Dear readers, I am very excited to be sharing with you my first real wedding feature for Love My Dress and my-oh-my what a beauty of a wedding it is! With one week to go ‘til Christmas, and frost on the ground, I’m writing this in front of our wood burning stove, beside our freshly decorated tree. Although I love this time of year, today’s summer wedding, beautifully captured by Mirrorbox Photography, has got me daydreaming about the wonderful warm weather we were blessed with earlier this year – and hoping that it will be equally as lovely for my own wedding in July.
Charlotte and Stuart wed on the 5th of July, in glorious sunshine, on Camusdarach Beach in West Scotland, overlooking the Isles of the Inner Hebrides. Charlotte’s beautiful blush coloured Eliza Jane Howell dress, DIY décor and home grown, wild, romantic flowers perfectly compliment Camusdarach’s breath-taking scenery.
“Being on the beach was so beautiful, even better than I could have imagined. I love bright colours and making things myself, so the wedding was a fairly eclectic mix of things which had taken my fancy. We wanted a fun, relaxed day with a focus on our brilliant friends and family.”
Photography Copyright (c) 2014, Mirrorbox Photography
The couple had their hearts set on marrying at Camusdarach Beach, a place and part of Scotland very personal to them both:
“We have spent some of the best times of our lives exploring the west coast of Scotland together, camping in our wee tent. We stayed at Camusdarach Campsite in 2007 during our very first camping trip. Stuart spent many a family holiday in this part of the world and remembers playing on Camusdarach Beach as a child. The beach has the most amazing white sand and spectacular views of the islands of Rhum, Eigg, Muck and Skye – it’s the kind of place you can’t help but fall in love with, so we were very excited to discover that Camusdarach does weddings and offers a marquee, catering – the lot!
In the end we booked Camusdarach about a month after we got engaged without looking anywhere else.”
Charlotte wore a relaxed yet glamorous Eliza Jane Howell gown, purchased at Anne Priscilla Bridal in Glasgow, which suited the couple’s eclectic beach wedding down to the ground.
“I was about to buy a Jenny Packham dress when one of my bridesmaids, Jennifer, spotted my dress. I loved the colour and the beading (which in the sun looked like glittering seashells!) plus I could easily move in it. It was perfect for the venue.”
Charlotte’s bridesmaids looked stunning in a range of floor length grey gowns which beautifully complemented Charlotte’s own blush coloured dress. They were from Jarlo, Jenny Packham and House of Fraser.
“I wanted my bridesmaids to wear a mixture of dresses and styles in a similar colour palette. We didn’t see the dresses alongside mine until the day of the wedding but I was so pleased with how they turned out. My sister was my Maid of Honour so it only seemed right that she wear something extra sparkly!”
“My niece Freya (who is three years old and loves pink!) wore a wee tutu skirt from H&M and sequin shoes from Zara Kids. I wanted her to be comfortable, which she clearly was since she dug a hole in the sand during the ceremony!”
“Our photographers, Sam and Sequoia of Mirrorbox Photography were fantastic – we didn’t even notice they were there during the ceremony, they were like stealthy jungle cats! Their photos are beautiful; they have really captured the other-worldliness of the day.”
Charlotte accessorised with a pearl bracelet from Tiffany & Co (her ‘something borrowed’ from her sister). Her necklace was a surprise wedding day gift from Stuart.
In a nod to both her family crest and the name of the beach (Camusdarach means ‘Oak Bay’), Charlotte wore a pair of delicate gold oak leaf hair slides.
Stuart wore a Murray Tartan kilt and his grandfather’s skean dhu and kilt pin…
“Stuart purchased his kilt from Kinloch Anderson in Edinburgh and his brogues from Grenson. His cufflinks were my wedding present to him.”
Charlotte and Stuart met in 2004 while studying at Edinburgh University, when they began working at the same deli; “we have grown up together!” Stuart asked Charlotte to marry him during a surprise trip to Venice:
“For my 30th birthday Stuart whisked me away to Venice. He proposed in our beautiful hotel room, overlooking a picturesque canal, gondoliers singing as they passed beneath our window.”
Charlotte and Stuart’s humanist beach ceremony was led by celebrant Lesley Simpson…
“Lesley made the ceremony so personal to us, telling our story in a way that made the whole thing ‘ours’. We chose to include a promise to each other and a few lines to reflect the fun we have together (‘…to have and to hold, to tickle and squeeze…’)
My lovely friend Claire read a poem by Norman MacCaig called ‘July Evening’ which was very fitting. MacCaig is Stuart’s favourite poet and the final verse sums up how we feel about marriage. Stuart’s cousin Andy played the fiddle as we signed the register and I was piped down the aisle by Peter, a cousin of Stuart’s mum.”
“Cheryl (the mother of one of my bridesmaids) very kindly grew all the flowers for the wedding in her garden. I wanted the flowers to look natural and a bit wild with lots of colour. Cheryl made all the bouquets and buttonholes and then showed ten of us how to arrange the remaining flowers into the jars and tins I’d collected.”
With help from their friends and family, the couple decorated Camusdarach with an eclectic mix of handmade decorations and rustic home grown flowers:
“We collected around 100 jars and used them to hold flowers and candles, spray painting some of them yellow to add colour. Stuart’s mum made some brilliant bunting for the marquee which incorporated both of our family tartan.”
“For our favours we made two batches of home brew which we named ‘Stuart’s Beach Brew’ and ‘Charlotte’s Wedding Wobbler’. Each table had a bag labelled ‘Midgie Survival Kit’ containing midge repellent and whisky. I also made a quiz (one of my favourite pastimes) for everyone to take part in. The prize was a midge head net for each member of the winning team!
We actually needn’t have worried about the midges; they stayed away for the whole day.”
“For our evening entertainment we had ‘The Ceilidh King’, Fergie MacDonald, who gave us an energetic dance – he really is a legend! Stuart spent many a summer when he was wee going to Fergie’s ceilidhs in Ardnamurchan.”
Words of Wedded Wisdom
“Do as much or as little for your day as you feel comfortable with, don’t worry about other people’s expectations. It’s about the two of you creating a day where you feel relaxed and fully able to enjoy the moment. “
A huge thank you both to Charlotte and Stuart for sharing their stunning wedding and to Mirrorbox Photography for capturing it so beautifully. For further inspiration please do peruse other Scottish and beach weddings on Love my Dress.
Annora x
Photographer – Mirrorbox Photography
Venue – Camusdarach
Dress – Eliza Jane Howell from Anne Priscilla Bridal
Bride’s Rings – Lynne Murray (the groom’s sister)
Pearl Bracelet – Tiffany & Co
Oak Hair Slide – Not on the High Street
Groom’s Kilt – Kinloch Anderson
Groom’s Brogues – Grenson
Groom’s Ring – Mr Harold and Son
Bridesmaids – Jarlo, Jenny Packham, House of Fraser
Flower Girl Dress – H&M
Flower Girl Shoes – Zara Kids
Celebrant – Lesley Simpson
Catering – Val Stuart at Camusdarach Campsite
Entertainment – Fergie Macdonald
VW Campervan – Classic Camper Vans Scotland
Stationary Stamps – This is Just to Say
Delightful wedding and your dress is stunning!
Such a beauty isn’t it? I have a feeling we’ll be seeing quite a few more ‘Eliza Jane Howell’ brides on Love My Dress through 2015!
Love Annabel xXx
They are so lovely. Thank you very much for your share
This makes my heart ache for Scotland.
Such a beautiful wedding, and I bet it was absolutely incredible to be a guest!
Stunning wedding dress and glittering bridesmaids dresses.
Awesome photography!
Aww…this wedding is simply sweet. The dress compliment the bride very well.