BY THE SEASIDE

Rhian and Adam opted for a coastal theme with celestial accents for their wedding day at St Mary’s Church and Trefloyne Manor

Images courtesy of Frankee Victoria Photography (editing), Leesha Williams Photography and Geraint Roberts Photography

Rhian and Adam met at university in 2008. “We lived in the same flat during our first year,” says Rhian. “After we moved out, we stayed friends and in our third year we started spending more time together. Before we knew it, we were inseparable, staying up all night watching films and eating takeaway. We knew from the start that we had something really special and after 11 years together, every day is still just as amazing as when we first started seeing each other. We always say we are like two puzzle pieces that fit together, as we love so many of the same things, but differ in ways that bring out the best in each other.”

In an incredibly romantic gesture, Adam flew across the world to propose to Rhian. “I was on a family holiday in the Dominican Republic and he took a gamble by not telling anyone he was coming,” shares the bride. “He arrived at our hotel on the same day as us, managed to lay low for a day-and-a-half and in that time, brought my brother in on his plan to propose. On the second night of our holiday, Adam appeared on my balcony. I had been in my parent’s room with my brother, when I was asked to go back to mine to get the key we had ‘forgotten’. When I went back, I was met by rose petals leading me from the door to the balcony and there was Adam waiting for me on one knee. That was the biggest surprise of my life. It meant the world to me that he had gone so out of his way to not only surprise me, but to have my family be a part of it too.”

SETTING THE SCENE

“Having grown up in Tenby, it holds such a special place in my heart and Adam and I have lots of special memories there,” explains Rhian. “When we started planning our wedding, we considered other areas but kept coming back to Tenby. Once we settled on it, we knew there was only one place that we could tie the knot and that was St Mary’s Church, as it was a big part of my life growing up. When it came to looking for a reception venue, we wanted somewhere close by, with amazing food and a beautiful reception room. We also wanted enough accommodation for our bridal party to stay with us and we had some quite specific ideas of things we wanted to incorporate into our day, so flexibility was really important too. Trefloyne Manor gave us everything we wanted and more.”

The couple asked Bee Davies Illustration to hand-paint their table plan. “Adam and I absolutely love all things celestial, so we named our tables after star constellations,” adds the bride. “We wanted to give people a little piece of Tenby to take away with them, so our place names were pebbles, handpicked from Tenby Beach. Bee Davies Illustration also hand-painted our welcome sign and order-of-service. She painted four quotes for us, which were taken from poems and raps Adam and I have written for each other over the years and we dotted them around the reception venue. We have since used these to decorate our home and remind us of our wedding day.

“For our centrepieces, we chose beautiful individual flowers arranged by Forbesfield with pink and blue candles from Gifts on the Green,” continues Rhian. “We picked a relaxed coastal-style for our flowers, with lots of texture and light blue and pink accents. The bridesmaids’ posies were smaller versions of my bouquet and each was finished with Lancaster and Cornish silk ribbon. My mum and dad gifted me a charm the night before our wedding, which my bridesmaids attached to my bouquet whilst we were getting ready. We had a beautiful arch outside of the church, which was entirely out of budget but absolutely worth it! Our confetti was blue and white, but if you look closely, you will see dried red rose petals all the way from our engagement in the Dominican Republic. Following the wedding, we decided to have the bridal bouquet and Adam’s buttonhole pressed into a frame, that is one of our favourite keepsakes that we get to look at every day.”

Rhian’s mum made a fruit cake, which was decorated with royal icing and polka dots. “It was finished with a handmade topper of our ragdoll cats by The Wire Boutique and a flower arrangement from Forbesfield,” recalls the bride. “We also had a Biscoff and salted caramel sponge cake, made by The Sweet Cake Kitchen, which was celestial themed. To cut our cake, we used the most beautiful Vera Wang cutting set, gifted to us by my parents the night before the wedding.

“Adam made the music playlist for our reception venue with the help of his best men and the playlist is something we still listen to all the time,” adds Rhian. “Think hip hop and R&B mixed with some old favourites.”

Rhian’s parents hired wedding cars from Glyn’s Wedding Cars as a present. “We chose the Brenchley car for me and the Daimler for my mum and the bridesmaids,” says Rhian. “It was such a special moment to arrive in Tenby high street in a classic wedding car with people lining the streets. It had been raining on and off that morning, but just as we arrived, it decided to stop, so the driver took down the roof of the Brenchley in the middle of square! After we were married, Adam and I took our first journey as husband and wife.

“For our drinks reception, we had jugs of Pimms and bottles of beer on the outside terrace and thanks to the staff, we didn’t see an empty glass,” recalls the bride. “We had mini burgers, salmon rolls and savoury scone canapés. We also had delicious Welsh cakes, homemade by my auntie. Our wedding breakfast was influenced by our favourite meals. To start our guests could choose from duck salad, fishcake or spiced soup with onion bhaji; for main it was pork belly, roast dinner or hake, and dessert was baked vanilla cheesecake, pear and honey tart or sticky toffee pudding. We really wanted to give people a meal they enjoyed, so it was important to us that we could offer a choice and we had trialled most of the courses beforehand and absolutely loved all of them! Our evening food went down a treat too; we had pasties from Pembrokeshire Pasty & Pie Co served with wedges.”

DRESSED TO IMPRESS

“My dress was so special as it was gifted to me by my dad,” shares Rhian. “It took me a while to find the one because I liked so many different styles. I didn’t think I would be the type to have ‘the moment’ but how wrong I was! The dress I chose caught me completely off guard and captured my heart the moment I saw myself in the mirror. Designed by Aire Barcelona, it had lots of layers and lace and was romantic, wispy and relaxed. I accessorised my dress with a cathedral-length veil, polka dot heels and jewellery with celestial accents. I also had a beautiful Maggie Sottero gown from Allison Jayne for the evening, which I unexpectedly won in a competition!”

Adam and the groomsmen wore navy blue tuxes from Hawes & Curtis and accessorised with silk bow ties and white pocket squares. “Adam finished his tux with cufflinks that I gifted to him,” remembers the bride. “The bridesmaids looked beautiful in navy silk cocktail dresses finished with rose gold aquamarine stone earrings. They had gold pashminas which came in handy for the outdoor evening reception. My mum wore a light blue dress suit from Image By Vanessa, which had subtle gold and silver details and she looked absolutely perfect.”

later,” explains Rhian. “Phil Jay Close Up Magician was fantastic! John and Andy created a relaxed vibe and everyone was super impressed by Phil’s magic! Phil did his final magic trick, just for us, which was a really special moment. We held the first part of our evening reception outside and once the band had finished, we danced into the night with our wedding playlist before going back inside. We also had a photo booth which was lots of fun and the photos and messages from that doubled as our guestbook.”

MEMORABLE MOMENTS

“We spent a lot of the day in disbelief that we had finally made it, as it was our fourth try at getting married because of COVID-19,” shares Rhian. “We had been through a lot with me needing lifesaving surgery the year before and we had waited such a long time for our moment to come around, so I think it meant even more to us. It was the most unbelievable and happy time of our lives and to devote that day to celebrate our love and strength with our friends and family was worth every second of the wait.

“It’s so hard to pick out parts of the day that stood out to us as everything was so special,” adds Rhian. “The most surreal part of our day was arriving at the church, I think it was only at that moment that we both let ourselves accept we were probably going to finally get married! Walking down the aisle with my dad and seeing Adam for the first time in his tux was a moment I will never forget. He looked amazing and we were both just so happy. There were so many more lovely memories, from my family seeing me in my dress for the first time, to the speeches and climbing St Catherine’s Island. We had the island to ourselves, so we climbed to the castle rooftop and took in the most beautiful views of Tenby we’d ever seen.”

Rhian and Adam ended up locked outside the church. “When we left for our confetti shot, the church doors were shut behind us with our photographer and videographer’s kit and all the décor we wanted to re-purpose at the reception venue still inside,” remembers the bride. “Thankfully, I knew the rectory’s phone number and my dad, brother and brother’s girlfriend ended up breaking into the church (with permission) to get the stuff locked inside!

“My mum had been unwell in the lead-up to our wedding and continues to be, so it was incredibly special that she did a reading during the ceremony,” adds Rhian. “I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house. In the evening, Adam set up a big projector screen and played a rap he had recorded as part two of his wedding speech. It told the story of our proposal and was absolutely hilarious, even the staff at Trefloyne Manor came to watch and everyone loved it.”

RHIAN AND ADAM’S CONTACTS

Ceremony venue, St Mary’s Church, www.stmaryschurchtenby.co.uk | Reception venue and catering, Trefloyne Manor, www.trefloyne.com | Photograph editing, Frankee Victoria Photography, www.frankee-victoria.co.uk | Photographers, Leesha Williams Photography, www.leeshawilliamsphoto.com and Geraint Roberts Photography, www.geraint-roberts.co.uk | Videographer, John Mark Films, www.johnmarkfilms.co.uk | Bride’s reception dress, Allison Jayne, www.allisonjayne.com | Groom’s suit, Hawes & Curtis, www.hawesandcurtis.co.uk | Bridesmaids’ dresses, Chi Chi Clothing | Mother-of-the-bride’s outfit, Image By Vanessa, www.imagebyvanessa.co.uk | Father-of-the-bride’s outfit, Eden Menswear, www.facebook.com/edenmenwear | Bride and mother-of-the-bride’s hair and make-up, Brows + Brides, www.browsandbrides.co.uk | Bridesmaids’ hair, The Hideaway Beauty Room, www.instagram.com/the.hideawaybeautyroom | Blue cake, The Sweet Cake Kitchen, www.facebook.com/thesweetcakekitchen | Cake topper, The Wire Boutique, www.facebook.com/thewireboutique | Cake knife, Vera Wang, www.verawang.com | Flowers and table decorations, Forbesfield, www.forbesfield.co.uk | Gold easel, mini easels, order-of-the-day board and charger plates, The Luxe Touch, www.theluxetouch.co.uk | Personalised framed canvases, The Roaming Caravan Co., www.facebook.com/roamingcaravanco | Candles, Gifts on the Green, www.giftsonthegreen.shop | Transport, Glyn’s Wedding Cars, www.glynsweddingcars.co.uk | On-the-day stationery, Bee Davies Illustration, www.beedavies.co.uk | Magician, Phil Jay Close Up Magician, www.facebook.com/philjaycloseupmagician Band, John Adams Music, www.johnadamsmusic.co.uk | Photo booth, Ultra Booth, www.ultrabooth.co.uk | Evening catering, Pembrokeshire Pasty & Pie Co., www.parcelsofmagic.com