A wedding by the sea: Lucy and Josh at Polhawn Fort

It’s now three days since I shared Lucy and Josh’s incredible wedding by the sea, and I think I’m still smiling. It simply was the most joyous celebration, and utterly, utterly perfect from start to finish. I had a really good feeling about the whole day before it even started. Lucy and Josh had just been a joy to get to know, and I felt like we really clicked – and I loved their plans for the day, they loved my photography, and everything just felt like it had the potential for something really special – a brilliantly relaxed and fun celebration by the sea, with lots of really good food and drink thrown in. Plus, I love shooting weddings at Polhawn Fort – it’s one of my favourite venues to return to – I absolutely love the combination of private beach, stunning views and the most incredible (dark and) light inside the fort. The weather forecast was seriously hot, but we were by the sea, so that just gave things another big tick. So, I went in with massively high expectations, but everything about the day just completely exceeded these. From the spectacular morning swim on the beach with the boys, to all the fun of everyone getting ready in side-by-side rooms, to how incredible Lucy looked in her backless Rime Arodaky dress, to the ceremony filled with smiles and overseen by cats Ernie and Zeuss, and the wonderful celebration that followed. It was all just amazing. But above all this, the thing that really stood out for me, and the thing that made the whole day so much of a joy to photograph, was the love between Lucy and Josh. That might sound cheesy, but it’s genuinely not meant to. They shone at each other. Completely sparkled. It was something quite wonderful to capture, and I headed home that night completely in love with their love story.

Oh, and then there were the dolphins. We saw dolphins. It was early evening, and everyone was out on the lawn, enjoying drinks and watching the sunset. We were about to head inside for Lucy and Josh’s first dance. And then someone suddenly shouted, “DOLPHINS!”. And there they were, down in the bay below, swimming around the boats. It was utterly magical. Just one of the most special experiences ever. To see dolphins swimming in the Cornish waters is a wonderful experience alone, but to have this happen on your wedding day… so amazing for Lucy and Josh!

Anyway, I will stop waffling on, because this is really just about the photographs, and I’m so excited to share this preview. I’ll leave a final word to Lucy and Josh themselves, who sent me this wonderful email yesterday:

“We had to say the biggest thank you to you for just everything. You have been absolutely incredible and certainly were a massive piece in making our day so special – we feel like we’ve gained an amazing friend, as well as the most talented photographer. I think the dolphins at sunset were the icing on the cake.

“We honestly cannot put into words how grateful we are for all of your support, in both the build up to and of course, on the big day itself. We had just the most perfect day from start to finish and you really did go above and beyond to make us feel relaxed and special. All of the guests said how amazing and fun you were too.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!!”