The Carlyon Bay Hotel Wedding
Ruby and David
Ruby and David got married at The Carlyon Bay Hotel in Cornwall, on the beautiful south coast of Cornwall. Indeed, the hotel is a stone’s throw from the stunning Charlestown Harbour. Not only is Charlestown an historic location in itself, but it has also been used in many movies. The Harbour has a unique history and geography and remains a vibrant working port, with classic Tallships and beautiful beaches.
Private Beach
Most importantly, The Carlyon Bay Hotel has it’s own private beach. This was a must have for Ruby and David on their wedding day. Certainly, the buggy ride along the hotel’s golf course is a nice relaxing way for couples to decompress. On arrival, Ruby and David had fun frolicking* around on the rocks. It wasn’t until we were on our return journey that I called a halt half way up the 12th Hole par 5 fairway. I had seen a likely photo location for a silhouette shot under some trees on the cliff edge. Consequently, we blocked the fairway for 5 minutes whilst Ruby and David danced their hearts out!
The Dress
Ruby and David’s wedding happened during the Covid rule of 30 people. Despite this, the Indian Sikh wedding was still a blaze of colour! Sikh brides tend to wear an ornate, decorative and exquisitely embroidered set of Salwar Kameez. Ruby’s Lehenga Choli wedding dress was an incredible deep red in colour inkeeping with tradition. This dress has 3 parts, and is incredibly detailed and embellished. It is also very heavy! I asked Ruby to hold the dress up for a few photos knowing she couldn’t manage it for long!
Outdoor Ceremony
The Carlyon Bay Hotel has quite simply the most stunning gardens. Words like, lush, green, idyllic don’t really do them justice. Therefore, maybe you shold just picture a National Trust sub-tropical type scenario. Now add in a white stone pillared dome under which wedding ceremonies take place. Put all this into a scene with an ivy covered hotel as the backdrop. Next, add in a red carpet acting as an aisle. There you have the arena that met Ruby’s eyes as she exited the Hotel with her mother and bridesmaids. Almost all was perfect. I say almost as although we had wall-to-wall sunshine, there was a gusty wind blowing in from the sea. At certain points during the ceremony, hotel staff had to wrestle the red carpet as if it was an angry snake!
A massive thanks to Ruby, David and their families, and everyone at The Carlyon Bay Hotel!
If you’d like to book me for your wedding photography, please see my investment page.
*it can be difficult enough to ‘frolick’ in your average medium to large wedding dress. This was made infinitely more difficult in Ruby’s heavily be-jewelled number.