Colin and Tash wanted a wedding with good food, good wine and good people. They wanted it to be laid back and non-traditional and chose a restaurant as their venue. When she couldn’t find her dream dress in the usual places, the bride bought one on Etsy, and the groom ignored the traditional Scottish wedding dress code of a kilt, opting for tartan trousers as a nod to his late grandfather.
“We wanted the day to be solely about us and those who matter the most to us in the world”, said the bride. “With an 11 month old son, our wedding was celebrating us as a family, not just Colin and I as a couple. It was very intimate and although we both have big families we decided on only having our immediate family and the rest of our guests were friends. In all there were 35 guests and only 9 were our immediate family. We took all the things we love and incorporated them into our day”, she continued. “Harley Davidsons, Sailor Jerry, tattoos, good food and Beyonce (I walked down the aisle to Love on Top).”
Their ceremony was held at The Haven, a self-catering cottage in Kirkton of Balmerino and their reception was at a restaurant. “Our original plan was to head to Italy to be married outside in the evening, however it became apparent that one or two very key people wouldn’t be able to make the journey, especially my elderly grandmother, and therefore we decided to move it closer to home. One evening I came across a holiday rental in a small village over the other side of the River Tay from where we live.”
“It had the most gorgeous little garden so I emailed the women who ran it, and asked if she would be okay for us to be married in the garden, half expecting her to say no. She got back to me right away and happily agreed. The next day we went to visit it and it was even more perfect than we imagined. Suddenly our outdoor un-wedding wedding venue was closer in reach than we thought. The morning of the wedding we decorated the garden with vases and flowers, we hired a twig arch and an ivory runner and laid seats out in a horse shoe shape with a sign which read ‘Pick a seat, not a side, we are all family once the knot is tied’.”
“As soon as we decided to have our wedding back home we knew there was no one else we would rather have do our catering. The head chef at The Newport Restaurant, Jamie Scott, is a friend and most humble human you could ever come across. Having been successful and winning MasterChef a few years ago, he and his wife Kelly have started their own venture in a little restaurant in a small town called Newport on the River Tay. It has a balcony with under floor heating meaning you can have the balcony open at night, yes even in Scotland! It has the most breathtaking views, especially at sunset, which set up the perfect back drop for our reception dinner and then later a first dance under the stars surrounded by candle light. Every single guest commented on the service and how great the front of house staff were too. Everyone felt that the team couldn’t do enough for them.”
“We saved money by not having to do much in terms of decor to the venue. We got a few things from Ikea and ideas from blogs and Pinterest, but its surprising what you can do if you get a little crafty and upcycle things you already own or are cheap to buy.”
“Although the day as a whole was incredible, I think my most favourite part was sitting at the top table, watching everyone”, She said. “All the most important people to us were in one room, all laughing and joking, making new friends and catching up with those they hadn’t seen in a while. Knowing that they were all there to celebrate mine and Colin’s love was honestly an incredible feeling.”
