Wedding planner
Award Winning UK Comprehensive Wedding Planner Book and Organiser for the Bride | Tissue Wrapped in a Gift Bo…
Somewhere to keep supplier contacts, deposits and dates in one place.
View on AmazonPlanning a Cornish coast wedding
A wedding around Rock and Padstow follows the same steps as any other, with a few local twists: fierce summer demand, the tide, the Atlantic weather and the lanes. Use this timeline as a starting point and stretch it if you're marrying on a summer Saturday.
12 to 18 months before
- Agree a budget and a rough guest number. Both decide the venue.
- Choose a season. June and September often give the best balance of weather, light and availability. July and August are busiest.
- Book the venue, or secure the land and the marquee for a field wedding.
- Book registrars, or talk to the parish about a church wedding.
- Send save-the-dates with a note about accommodation. Holiday lets near Rock go early.
9 to 12 months before
- Book the photographer, caterer and bar.
- Book a celebrant if you are having a celebrant-led ceremony.
- For outdoor weddings, book toilets, a generator and lighting.
- Arrange guest transport, especially if the ceremony and reception are on opposite sides of the estuary.
- Take out wedding insurance, and event liability cover for private land.
6 to 9 months before
- Book florist, music and any entertainment.
- Order the dress and suits, and allow time for alterations.
- Plan the day's timings around the tide table and sunset for your date.
- Start a wedding website or information sheet: travel, parking, the ferry and where to stay.
3 to 6 months before
- Send invitations.
- Give notice of marriage at the register office if you need to (at least 28 days before, up to a year ahead).
- Confirm the bar licence (Temporary Event Notice) if alcohol is being sold at a marquee or field wedding.
- Buy the guest book, favours, signs and decorations.
1 to 3 months before
- Final numbers and table plan to the caterer and venue.
- Walk the site with the marquee company, caterer and toilet hire if it is a field wedding.
- Confirm every supplier's arrival time, power needs and contact on the day.
- Tell the neighbours, and the coastguard if you are having fireworks on the coast.
The week of the wedding
- Check the forecast and agree a decision time for any wet-weather plan.
- Hand the emergency kit, the timings and a list of suppliers' numbers to one trusted person.
- Check the ferry times and the tide for the day.
Cornish details that catch people out
The tide. It changes the beaches, the ferry landings and the look of the estuary. Look it up for your date before you fix photograph timings.
Light. Midsummer sunsets on this coast are after nine o'clock in the evening. Golden hour can fall during dinner, so plan a short break for photographs.
Wind. Even on a fine day there may be a breeze off the sea. Choose weighted table decorations, sturdy hairstyles and a sheltered spot for the ceremony.
Signal. Mobile coverage can be patchy in the lanes and the dunes. Don't rely on guests navigating by phone at the last minute, and print the key details.
Planning helpers
Emergency kit
Emergency Kit for Women – Mini Emergency Kit with Over 50 Bridal Wardrobe Essentials, Essential Handbag Kit, …
Safety pins, plasters, a sewing kit and a stain pen. Give it to one sensible person.
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Table numbers
Chunful 20 Pcs Wedding Wooden Table Numbers with Wooden Base Rustic Wedding Centerpieces for Tables Number Si…
Choose heavy or weighted holders for a marquee. Light card blows over.
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