There were so many beautiful details in this wedding that I wouldn’t know where to start, but I have to mention the gorgeous gown that Alix designed herself, which was made at the Maria Lucia Hohan atelier – it really was a piece of art, even more delicate and magical in real life than in pictures!

I would like to take this opportunity to say a HUGE thank you to my assistant Susanna Hauru, who’s been an amazing help this summer. I’ve certainly had some adventures this year, and I’m glad she’s been there to share most of them!

p.s. Do also check out Alix’s blog for the fabulous honeymoon pictures – oh my, talk about paradise!

On the last day of my holiday I was persuaded to cover the wedding of Anu & Oka (who himself is in my opinion Finland’s finest wedding photographer), and I’m really happy that I did agree to do it – it was such fun being part of Finnish wedding proceedings for a change. Below are a few glimpses from Anu and Oka’s portrait session, more pictures from the wedding will come later, much later…

From the traffic to my site I can see that there are a lot of anxious people wanting me to get on with the processing of a certain French wedding, and I promise I am knuckling down to it! Also, if your French is up to scratch you may have been following the story of this wedding, as told by the bride’s mum. I will share some of my favourites from the day once Elodie is finished with teasing her readers! :D

Becks and the girls got ready at The Watergate Bay Hotel, which sits on one of the most beautiful beaches ever. Lil and Bridie at Kelly Anza, Penzance did a beautiful job on their hair, and makeup artist Suzi Winter made sure that everyone looked pretty as can be. Becks’ beautiful  Temperley dress and Manolo Blahnik heels created such a lovely nostalgic look, and her Royst and Aran headdress really set the whole look off. The colour theme at this wedding was baby blue and red, and the gorgeous customised bridesmaids’ dresses from Anoushka G and red (burlesque!) shoes from Bordello fit so well into it.

The ceremony took place at the Chapel of the Franciscan Monastery of Lanherne in St Mawgan in Pydar, where only a couple of weddings in a year are allowed. Guests travelled to the reception at Bre Pen Farm in fantastic 1950′s coaches from King Harry Coaches, while the wedding party arrived in iconic wedding VWs from Cornwall VW Wedding Hire. The party itself was held in a marquee on a cliff top overlooking the sea, which was absolutely one of the most amazing places I’ve ever had the pleasure of attending a wedding at! Here’s what Becks told me about her vision for the wedding:

‘I collected all the jam jars and glassware myself and it was all inspired by “The Darling Buds of May”, but also we wanted it to reflect festivals (wellies) and our Northern/Greek/Cornish connections. It was a big-ish wedding, but I wanted everyone to feel like they got looked after and almost like they received a “hug” from all of the little details! The gingham tablecloths and bunting were made by my mum and  the vintage lace tablecloths and vintage china were sourced by me and friends from charity shops and flea markets! The strawberry plants were grown for the occasion by a friend.’

‘The flowers (George Mackay Flowers) were so important to me and we even used apples (to reflect the origin of my name ‘Crabtree’) and olive branches for Andi’s Cypriot roots. We wanted it to reflect two people joining together. The rest were seasonal, mainly native and used to create a “just picked” feel.’

‘Another aspect of the day that was important was that we wanted to show how we don’t take ourselves too seriously and had quite ironic touches such as naming the tables after some of the worst nightclubs we’ve frequented over the years (as we met in our teens in a BAD nightclub) and giving everyone kebabs later in the evening to soak up the booze!’

‘The food (catering by Round Kitchen) was, again, slightly retro and ironic in theme and we went for old-fashioned desserts like trifle and black forest gateau.’

I think that’s more than enough for the introduction, let’s get to the pictures and relive this incredible party. Enjoy!

I’d like to thank Rebecca and Andi for taking us with you on this incredible ride, it was an unforgettable day!

Also a huge thank you to Susanna, as always, and to Maz from Light and Day Photography, who came along to assist and to be ‘on call’ in case my ankle couldn’t take the long day up on a hill.

Eva and Clara really are the epitome of ‘chic’, wouldn’t you agree? I’d also like to thank all the lovely people who allowed us to shoot in their cafes and shops, especially Alegria Life & Food and Myriad antiques at Clarendon Cross.

The biggest difference between English and Finnish wedding is the hectic schedule of the Finnish wedding day. There was a dizzying array of quizzes, speeches, dance competitions, singing, reading, games etc. which made sure the Bestman certainly had to work hard trying to keep everything happening on time!

Miikka always used to say his plan was to be married with kids by the age of 25, which means he was somewhat behind schedule. I suppose that can happen when you wait for the right girl though, and I think it’s pretty obvious he has found that girl. Congratulations again, I wish you guys all the best in your life together!

The weather was gorgeous throughout our road trip to Juuka and on the wedding day. Finland was definitely showing its best and it was lovely to experience a Finnish wedding after all the English ones I’ve been to recently. Despite different traditions and locations, the essence of all weddings is the same and there’s always a hightened sense of that elusive ‘world is a good place’ feeling present, which is what I love most about weddings in general. And this wedding was no exception.

More pictures from the reception to follow…

Just a really quick sneak peek from Päivi & Miikka’s wedding in Finland last Saturday. I’m still trying to catch up with emails etc. since returning to London, and I haven’t even started editing this wedding yet. This one shot just caught my eye when I was backing up the files.

I have a pretty busy period ahead of me, with weddings every week until September. Here’s hoping I will find some time to edit and post pictures as well!