Your Devon and Cornwall Wedding - Mar/Apr 2020 (Issue24)

THE GREAT OUTDOORS We want to find a place in Devon where we can plan a relaxed, festival- style blessing outdoors and create the day we want without the restrictions of a more formal wedding venue. Where do you suggest? Meet the experts:  Ian and Nicky Richards are the owners of Little Oak Meadow located in Colyton, East Devon. The couple decided to follow their dream and open it to the public as a wedding venue after being inspired by their own daughter’s wedding. It’s a lovingly maintained site with plenty of options for celebrations. Ian and Nicky say:  Little Oak Meadow is situated in a private, secluded location with plenty of possibilities for an outdoor celebration. We offer couples and their guests overnight glamping accommodation in tipis, yurts or bell tents. This means that a wedding can be a weekend affair rather than lasting just one day. If you’re feeling adventurous, you’re more than welcome to bring your own tent, campervan, caravan or motorhome for a rural wedding retreat. We are very relaxed, so whatever your requirements we will listen and help create your dream day. Unlike other wedding venues in Devon, we don’t offer a standard wedding package. Instead, we build them specifically tailored according to your needs and requirements, resulting in a beautiful wedding in the Devonshire countryside that you and your guests will never forget. Little Oak Meadow 07769 636 312 littleoakmeadow.co.uk HOME FROM HOME We’re planning a wedding in Devon and want to book a venue where we can invite our loved ones to spend the entire weekend with us and have a house party-style celebration. Where do you suggest? Meet the expert : Hannah Evans is the joint owner of Hallsannery with her husband Charles. It was closed in 2012 for refurbishment where it was restored to its former glory as a late Georgian, early Victorian property and reopened in 2013 as a wedding venue and holiday destination. Hannah says: Why not consider hiring a large house where your loved ones can gather for a weekend (or even a week) and where there aren’t the restrictions that many wedding venues impose? That way, you can create a home away from home atmosphere and host an informal, intimate celebration. Hallsannery House located just outside of Bideford and approximately five miles from the sandy shores of the North Devon coast offers an exclusive, flexible wedding venue. With 11 en suite bedrooms and a sumptuous Bridal Suite home to a four-poster bed and roll-top bath, the property offers plenty of spaces for wedding celebrations including three reception rooms (one with a fire), a dining room featuring a glistening chandelier that’s ideal for the wedding breakfast, a farmhouse kitchen large enough for a group brunch or lunch, an indoor and outdoor games room, and even a tennis court. With a choice of indoor and outdoor ceremony locations and a selection of gorgeous spots for big-day photographs, this Grade II listed manor house provides an elegant backdrop for a house party- style wedding. It can be themed for weddings in all seasons - think twinkling candles and a roaring fire in winter, and flower-filled gardens and croquet on the lawn in summer. Keeping everything under one roof is simple and budget friendly because most things are included and there’s no corkage fee. Hallsannery | 07771 577 057 hallsannery.co.uk @hallsannery YOUR DAY, YOUR WAY We want to book a really good independent celebrant for our Devon- based wedding. Can you advise us on the types of ceremony we could consider, and some great locations for it? Meet the expert:  Sarah Chapman is a professional independent celebrant based in the South West. She helps couples create their individual ceremony by guiding them with their vows, readings and word choices. They can include symbolic and traditional rituals and spiritual or faith-based beliefs. Sarah says : Choosing a celebrant to deliver your wedding ceremony gives you a range of options that a registrar can’t. Firstly, you can hold your ceremony anywhere, not just in a licensed venue. I have performed them in couples’ favourite places, for example on the beach, in the woods, on a boat and cliff top, and even in their own garden. I do also work with wedding venues. For great flexibility and a good choice of areas to hold a ceremony I often recommend Middle Coombe Farm in Tiverton, The Barn in South Milton, Putsborough Beach in North Devon and Bovey Castle in Dartmoor. Secondly, your ceremony can be bespoke to you both, from the giving and blessing of the rings, exchanging of vows, lighting candles, a personal choice of poetry, and religious or spiritual words. Symbolic Rituals to unite you both can include a Rose Ceremony, Sand Ceremony, Hand-Fasting Ceremony and Jumping the Broom - often couples choose all of these! I have even written Cocktail Rituals and Chocolate Ceremonies to make the wedding personal. Part of the fun is choosing which ideas suit you both best. Sarah Chapman | 07870 763 304 celebrationceremoniessouthwest.com @CelebrationCeremoniesSW 50