BURNCOOSE ESTATE, REDRUTH

Poppy and Jack tied the knot on the 28th May this year, at the beautiful Burncoose Estate in Redruth. It’s a venue I’ve always wanted to capture a wedding at, and lucky for me, Poppy and Jack’s wedding was the 2nd one there in a month!

Reflecting on the beginning of the day, Poppy and her Bridesmaids all got ready in the enormous bridal suite in Burncoose, which features a beautiful wardrobe and big windows – perfect for those wedding dress shots as well as portrait shots of the bride once ready. The bathroom, too, matched the size of the bedroom, making it the best space to house the bride’s wedding party, where they all had their hair and makeup done. I also captured the moment when Poppy’s Dad entered the room and first saw her all dressed up, shedding a tear.

Poppy’s dress was absolutely amazing. It was from Kiva and Zen Bridal Cornwall, but she’d had Jane Hill Bridal alter her dress for her, adding some amazing sleeves to it. It gave real Princess vibes – scroll down further for pictures of these. Hair was done by Zoe Larkins, and makeup was done by Sally Orchard, who, as always, are lovely to work with. We all had a really good laugh with the girls, everyone was in such a great mood and looked fantastic, all wearing matching flowery pyjamas, which we managed to shoot before they got into their dresses.

Unfortunately, the weather for the day didn’t start off great while everyone was getting ready in the morning. It was the first time the venue had allowed a wedding to be held adjacent to the house, in the woods, and the path to the ceremony was very much on the muddy side for guests and the wedding party. When it was time for the Bride and Bridesmaids to make their way to the ceremony, they thought quickly and all put on a different pair of shoes each to walk to the woods, changing them on arrival. The owners of Burncoose had kindly laid fake grass for the wedding party to walk down the aisle to the flower arch at the end.

Jack and his wedding party all got ready in one of the nearby cottages, and by the time the sun finally made an appearance, we were able to capture them outside in the garden. After all the wedding guests had made their way to the ceremony, I captured Jack walking down through the woods on his own in a bit of a Saturday Night Fever film style (minus the leather jacket!).

The beautiful flowers for the day, which were truly stunning and colourful, were done by Lowena Flowers. They really helped set everything off and sat in perfect contrast to Poppy’s amazing satin white dress. They also matched the colour of the sky, which, by the time the ceremony was underway, was beautiful and bright. I captured the couple’s rings (by Fay Page Scilly and Cornwall Jewellery Co Ltd) alongside the colourful flowers.

Once the wedding had taken place in the clearing in the woods, we did some group photos underneath the flower arch which was also decorated by Lowena Flowers. We continued to move around the different groups, capturing everyone as we went. And then finally got everyone together for the confetti tunnel, where the happy couple got absolutely plastered in flower petals – provided by Kehelland Trust.

Everyone then walked back up to the house and surrounded the big marquee (by Absolute Canvas Marquees) which had all the tables set out ready for the wedding breakfast inside. Jack Kessell played guitar and sang, which created a very chilled vibe for the day. Beetham Food provided the most incredible canapés whilst people were chatting before sitting down for the speeches. The decor was a mix of flowery crockery supplied by Poppy herself and the food caterer Jamie Beetham. The food itself was out of this world.

The cake was done by Swirls & Pearls Cakes and featured flowers by Lowena to match Poppy’s bouquet. There was also a cheese stack, which appealed to those without a sweet tooth and looked incredible too. Once everyone had eaten the canapés and had a few drinks, I captured the couple quickly outside the marquee in the sunlight before entering the tent to the raucous cheer of everyone swinging their napkins around their heads.

We then had speeches from Poppy’s Father, Jack and the Best Man. And since Jack is a big-time rugby player, some of his rugby friends were great at heckling the Groom, and I was able to capture guests laughing their heads off at what was being thrown back at him. After the food, we caught the cutting of the cake and people relaxing in the beautiful gardens at Burncoose. I also captured the little children who were intent on carrying Poppy’s trailing dress for her as she moved about the house and gardens.

As the sunlight lowered and became golden, we did some beautiful portrait shots of the couple around the grounds of the house using my film camera. It was then time for the evening celebrations to start, and they had DJ Duncsy serenading their first dance and getting everyone up on the dancefloor for the rest of the evening.

By the time it was sunset, I whisked the couple off to Gwennap Pit, which is around a 10-minute drive from Burncoose House. The sunset photos from this are fantastic! The grassy amphitheatre surrounding the couple stood in the middle made for striking photos. Heading back to the party, all the couple’s friends and family had filled the dance floor, kids were breakdancing, and it was well and truly a raucous night, with lots of shapes being thrown, singing, and laughter. A great energy!

Thank you so much for having me shoot your special day Poppy and Jack, it was a pleasure!

Here’s to everyone involved!

• Venue: Burncoose Estate
• Dress: Kiva and Zen Bridal Cornwall and Jane Hill Bridal
• Hair – Zoe Larkins
• Make-up – Sally Orchard
• DJ – DJ Duncsy
• Daytime music: Jack Kessell
• Flowers – Lowena Flowers 
• Cake – Swirls & Pearls Cakes
• Rings – Fay Page Scilly and Cornwall Jewellery Co Ltd
• Suits- Zebel Official
• Marquee – Absolute Canvas Marquees
• Catering  – Beetham Food
• Decor – Bride and Beetham Food
• Confetti – Kehelland Trust