Beautiful Cornwall and Devon Beach Wedding Vibes

There are so many things to love about beach weddings! Just imagine saying ‘I do’ under the warm sun with a backdrop of turquoise sea and beautiful blue sky listening to wavs crashing on the shore. Then paddling romantically in the sea, stroll around the beach, watch the sunset with a cocktail in your hand and dance the night away, maybe even outdoors under the stars, festival style. If that sounds like your idea of a perfect wedding day, then beach weddings are for you. I have made a collection of some of my favourite coastal weddings around Cornwall and Devon from the last couple of years to get you inspired.

I have also put together a few planning tips for your wedding by the sea. Collected from feedback of past couples and my observations to help you plan your dream beach wedding.

Why choose a beach wedding…

If you want a relaxed, informal do, especially one that stretches over a few days, beach weddings are great. There can also be less planning involved for your decoration as the stunning backdrop often needs little to add. And they're easy to keep small and intimate. Couples often keep their beach weddings relatively small and intimate to give you the option to stay for a bit longer and you can have your wedding and honeymoon all rolled into one! Just make sure you send your Save The Dates out early so people have time to plan.

They are also perfect if you don’t want any guests at all. Many of my real brides opted for elopement weddings, a little romantic get away for just the two of you. There are some stunning elopement and small wedding venues here in Cornwall which also offer boutique accommodation for a truly romantic runaway wedding.

Dream Dresses for Beach Weddings

The bride’s dress should reflect the beach wedding’s relaxed and casual atmosphere. Lightweight and flowing fabrics like chiffon or tulle create a stunning beachy effect. Beach Weddings also lend themselves perfectly to an effortless boho look. Mos importantly a beach wedding dress should be relaxed and super easy to wear, especially if you're splashing in the sea or playing games on the sand.

For your accessories, an effortless ‘just pulled together’ look is amazing for a day on the beach. Accessories that work well can include a delicate headpiece, bohemian-styled jewelry, and a bouquet made of loosely arranged tropical flowers and greens.

Think a relaxed up do or a twisting hair vine with shell hair pins. Or go for the wavy beach hair look. If your ceremony is actually on the beach, a short and simple veil that won't trail in the sand is a good idea. Or skip the veil altogether. Regarding shoes, keep it comfortable and ditch the high heels, they are not the most practical shoes to wear on a sandy beach! Sandals, glamorous flip flops or even barefoot is the way to go. To be honest most of my brides ditched their shoes soon after the ceremony and ended up barefoot the rest of the day. Also tell your guests as sometimes people don’t plan their outfit accordingly.

For the guys, think relaxed linen suits or even just linen trousers or shorts with casual short sleeve shirts. It can be quite hot when it’s a sunny day, so avoid thick tweed suits etc. , the linen or any light fabrics will keep you cool in the summer breeze.

Tell your guests to keep it casual too and to bring sunscreen, hats and comfortable shoes with them

Sea inspired Decor

Another bonus of beach weddings is that your surroundings are so beautiful, you won’t need much decor. A colour theme incorporating the whites and blues of the scenery is lovely and add some loosely arranged local Cornish plants or integrate some tropical flowers and greens. You can so easily create your own DIY beach-themed wedding decor, such as driftwood centerpieces, conch-shell candle holders, and starfish garlands and sprinkle some shells on the tables.

Beach themed Cake

No wedding reception is complete without a cake, and for a beach wedding, the cake should reflect the seaside setting. Opt for a beach-themed cake, such seashells or or beach themed cake topping. You can even customize it to fit your colour palette.

Beach Games

Entertain your guests with beach games, like a game of Rounders, Giant Jenga, Limbo dancing, Pétanque…and think about the little ones, get some buckets and spates, so they can build sand castles.

Choose the right Photographer

When searching for a photographer, it’s crucial to find one who has a candid, natural style and experience in shooting beach weddings. Look through their portfolio and be sure to inquire about their experience with relaxed style weddings. This will give you confidence in their ability to capture your special day in the best possible light.

With your couple portraits, have fun with it and be playful! Walk hand-in-hand along the shoreline, take a dip in the ocean, or include a candid moment with your guests. Whatever you choose, your pictures will be sure to bring a smile to your face each time you look at them.

If you hate your photo taken, which most of my couples do to be honest. Consider adding an engagement shoot to your wedding photography package. This way you can get comfortable with your photographer and practice ahead of your big day. This will also help you get to know your photographer better and develop a relationship and trust, which can help you feel more at ease on the day of your wedding. Plus you get some extra shots you can use as invitations or integrate in your decoration.

If you would like to get some more inspiration from a Boho DIY details wedding at Pohawnfort, please visit RockMyWedding to view a feature of Katie & Alex beautiful relaxed day there, also featured on my blog

And if you are planning a coastal wedding any time soon, please don’t hesitate to contact me for availability. I get booked up very fast for the summer months, so be quick!

Best of 2024 - some of my favourite moments

Finally! Here it is, some of my favourite moments of 2024! It is a bit of a funny one for me, capturing love everywhere and losing my own long term relationship at the start of the year. But hey, I’m staying positive and looking ahead excited what the future will bring…

I want to take this as an opportunity to thank all my amazing couples to put their trust in me to capture one of their most important days in their life, I truly feel honoured to have the privilege. And to all the suppliers I worked with this year, we have such a great community in the Southwest, what a beautiful industry to work in. Thanks for your support! I can’t wait what 2025 brings, some well known places and also exciting new ones on the list so far And to all my 2025 couples, I can’t wait to meet you soon!

If you’re still looking for a wedding photographer for 2024, I have a couple of spaces left. 2026 is filling up super fast, so please don’t hesitate to reserve your favourite suppliers and contact me for availability.

Wedding Photographer Lusty Glaze Beach Cornwall // Megan & Marc

An absolute stunner to share with you today! Megan & Marc‘s jaw dropping beautiful beach wedding at Lusty. With the most handsome ring bearer, their beloved rescue dog ‚Juniper‘. He’s done a great job even though he is a little shy around a lot of people. So adorable though, you just want to stroke him all day long… I feel truly blessed with my job when I look back at days like these. I even witnessed their very private vows in a Lusty cave during our photo session and it brought a little tear in my eyes.

Here is a little preview of the day.

If you are planning a beach wedding at Lusty Glaze or anywhere else in Cornwall or Devon next year, please don’t hesitate to contact me about availability as I only have a few spaces left next year.

Venue: Lusty Glaze Beach // Date: 29.08.2024

Wedding Photography Sandycove North Devon // Rachel & Mandeep

This spot of coast is just divine. I love the North Devon Coastline, so much that I made a ling weekend out of it. I stayed on a campsite literally 15 minute walk from the hotel. A stunning walk through the clifftop woodland and enjoyed a swim in the same cove I took this gorgeous couple for photos the next day.

Rachel and Mandeep said ‘I do’ at Sandycove Hotel with a whole lot of good friends and family. Such a colourful and amazing day to capture!

Here is a little preview for you, I hope you like it as much as I did capturing this stunning wedding. I love my job!

Venue: Sandycove Hotel // Date: 18. 08. 2024

Wedding Photographer Polhawn Fort Cornwall / Katie & Alex

Katie and Alex’ wedding at Polhawn Fort was magical. It was summer solstice day and the sun was out! To celebrate Katie and Alex’ special day at this stunning venue nestled on a cliff by the sea with its own private beach and stunning sea views all around was a privilege. Katie’s love for the sea reflected in all the decorations, a marine theme running through every detail. She spend the last 2 years collecting shells, sea glass, seaweed and driftwood from her coast walks to incorporate them into the beautiful decorations. She even made shell hair pins. Just stunning, loved it! And so fitting to the venue.

Katie and Alex have planned their day a little different. They are not keen to be centre of attention, so had a small ceremony early in the day before welcoming the rest of their guests for the reception and party just after midday with a confetti entrance over Polhawn’s dare bridge. I really liked this approach, it made the morning so relaxed…Oh and did I mention I wasn't really booked for getting ready photos, but pleased I got there early to capture a couple and the first look with dad was well worth it!

It was such a beautiful summer’s day, the whole wedding party ventured down the beach to cool off in the sea at some point, including me, it felt so good to paddle in the sea! Apart from the beach visit there was plenty of entertainment from adult bouncy castle to garden games, the most delicious Paella by “Big Pan Parties’ and ‘Renegades of Rock’ getting the dance floor going with some great tunes. They haven’t planned a traditional first dance but I caught a couple f them dancing anyway…

A dream wedding by the sea and one of my favourites so far this season!

Katie and Alex, I present to you a few of my favourite moments from the day, there are so many more, but I had to keep it within 100 images…believe me it wasn’t easy to choose!

Their wedding is also featured on RockMyWedding, get inspired by their beautiful Coastal Boho Wedding with DIY details!

Venue: Polhawn Fort // Date: 20/06/2024 // Dress: Maggie Sottero // Makeup: Gemma Ryder // Shoes: Irregular Choice // Flowers: Sophie Ebbans // Decor: DIY by Bride // Music: Renegades of Rock

Wedding Photographer Polhawn Fort Cornwall // Jack & Megan

I loved photographing Megan & Jack's wedding at Polhawn Fort, Cornwall. Megan and Jack were amazing to work with, so much fun and a full on action filled day. I hardly had time to sit down and was truly knackered when I came home but it was so worth it. So many beautiful moments. Here is a gallery of some of my favourite images.

Venue: Polhawn Fort // Date: 23. 05. 2024 // Makeup: Georgina Markham MUA // Hair: Melody Rose Wedding Hair // Dress: Wed2be // Flowers: Rosedale Flowers Cornwall //

Cornwall Wedding Photographer at Tregenna Castle St Ives // Hannah & Ross

Hannah and Ross were married at Tregenna Castle in St Ives. Always a pleasure to photograph a wedding in St Ives. The light, the views, the colours, it always works whatever the weather. We had a fine day with a mixture of sunshine and clouds, so during the outdoor ceremony the constant light changes were a bit tricky but I love my Sony gear which easy tackles situations like that…

They had a great line up planned for the rest of the day with Daniel Costin on the Sax for the drinks reception, then Roger Miners for the wedding breakfast inside. I love working with them and Dan always gets the crowd moving which results in great imagery.

We made the most to of Tregenna’s amazing views over St Ives and the stunning tropical gardens for our first set of couple portraits and even did a quick trip down Porthminster beach just after the speeches.

It was Hannah’s brother’s birthday that day and she had a little surprise cake or him which was super cute and I was happy to capture and the Casino in the evening was a highlight too, so much fun!

It’s always great for photos when there is a lot going on entertainment wise and Hannah and Ross really had that part dialled. A perfect day at a stunning location!

Here is a preview

Venue: Tregenna Castle // Date: 05.05.2024 // Makeup: Carly Angove // Hair: Melody Rose Wedding Hair // Dress: Kiva and Zen Bridal Cornwall // Flowers: wedding flowers in cornwall // Cake: swirlsandpearls // Decor: Orange Flamingo Events // Saxophonist: Daniel Costin // Pianist: Roger Miners // Video: Charlotte Dart

Wedding Photographer Lusty Glaze Beach Weddings // Taylar & Phil

Oh Lusty, I just love you! Another beautiful wedding at one of Cornwall’s finest beach venues. Taylar and Phil’s day was fantastic from start to finish. Sunshine, blue skies, a great bunch of people, good food, great tunes and a beautiful sunset. What more would you want for a beach wedding in style.

I have a little back log of weddings still to edit, so I’m not writing to much in detail but rather let the images tell the story.

Here you go, a little glimpse into Taylar and Phil’s special day at the wonderful Lusty Glaze.

Venue: Lusty Glaze // Date: 09.09.23 // Makeup: Emilie’s Hair and Makeup, H&MU // Flowers: Hayley Scott Blooms // Cake: Simply Baked Cornwall // DJ: DJ Services Cornwall

Lusty Glaze Beach Wedding Photographer // Sam & James

I’m super excited to present to you a preview of Sam and Jame’s fun filled beach wedding at Lusty Glaze in Cornwall. Voted best Coastal Wedding Venue in 2019’s UK Wedding Awards and for a reason: This little cove is one of the most romantic places in the Southwest, surrounded by dramatic cliffs and facing west it offers the best sunsets Cornwall has to offer and photo opportunities are plenty! It’s definitely one of my favourite local venues and you can hire it exclusively so the whole cove is yours for the day.

Sam and Jame’s special day was a picture book beach wedding, warm sunshine, turquoise sea, great music, singing waiters, a magician, an incoming tide for sea dips and lots of fun in the water and of course a magnificent sunset! What more would you desire from your special day on the beach! I loved this day, so many moments to capture that it was hard to make just a small selection to show to you guys.

A relaxed vibe day like this is the kind of wedding I specialise in and love capturing so much, so if you’re planning a beach wedding in Cornwall or even at Lusty Glaze, please contact me for some more information and availability, but be quick, 2024 is nearly fully booked and I have opened my 2025 diary now which is filling up super fast…

Venue: Lusty Glaze Beach Weddings // Date: 20. 08. 2023 // Makeup: Charlotte Albert Makeup // Hair: Melody Rose Hair Stylist // Flowers: Blossom and Kelp //Singing Waiters: Aston Dobson // Magician: Damien Surr, Ginger Magic // Videographer: Rich, I do Film and Photos

Wedding Photographer Tunnels Beaches North Devon // Cat & Ross

Just wow! The place, the styling everything about this day keeps my jaw dropping…loved, loved, loved photographing Cat and Ross’ wedding at Tunnels Beaches. I appreciate how much thought and work goes into every wedding’s planning and everyone has their own personality and style. These two definitely hit my soft spot, I loved everything about it, the styling, the colours, the perfect sunset…and wait until you see that dress, which left everyone speechless including the groom!

Cat and Ross tied the knot on the 15th of July at Tunnels Beaches in Ilfracombe. They were blessed with the most gorgeous sunny day and blue skies which helped to make their special day even more extra special! They wanted a small intimate chilled wedding, near the beach where they could have their dogs with them and loved the idea of a chilled BBQ and ice cream van. Easy, breezy, bohemian style. So Tunnels Beaches was the perfect venue for it.

Cat had a lot of input into the design and she really did a fantastic job tying it all together. ‘Dried flowers was a must as we wanted to take them home with us and to last forever‘

Here is what they said about their highlights of the day: ‘Both of our favorite part of the day was definitely seeing each other at the end of the aisle but it was a perfect day, perfect weather, we didn't want it to end. We loved that we had the day before in the venue's accommodation as it extended the celebration.’

I could write on forever what I loved about this day, but as you may have noticed already, I’m not the best writer, so I let the images tell the story…it was really hard to just select a few for this blog as there are so many good moments from this day, but here you go, my favourites!

If you are looking for a wedding photographer for your wedding in North Devon or at Tunnel’s Beaches please contact me for availability. I’m based in Cornwall, but love a trip to North Devon any time. Be quick though as my diary is filling up fast! 2024 is nearly fully booked for main season Saturdays and 2025 bookings just opened.

Venue: Tunnels Beaches // Date: 15. 06. 2023 // Flowers: Cat (bride) // Makeup: Fiona Miller MUA // Hair: Claire Hartley Stylist // Dress: Rue De Seine Bridal // Cake: provided by Cat’s parents // Sax: Carlo Saxophonist // DJ: Paul The Wedding Spinner