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Friends and family travel from across the pond for a stunning September wedding In Cornwall

Back in September we saw Allison and James become man and wife, but it certainly wasn’t an easy ride for them to get there! Allison is originally from Florida in America and met James while exploring London with a view to stay and work in London for a bit and then return home. The couple fell in love and it wasn’t soon until James popped the question!
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With James having family with a home in Bude and the couple holidaying in Bude often, they decided to visit Launcells Barton, but with a view to rule out Cornwall as being too far away for their international guests to travel, unfortunately James and Allison were able to see past all the building works going on at the time and decided they didn’t want it anywhere else!

Soon after deciding on their wedding venue and their wedding plans starting to take shape, Allison received a letter to say that her new job had ticked the wrong box on her work visa and was ordered to leave the country within 14 days!! Allison now not only had the task of trying to get back into the UK, but also planning a wedding – that she hoped would still go ahead – from afar! James and his sister Sophia visited after the new Reception Barn was completed and we sent video tours and images back to Allison so that she could see everything and not feel a million miles away! After getting lawyers involved and a lot of stress, Allison was finally able to fly back to the UK and continue organising everything for the wedding. With the couple choosing to marry in St Swithin’s Church and not living in the parish, they had to complete a 10 day residency within the Parish in order to be allowed to get married at the Church. Not being able to find any accommodation at short notice, they decided to camp one night ended up barricading themselves in from the 100’s of slugs that had decided to descend on them!  They say the first year of marriage is the hardest, but I think after what these two have been through in the first six months of their engagement, it will be a walk in the park!

Allison is actually an event planner herself and I have to say she was a dream to work with! All the T’s were crossed and I’s dotted and not a single detail was missed! James is a surgeon in London and, although the profession is not normally known for excel skills, he had all 20 spreadsheets that Allison had asked him to organise down perfectly!

Alison got ready in the house with all her friends and family surrounding her.  Meanwhile, James organised a surf in Bude before getting ready with his family and groomsmen. They even took a stroll along the beach to settle their nerves!

Every thought and detail had gone into making sure their 172 guests had a fantastic day from the moment they arrived – they even put out flat shoes for the ladies for the walk down to the Church!

It was soon time for guests to take their seats and the Bridal party to make their way to the Church!

Allison was walked down the aisle by her younger brother and looked beautiful in a low backed, all over lace fitted dress, finished with a cathedral length veil.

With personal readings and musical performances by friends, the ceremony was full of love and laughter.

After their ceremony guests lined the path from the Church to Launcells Barton, ready for the newlyweds to walk through a cascade of confetti, while we gave guests who couldn’t quite manage the walk up to the venue, a lift back on our tractor!

A Jazz band welcomed guests as they arrived for welcome drinks and games in the courtyard and garden. With half the guests being from America and half being from the UK, team games were laid out for guests to get competitive over while the couple snuck off for some photos!

The couple then joined all their friends and family for the rest of the welcome drinks reception, before everyone took their seats for the wedding breakfast.

The couple and all their friends and family had decorated the Reception Barn the day before and had not missed a single detail! The barn was filled with stunning autumnal deep reds and foliage, with gold vases and candles lining the trestle tables. Bleujen provided amazing flower installations that hung from the beams. Allison and James even gave each guest a personalised conversation starter, by putting a question on each place card that they could ask the person opposite!

My favourite part of any wedding day is announcing the Bride and Groom into their wedding breakfast and this was certainly no different! The room erupted with cheers from all their friends and family as the newlyweds made their way to their seats!

Bringing both sides of the Atlantic together, the couple decided to mix UK & American traditions and have speeches between courses. Beautiful and The Feast catered the whole day, with guests helping themselves to sharing platters on each table.

Allison and James were then whisked off on the back of the tractor to catch the sunset!

Blue Lion Band got the evening started as the Bride and Groom had their first dance, which went into ” I would walk 500 miles” by The Proclaimers which I thought was very appropriate, after everything they had been through!

A Few Words From Alison- “Every bride dreams up the perfect wedding day and looking back, that is just what we had! There isn’t one thing I would change about our special day, and so much of that comes down to the venue and incredible atmosphere set by Matt, Lara, and the team at Launcells. Despite living in London and organising guests from all over the world, the planning was made easy and fun as we partnered with Matt and Lara, who became instant friends. Launcells has all the amenities of a high-end wedding site, and yet maintains the relaxed, family-feel of Cornwall that we so desired. I loved being able to put our own touches on the wedding, bringing to life all of those Pinterest-worthy ideas I had gathered! Above all, the day was made perfect by having all our friends and family in one place to celebrate with us. As James and I rushed off to snag that dreamy sunset photo (made possible by Lara’s expert timing!), we looked back and saw our  guests laughing, chatting, and making forever memories on a gloriously sunny Cornish day. Kids ran alongside the tractor cheering us on and we took in the beauty of our favourite day, just before dancing the night away with all of our favourite people. To put it simply, it was the best day ever”

Lisa Webb traveled from Shropshire to capture Allison and James’ special day. I think we can all agree that she caught the day perfectly with these stunning images of not only the couple, but all their friends and family that enjoyed the day with them too!

James and Alison’s day was as an absolute pleasure to be a part of, it was like witnessing 2 friends getting married and all their friends and family were just so welcoming! We may or may not have been up, until the early hours having a few drinks with the Brides American family! We could not wish you both enough love and happiness for the future and we’re sure that we will see you soon, when you escape for a break to the coast!

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