Gavin and Amy’s Sparkling Big Day!
We simply love being part of a couple’s special day. It is so rewarding to go from the initial coffee and consultation, to helping them plan the finer details, to seeing everything come together on the big day itself! We love our job and feel very lucky to meet lots of lovely couples on this exciting journey!
We wanted to catch up with newlyweds, Gavin and Amy Briffa who got married on Friday 4th November 2016 and see how they are finding married life. From the cake that Amy made herself to the stunning décor and personalised stationery, the guests (and hotel staff) were blown away with the couple’s attention to detail! Get a cup of tea and enjoy reading how they planned their wedding day…
How did the two of you meet?
Who said romance was dead, in the modern times we now live in we met online. Our first proper date was at a Chinese restaurant.
Tell us about the proposal?
We used to belong to the Spam Fritter Mini Club, and whilst away on the London to Brighton Mini Run we took a trip to Covent Garden where I took Amy to the Crusting Pipe restaurant… the question was asked over lunch and Amy said “YES!”
What made you choose to hold your wedding at The Duke of Cornwall Hotel?
Having had a long engagement, the time had come to take the plunge and ‘just do it’. We had a few different factors we were taking into account, the first was an all in one venue, not being religious we didn’t want a church wedding so wanted a venue with a nice ceremony room. The Duke was perfect for this as the dining room with its high ceiling and chandelier was amazing! The second was availability. The last thing was cost… this was a massive hurdle as many of the venues we looked at were overpriced for what you got for the package, the Duke however was very well priced!
Did you enjoy the planning process?
We did, both of us are creative with Amy’s work as a cake maker and my previous jobs working in events and marketing left us in a position to be able to do a lot of the things needed ourselves. Plus it gave us some time together and saved money!
Your cake was stunning, tell us more about your cake business Amy!
Amy owns Millie’s Cakes, she is known for producing amazing cakes and felt like she wanted to use ours as a test of how big could you make a cake… so we went for an 8 tier cake!
What made you decide to take on the task of designing your own stationery?
Design is something I have always enjoyed so I wanted to create a theme that followed through from the invites to the order of service to the table plan, selfie booth and table place names. Everything had the signature look to it!
What was your favourite part of the day?
All of it!
We loved your venue décor, was this the look you always wanted or did your ideas change with the planning process? Where did the inspiration come from?
We loved the glittery, show look so went for feathers, lights and glitter and found inspiration in many forms! We loved the Duke of Cornwall Hotel’s Opulence photo shoot with the dramatic floor standing flower arrangements photographed by Martyn Norsworthy. We also fell in love with the stunning centrepieces in the Hepburn inspired shoot with Toby Lowe Photography! Gavin’s mum Diane helped with the flowers and created magnificent arrangements and bouquets too which looked stunning!
Gavin, tell us about your wedding speech!
See it yourself!
Why would you recommend the hotel as a wedding venue?
PETE!… and the staff. Everyone made us feel like we were the most important people there. We were looked after from getting there to setup the day before to leaving the day afterwards!
All photos were taken by Gavin and Amy’s friend, Sam Richardson.
Thank you so much to Gavin and Amy for taking the time to share their stunning wedding story and photos with us, we wish them every happiness in their married life together!
If you have held your wedding at The Duke in the last year and would like to share your wedding with us, please email Jo at j.holford@thedukeofcornwall.co.uk, who would love to hear your story.