Some wedding days just feel properly summery.
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Summer and Dan’s wedding at Kilminorth was on what I’m pretty sure was the hottest day of the year. Absolutely boiling. Hairdryers and straighteners going in the prep room probably didn’t help matters either!
But despite the heat, the whole morning was just brilliant. Loads going on, everyone getting ready together in the gorgeous cottages at Kilminorth and exactly the sort of slightly chaotic, happy wedding morning that I love photographing.
Summer is originally from South Africa, and when they were planning the wedding they had quite a big decision to make: Cornwall or South Africa.
They chose Cornwall.
More specifically, they chose Kilminorth, tucked away in the countryside near Looe, and on a day like this it was very easy to see why.
Getting ready at Kilminorth
One of the things I really like about Kilminorth is having the cottages right there on site.
From a photography point of view it means the morning can just happen. There’s no rushing from one place to another, nobody worrying about traffic or whether someone has left something behind. Friends and family are around, people wander in and out, and you get all those little moments happening naturally.
And there were plenty of those with Summer and Dan.
It was hot, busy and full of people, but incredibly relaxed at the same time. Pretty much perfect documentary wedding photography territory.
If you’re planning a wedding at Kilminorth, I’d definitely consider staying on site and making the most of the cottages. Apart from making life easier, it means your wedding starts to feel less like one day and more like a whole little wedding escape with the people you love.
An outdoor wedding ceremony in the Cornish countryside
The ceremony was outside, with that huge countryside view rolling away behind them.
Kilminorth has loads of outdoor space, and on a beautiful summer’s day it really comes into its own. You feel completely tucked away from everything.
Summer and Dan had family joining them from South Africa too, including relatives watching the ceremony via a live stream. Technology being technology, the signal didn’t entirely cooperate, but they were there with them as much as Cornwall’s internet would allow!
And Summer and Dan’s children were very much part of the ceremony too.
I think that’s something worth mentioning because when you have small children, a wedding rarely happens in a perfectly neat, predictable way. Nor should it.
They wander about. They want Mum or Dad. They appear in photographs you might not necessarily have planned for them to be in.
And that’s their family.
Those photographs aren’t interruptions to the story. They are the story.
A relaxed afternoon at Kilminorth
Afterwards, there wasn’t a great rush to move everybody on to the next thing.
It was just an afternoon of people spending time together, chatting, laughing, eating, drinking and enjoying being in one place with some of their favourite people.
Which, really, is exactly what a wedding should be.
The marquee looked incredible too. Lots of dried flowers, pampas grass and beautiful earthy colours which worked perfectly with the countryside around Kilminorth.
The speeches were properly heartfelt, with plenty of laughter thrown in, and the whole reception had that feeling I always love at weddings where nobody seems particularly concerned about what they’re supposed to be doing.
They were just enjoying it.
Five minutes away from everyone
At some point during most wedding days, I’ll suggest disappearing for a few minutes.
Not for an enormous photoshoot. No endless posing. Usually just five or ten minutes somewhere nearby while everyone else is happily occupied.
With Summer and Dan we headed off around the grounds at Kilminorth for some photographs of just the two of them.
And when couples have young children, I think those few minutes can be particularly lovely.
As someone with small children myself, I know how incredibly rare time alone with your other half can sometimes be!
So although, yes, we’ll make some beautiful photographs while we’re there, it’s also a chance to walk away from everybody, have a chat, laugh about what’s happened so far and actually spend a few minutes together on your wedding day.
Then back to the party.
No disappearing for an hour while your guests are having all the fun without you.
Why I love photographing weddings at Kilminorth
Kilminorth is one of those venues that works particularly well for the sort of weddings I love photographing.
There is loads of space, everyone can stay close together and there are so many different places for people to naturally congregate throughout the day.
For documentary wedding photography, that’s brilliant.
Rather than constantly moving everyone from one carefully organised moment to another, there is room for the day to breathe. People sit outside the cottages, children can run around, groups of friends disappear off for a chat, drinks happen in the sunshine and all the little unscripted bits of a wedding have space to happen.
And photographically you’ve got the cottages, countryside, wild spaces and those huge views across the valley without needing to bundle everybody into a car and disappear somewhere else for portraits.
Summer and Dan’s wedding was a perfect example of it.
A ridiculously hot Cornish summer’s day, a beautiful outdoor ceremony, family joining from the other side of the world, their children right in the middle of everything and an afternoon spent with some genuinely lovely people.
An incredibly special day for two incredibly special people and their families.
And definitely one of those days that reminds me why I love photographing weddings in Cornwall.
Summer & Dan’s wedding suppliers
Venue: Kilminorth
Dress: Wed2B
Bridesmaids’ dresses: Six Stories
Suit: Marc Darcy
Hair: Bridal Hair by Laura
Make-up: Gemma Higgins / Gem Beauty
Flowers: Daisie Chain Floral Design
Catering: RAD Catering
Band: The Guise
DJ: Lady C
Photography: Thomas Hare Photography
Planning a wedding at Kilminorth?
If you’re getting married at Kilminorth and you’re looking for wedding photography that lets you actually enjoy your day, I’d love to hear what you’re planning.
My approach is relaxed and mostly documentary. I’m there to photograph the people, the atmosphere, the chaos, the quiet bits and everything that makes the day yours, without turning your wedding into a photoshoot.
