Jess and Sam met nine years ago via a dating app. “I moved to Oxford after meeting Sam and we started a long-distance relationship with him in Pembrokeshire and me in Oxford,” says Jess. “I would get the train to Pembrokeshire after my night shifts and he would drive up every Friday night after work and drive back every Sunday. We travelled long distances for three years before Sam moved to Oxford.” Sam proposed during lockdown. “Sam bought the ring the Sunday afternoon before we went into the first lockdown in March 2020,” shares the bride. “We couldn’t go abroad, so we planned a two-week road trip around the north coast of Scotland in September. Sam wasn’t sure when to do it on the trip, so he kept the ring hidden in his sock as we travelled around. Our last stop was Loch Torridon on the west coast and the place where we were staying had its own private beach. He knew straight away he wanted to do it, so he took me down to the beach and asked me to marry him. He cried, I cried, and it was very magical.” SETTING THE SCENE “We chose to get married at Crug Glâs Country House & Restaurant because of its location, the staff, the food and the fact we could decorate the Cow Shed how we wanted,” explains Jess. “We are so thankful that we chose them because everything went perfectly. We couldn’t have asked for a more fantastic venue with amazingly helpful and supportive staff. I knew I wanted a lot of greenery to bring the outside inside and the Cow Shed had so much potential to do as much or as little as we liked. My mum and I are very artistic, so we wanted to do a lot of the decorations ourselves. For each table, my dad created moss-covered wooden logs for our centrepieces. We placed a bouquet of flowers in a Hendrick’s Gin bottle with the top cut off, wax-covered battery candles with a flickering flame and a hand-painted watercolour of either a Scottish or Welsh island on each log. Sam’s auntie owns Trwffl, which is a local chocolate shop and she gifted us our favours: two truffles of sea salt milk chocolate and Barti Ddu Rum.” Blodau Blodwen provided the happy couple’s flowers. “Wendy created our beautiful arrangements,” recalls Jess. “She knew exactly what we wanted and did a fantastic job bringing our vision to life. We had two large greenery installations that hung from metal beams at either end of the barn, as well as flowers on top of old wine barrels. The bouquets and buttonholes all had eryngium thistles and were absolutely stunning. “Our cake was three layers of coffee, carrot and lemon and blueberry,” adds the bride. “We used Megan & Claude to hire our chairs and greenery hoops that hung from the ceiling, which really brought everything together. They were also very helpful in creating white hanging drapes that cut the barn into sections, which were easy to remove when it was time to dance.” DRESSED TO IMPRESS “I chose a Stella York dress from a lovely bridal store in Scotland called Bijoux Bridal,” remembers Jess. “The girls in the store were fantastic and I felt like a woodland princess walking down the aisle. Simone Bowen did everyone’s make-up on the morning of the wedding and she was absolutely fantastic. I’ve never felt more relaxed and I felt absolutely gorgeous all day. My bridesmaids’ wore emerald green satin floor-length gowns and black tartan shawls. Sam wore a Welsh kilt in charcoal grey with traditional plaid and we picked dark grey suits for the groomsmen from Dyfed Menswear. As Sam’s never worn a kilt before, my brother helped him on the morning of the wedding to make sure he had everything pinned correctly.” TIME TO CELEBRATE “We had our photos taken at a clifftop along the Pembrokeshire coastal path called Nine Wells,” reveals Jess. “It was the first place Sam brought me to, so it holds fond memories for us. It was one of our highlights hiking the coast together straight after being married and it felt like we’d stepped into a dream. While we were having photos, we had arranged for The Llewellin Duo to play guitar for our guests while they had canapés. 37 REAL WEDDINGS
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