Rachel and Martin’s beautifully elegant celebrant-led wedding ceremony took place at the luxurious setting of Carbis Bay Hotel on Monday 10 June 2024…
…. And it was a day brimming with romance, tears, laughter - and family!
We first heard from Rachel and Martin some 8 months ahead of their big day - and we remember them saying to us very early on “We're not quite sure what we would like our ceremony to look like... but we do know we do not want a traditional wedding ceremony!”
Which is exactly why they booked an independent celebrant - to get to know them personally, to write their bespoke ceremony and then to deliver it professionally, sincerely and from the heart. Of course, they could have had a legal registrar attend their venue and deliver a more ‘traditional’ ceremony, but by separating the legal paperwork from the intimate family celebration Rachel and Martin were wanting, they found the best of all worlds! Plus, they planned to add a party in Edinburgh to invite more friends and family to celebrate their newly wed status later in the year
This meant Rachel and Martin were clients of our favourite kind - a couple who really appreciated the advantages of booking an independent celebrant to take care of the most important part of their day. And - they were hoping for a deeply romantic and intimate ceremony, which we are particular fans of! And - they’d chosen the beachy location of Carbis Bay, which truly is one of our favourite places to be! And - we’d be working alongside photographers The McHendrys, Lou and Ben, who we adore - this simply was all meant to be!
Once the excitement had dissipated a little, it was time to get to work. With Rachel and Martin living in Devon, it was lovely to take the chance to meet in person, so they kindly offered to cross the Tamar and we arranged our in depth ceremony planning chat to take place over coffee and cake at lovely Lanhydrock near Bodmin. It is always SO nice to meet couples in person when possible, the dynamics are completely different to a video call, and inevitably you spend a little longer chatting, and we think we get to know you on a much deeper level. Our couple emailed us afterwards to say “It was so lovely to meet you today. We’ve both come home very excited and know you’ll make our special day absolutely perfect!”
NO PRESSURE! But actually, we don’t feel pressure when we work with couples like Rachel and Martin - obviously we want their ceremony to be absolutely the best it can be, but when the spark is there, along with the energy and enthusiasm from all parties - we KNOW this will be a blinder. And we weren’t wrong. Because the feedback to the first draft from Rachel was, “It’s absolutely perfect… casually sat here balling my eyes out. Thank you so so much!”
So with a few tweaks to the first draft, to ensure we included some lovely references and stories about Gran Betty, who had sadly passed the summer before, and whose presence would be keenly missed, we had ourselves a simply gorgeous ceremony. And the team at Celebrant in Cornwall have spoken about this type of ceremony in our recent podcast -because it really is our favourite kind. Deeply romantic and reflective, highly authentic and original, completely from the heart - and in which the focus is the wedding vows, but more on that in a moment!
Fast forward to the big day: on arrival at Carbis Bay, despite it being June, the winds were strong and gusty! But that was not a worry, because Rachel and Martin had already opted to host their ceremony indoors, an excellent decision taking the worry out of the fickle Cornish weather. The Godrevy Room looked stunning, a space which is truly serene and timelessly elegant. It was wonderful to take time to meet all the family members and spend a while with Martin, who was looking very dapper in his tux!
When Rachel arrived, escorted by proud Dad Stan, she literally floated into the room - talk about making an entrance! We opened the ceremony by sharing a moment of contemplation, remembering those who were not physically present, but whose love and guidance lived on in all the generations in attendance. Then we proceeded with asking the guests to make their vows to the couple, something Rachel and Martin had seen at a ceremony previously, and loved the idea of asking their families to continue to support them through all the ups and downs of life. Which was also the perfect introduction to a ritual to
bless their wedding rings, which were passed from guest to guest, offering silent blessings to Rachel and Martin for the best health and every happiness. Young Tobias was an excellent helper with this!
And then we took a nostalgic and entertaining trip down memory lane, remembering the moment our couple first met in 2018, reflecting on their first date, recalling the introductions to one another’s families, as well as acknowledging all the other elements which had contributed to building a strong and successful relationship. Moving in together, work milestones, house renovations, many holidays, spa days, Plymouth Argyle matches and time spent with Buddy the border collier - which led perfectly into a canine themed reading by Rachel’s Mum, Janet, and a little after that, a reading inspired by the ocean, read by Martin’s
Mum Margot - so well chosen for a Naval Officer and a couple who love their life by the sea!
Of course, this was setting the scene for the beautifully written vows - and listening to Martin and Rachel’s words of commitment to one another was such an honest and heartfelt moment, there really was not a dry eye in the house! Even our photographer friends were having trouble holding it together! Which, for us, is what it’s all about. An absolutely authentic moment of love and joy.
And with Tobias’ expert assistance, rings were exchanged before Carbis Bay’s latest newly weds were pronounced - and later braved the beach for some gorgeous photos!
We’ve said this before, how privileged we always feel when we meet couples who are so invested in the ceremonial part of their wedding day. As we often say - the ceremony literally sets the whole vibe for your day, so why settle for ‘ordinary’? Why not make it as perfect and magical as it can possibly be? And we think Rachel and Martin really tuned into this - because they very kindly shared their thoughts in this review:
You do not need to look any further…Lisa is everything you’ve been looking for in a celebrant and more. She’ll give you the ‘warm fuzzies’ from the first moment you meet and she gives you the biggest smile!
Lisa captured our story so beautifully and delivered it with such passion. The ceremony was our favourite part of the whole day! Lisa oozes friendliness, warmth and kindness in every interaction. It honestly felt like we had a family friend standing with us on the biggest day of our lives, which is truly the most magical thing!
We were so incredibly lucky to have found Lisa and are so glad she was part of our special day. We’ll always look back fondly on our wedding day, and think of Lisa who made it everything it was. You’ll have her commitment to make your day everything you’ve dreamed of and she’ll do it so effortlessly. I can guarantee there won’t be a dry eye in the place!
My goodness even writing this makes me emotional. Lisa, we cannot thank you enough! You’re an absolute gem! Please stay in touch. All our love,
Mr and Mrs O’Reilly, your Newly Weds xx”
Uh-oh, we’re welling up reading this again… thank you so much Martin and Rachel. It has been such a joy getting to know you and creating the heart of your wedding day. Thank you so much for choosing us, and trusting us. And in the words of Margot’s reading, “I wish you love like a river that twists and turns, it changes and flows, it’s powerful and free but it consistently finds its way back to the sea...”
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