Your Kent Wedding - Sep/Oct 2019 (Issue 76)

We also had an outside space on the beach that we decorated with festoon lights and streamers of ribbon in our palette. The weather was amazing, so our guests spent most of the day out there. We had fish and chips in boxes for our wedding breakfast, which our guests really enjoyed. Canapés were miniature scones, both savoury and sweet, to bring a little taste of Devon. We also had Whitstable oysters. With a little help of our friends, we provided a dessert table for the evening and also had a cheeseboard and hog roast. James and I were the only ones who went hungry, as we hardly had a chance to eat any of it! Our cake was the most incredible I’d ever seen – a real showstopper! We could hardly bring ourselves to cut it, but when we did, it was delicious. The life buoy decorating the middle tier was a copy of a life-size one that we had upcycled to dress the venue. Our table plan was a framed board with ribbon strung across and cards pegged to it. Each table was numbered. We did discuss lots of different ways to name the tables but in the end decided to keep it simple. My bouquet and the bridesmaids’ were a mixture of bright pink and white blooms, with a few thistles as a stark contrast to the dark teal dresses. There were also flower wands for the flowergirls. The men’s buttonholes incorporated the same pinks and thistles for a Celtic twist as we each have a Scottish parent. The place names were written on pebbles, which guests took home as souvenirs. REAL WEDDINGS 49 