Fiona and Mike wanted an outdoorsy, chilled out wedding that was as fun for their guests as it was for them! They went above and beyond to provide entertainment, drinks and food that everyone would enjoy. Having as much as possible locally sourced was also really important to them both.
“We wanted to have our wedding outside surrounded by the landscape that makes us both happy – the dramatic mountains, colours and trees of the Scottish Highlands”, explained the bride. “The wedding was also to be a celebration of time and place and locality. Using local, seasonal and sustainable food, drinks and materials as much as possible. To be true to ourselves by throwing our ideal summer party where all our guests felt valued and included.”
The wedding was held at Inshriach House in Aviemore, Scotland. “We live in Edinburgh but regularly take the 2.5 hour trip up the A9 to my family’s second home near Aveimore”, she continued.” We got engaged up there in the woods on Alvie Estate with Archie the dog beside us. So it seemed only right our wedding was the same!”
In terms of DIY, there was plenty! The groom, his brother and both Dads built the arch structure for the ceremony, which was then draped with flowers. The bride’s father also cut railway sleepers into blocks which they attached the menus too. All the signage was also homemade.
“One of my favourite moments was our ‘first look'”, said Fiona. “Our photographer told Mike to go wait in a quiet and hidden bit of the woods then I came to meet him with our dog Archie. It was lovely to have that special moment just for the two of us during a busy and fast-moving week!”
“Our biggest expense was the alcohol and the bar services of the wonderful Bramble Bar. We wanted a relaxed feel and so there were kegs of some of our favourite William Brothers beers that guests could pour their own pint from and a free flow of wines and champagne all day and night. To really mark the start of the party in the evening there were three different cocktails available. It was important to us that all our guests felt relaxed and that we were drinking what we would pick at home and on nights out.”
“Our other big spend was hiring small yurts to create ‘yurt village’ for our 40 guests who had chosen to camp overnight on site. We gave each yurt a name and put in camping mats, lamps and info sheets for all the guests. All the yurts were circled around a fire pit with benches and fairy lights and in the morning our caterers provided a full cooked breakfast, served outdoors from their WW2 camp kitchen. It really helped to keep up the fun, relaxed and outdoorsy theme of our wedding. We also loved The Gramophone DJs who played during the drinks reception. Our evening DJs were various friends and the groom.”
“There is nothing at all that we’d change about our wedding”, the bride concluded. “I really loved planning it all, sourcing everything, finding suppliers who shared our values and turning all our ideas into reality. We ended up with a great team of suppliers, venue , family and friends – even the sun decided to shine!”
