Your Devon and Cornwall Wedding - March/April 2021 (Issue 30)

Meet the expert: Barny Lee is the owner and managing director at Barny Lee Marquees, a family-run marquee and furniture hire company based in Somerset covering weddings and events across Southern England and Wales. Barny says: Couples set on having a marquee wedding can still do so with a small, intimate gathering. Flexibility in wedding planning has been a buzz word over the past year and something that we are used to, but not quite to the extreme that Covid-19 has shown us! A marquee is a perfect choice if you want to host a small, intimate wedding this summer because they allow the option to add extra space to help accommodate guests. Marquees can fit into a surprisingly small space and are fantastic if you want to have a church or outdoor ceremony followed by a reception at home, or in a field, with the advantage that you can create your timetable for the day, and pick preferred suppliers. The best bit of advice that we can offer is to use the expertise that your chosen marquee hire company has because they’ll have endless experience and can help you realise your dreams. At Barny Lee Marquees, we offer free advice and guidance to all couples who are interested in having a marquee wedding and love helping them navigate their way through their planning journey to create a magical space, no matter how big or small, to celebrate their union. Turn to page 13 to take advantage of our exclusive offer. 01392 590 032 | https://barnyleemarquees.co.uk Meet the expert: Clare Fortescue runs Boconnoc Cornwall with her sister, Sarah, and mother, Elizabeth. It’s a beautiful country estate located in the South East of the region available for exclusive-use weddings, events and retreats, as well as restorative holidays with guests staying in the main house and on-site cottages. Clare says: Couples are falling in love with the micro wedding trend so reacting to the growing demand for intimate celebrations, Boconnoc Cornwall is now offering wedding packages for between 15 and 30 guests. Our wedding team predict that these special gatherings may be around for some time to come, regardless of lifted restrictions. So many couples have decided to have a more intimate celebration whether or not restrictions are lifted so we think that 2020 made people realise that smaller weddings do have their advantages. Here at Boconnoc Cornwall, we have loved planning our intimate wedding packages over the past six months and have surprised ourselves, and our clients, with the magic that we’re able to create. From starlit tractor-trailer rides around the estate, champagne presented in a marble ice bath in the woods, cosy welcome feasts, intimate firework displays and wine and cheese tastings, these smaller celebrations are very special. Wedding planner Jenny from Jenny Wren events in Cornwall tells us that many couples find that with a larger budget per head, intimate celebrations lend themselves perfectly to bespoke soirees, finished with personal touches. Couples can spend quality time with each guest – perhaps the most compelling reason for the surge in popularity of micro weddings. At Boconnoc Cornwall, our new intimate wedding offering caters for groups of up to 30 people. Guests are treated to a two-night stay with everyone sleeping on-site in the main house and the surrounding cottages. They will experience understated luxury in cosy, stylish bedrooms and couples can plan a full weekend of food and celebrations – and a chance to explore the beaches, woodland and deer park surrounding the estate with their nearest and dearest. There are several choices of locations for the ceremony. For those wanting a church wedding, the stunning 800-year-old on-site church is idyllic. There’s also the option of a civil or humanist ceremony in the main house, the Georgian Bathhouse, the Dorothy Garden or even down on the expansive lawns. Wedding feasts can be set up in the Smoking Room, or, for a more relaxed setting, guests can sit at trestle tables outside by the firepits watching the sunset. After dark, the wedding party can settle in with a nightcap by the fire, or turn up the music and dance under the stars. 01208 872 507 | www.boconnoc.com/weddings www.mat thewsumi.com Photography of bride on tractor courtesy of www.ben selwayphotography.co.uk 52