Cheryl & Paul Wedding, Polhawn Fort, Cornwall
Cheryl & Paul Wedding, Polhawn Fort, Cornwall
We're well into 2015 now and the weddings are coming thick and fast once again. Today, I present to you a real February 14th valentine wedding from two weekends ago.
Cheryl and Paul are both London based paramedics and contacted me last year to shoot their wedding at the magnificent Polhawn Fort in Cornwall. It was my first time shooting there and hopefully not the last. If I had to sum up the venue in one word after shooting there - stunning!
I arrived the night before valentines day, coming via Plymouth and the Cremyll Ferry. The photo below is taken from Plymouth Hoe and the furthest stretch of land you see is the Rame peninsula. Polhawn Fort is on the other side of the coastline and to get there I took the scenic route, via the ferry.
I stayed the night next door at a fab B&B which was a two minute walk to the Fort. The landlady even gave me a torch to get back after the wedding as it was pitch black and I couldn't see one foot in front of myself. I have to admit, the local scenery was beautiful, and with me living in North Devon, with it's miles of lovely coastlines, is definitely saying something. When I woke the next morning I was greeted with this view from my bedroom window (see photo below), not bad eh?
After breakfast I went into the B&B garden to take a few shots of the Fort nestled in the opposite cliff top and continued over to take some photos of the Fort's exterior. The Napoleonic Fort is a Grade II listed building and dates back to the 1860's. Today it was the venue for Cheryl and Paul's wedding, so I headed inside to find Cheryl getting ready along with her bridesmaids and family.
Having met Cheryl and Paul last year for their pre wedding shoot in Greenwich Park, London, I could quickly see what a genuinely lovely couple they were and that the wedding day itself would be a joyous occasion, and I wasn't wrong.
Cheryl was incredibly laid back when I arrived and seemed to be taking everything in her stride. Paul was getting ready downstairs in one of the Fort's many bedrooms. One of the main selling points of this place (apart from the stunning setting) is that the couple gets exclusive use of the Fort and all it's facilities for the whole weekend, so all the rooms were taken up with their friends and family. I made sure I got a few shots of Paul getting ready too, when it was time for me to leave Cheryl to get into her dress.
When I came back to Cheryl she had just got into her dress and she looked absolutely amazing. I'm no connoisseur when it comes to wedding dresses, but I can appreciate a stunning dress when I see one and this seemed to be the perfect dress, one of the finest I've seen yet.
Cheryl's Dad got his first glimpse of his daughter in her dress and the photo below says it all really! Dad seeing the bride in her dress for the first time never fails to have an impact and I always love shooting this part of the day.
After a quick visit from the registrars, Cheryl was good to go and gave the thumbs up to say she was ready to go and get married! Meanwhile, Paul was patiently waiting at the altar, so I quickly headed there to find a good spot to capture Cheryl's grand entrance.
Cheryl's Mum gave a beautiful reading and then the ceremony continued on. There was also a string quartet playing which created a beautifully romantic atmosphere.
Once the ceremony was over, the newly weds came back up the aisle as Mr and Mrs Daly and everyone gathered excitedly in the room next door to congratulate and mingle with Cheryl and Paul, who were each presented with a well earned drink. The caterers soon had to clear the room for the wedding breakfast, so everyone headed outside to the garden area to have some more drinks and canapés. Although it was mid February, we were very lucky to have such beautiful weather. It was even dare I say, a bit mild, which was surprising but very welcome.
After a few formal photos, we left the guests to look out over the amazing view and headed off for some bride and groom photos on the private beach below. As we descended down the wooden stairs to the beach, I was completely blown away by the setting and the glorious weather made it all the more appealing.
The sun was setting lower in the sky, so the light became golden and ideal for romantic photos. Cheryl and Paul even put on their wellies and posed like a couple of pros! It was a bit treacherous on the wet rocks as we scrambled over them, but I felt safe in the knowledge that if any of us fell and injured ourselves, there were plenty (around 25-30) paramedics around!!! By the time we got back upstairs to the Fort, the guests had gone inside, so we took a few more photos around the gardens and at the drawbridge which had been beautifully dressed with ribbons.
Cheryl and Paul insisted I be sat at one of the main tables for the wedding breakfast, which was incredibly generous of them. It also meant I had time to kick back and relax for an hour or so and chat away to some of their guests. I was also in a prime spot to capture the speeches which happened once the meal was over.
I was pleased when Cheryl informed me she would be tossing her bouquet, as its certainly a rare event at weddings these days, which is a shame I think. It always gets a laugh and makes for good photos!
Another welcome sight and again, quite rare to see at weddings these days, is the bride having a dance with Dad. You can see the love between father and daughter, such a great moment. Then it was Paul's turn to have his first dance with Cheryl, quickly followed by the dance floor filling up with their guests eager to have a dance and let their hair down.
To say I enjoyed shooting Cheryl and Paul's wedding would be an understatement! I hope the photos go some way to capturing just what a brilliant day it was. Thanks to Cheryl and Paul for making me feel so welcome on their special day. I wish them all the best in their newly married life together.
I guess it was a combination of factors why the day clicked for me. Amazing venue, lovely couple, friendly guests, good weather, plenty of exciting things to capture. If Heineken did weddings.......
If you are getting married at Polhawn Fort and are looking for a wedding photographer, please contact me.
Comments
You did an amazing job with these photographs, they captured the day brilliantly. It was a wonderful wedding, very emotional on mine and Tom's part. Anyone thinking of having their wedding in Cornwall, look at Polhawn Fort, so romantic and the most beautiful scenery you will ever see. Your photographs have told the whole story, from beginning to end. Thank you so much.
Jackie