An Alan Hannah Dress for a Romantic and Beautiful Lochside Wedding

I cannot tell you how long I spent poring over the photographs of today’s stunning wedding (images by Craig and Eva Sanders)- is this the best view from a church ever?  I think it must certainly be in the top ten.

Amanda and James tied the knot on the 25th June 2016 at Glennfinnan Church, a beautiful building located on the banks of Loch Shiel in the Highlands. The couple celebrated afterwards with a reception at nearby Glenfinnan House.  They met at University in Canterbury and got engaged on the Isle of Skye, overlooking incredible scenery – something they would be surrounded with on their wedding day.

“We wanted a relaxed day with only close family and friends and we knew that everyone was making a big effort to travel to the wedding, so we wanted to ensure they had the best time possible.”

Photography by Craig and Eva Sanders

It’s so good to see that our wedding directory members, Craig and Eva Sanders, created these images. We’d know their hallmark romantic, fine art style a mile off.

“Looking at wedding blogs, I kept finding images that I loved and then seeing that Craig and Eva Sanders were the photographers- no others seemed to match up.  I loved the way they composed their shots and their use of light.  I am a firm believer that it is worth investing in your professional wedding photos and Craig and Eva have captured beautiful moments with friends and family and the stunning scenery around Loch Sheil- they are pictures we will treasure forever.  They were fantastic on the day, friendly, professional, discreet and able to herd children and adults alike!”

The incredible blooms were the work of I Heart Flowers, Glasgow.

“Sophie has a fantastic eye for colour and detail.  She used peonies, roses, delphinium, Queen Anne’s lace, scabiosa, alongside thistles, herbs and eucalyptus to create my fantastic bouquet and the colours were truly spectacular.  Some of my family have kept some flowers pressed in books as mementos.”

Hair and make up were the work of Jenn Mathieson; “Jenn and her colleague Gillian were amazing.  I still wanted to look like myself, but a more polished version.  Jenn was really helpful and approachable- she recommended products to use in the run up to the big day and even trimmed my fringe on the morning of the wedding.”

In her hair Amanda wore a headpiece purchased at Isabella Grace, which coincidentally tied in with the design on her gorgeous engagement ring (from antique jewelers The Friar House in Battle).  For scent, she chose ‘Sorrell and Lemon Thyme’, from the Jo Malone Garden Collection and for jewellery, earrings and a sash by Chez Bec.  She finished with a garter by Florrie Mitton.

“One of my bridesmaids very kindly took me to Paris for my birthday, so we went to Jimmy Choo while we were there and picked up a pair of ‘Isabel’ pumps in champagne.”

Amanda wore the gorgeously classic ‘Priscilla’ by Alan Hannah, which she purchased from Isabella Grace, Tunbridge Wells.

“The service I received at Isabella Grace was exceptional.  I instantly loved the ‘Priscilla’ gown by Alan Hannah, but was apprehensive as it was the first ever wedding dress I had tried on. Later that day, I cancelled my other bridal appointments and called Isabella Grace to secure it.  It was nerve wracking to make the decision so early on but I was glad I did.  Alterations were by Miss Kay, who was fabulous and a pleasure to work with.”

“I have always had a soft spot for Grace Kelly’s wedding dress and had this in the back of my mind when it came to buying my own.  I was keen on long lace sleeves that I could alter in the evening to create a different look and I loved the warm colour, the eyelash lace and the beautiful detailing around the hem.  I never intended to have a large train and never for a million years pictured a cathedral length veil, but once on, it all felt right.” 

The bridesmaids looked lovely in sky blue dresses from House of Fraser (and Amanda and James were so lucky with the weather that they did indeed match the sky), worn with shoes from New Look, necklaces from Oliver Bonas and garlands of rosemary and roses in their hair, provided by I Heart Flowers.

James wore a blue lounge suit from TM Lewin, worn with his own Tissot watch and brown leather brogues from J Shoes.  His team of groomsmen kept the side up in Peter Posh suits from Kenny’s Kilts, Cumnock, shirts from Charles Tyrwhitt, ties from TM Lewin, waistcoats in a brown tweed from Slaters and brown leather brogues from ASOS.  Each gentleman was also given an engraved hipflask from Not on the Highstreet.

“Kim at Pingle Pie was fantastic and created all our stationery.  We created a Pinterest board including vintage botanical drawings and thistles and Kim created a beautiful design based on this. We especially loved her drawing of the church at Glenfinnan, which we will cherish forever.”

“We were blown away by the beauty of Glennfinnan church and the stunning views over Loch Shiel. It is such a beautiful and peaceful part of the world and we feel incredibly lucky that we were able to marry there.”

Amanda’s father accompanied her down the aisle to Pachelbel’s Canon in D played on strings by The Talisker Trio.

“For our religious readings we chose Song of Solomon 2:10-13 and Romans 12: 9–18.  I had to sneak in a nod to the Tudors somewhere, so our other reading was one of my favourite poems, ‘Song from Arcadia: ‘My True Love Hath My Heart’ by Philip Sidney.”

“G Collins & Sons in Tunbridge Wells did a wonderful job creating our rings, making mine with art-deco style engravings that sit well next to my engagement ring.”

“One of the nicest moments of the day was right after we left the church, confetti was thrown and everyone had a glass of prosecco while taking in the sunshine and lovey views over the loch.  In some ways, the vows were the most daunting part and whilst the ceremony itself was an incredible experience, it was an amazing feeling to be done with  the formalities and to be able to talk to everyone that had come all the way to Scotland to be with us.”  

The wedding breakfast was held in a marquee hired from Tents and Events which Amanda and James filled with scented candles, sourced from the St Eval Candle Company, mercury glass candle holders from The Wedding of my Dreams and books in the shape of their initials, as well as Amanda’s collection of vintage books.  One of the bridesmaids made the pretty ‘just married’ bunting.

“Our guest book was made by Posh Totty Designs and was decorated with three maps cut into heart shapes showing Canterbury, Skye and Glenfinnan, places that are very important to us.”

“For favours we created a few different concoctions such as clementine and Earl Grey gin and rhubarb vodka.  Some worked out better than others! We used custom stamps from the English Stamp company to create labels for the bottles that also acted as place names.”

Instead of a traditional cake, the couple opted for a cake of cheese provided by the West Country Cheese Company and a macaron tower from Lilika’s Treats (flavours included earl grey, salted caramel, rose, mint chocolate, lavender and g&t- incredible).

Entertainment came in the form of a ceilidh provided by Jim Jam Ceilidh band, which got all the guests up and dancing.

“Many of the guests hasn’t danced at a ceilidh before, so it was a bit of a tangle of limbs at some points but everyone seemed to really enjoy the dancing.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom 

“Take the time to enjoy the planning stage and enjoy being engaged, it’s a special time.  We really valued this time to be able to plan what we wanted, seek inspiration and generate lots of ideas.  Don’t feel rushed into booking or buying things quickly.  Having a long engagement enabled us to make little trips and events out of going to see the venue, meet vendors in person and source items for the wedding, which created some lovely memories.”

Huge thanks to Amanda and James for sharing this utterly stunning day.  Have the loch views caught your heart and imagination too? Take a peek here for more gorgeous Scottish wedding inspiration.

Love,

Shona x