Planning a wedding during a global pandemic isn’t fun and is incredibly stressful, but when so much is taken out of your control, the only thing you can do is roll with it…and that’s exactly what Lauren and Stuart did!  They were a dream to work with, always understanding and with a positive out look on things, besides, it meant they had not one, but two wedding days!!

“From 21 March 2020 up until the end of July 2020 we were in limbo. We had no idea if the wedding would go ahead” “It’s just the unknown that’s so hard to contend with. When it got to five weeks before the wedding date we decided with Lara that not much was going to change and we should postpone it to 2021.”

“However, after telling all our guests it turned out that our parents, siblings and closest family were still planning on going to Cornwall for a holiday as they had the accommodation booked, as were we, so we decided to just get married anyway.” “We contacted Lara and organised our ceremony on the original date with just 25 guests”

Their ceremony on their original date in 2020, was just beautiful, I’m not ashamed to admit that I stood at the back of their ceremony and cried! Not only was it the first ceremony that we had held in over 9 months, but seeing two people who had moved heaven and earth to say their vows and make it official, was amazing to see! I can’t tell you how lovely Lauren and Stuart were throughout the whole process too! They knew how hard things were for us on this side, with the on going postponements and lack of information and support from the Government, but their kindness and understanding meant the world! I even came into the office one day to find a hamper that they had sent full of treats!  So when they finally said “I do” we popped the fizz and celebrated with them before they headed off for photos with their family!

Sooooo, roll on 2021 and it was time for the for the main celebration and their big day with all their friends and family and this time, there were no restrictions! Woohooo!!

As Lauren & Stu were already legally married, when it came to their 2021 day, they ripped up the rule book and did everything their way! Both Bride and Groom stayed in the house the night before and the Bride did a “First Look” reveal, before they both walked down the Aisle together! It was just perfectly them!

Brompton Buds decorated the Mill Barn with a simple greenery arch and dried pampas grass at the top of the aisle. The Cornish Celebrants conducted their ceremony and included so many special and personal touches. In that room you could feel just how much this moment meant to everyone there.

As everyone made their way outside after the ceremony, the sun finally made it’s appearance  and guests enjoyed canapés, Pimms, beers and acoustic music after they showered the happy couple with confetti!

As guests took their seats for the meal, Lauren and Stu went off for some photos together…..

..and after the more traditional ones, they decided to shake things up with some smoke bombs and what followed was one of the funniest moments of last year! After finally working out how to open the flares, the wind decided to take over and cause a bit of chaos, so we decided to change tack and co-coordinator Maddie and I set them off around the couple…only as we opened the flares and ran away, I burnt my hand and some of my hair in the process! We all wet ourselves laughing at just how ridiculous we all looked and the result…some very real photos and some amazing memories!! 

The Reception Barn had been decorated the day before and Lauren (I would say and Stu as well, but he said it was all Lauren!) had thought of everything! There were also a couple of last min changes with the decor, but after the past couple of years with plans changing, it was all sorted without stress. The two huge peacock chairs they had hired were a lot bigger than they had planned, so they had a table of two instead of a top table and were able to watch out over all their guests enjoying the meal just the two of them!

Once the happy couple were announced in, they both gave a speech, before Beautiful and the Feast served up a fantastic…feast!

As we turned the room around so their DJ could set up, guests milled outside and in the bar, as Lauren and Stu, took a stroll around the grounds.

Once the happy couple had cut their … doughnuts! Yes doughnuts! They hit the dance floor for their first dance! The choreographed danced didn’t quite go to plan, but that didn’t stop Stuart helping Lauren back up and finishing with a bang!! Lauren and Stuart embodied the idea of not taking yourself too seriously. As Chumbawamba once said “You get knocked down, but you get up again!”

As the confetti canons went off, everyone joined the couple and partied the night away!!

A few words from our happy Couple– We aren’t from Cornwall, but have loved it for a long time and knew as soon as we got engaged that we wanted to marry there. We live a 6 hour drive away in Essex so when we came to look at Wedding venues we saw 10 in a week. Some we had really high hopes for and others, including Launcells, were ones that we had seen online and though we may as well check out whilst down there.

Launcells looked lovely online and we were excited to go visit but it wasn’t on our definitely list (for some strange reason) – but when we got there it just won us over. The pictures, as beautiful as they are, just don’t do it justice. We can’t quite put our finger on it, but Launcells is just magic, it had our hearts from our first visit. We got back in the car afterwards and both said – WOW – that was incredible. For the rest of our trip, going to the venues we had our hearts set on just didn’t measure up, we found ourselves comparing every other venue to Launcells.

The atmosphere is warm and homely whilst also being luxurious and honestly just everything you could ever want from a Wedding venue. Everyone we dealt with were just SO kind and helpful, during what was an awful time for everyone.

The day we actually got married in 2020 with just a few family and friends was so wonderful, we hired the venue for just 2 hours so that we could have the ceremony and some bubbles & photos afterwards and somehow in that very short window of time Lara made it so special for us. There was no décor, no flowers, no ‘fluff’ but we realised you don’t need it in such a gorgeous setting. After that we were just super excited to have our ‘Big’ day there the following year with the rest of our family and friends. And when we finally got to experience Launcells how Lara & Matt intended it, it was just amazing. All the little touches in the house made such a difference and brought it up to another level entirely.

BEST WEDDING VENUE EVER! We love you guys 😊 Lauren & Stu xx

Lauren and Stu, it was an absolute pleasure having you with us! It was a true joy seeing you get married not once, but twice and the compassion and care that you showed everyone throughout all the changes and postponements meant the world to us all! When your big celebration finally came around, it felt like being with friends! We hope to see you again soon now you’ve made the move down here, best of luck with your next adventure!! 

Suppliers

Photography – Oli McGivern
Flowers- Brompton Buds
Catering- Beautiful and the Feast
Hire items- Keeping it Vintage
Acoustic Set- Mike Fox
DJ- John Green
Hair & Make Up- Ione
Celebrants- Cornish Celebrants

We all know that many many hours of planning go into a wedding, but exactly how many people and how many hours go into that big day? 

After hosting over 120 weddings here, we see first hand the amount of people running around behind the scenes to bring a wedding day together. It’s the hustle and bustle, all the last minute changes and the sheer determination and love of weddings that means you’ll often see suppliers up ladders, working all hours of the night, drenched from the rain, covered in mud, juggling a crying child while editing photos, lugging furniture back and forth, helping a guest who’s celebrated a little too much or even down at the harbour collecting their own seafood in the early hours of the morning- just to make sure a couples dreams come true and it’s a job well done! 

We’ve spoken to suppliers across the whole day and we’re looking at exactly how much time and manpower (person power) goes into each and every day. I have to say, I knew it was a lot, but this has come as a shock to everyone!  No wonder we all need to double up on the concealer after a wedding season! 

We will start with the venue as it’s the bit that we know most about… It’s also worth baring in mind that all the stats and figures shown are based on pre-coivd.  We all know how many extra hours of admin went in to postponements and changes! 

Launcells Barton

Venue- Launcells Barton
Support/Communication after booking (6hrs)
Visits x 3 (8hrs)
Admin (3hrs)
Set up (cleaning, venue prep, bar prep, ordering/deliveries, gardening, lawns, maintenance, check-in ect) x 5 people over 3 days (av 120hrs )
On the day 5 people x 14hrs ( 70 hrs)
Clear down/ cleaning 3 people (av 12hrs)
Total 10-12 people hours = 219 hours

Mark & David- Dish Cornwall

Catering- Dish Cornwall
“10hrs of admin per wedding plus meetings and tasters another 8hrs (18) involving all 3 of us,
Wedding itself involves 3 full days of prep (2-3 chefs x 10hrs a day-30hrs)
Wedding day 2-4 chefs + coordinator x 12hrs, (48hrs) 4-8 waiting staff x 10hrs (60hrs)”

Total- 9-12 people total= 156 hours

Mark Shaw Photography

Photography- Mark Shaw
“1 – 2 hours emails/chat at least, 1 hour pre-wedding shoot, 3 hours travel, 12 hours coverage on the day, 14 hours editing so..”

1 person- approx 30 hours

Cut The Mustard

Band- Cut the Mustard
Admin with clients and band members.- 1 person, 5hrs.
Music prep, learning requests and first dance etc.- 5 people, 10hrs.
Travel- 5 people typically 3hrs each= 15 hrs.
On-site (5:30 load-in, 00:30 load-out)- 5 People, 7hrs= 35hrs.
Total 5 people- 65 hours

Erica- Bleujen Florist

Flowers- Bleujen
” Admin, first consultation at least an hour, and then anything up to three hours plus for second consultation, emails and any other follow up calls.
More time is taken in ordering flowers, conditioning and any other prep, anything from 2 to 4 hours for this.

Nicola- Cornish Celebrants

Celebrant – Cornish Celebrants
“General admin, accounting, travel, meetings, phone/video calls,
writing (including research/inspiration time),
printing, and the actual ceremony it works out between..”
2 people –35-40 hours

Hannah Woodgate Hair Design

Hair- Hannah Woodgates
2-6 hrs emails/ chat with bride
2 hours for the trial and then anything from 3-6 hours on the day
1 person- 10-14 hours

Matt- Yeti Flim

Video – Yeti Film

“Couple of hours admin speaking to couples prior to the day. 12 hours wedding day plus travel before and after. Editing roughly 30 hours ”
1 person- 54 hours

Decor & Hired items- Do Me a Favor
6-8 hours Physical prep
6 hours admin/meetings/ emails
4-6 hours travel, set up and take down
Total 2-3 people 16- 20 hours

Cake- Peboryon

Emails & Quotes- 2hrs
Sketch- 2 hrs
Consultation- 2hrs
Tasting- 2hrs
Baking average 3 tier wedding cake- 11-15hrs
Delivery set up- 2hrs

1 person- 20-30 hours

Gemma Sutton MUA

Make up- Gemma Sutton
 Communication/support 2-3hrs (1-2 people)
Admin 1hr
Travel- can be hours, can be days if it’s international. Avg 4hrs
Prep- 1hr
On the day- 4hrs – (1-3 people)
Clean kit ect- 1hr
2-5 people- 12-14 hours

And so, the total amount of supplier hours that go into a wedding are…..674 to 746 hours!! and 37- 48 people! That’s crazy! Wow! That’s 19 working weeks!! That’s almost 5 months of solid working hours for one amazing day!

What’s also interesting is that only 206 hours are on the day itself, 468-539 hours are in prep, correspondence, meetings, admin & set up! No wonder we all feel like we know our couples so well when we finally get to see the big day!

 I love the wedding industry and I love the people in it and, although most of the time we only get to see each other in passing on a wedding day, seeing these amazingly creative people bringing their talent and expertise to the day and seeing just how happy couples are at the end of it all, makes me incredibly proud of everything we achieve each and every week!