This afternoon’s wedding is the perfect example of a unique vision becoming a beautiful reality. Science teacher Ailsa’s love of sparkle coupled with the blank canvas of their rustic Scottish stone barn venue create the ideal backdrop to create a ‘vintage dressing room’ for her wedding to chemical/process engineer Ian on the 26th of July 2014.
Floral arrangements of peach and cream with accents of lavender add to the softness of the overall styling and I guarantee that by the time you reach the bottom your Pinterest boards will be all the prettier for these spectacular images by Tino & Pip.
“I wanted the wedding to look like a vintage dressing room covered in crystal, lace, and pearls. The colour scheme from the offset was lavender and peach with crystal decorations and furniture from charity shops and auctions.”
Photography Copyright (c) 2014, Tino & Pip
“Meeting on the first day at University, Ian and I shared a chemistry lab bench and dated briefly. A few years later I heard Ian on a Radio 1 request show so dropped him a text, after meeting up for a drink, we started dating again and by the end of university had moved in together. Ian asked me to marry him two years ago in Newcastle when we got back to our hotel after a meal. Champagne and strawberries were waiting and the room was decorated beautifully with rose petals.”
Ailsa had previously tried her stunning Stephanie Allin dress in Newcastle. Initially falling in love with the dress, she just wasn’t sure about the back detail and left it. Trying the dress again later affirmed that it was in fact her perfect dress and didn’t she look divine!
“I found some items Ian’s mum had sent me, including a postcard with a note saying ‘saw this dress and thought of you, the designer can do alterations and lives near us!’. The dress I had previously fallen in love with was on the front so I took it as a sign, made an appointment and got the alterations – my dress was perfect for me and I wish I could wear it every day!”
“Penny and Martin of Tino & Pip were amazing, we hardly even noticed them snapping away all day and the photographs are exactly what we wanted, they captured the atmosphere and told the story of the day perfectly! Perfection comes to mind and they were so lovely too!”
Ian and his groomsmen wore Welsh kilts with Scottish sporrans. Ian had a white Buttonhole while the rest of the wedding party had purple.
The Bridesmaids’ gorgeous flowing Coast dresses complimented Ailsa’s glam gown perfectly.
“I walked down the aisle with my dad to ‘make my heart fly’ by ‘The Sunshine on Leith’ cast.”
“We wanted our vows to be real promises that reflected us as the couple we are…
Ailsa:
Ian, I can’t promise to always agree with you,
Or that I’ll never make you mad,
But I promise to always stand by you,
And love you through the amazing times and the bad…
…And I can’t promise that I’ll be the best housewife,
Or to stay awake in the car,
But I promise that I’ll always be your best friend and I promise that we will go far,
I love you.
Ian:
Ailsa, …I can’t promise you that I’ll ever enjoy shopping,
Or that I’ll be cheery in the morning,
But I do promise that you’ll always be my best friend and that together we’ll do great things,
I’ve seen the best of you,
And I’ve seen the worst of you, and I choose both. I love you Ailsa.
“We had an edit of ‘On Marriage’ by Kahlil Gibrans as a reading because of the emphasis on marriage being two people coming together but still living as two personalities.”
“My bridesmaid Sara is a graphic designer so she took care of all of the stationery.”
“I wanted the old barn to look like a vintage dressing room. Embroidery hoops filled with lace hung as a background to the ceremony, a chalk painted dressing table held the guest book and Polaroid camera and people could ‘pimp’ their Prosecco at the chiffonier. Various crystal pieces were used as table centrepieces.”
“It sounds cringe but we both believe that the day was perfect in every way. We wish we could do it again!
Ian’s favourite part of the day was seeing me for the first time walking down the aisle. My favourite part was the ceremony itself, as soon as I saw Ian at the end of the aisle all I felt was excitement. I loved that our day felt informal, people were relaxed and it was exactly what we wanted.”
“I can’t recommend our brilliant band Sorted highly enough! They did a few cèilidh songs which got the party started in Scottish style too! Our first dance was to ‘the girl’ by City and Colour, it reminds us of falling in love and how we’ve stayed together as a unit despite having to live apart.”
Words of Wedded Wisdom…
“Enjoy it! Don’t let yourself get stressed out when things don’t go exactly as planned (because things will go wrong). Plan bit by bit but don’t leave DIY to the last minute. Plan nights in with your bridesmaids, a bottle of wine and get the scissors, sewing machine and glue gun out!
A friend reminded me to tell yourself what’s happening throughout the day, such as; ‘My mum is putting my veil on’, ‘I’m getting into the car’ because it really does help you remember the whirlwind of events.”
Congratulations Ailsa and Ian, a truly glorious wedding! Tino & Pip did a wonderful job of showcasing the beautiful details and loving glances.
Love Caoimhe xx
Photographer – Tino & Pip
Venue – Kinkell Byre, St Andrews
Dress – Stephanie Allin
Bride’s Shoes – Dune
Bride’s Jewellery – Earrings + Bracelet + Hair Accessory
Bridesmaid’s Dresses – Coast
Groom + Groomsmen’s Outfits – Cilt + Buttonholes + Cufflinks
Hair – Partners Hair and Beauty + Makeup TopDrawer Makeup
Florist – Turrifs Garden Centre
Band – Sorted
Cake – Suzanne Esper
Stationery – Sara Anderson
Rings – Rox + Wilde Thyme
Transport – Solway Beetles
Hi ailsa & love my dress,
I have been reading this blog for a while and it has given me so much inspiration for my wedding next Junes but when I read this blog entry I had to post a message!
… Ailsa, I am a fellow ailsa, I’ve never known another one! I am also having a barn wedding, ceilidh and we are having khalil gibran on marriage as a reading! I’ve also just bought near exact bridesmaid dresses! Weird coincidence… or maybe just those with our name have a great sense of style! 😉
Thanks LMD and ailsa I hope you are enjoying married life!
Ailsa
Hello Ailsa! I’m so sorry it’s taken me until now to reply, I was in New York when this went live and haven’t been back home long – still catching up!
I wanted to thank you personally for taking the time to say something so lovely about Love My Dress – thank you so very much, it really is appreciated.
How funny that you have so much in common with Ailsa too! 🙂 I’m genuinely really pleased this wedding has made you smile, and hopefully inspires you.
Do stay in touch and all the very best of luck and love with the rest of your wedding planning,
Love Annabel xXx
There are so many gorgeous details to this wedding. We can’t decide which we love best!
Loverly by name, lovely by nature – thanks for your sweet comment guys 🙂 xXx
Omg!! I love everything about this wedding, what a gorgeous couple, are they real or models??? Seriously, it’s fairytale stuff!! Congratulations Ian n Ailsa. I also love the little page boy, any relation cos he’s lush!!! Especially where he’s getting his groove on!! We will certainly be contacting photographers for our wedding 2016. Although I don’t know of such a stunning venue as that available in South wales. A niche in the market for a clever farmer??
I LOVE the ‘OMG!’ style comments, they make my day! 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to leave such lovely words Swanseajacky.
I’m DELIGHTED to hear you’ll be contacting Tino+Pip Photographers for your own 2016 wedding! Have you made an enquiry yet? Let me know if so! They are really lovely people and how cool would it be to ultimately be considering *your* photographs for a feature here too?
All my love and luck with the rest of your wedding planning Jacky – and thanks again,
Annabel xXx
What a lovely space with the wooden beams, stone walls, and trees. The table with the line of candles is perfect for that room and an easy DIY. The cutouts in the candle holders let out beautiful light.
Thank you Stacy – I love reading through your sweet comments 🙂 xXx