This week’s modern spring woodland wedding is incredibly beautiful. There are mismatched chairs under waxed scaffold-board tables, gold-dipped feathers, vintage candlestick holders and garlands of greenery. Every single element of this wedding is carefully planned yet natural and organic. It’s a strong contender for my favourite Real Wedding so far (and it’s the final one of 2016) and I just love that they did it all themselves.

We first met Chloe and Sam when the gorgeous couple featured in this rainy romantic Cornish wedding shoot back in March. I think we all knew then that their wedding would be a beauty and it certainly hasn’t disappointed.

Bride Chloe tells us more about their modern spring woodland wedding…

A modern spring woodland wedding in Cornwall

Chloe and Sam’s modern spring woodland wedding took place on a bright but chilly April spring day in the beautiful countryside of Cornwall.

“Spring is our favourite time of the year, everything is fresh, smells awesome and people tend to feel more optimistic and happy that winter is no longer with us.”

Woodland inspiration

“We gathered a lot of inspiration from local woodlands; the wedding was a real mixture of wood, metal, delicate gold dipped feathers, metres of green garlands and beautiful white spring flowers in little glass inkwells. The end result was exactly what we wanted, in fact it was even more striking than I could have imagined.”

Throw your own style at it

Chloe had quite a refreshing stance on wedding planning: “I tried to not use Pinterest too much, we both felt like it would be fun to just throw our own style at our wedding.” And it shows – there are so many individual quirks in this wedding. When planning a wedding, it’s so easy to fall into the Pinterest trap but Chloe trusted her own style and taste. Funnily enough, we think the result is a very “Pinterest-worthy” wedding!

Glittery gold wonderland workshop

“We wanted to create long banquet tables so we bought reclaimed scaffold boards and made 11 long tables with steel legs. All our signs, menu boards and seating plans were made by me and each gold dipped glitter feather was carefully put together in Sam’s workshop. It was a glittery wonderland of gold for about a month!” The couple also collected each of the individual candlesticks that adorned the tables.

Your wedding should reflect your personalities

“As creative people we probably went the extra mile (and a half) with the presentation and detail in our wedding and the lovely part was that people did notice and did say how it reflected our personalities which is what we hoped would happen.”

A church wedding

The couple married in a local Cornish chapel in Colan and the small, lichen covered, candlelit church was a  beautiful setting for their exchange of vows.

A natural and organic Cornish bridal bouquet

Chloe’s loose, natural bouquet was created by The Cornish Cutting Garden. The Cornish-grown greenery, ferns and dainty white spring flowers created quite a wild and natural display. By picking and conditioning the flowers within a day of the wedding, The Cornish Cutting Garden can use delicate flowers and foliage that might not travel well. This wild bouquet is the perfect fit for their modern spring woodland wedding.

Delicate antique white bridesmaids’ dresses

The couple’s bridesmaids each wore different high street dresses in the same antique white hue. By not choosing any additional colours for their dresses, the pop of vibrant green in the bouquets draws the eye. In fact, this stunningly natural forest green is the only colour scheme of their modern spring woodland wedding – with edges gilt in gold, it’s truly beautiful.

An entertaining vicar

One of Chloe’s favourite parts of the wedding was in the church – not the bursting pews or pretty interior but “the hilarious vicar (who entertained our guests by breaking his glasses moments before I walked down the aisle!” We do love a wedding full of laughter.

It started at our best friend’s wedding

The couple themselves met at a wedding: “Me and Sam met at our best friend’s wedding and four years later Sam proposed on Sennen beach. It was a beautiful mizzley Cornish day but the colours at Sennen are stunning whatever the weather.”

A romantic proposal

Sam’s clearly a bit romantic, as it wasn’t just a matter of getting down on one knee on the damp beach: “Collecting sea glass is my way of relaxing and Sam had hidden the ring underneath a pile of sea glass in his hand. We quickly went to the Last Inn at Lands end for a celebratory pint!”

Exquisite natural wedding photography

The couple are clearly at ease with their wedding photographer, Jo at Enchanted Brides, perhaps because of their inspirational shoot a few weeks beforehand. “Each photo captured the atmosphere, fun and delicacy of our wedding.”

An elegant Grace Loves Lace wedding dress

“Now the dress – I really struggled with finding a dress in the UK, I knew I wanted something made fully of lace which had that simple, elegant boho feel to it.

The Inca dress made by Grace Loves Lace was the one. I adored everything about it and thankfully it fit like a glove. The company were fantastic and every last bit of detail was clearly given and every measurement was tripled checked before the dress was made.”

Take a moment to stand back

“The best bit of advice we were given was to make sure that at some part during the day you and your husband take the time for a couple of minutes to stand back and just look at all your family and friends because it really is incredible to see everyone in one place for you.”

A Baltic wind

Another thing Chloe adored about their wedding was the surprise weather: “a Baltic wind randomly blew in after weeks of warmth.” A rather romantic addition to their modern spring woodland wedding.

Rustic industrial farm wedding

After their church wedding, Chloe, Sam and their guests headed to a friend’s farm. We just love the way they styled the rustic barns with the exposed industrial frame decorated with swathes of burlap and strings of festoon lights. The building has become part of the decor and it’s magnificent. The touches of gold and the delicacies of the foliage garlands contrast and add a shine to the whole setting.

Thankful for the people who helped

“Everything came together like a dream. It also dawned on me and Sam how fabulous and creative our friends are. We felt really blessed to have all these wonderful people get alongside us and create a wicked day. Jo Clement from Enchanted Brides, Clare Webb from The Cornish Cutting Garden and Suzi Humphries the Cupcakemama, are just a few who helped us along the way.”

It’s hard work to make it look this good

Chloe has some expert advice if you’re thinking of creating this look: “Don’t make 11 tables and 24 metres of handmade garlands three days before your wedding day as it’s a nightmare for any beautician trying to make your hands look ‘bride worthy’.”

Naked wedding cakes

Chloe and Sam’s naked wedding cakes were made by Cupcakemama and were in-keeping with their natural green, white and gold colour scheme. The naked wedding cakes were finished with edible flowers and herbs from TNWC Recommended Supplier Greens of Devon.

A final bit of wedding advice

“In all seriousness we just found it really important to stick to your own style and enjoy the process because you really do miss your wedding after it’s finished.”

The wedding food was catered by Pompier Catering, with the street food style dishes being served from a cute red vintage French fire service van.

A huge thank you to Chloe and Sam for letting us pour over their wedding photos and as always, thank you to Enchanted Brides Photography for sharing this beautiful modern spring woodland wedding with us.

If you are planning a spring wedding and are looking for more ideas and inspiration, you could check out out all the blog posts archived under the Spring Wedding tag. Over on our Pinterest we have a few boards bursting with creative inspiration, check out our Spring Wedding Inspiration board and Spring Wedding Flowers.

{ Details }

Photographer: Enchanted Brides Photography
Venue: A friend’s farm
Bride’s Dress: Inca by Grace Loves Lace
Bride’s Accessories: Kate Hodgson Jewellery
Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Various from Coast, ASOS & Topshop
Bridesmaids’ Accessories: Vintage brooches from Love Mia in Porthleven
Flowers: The Cornish Cutting Garden
Stationery: Liz Tregakis
Food: Pompier Catering
Wedding Cake: Cupcakemama
Decorations: Bride and Groom