Well here’s something you don’t see everyday! The wedding of Joanna and Stephen was held at Lusty Glaze Beach in Newquay, but instead of just walking down the aisle, Joanna and her father zipwired from the clifftop above down on to the beach. AH-MAZING!
“We have been together for nearly 10 years and did not feel that a traditional wedding suited us, we are both quirky and creative and we really wanted a wedding that encompassed that”, began Joanna. “We wanted our guests to have fun, we wanted them to not have to think, just turn up and be guided by our excellent ushers and best men to each part of the day. We wanted the day to be an event, to showcase us and our family and friends. The entrance via zipline was so exciting and my Dad and I really felt like James Bonds as we abseiled down to the beach. My Dad hates heights so he did incredibly well! The whole beach when silent before we descended and as soon as our feet left the platform the whole beach cheered!”
“We wanted our wedding to be fun and for everyone to feel relaxed”, she continued. “We told everyone to bring their swim stuff and a change of clothes if it was hot and they wanted to change. We had people swimming, sunbathing on rocks, dancing, chilling on the sand and sitting on a wall drinking Pimms all at the same time. The sea was really cooling and almost everyone swam. It was lovely to be in the sea on my wedding day, it’s funny how many people told me in the lead up to the wedding that we couldn’t swim, let alone zipline on the day and that the very thought of it was ridiculous. We knew that our guests would embrace the day though, and we’re so glad that they did!”
After an emotional ceremony, came the quirky DIY reception. The couple handmade a lot of the décor items to save money but also to add those personal touches. “We wanted a beach wedding with a vintage meets modern twist”, Joanna explained. “We chose a range of yellow and blue tones, which are complimentary colours and avoided the need for exact colour matching. It also gave us the opportunity to play with hand making things and removed the expense of making everything exactly the same colour.”
“We bought our lanterns and buckets for our flowers from Ikea. We sprayed 60 plastic fish and attached them to little stands made from cardboard and wire and then we attached tiny luggage labels with handwritten names on them as place markers. My Dad added ribbon to an old basket we had and one of my bridesmaids painstakingly pick every single daisy from her garden, dry them and fill it for our natural confetti. We also made 60 metres of bunting, I sewed it all together and Steve cut and pinned the triangles.”
“My favourite moment was having several groups of friends and family all together dancing and in swimming in the sea”, Joanna concluded. “We loved how the different groups got together and made new friends as we’re all like-minded people. We had so many half naked hugs in the sea, it was so funny, I never expected to do that on our wedding day! It was just great to be able to throw a massive party and see everyone enjoy it. Steve loved my costume change and seeing me in my custom made bikini looking glam in the sea. I loved swimming with pearls on while people we knew were everywhere, in the sea, sunbathing on rocks, playing on the beach and dancing in the marquee.”
