CAROLINE & SAM // TUNNELS BEACHES
A Wedding At Tunnels Beaches, Devon
Nestled amongst the rugged Devonshire coastline, and surrounded by the quaint harbor town of Ilfracombe, Tunnels Beaches is a uniquely designed coastal wedding venue that boasts a hand-carved tunnel through the cliffs and a private beach for couples and their guests to enjoy.
Caroline & Sam invited their guests to celebrate with them on a warm and sunny September Saturday and enjoyed coastal views, the sounds of waves crashing against the rocks, skimming stones into the ocean, and a surprise appearance from a herd of young seals.
The theme that emerged when putting this edit together was “Soul-mates”.
The ceremony reading was Richard Bach’s musing on what it is to be soul mates and the groom’s speech eloquently illustrated why he felt that his bride was his soul-mate:
“A soulmate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we’re pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we’re safe in our own paradise. Our soulmate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we’re two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we’ve found the right person. Our soulmate is the one who makes life come to life.”
Caroline & Sam
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Was there a proposal? Did they see it coming? Tell me a little bit about how it all happened.
Tell me a bit about you guys. What do you each do for a living? What do you like to do when you're not at work? What's important to you in life?
We have been together for 8 years after meeting on holiday in 2013 (in a swimming pool in Ayia Napa but we avoid that part!!). Sam is a primary school teacher and I work for Surrey Police in safeguarding/public protection. We are cat parents to Coco and Nala, our 2 year old rescue cats who are our world. We both enjoy travelling and experiencing as much of the world as possible, as well as new adventures. Sam is a huge football fan and animals are my passion.
Sam proposed in Sri Lanka whilst we were on holiday in 2019. I had absolutely no idea so it came as a huge surprise. He’d asked my dad’s permission about 6 months before and had it all planned which involved him carrying the ring around for the whole trip in case it got lost!
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What experience do you want to give your guests?
The Venue. Why did you choose it above anywhere else?
Tunnels was the first venue we viewed and we knew straight away that we couldn’t imagine getting married anywhere else. We are both very relaxed and informal and the venue fits this perfectly. We love the beautiful view of the sea and the modern, relaxed feel of the venue. We want an intimate wedding so the venue allows us to have a relatively small guest list and a beautiful setting.
A fun, laid back day that everyone can enjoy and a big celebration! I moved to Surrey to be with Sam in 2017 and my family all still live in Devon so this will be the first time we’ve had everyone together and we know it’s going to be special.
