There could not be a more suited location for your nautical wedding theme! Polhawn Fort has panoramic sea views AND its own beach!

Nautical weddings here are not only perfect because of the Fort’s location but also because of the county that we sit in! When we think of Cornwall we think beaches, boats, sea, sunshine, holidays, ice cream, and of course our famous pasties!! Why not make the most of the surroundings and incorporate it into your wedding day! Below are some ideas and inspiration for holding your very own nautical wedding at Polhawn Fort:

– Colours. Although many couples are steering away from a set colour scheme, a mix of nautical colours could be used to really show off your theme. Navy blue and pink or pale blue and white or blue, red and white are all colours that would be fabulous.

– Stationary. Start with your save the dates and your stationary, you could buy plain card then decorate as you wish anchors, ropes or pretty bunting can then all be added to give your guests an indication of what to expect in terms of your wedding theme. Save the dates could be in the form of a card, a fridge magnet, a badge or any else!

– Chairs. On your wedding day you could hire white chair covers with a pretty nautical coloured sash. Chair covers and sashes really do bring the Napoleonic Hall alive. Or, of course you can also marry in the outdoor Summerhouse, which has far reaching views of the sea and again chair covers on the lawn look fantastic!

– Food. Cornwall is a fantastic County with lots of delicious food choices. At Polhawn we allow you to choose exactly what you want to eat by selecting your own caterers. For a more informal wedding why not have a relaxed BBQ on the lawn and put out picnic rugs for everyone to sit on or for a more formal affair then the Napoleonic Hall can seat 120 guests. Some ideas for your seaside wedding are: seafood, ice-cream van, fish and chips, pasties or a picnic style buffet table.

– Flowers. When choosing your flowers, make them personal to what you like and what will fit. Maybe a natural flower theme with a hint of blue or blue ribbons will also highlight your theme. If you have a favourite flower then speak to your florist about potentially dying the flower to match your chosen colour scheme.

– Decoration. Little touches are the ones that will stand out. You can be very creative with table decorations, centrepieces, favours, place names and table names, the lovely thing about nautical weddings, is that it’s very vast. If you are fond of boats for example, then reflect this at your wedding. Think along the lines of different type of knots/ropes, you could use driftwood to make a rustic centrepiece and create a boat, or add miniature boats on every table. A recent wedding at Polhawn put a bottle on every table and asked their guests to write a message and pop it in. If you just love the beach/sea then you could use a fishbowl add sand and create a mini beach?

– Cake. Choosing a cake can be a very hard choice. So many different flavours, colours and styles. Again you could go for a beach themes 3 tier cakes with sunbeds, umbrellas and fake sand or for a sailing cake with anchors, ropes and lots of blue and white. Before you book a cake maker don’ forget to ask for samples to help choose the flavour!

– Feet. Boat shoes and flip flops are a great addition to your ‘nautical’ theme. We have our own beach which you can access via a rugged walkway, this is where comfortable shoes will definitely come in handy! Not only will they be handy, they will also fit with your theme. There are now companies that specialist in making ‘wedding flip-flops’, you can choose colours and style and they will even add ‘Just Married’ or ‘Mr & Mrs’ to the sole. Flips flops will also be very useful come 8ish, weddings are a very long day and your feet will feel it!

– Decoration. We will provide drapes and fairy lights for you already but you can add pretty much anything else that you want. Maybe have some quotes printed on canvases or photo frames of you both on the beach when you were little. Personally my favourite sea themed quote is:

“If you want to know how much I Love You, count all the waves in the sea”.

We have found Pinterest very helpful and full of wedding inspiration. We have recently created a nautical wedding theme board so do take a look for some ideas for your wedding!