Barbara and Scott had a big, family-centric wedding in Scotland in a polytunnel on the grounds, Colstoun House, a beautiful house and stable conversion. With colourful seasonal wild flowers, local hops and lots of personal touches. Their centrepieces included Disney princesses, dinosaurs and gin bottles for each table.
“We wanted the ceremony to be as relaxed as possible”, Barbara began, “neither of us particularly enjoy being in the limelight, so we kept it fairly casual. We had a couple of readings from some close friends, which I believe some of our guests found quite unorthodox. Beyond that it was fairly traditional in the format, but mixed with some personal touches by our Humanist celebrant reminding our guests about part of our story together before closing with a traditional Scottish hand-fasting.”
Overall, they just wanted to day to feel as possible and fun for all their guests. As none of our guests live close by, with some even travelling over from the US, they made a really effort to make sure everyone had a great day. “We wanted as many people on site as possible and all gathered for a celebration”, she continued. “We enjoyed every minute of the day but the best part was probably be seeing our friends and family dancing and just generally having a great time. After a fairly tumultuous few years for some of our guests, it was wonderful to see them smiling and enjoying themselves. That’s what we wanted from the day and we’re delighted we got it.”
Of their healthy £35,000 budget, their biggest expense was the catering, but they spared no expense and to them, it was totally worth it. “Appetite Direct were incredible throughout the day and the food was exactly what we had hoped it would be! Although they did underestimate the bar bill, but I suppose that’s our fault for inviting a bunch of degenerates! We saved a bit by using Paperless Post and e-invites over expensive stationery and our bakery seemed to charge roughly half the price of other places we looked at for a cake and we definitely did not lose out on quality! Additionally we saved a good amount of money on the rings – for us it was all about the sentiment and the day itself so we went for cheaper online options of designs we liked.”
“Try not to take it all too seriously”, she advises. “Ultimately, the day should be you and your partner celebrating your love for each other with your closest family and friends. Good food, good drink, and good music to dance to… What’s not to enjoy? There will be things out of your control but try not to stress and don’t get bogged down in the details. Planning your wedding should not be stressful, if you’re finding it stressful take a step back as you’re planning a day with your future spouse that is designed to celebrate the two of you and everyone there is there to support you.”
