Beth & Aaron’s Wedding at The Carbis Bay Hotel

“WOW! Stewart these are just incredible, they really capture the day beautifully, thank you so much! We’ve already looked through them so many times and we love them all so much! 

Thank you also for being so great on the day; both professional and friendly, lots of wedding guests commented on what a nice guy you were! 🙂

We will certainly be singing your praises to everyone!”

Beth and Aaron

Well, it’s been just over a year since I was the Carbis Bay Hotel wedding photographer for the very lovely Beth & Aaron and I really can’t believe it’s taken me this long to get their wedding day featured on my blog!

Beth and Aaron’s wedding day was an absolute joy to be part of. Beth, her bridesmaids and close family all get ready the family home in Penzance and this is where I spent most of the morning. The atmosphere was super relaxed and the weather outside was perfect. One of my favourite moments from the morning was Beth’s dress reveal to her Dad and bridesmaids, I think the reactions in the photographs below tell the story! It was so clear that Beth has a strong relationship with her parents and family.

The wedding ceremony took place a few miles from the family home in Penzance at Gulval Church. The church was packed with family and friends and Beth’s entrance was so good!

The Carbis Bay Hotel near St Ives hosted the wedding reception for Beth and Aaron. I have been the wedding photographer at Carbis Bay Hotel several times now and this venue never fails to impress. The attention to detail is second to none. The speeches were a particular highlight, Aaron is a teacher so he’s used to standing in front of a class room of children and presenting, so needless to say he took this all in his stride! Albeit a slightly different audience but he had all the guests in laughter and tears! The weather took a little turn later in the day with a bit of rain and drizzle but this didn’t stop us getting out for a few photos. In fact one my favourite photos of Beth and Arron was in the rain outside on the decking at the hotel, it’s now the cover photo to this blog.

Beth and Aaron warned me at our pre wedding meeting that their families ‘like a good dance’ and they certainly weren’t wrong there either! They partied and danced their socks off all night, it was so much fun! I actually stayed right until the end of the night, even the band had packed up and gone and the family and guests were still dancing! So good!

I love being part of Beth and Aarons wedding day and I hope you enjoy some of their wedding photos below.

 

Tell me a little bit about yourselves, for example, where did you meet?

Aaron and I met as teachers in the Maths department at Helston Community College 6 years ago. We joined the school together, I was a trainee teacher and Aaron has just got a teacher position there. I was originally attached to Aaron’s tutor group and I remember when we first started seeing each other one of the students said to me ‘Miss you should be in our class more often, Mr Stivey is so much happier when you’re in the room’, I think the students guessed we were dating long before we thought they did! They were so desperate for us to get engaged and then to hear about the wedding plans ever since.

Can you tell me about the proposal?

It was at the start of our summer holidays and we took the dogs on one of my favourite walks around Rosemullion Head. We went down on to one of the beaches along the route and as luck would have it the beach was totally deserted. I didn’t suspect a thing until I turned around and Aaron was on one knee. I think my exact words were ‘Are you serious?!’ quickly followed by a very teary eyed ‘Yes!’ and I launched myself at him totally forgetting about the ring! The ring was designed by Aaron and made with the diamond from my Granny’s ring, again without me knowing (he is definitely a keeper!) Aaron had planned the whole day with a celebration meal with my parents and a surprise visit from my best friend from New Zealand, all in the restaurant we had our first date.

Can you tell me about your venues and why you chose them?

We were always going to get married in Cornwall, we both grew up here and we both have family here. A church wedding was really important to me and we wanted to find a small church which was unique to both of us and which would then become a very special place for us both. Gulval Church fitted the bill perfectly, it’s a beautiful small church and when we met the reverend he was just so welcoming, also, my family doctor who played a huge part in our family history was a reader at the Gulval church and was able to be involved in the ceremony which was incredibly special. Carbis Bay Hotel was the perfect place for the reception, we both love the coast and views from Carbis Bay are spectacular. Carbis Bay Hotel had the added bonus of views of Godrevy which is where Aaron and I went for a walk on our first date so it has always had a special place in our hearts.

Were you going for a certain style or theme for your wedding?

We wanted the ‘style’ of our wedding to be the perfect balance of both of our personalities. As Maths teachers the ‘Geometric’ theme seemed to fit quite nicely. Aaron designed all of the wedding stationary, the signs for the day and the font for the place names which were cut out in the school tech department. We asked the florist to include Lily of the Valley which represented Helston where we met and we asked the cake makers to include ‘lego chefs’ at the back of the cake on account of Aaron’s obsession with Lego.

What is the most memorable moment from the day?

The whole day was just amazing and choosing one moment is so hard! When we were talking about this we both had the same three memorable moments: Beth walking down the aisle, it felt like the most wonderful surreal moment that we both would love to relive over and over again; sitting down for the wedding breakfast, we both looked at each other said how much we wanted to soak up every bit of the happiness and love that was in the room, the buzz and laughter was amazing; and the last moment that sticks with us both is the dancing, so much dancing…

Why did you choose Stewart Girvan as your Carbis Bay Hotel Wedding Photographer?

Photos are my thing, I will famously spend hours looking back at old photos and I love losing myself in the story of the photos and so I was tasked with the job of finding a photographer. My main focus was a photographer who will tell the story of the day as it happens, I wanted a very organic set of images that capture the special moments that make the day what it is and Stewarts photos do exactly that.

How did you feel about having your photos taken and were pleased with your final images?

Stewart was so amazing on the lead up and on the day, super friendly and incredibly professional in equal measure. He made us both feel at ease from the moment we met him and his passion for taking photos that capture the day perfectly for us was evident from the start. The photos are everything we could have wished for and so much more, they perfectly document our perfect day.

Can you tell me about any other suppliers that contributed and played an important part to your wedding? For example, florist, makeup artist, transport, entertainment

So many wonderful suppliers, we were very lucky…..Joy Louise MUA made me and my girls all feel comfortable and confident in our own skin. Super yummy cake from Peboryon. The amazing and incredibly talented Anna from Wedding Flowers in Cornwall created really spectacular floral pieces – that flower arch!! The band ‘Bill Ding and the Skyscrapers’ got everyone on their feet and moving, they were sometime else!

Do you have any advice for future couples planning their wedding?

Enjoy every step of the journey: Enjoy the engagement and the moments surrounding it, there is plenty of time for wedding planning but there is only one engagement so make the most of it! Enjoy the planning, finding compromises that work for you both and creating a day that represents who you are as a couple! Oh and try to meet the suppliers in person, it makes a difference 🙂

 

 

Being a wedding photographer in Cornwall I am super lucky to have some incredible wedding venues right here on my doorstop. Being the wedding photographer for the Carbis Bay Hotel is definitely up their with one of my favourite wedding venues in Cornwall.

If you haven’t already seen it, here is a link to Hannah and Mike’s wedding at the Carbis Bay Hotel.

If you like what you see and looking for a wedding photographer for your day, please do get in touch, I would love to hear from you!