Ceremony & Reception
You'll walk through the woods down a light dappled path then over the stream & down to our pavilion of canvas & willow. It’s bordered on 2 sides by the stream & under a great ash tree. There’s daisies and buttercups, pink campions, meadowsweet and lacy white rounds of cow parsley. Hazel, willow and oak are watched by the elder, guardian of the woods. Giant ferns and hart’s tongue give a feel of another time, another place. This is where our legally binding ceremonies take place - but if you've already tied the knot elsewhere (often with our overseas couples) then you can have a totally personalized ceremony out on the grass or of course lakeside.
You'll seat 50 guests in comfort inside the pavilion, with another 50 on the decking outside. If your wedding is 100+ then we'll arrange more seating outside - we’ve got around 100 turquoise & more plain wooden ones, or you could hire in something totally different. Straw bales with coloured rugs look rustic on the grass for bigger numbers.
You'll have space for the Registrars (the two Council officers who officially marry you), make sure you contact them pronto to arrange your ceremony date & time ceremonies@registration.cornwall.gov.uk or 0300 1234181. There's room for musicians, perhaps a full size piano or Celtic harp. Big clear windows are stitched into the canvas which roll up nicely in sunny weather letting in the sounds of water & birdsong. Big beams & cross members in the roof are perfect for decoration, whether its a simple strand of white wedding bunting, a twist of wild ivy or more elaborate floral work.
One thing worth pointing out here is that we always make provision for anyone with mobility issues (or just really high Jimmy Choo’s) & provide a car & driver (usually our family car) to take them to and fro according to your wedding timetable. Ceremonies tend to take place early to mid afternoon with your reception in the main marquee closing down at midnight.
Opposite the pavilion sits our biggest tipi, the Grand Lodge – a great focal point for any event, & a perfect cocktail tent for post-ceremony drinks & canapes. We've got other heavy duty gazebos we can put up for wet weather days or to protect musicians etc (string quartets are very particular about their instruments getting damp).
After about an hour and a half in this lovely glade its up to the marquee meadow for your main reception; speeches and hugging, dining and dancing until midnight. There'll be room on the marquee lawn for little people to run and play and the big firepit will be lit at dusk so you can come outside and sit round the fire with a drink, maybe with marshmallows on sticks, all under the stars...
Lake & Woods
Wander across the stream over little wooden bridges to a wooded dingly dell, brilliant blue with bells in April/May and a palette of greens the rest of the season. This is where you can hang Chinese lanterns & bunting for really pretty after ceremony shots, or guests can just come & sit on little benches by the stream pool.
But it's when you go down to the lake that you can really let your imagination run wild – its the kind of location for wedding pictures that most couples and photographers can only dream of – bride & groom together on the jetty, bride on a floating pontoon, rowing groom (we love our bride in a boat shots), or groom and groom, bride and bride side by side.
You can also think about using the lake as part of your celebration – imagine a lakeside wedding - vows by the water's edge, or pagan handfasting,or your own Festival of Light with floating candles & flowers released at dusk.
One lake wedding had the couple exchanging vows on a floating pontoon we moored in the middle of the lake. Their musicians were hidden by high up trees, and music floated across the water to the guests below...it was a real lights, camera, action kind of wedding - and it was quite a show.
Another couple asked every guest to come forwards & throw a handful of fresh rose petals onto the lake at the end of their ceremony, and another got everybody (well, those that were up for it...) to jump into the water with them afterwards - everybody's different!
Stay on Site
The great thing about getting married with us is that you’ve got loads of potential accommodation for your friends and family, meaning that everyone can enjoy a longer or shorter weekend with you, but without the stress of lengthy accommodation lists, complicated taxi arrangements (no Uber here), or drink drive issues in an area with little public transport (ie there isn’t any).
Our tipis are ideal for couples, families, or groups of friends wanting to create that festival feel of celebration and time spent together in the great outdoors. Some couples want to make a real time of it – more like a Middle Eastern wedding where the feasting and festivities go on for several days – others just a couple of nights doing something really different. Whatever size of wedding you’re thinking of our tipi accommodation makes a practical alternative.
It doesn’t matter if there’s 12 of you or 200+ - our venue and overall site work just as well for big or intimate events. The idea is that your guests ring up and book their own accommodation according to how many they are, how long they’d like to book for, what location they’d like within the site etc. Some couples like the idea of planning where their friends and family are going to be, but we do advise against this as your guests may have different ideas - not to mention its a huge admin headache that you just don't need - that's our job!
Our best advice would be to let your guests book their own tipi size & position; they've often got their own reasons for wanting a particular spot which can make it a bit awkward if they are put somewhere else. All tipi bookings get our wedding guest discount, which varies according to your wedding date (5% off overall booking price in low-season (March, April, September & October), 10% in mid-season (May, June & early July) & 5% in peak-season (July, August & early September).
Depending on the size of the wedding there are usually some people for whom tipi camping either isn’t appropriate, or just doesn’t appeal. If you need more accommodation ideas we can of course help with everything from hotel to b+b’s, holiday cottages to pubs nearby.
We also take wild campers in the marquee meadow - anything from 2 man tents to camper vans, bell tents & caravans. Its cheaper than hiring a tipi but more work! There's also the option of our private woodland pitches - although tents only due to access.
Have a look at our sister w/s: www.cornishtipiholidays.co.uk & for tipi and meadow camping see our sample prices but don't forget to get in touch with the office for wedding guest discounts not available on the online booking system.
