Good morning lovers - I'm back! :) Those of you who are regular visitors to these pages will know I've just been on holiday, leaving the blog in the very capable hands of my lovely friend Franky, and arriving home in the wee hours of Sunday morning after seven days of deep personal reflection.
But enough about me! I can't wait to get back in to the swing of things and have chosen to kick off a weeks worth of wedding loveliness with a Humanist Ceremony held in a Scottish castle that was sent in by photographer Caroline Weiss of Candysnaps...
Love My Dress Wedding Blog - Photography Copyright (c) 2012, Candysnaps
I knew as soon as I received Caroline's hugely excitable email telling me about these images before I'd even seen them, that I would love them. This is a great post too for all you brides considering buying a dress from overseas to save the pennies.
Emilie and Ewan tied the knot on 4th August this year via a Humanist Ceremony at Dunnottar Castle in Stonehaven, Scotland, followed by dinner at the Carron Art Deco Restaurant also in Stonehaven...
"My lovely Florist Di, from Roots Fruits & Flowers in Glasgow made me the most beautiful floral crown with Eucalyptus, Juliette roses and Black Dahlias..."
"For my wedding look I wanted something classic, timeless and a bit whimsical. I love art and especially the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood, so I loosely based everything on that aesthetic.
The flowers were very important to me and I told my Florist that I wanted the colours peach and plum to feature heavily..."
Emilie wore a strapless shantung taffeta Sweetheart Ball Gown Dress by Galina that she ordered from abroad via David’s Bridal, which she partnered with an elegant lace top by Alex Bridal on Etsy and a silk sash - a purchase from Eclu, also on Etsy...
"I wanted a simple, classic dress that I could accessorise and would still not look fussy. I loved the line of the skirt and the natural waist, and had seen this dress worn by other brides in many different ways on wedding blogs. The fabric was also important: I needed something sturdy but light, as I would be climbing up the hundreds of steps that lead to Dunnottar Castle, most probably in the rain and mud! (Thankfully it didn’t rain! We just had crazy mist!)..."
"I discovered Di, my Floristss beautiful work via our photographer Caroline’s blog, and shot her an email immediately. She understood exactly what I meant when I told her I wanted “Pre-Raphaelite flowers”! We spoke on the phone and built a common Pinterest board for me to pin images on as I was never going to meet her in person and was organising all of this from Australia.
I found myself very drawn to Juliette roses and black Dahlias, and decided I wanted a vintage looking trailing bouquet. The result was simply magical, I am so lucky to have had such a talented person to work with!"
"Finally the price was right: I didn’t want a fortune spent on a dress I would only spend 8 hours of my life wearing. It turned out perfect and I needed no alterations even though I ordered it online without trying it on, a very worthwhile gamble for me! I loved wearing it..."
"I nominated a colour (dark blue) and my bridesmaids chose their own dresses. I believe the long one was a “recycled” bridesmaid dress from another wedding Jamie went to, from Amsale. And the off shoulder number Gemma wore was from Alannah Hill..."
"Ewan’s floral boutonniere was from Di at Roots Fruits & Flowers..."
"My mum made me a two tier marzipan fruitcake. My parents were driving up from the south of France for the wedding, so she simply made it the day before they left, popped it in the boot of the car and then we both iced it together in Scotland on the eve the wedding. My mum is quite the baker so it was totally delicious and very special to have her make my wedding cake for me.
I also got the greatest cake topper: Two very Tim Burton-esque wedding Bunnies from VintageByCrystal on Etsy..."
"It is so important to proritise during wedding planning; wedding photography was something that was very important to me and I spent a lot of time looking at portfolios.
I cannot recommend our wedding photographer, Caroline of Candysnaps enough. She is the true definition of someone who goes above and beyond and it was a total pleasure to have her around at the wedding. The photos are magical and even better than I expected..."
"I always knew I would need flats because of my ceremony venue so I chose a pair of sparkly TOMS. I was so comfy all day and I love the ethics of the company, who donate a pair of shoes to children in Africa for every pair bought..."
"I made the girls matching fascinators. I was going for a modern twist on a 1950’s look, with black feathers and birdcage netting: a bit Mad Men meets Merry Widow! I also made the fascinators for my mum and mother-in-law, to match their outfits).
The bridesmaids also wore little back bows in their hair, from Alannah Hill..."
"We decided to get married in Scotland because we love it and we met there 6 years ago. As I searched for wedding venues, I found Dunnottar Castle and my heart skipped a beat; cliff tops, the sea, a ruined castle: how romantic! I had always wanted an outdoor wedding and this looked perfect.
I then worried for over a year about whether it was going to rain! After one of the worse summers in history, we were SO lucky it didn’t and it was magical..."
"Ewan and I met 6 years ago at St Andrews University in Scotland. I was a second year student and he was an exchange scholar from Australia, writing up his PhD in astrophysics. I met him on his second night out in town, in a pub. We both later told each other it was love at first sight, even though we just hung out as friends for a couple of months before we admitted it!
We had talked about getting married for a long time and both knew it would happen; it was just a case of deciding when! We announced our engagement to the close members of our families last year, but otherwise kept the whole thing quiet as it was going to be such an intimate wedding. Once we were married we announced it to our friends through Facebook!"
"We are very glad we kept things small and simple: this wedding was all about two families who had never met and that were coming together to form one big family. It was wonderful to have the time to see everyone with no distractions, and to witness our fathers getting on like a house on fire!
Our witnesses were Jamie, one of my best friends from Uni, and Paul, who was also an exchange scholar who came over to St Andrews at the same time as Ewan. They were both present the night Ewan and I met at the pub, so it was quite poetic to have them be our witnesses as well as bridesmaid and best man...."
"My rose gold engagement ring was custom made for me by Adzia, on Etsy.
I had always loved rose gold and really wanted something handmade. Ewan ended up choosing rose gold for his wedding ring too, to match my engagement ring, and I chose two white gold bands when we went to the jewellers, after the lady at the shop suggested it, even though I was initially going for rose gold again. My mother in law, who was with us in the shop, ended up loving the look of the mixed metals and I loved the versatility of the stacking the two bands offered.
Our wedding rings came from Briolette, in Canberra, Australia..."
"All the men wore their own suits and ties but I made the feathered boutonnieres...."
"We had our reception dinner at the Carron Art Deco Restaurant in Stonehaven. Because there was only 16 of us, we had an a la Carte menu, and the restaurant was still open to the public on that night. It was really fun to be a big bridal table in a restaurant full of local customers.
The food was spectacular and the staff could not have been more delightful. The entire restaurant is genuine 1930’s, untouched and beautiful. You could have expected Hercule Poirot to be sitting at the next table!"
Words of Wedded Wisdom...
"You should strive to have the wedding that YOU want. Ewan and I were never keen on the idea of a big wedding, as we don’t enjoy being the centre of attention. We had even thought about eloping, but that would have meant that our families, who had never met up to that point because of distance (Ewan’s family is in Australia, mine is in France) would still not be meeting, and we really wanted that to happen. Don’t be afraid to do things yourself (making things, planning) but also let people help you if you need it!
We organised a week-long retreat for all of us at Balbegno Castle in Scotland so that everyone could get to know one another and we put the wedding in the middle of that week.
Good planning is essential, but little things WILL go wrong. And it won’t matter, so relax and enjoy. (I was a lot more nervous than anticipated, so I had to keep reminding myself to just enjoy the moment, and I’m glad I did)."
What a lovely way to start the week - a beautiful, fuss-free celebration made gorgeous by a brilliantly affordable dress and head-turning florals - huge congratulations Emilie and Ewan - thank you so much for sharing your very beautiful day with Love My Dress, and love as always to you too Candysnaps:)
You can see more from Candysnaps on Love My Dress here. Caroline is one of our favourite Scottish Wedding Photographers. Also check out the peach and Scottish Wedding and categories.
Headpieces have gained popularity with all kinds of brides in the past year - are you a floral crown kinda bride? Are any more of my readers planning a Humanist Ceremony?
Much love my gorgeous blog readers,
Annabel
Photographer - Candysnaps
Venue - Dunnottar Castle + Carron Art Deco Restaurant
Bride's dress - Galina via David’s Bridal + Lace top via Alex Bridal
Brides's shoes - sparkly TOMS
Brides floral headpiece - Roots Fruits & Flowers
Grooms Suit - Saba, Australia + Elegantascot tie + rose gold tie pin a family heirloom {via the Bride}
Bridesmaids - Amsale + Alannah Hill
Florist - Roots Fruits & Flowers
Cake Designer - The Bride's Mum
Cake Topper - VintageByCrystal on Etsy
