Inside: A Thoughtfully Curated Coastal Wedding In Salcombe

From a bold proposal in Leicester Square to their Salcome wedding. Laura & Nicholas Taylor give us an inside look into their thoughtfully curated coastal wedding in Salcombe.

The Story So Far

We met while working at Procter & Gamble and always had a soft spot for one another, but didn’t start dating until about five years later.

Nic had left London for York to launch his skincare brand, 47 Skin. As soon as he moved back, he asked Laura on a date to his new home in Wandsworth (because he had a new puppy he couldn’t possibly leave alone). His sister Bekka was drafted in to perfect the setting & ensure nothing was left to chance: fresh cushions, ambient candles, and a fridge full of “casual” snacks & every possible beverage from Bayley & Sage.

The Proposal

Nic proposed in Leicester Square in front of a billboard he had arranged – a bold, totally overwhelming moment, designed intentionally to catch Laura when she least expected it (every time we went away she thought it might happen).

The Venue

We got married in Salcombe, a place incredibly close to our hearts. Laura’s family have a second home there, and she’s been going since she was 18 months old. It was also where Nic first met her parents and we first said “I love you”.

As a little girl, Laura used to say, “One day, when I get married, I want to get married in Salcombe.” And there we were 20 something years later. It gave us everything we wanted — a church ceremony in the UK, but with the feel of a destination wedding and holiday atmosphere for our guests.

Our reception was at Cliff House, a beautiful Victorian building with the most stunning estuary views. It offered a blank canvas to bring our vision to life and personalise every detail.

Tablescape

We wanted every element of the day to feel thoughtful and personal. Our theme was white, green and silver — classic, timeless & elegant.

Every detail was considered. We brought in a stationery designer to create everything from scratch, using a bespoke wedding crest, consistent typography and a hand-drawn map of Salcombe featuring all the meaningful locations from our weekend. The same visual identity ran across our invitations, menus, signage, bar boards, staff aprons and bar & cake napkins. We also created a wedding magazine ourselves which is so special to keep and the guests loved. And we selected cocktails to match the colour scheme.

We replaced the artwork in the venue with personalised pieces of us, wrote individual notes for each guest as place names — one of our favourite moments to watch everyone open theirs. We also created a layered signature scent with Jo Malone — Pomegranate Noir and Wood Sage & Sea Salt — used across the weekend in diffusers, hand soaps and as my perfume. Creating a sensory thread that we & our guests still associate with our wedding.

Finally, we had a Polaroid guestbook table with an album from Aspinal of London, where guests could take photos and leave handwritten messages — such a fun and meaningful keepsake.

Every corner of the space we tried to feel curated, intentional, and distinctly “us.”

Fashion

Laura wore a bespoke Suzanne Neville gown from her Knightsbridge store – she wanted something elegant, timeless, but also very “me” – After trying on over 40 dresses prior, when I began trying on Suzanne’s dresses she knew this was the brand for her. Her evening dress was a RIXO piece – short with high neck.

Bridal Party

Laura’s Maid of Honour wore Rat & Boa in champagne, her mum was in a bespoke Safiyaa dress in pale blue as her something blue.

Food & Drinks

A year into dating, we each wrote down our dream wedding menu, true to form we wrote exactly the same thing without each other seeing, so that’s exactly what we served: Seared scallops with black pudding (paired with Sancerre), beef fillet with crispy roast potatoes (paired with Châteauneuf-du-Pape) and crème brûlée for dessert.

We also have three custom cocktails that tied into our green and white wedding theme: Mint-to-Be Mojito, Marry Me Mule and Ever After Spritz.

Honeymoon

Five days after the wedding, we flew to Six Senses Kanuhura in the Maldives for two unforgettable weeks of total relaxation and luxury.

Advice

Make the day uniquely you – Choose a location with real sentiment and build in lots of thoughtful touches to personalise the whole weekend. It’s the layers of personal meaning that make the day feel truly special and unforgettable.
Create a signature scent – We layered Jo Malone’s Pomegranate Noir and Wood Sage & Sea Salt throughout the weekend. It now instantly brings us (and our guests) back to the atmosphere of the day.
Do an entrance song to your reception – We made our reception entrance to Don’t Stop Me Now Queen — it completely lifted the energy and set the tone, one of my favourite, high energy moments. We got so carried away into the dancing, it almost looked choreographed but it was the first time we properly danced to the song together (other than in the car!) it was so so much fun! Absolute must.