Fern & Joe's intimate, secret Cornwall elopement

The Offbeat Bride: Fern, nanny

Her offbeat partner: Joe, security engineer

Date and location of wedding: Boscean Country House, Boho Cornwall, St. Just, UK — December 13, 2013

Our offbeat wedding at a glance: I think the best thing about our wedding was the surprise of it — and I don't mean for our friends and family. The date was set only six weeks before, and we knew we wouldn't have a chance to visit the venue. But by this point, I really was not interested in heavily planning anything. We really wanted zero responsibility — to just turn up at the location and we would just embrace it! We chose Boscean Country House for our elopement, sight unseen.

I told our florist to just think up something amazing, and she didn't disappoint. It was great to just give up any expectations and just trust others. Seeing my bouquet on the morning of our wedding was great — it was like nothing I'd seen before and it fit perfectly with the wintry day.

When it was all over just a few hours later, we headed back to the beautiful cottage on-site, and dug in to the most amazing deli platter provided by the venue. Joe threatened to take a picture of me scarfing a giant bag of crisps in my wedding gown! We put our slippers on and chillaxed for the rest of the evening!

Here's our highlight video:

Tell us about the ceremony:
I walked down the staircase to The Piano Guys' version of "Can't Help Falling in Love," which I love. The room was filled with candles which gave off a gorgeous glow and warmth.

We had decided that as it was just us, we would write our own vows. Joe, in particular, hates being the centre of attention so this is a big thing for him. But it was wonderful to be able to reminisce about our past together, celebrate our present, and make promises to one another. Penny, our daughter, handed us our rings, which made her feel really included. After being pronounced husband and wife, the three of us toasted with bubbly (and orange juice for the little lady).

Our biggest challenge:
We had been attempting to plan a wedding for almost a year when we called the whole thing off. It had just been one huge headache: vendors falling through, going bust, and messing us around. We couldn't agree on what we really wanted, we couldn't fit our wants around family and friends wants or needs, and it all was just doomed from the start. By October, we'd both reached the end. We were due to be married on Valentine's Day and I think it's fair to say neither of us were remotely excited — not a good feeling.

We called our families and friends and told them we were cancelling, but that WE were fine. We just no longer wanted to get married in the February and asked for a little time and space. A few weeks later, we decided to elope, Googled "Cornwall elopement" and just chose a venue!

My favorite moment:
The first would be sitting in my chair, on the top floor of the Ochre cottage, with the doors wide open overlooking the miles and miles of green and onto the Cornish coast. Cornwall is where my heart is — it's like coming home every time we visit. When we woke up on our wedding day, it was chucking it down with rain and it was grim. As I sat there over the course of the morning, I watched the rain slowly cleared and the gloomy skies turned to bright blue and it felt so apt after our struggle planning our original wedding. I just felt so totally relaxed and I knew I was where I wanted to be, with whom I wanted to be.

Having my beautiful baby girl walk me down the big staircase towards Joe was perfect, too. To have her leading me towards her daddy felt so right. As we heard the opening bars of the song, and we began making our way down, I heard her gasp, "Hello Daddy!" and she waved at him. He just stood there with the biggest grin waiting for us and I honestly felt like my heart might just burst.

Care to share a few vendor/shopping links?

• Photography: Debs Ivelja Photography
• Videographer: Foster Filming
• Dress: Diane Harbridge from Timeless Elegance
• Shoes: Hush Puppies
• Hair accessories: Rosie Willet
• Hair: Kelly Anza
• Makeup: Sally Orchard
• Florist: Cornish Cutting Garden
• Jewelry: Joma Jewelry
• Joe's suit: Next
• Penny's dress: Zulily

Enough talk — show me the wedding porn!