Question 1

We want to find a quirky and unusual Cornish wedding venue – where can you suggest?

Accepted Answer

Experience the era of steam travel and go back in time at this wonderful wedding venue. Built in the 1950s, the station is home to two platforms, a café and booking hall plus a variety of coaches, steam and diesel locomotives. Exclusive hire and individual hire of the coaches are available while the Booking Hall and Signal Box make idyllic spaces for elopement or small micro weddings. Couples hosting larger parties of up to 150 guests can make the most of the station platforms, offering sheltered outdoor space for the ceremony followed by full use of a steam or diesel locomotive with a variety of accompanying coaches for an on-board celebration. Other platforms include Boscarne Junction and Colesloggett Halt and both can be used for photo opportunities. The two branch lines that offer a 13-mile round trip meander through the heart of the Cornish countryside enjoying impressive views of the Glynn Valley; Camel Trail and the River Camel and River Fowey. The café can be used to prep and warm food for the wedding party and Cornish pasties and cream tea boxes can be purchased to take on board (external caterers are also welcome.) The BSK Coach features a fully operating bar and provides a large open space, perfect for a drinks reception with canapés. Private coach hire starts from £895 and is perfect for a cost-friendly, small intimate celebration. There's a variety of wedding packages available to help couples tailor-make their day including the Glynn Belle Package from £2,495; the Boscarne Belle Package from £2,995; the Cornish Belle Package from £3,995 and the Elopement Package from £800. Santa Specials are now available to purchase in time for the festive season including Santa by Steam and Christmas Murder Mystery!

Question 2

We wanted a relaxed beach wedding this summer in Devon, can you help?

Accepted Answer

Arches Beach Weddings is an innovative new venue created following the transformation of the former Combe Martin museum building in North Devon. It's the sole ceremony-only seaside wedding venue in the country where couples effectively get their own private registry office set beside the sea against the stunning backdrop of Combe Martin Harbour. The once derelict building on the Newberry promenade has been regenerated into a plush ceremony room licensed for up to 120 guests, looking out to the sea just metres away, with a private outdoor space. As well as a dressing room and toilet facilities, it also boasts an opulent bridal suite upstairs that can also be booked separately by couples if they wish to stay the night. The venue is available in two-hour slots and can accommodate up to six weddings a day, with surround sound speakers and a variety of lighting options to create different themes. Wedding couples and parties can book local pubs, restaurants or hotels for their reception and guest accommodation, as well as florists, photographers and other regional suppliers for their big day. Local businesses have been invited to offer their services on the Arches website for free. Our philosophy from the start was that we wanted the venue itself to do as much as possible for the business and benefit of the village. Any local companies that want to be featured on our website only need to get in touch. We are not seeking any commission, we are sending business directly to them. We are not in competition with anyone because nobody else offers a ceremony-only service. With the motto 'your wedding, your way', the aim at Arches Beach Weddings is to offer a large range of options to suit all budgets, from a ceremony and fish and chips on the beach to a reception with all the trimmings at a local pub, hotel or restaurant. The venue is ceremony-only with no parties, no noise and no local nuisance. Couples can host their entire wedding for under £1,000 in a stunning location. There's currently a 25% discount for couples with an EX34 postcode. They can choose when they'd like to be married – at sunset, during the height of the summer or when the tide is in or out. We can be very flexible and would love to hear all of your suggestions, for example, we already have people talking about the couple arriving at the ceremony by boat

Question 3

We can't decide between booking a church wedding or having a civil ceremony – can you advise us?

Accepted Answer

I love marrying couples in church and adore the beauty of a church wedding, from the traditional moments and personal touches to the familiar words reflecting the individuality of each couple. A wedding in church offers a holy and spiritual dimension and the Devon Church Weddings project works with churches to ensure that prospective wedding couples receive a warm welcome and are supported through the process. A church is a beautiful and special place in which to make marriage promises, celebrate love and be blessed. There's a beautiful moment in the service that always moves me after the couple have exchanged their vows and made their promises, where the vicar takes their hands and wraps them in the priestly stole and declares that they are now married. It symbolises that their love for each other, all that has just been promised and declared, is held in the even greater love of God. At the heart of any wedding service or ceremony is love. The love of two people who are committing themselves to one another for the rest of their lives. They are joyful occasions and each one is so different. By the time you reach the wedding day, there is often a great bond that has grown between the couple and the priest from the first meeting, where you talk through practicalities and set the date, through to the wedding rehearsal and the big day itself. As a vicar, you want to do your best for each couple to make their wedding truly wonderful. Two words come to mind when describing a church wedding - relationship and blessing. Your relationship is at the heart of the service. In the sealing of your relationship with each other, you are from then on related to that church – your names are in the register and the church will always be there for you in the future. The blessing element of a wedding is also really important. It doesn't mean that everything will go smoothly or that nothing bad will ever happen. Christian blessing is a deep faith that God is with us and wants good for us. Many couples who come to church to marry find they become part of a church community who love and support them through their future life. Weddings have taken place in churches for generations, with families and friends gathering to celebrate.

FAQs and expert advice about venues