away in it’s intimate setting on the Mawgan Porth cliffs. For example, I photographed Aude and Ryan’s ceremony as it was conducted quietly and sedately away from the main hotel. Most importantly, the reception lounge and it’s balcony where ceremonies take place overlook the beach.

Dancing in the rain

I first met Aude and Ryan in The Scarlet Hotel reception atrium. After much online chatting and banter with them both, I thought they would be super fun to shoot. Therefore, as soon as I set eyes on the ridiculously good-looking couple, I knew I wasn’t wrong! Similarly, when they were dancing in the rain in front of my lens within 10 minutes it only served to strengthen my opinion.

Game of Thrones

So, more on the dancing in the rain! In addition to Aude and Ryan both being international hairstylists of mystery for Game of Thrones, they know what they want when it comes to photography. For instance, one of the first things that Ryan said in his messages was “we want photos with moody skies!”. In other words, Cornwall in October! Above all, Aude and Ryan wanted bad weather for their wedding day at The Scarlet Hotel?! To clarify, I asked them to bring umbrellas just in case. Of course, they forgot them! No sooner had we left the safety of The Scarlet Hotel and set foot on the beach, the heavens opened! Aude and Ryan took a Cornish drenching for 5 minutes. I snapped away through the downpour and they came out the other side still smiling! After that, they were compeltely carefree!

Traditional film

After a flurry of champagne fuelled pirouettes in newly formed sandy puddles, we decided to shelter in a cave. As luck would have it, Mawgan Porth beach has many such caves hewn into the cliffs. Aude and Ryan continued their courtship rituals (I mean dances!). I continued to shoot photos of their beautiful silhouetted forms. Anyone that knows me, knows that I like to shoot on traditional film cameras. I used my Hasselblad camera containing black and white film as monochorome suited the scene perfectly. Similarly, the camera’s square format lent itself to a composition of the craggy cave entrance. Unfortunately I was so engrossed in the task at hand, when I switched back to my Sony digital cameras I forgot about the Hasselblad on the rock next to me.

Hasselblad absence

But, it wasn’t until we were back in The Scarlet Hotel that I noticed the Hasselblad absence. After many more laughs (and tears) shooting the rest of Aude and Ryan’s special day, I went back to look for the Hasselblad. Firstly, there were small tides that day, meaning that the cave was not full of sea water when I returned. But the camera was no longer there! I made enquiries at all the beach front businesses, including The Catch restaurant and Merrymoor Pub. The owner of The Catch had overheard some local dogwalkers saying they’d heard someone saying they’d found a camera! After that, things came together.

The lady that had found the camera was a holiday-maker from Coventry. We will call her lovely lady! She contacted The Merrymoor asking if anyone had lost a camera. In short, the kind staff at the pub put me in touch with lovely lady and she sent the Hasselblad back to me! I have had the camera for over 20 years so it has a lot of sentimental value. Moreover, I use it all the time!

Thank you to Aude and Ryan for being the best, all the staff at The Scarlet Hotel, The Catch and The Merrymoor in Mawgan Porth and lovely lady for reuniting me with my Hasselblad.

If you’d like to book me for your wedding photography, please see my investment page.

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