An Ethical Wedding Dress for a Charming Wedding on the Scottish Coast

Brrrrr! How are you all doing over there in the UK and Europe in the immediate aftermath of the #beastfromtheeast? I hope you’re all surviving and are safe, warm and cosy.

Emily and Rick, both architects, married on the 8th of April 2017 at St. Monans Church then hosted their reception at The Cow Shed Crail in East Neuk of Fife – a spectacular coastal location which allowed them to create a truly bespoke wedding with a range of Scottish touches. The beautiful bride wore a divine Sanyukta Shrestha gown. If you’re yet to discover this forward, ethically-minded designer, then drop everything and read this exclusive interview with the designer – and you’ll see why Emily chose her exquisite gown.

“I felt like a Grecian goddess in my Sanyukta Shrestha dress and long-tiered veil from Behuli Boutique. It was the first dress I tried on. The pure silk felt so decadent and the material fell in such a flattering way and my favourite detail was the open back. And I was very happy to know it was ethically made. It helped to have an idea that I wanted quite a slinky, silk dress. Other than that, I’d recommend just trusting the designer as they know which of their designs look best on which figures.”

Images by Duke Photography

“Coincidently, we met when we both started a new job on the same day, back in 2011. Within six months of becoming a couple, we had bought a home together and acquired a couple of kittens (my crazy cat lady influence)! Five years later, Rick surprised me with a holiday to Malta – he literally told me to start packing and we dashed off for the flight. He proposed on top of a rock arch over the sea (the Azure Window), and we got married 11 months later.”Emily designed her own stylish shoes with bling – in gold with a sequin heel – via the Shoes of Prey website. To complete her gorgeous look, she added a Sanyukta Shrestha comb with detailing to match the beading in her dress, the fragrance Maison Francis Kurkdijan ‘Baccarat Rouge 540’ and Aurora pearl earrings from Liberty in Love. Hair  was by Spoiled Hairdressing, whilst Helen McNeil did the make-up for the bride, her mum, and mother-in-law, who were all blown away by the results.

Rick chose to wear the Black Watch tartan, which is a regimental tartan from East Scotland including the county of Angus where Rick grew up. His kilt was via Keith Scott Kilts and sporran from McCalls. The Scottish groomsmen wore their own attire, and the English groomsmen (and father of the bride) hired their outfits from Debenhams.

“A piper (Kyle Howie), played guests into the church and my dad and I walked down the aisle to Pachelbel’s ‘Canon in D’. Reverend Dr Peter Mills conducted the ceremony.”

“Walking down the hill towards the church with my dad was my favourite memory. With the shoreline glistening in the bright sunshine, the beautiful old church of St Monans silhouetted against the Fifth of Forth behind, locals who had stopped to watch, the church bells ringing, and the piper playing, I remember it being like an out-of-body experience. It was one of the most magical experiences of my life.”

The bridesmaids wore their own shoes with their navy prom dress with a light gold sequinned bodice, found via Etsy shop ‘Fashion Streets’ – and added a cream pashmina with light champagne french lace from Etsy shop ‘Elegance Scarf’.

The wee flower girl wore flowers in her hair, and a pretty dress and faux fur bolero from Light in the Box, with pink glittery ballet pumps from H&M Kids.

“My engagement ring, wedding ring and Rick’s wedding ring are all bespoke designs from Hannah Martin. We chose them as they were able to create our beautiful rings to our exacting tastes. Rick even 3d printed a test version of my engagement ring to check out the design!”

“Amanda Fawzi from The Country Garden Company created our floral displays. We wanted something quite simple and with pastel colours to match the illustrations on the invitations, so went with eucalyptus for its pale green colour and light pink flowers. Looked gorgeous!”

Duke Photography was recommended to the couple by their venue and they both loved the drama and energy that came through in the website photos.

“Dom rocked up on the day and put us totally at ease. He took the time to take us to some fantastic locations nearby for some brilliant shots that could be from a magazine! We couldn’t be happier with the photographs. They perfectly capture us and our guests and really convey the happiness from the day.”

“We live in London, my family are mainly in south west England, and Rick’s family are mostly based between Dundee and Aberdeen. After a bit of deliberation on where in the world to base the wedding, we decided on Scotland so we could really ‘go for it’ with a traditional ceilidh, a piper, and a relaxed Scottish vibe (i.e. lots of whisky).”

“We wanted the day to have a magical feel, which felt almost like stepping into an illustrated children’s book. The venue was actually the first and only venue we visited. We just fell in love with the incredible coastal location and light filled luminous space that the Cow Shed offered. Plus, it always seems to be sunny in Fife!”

Cat and Rob at Wild Rover Catering prepared a divine feast for the lucky guests.

“These guys were one of the highlights of the day! They parked up their Land Rover with a bolt-on field kitchen in the yard, with 6 month-old Jack in tow. The canapés were to die for, including the amazing haggis bon bons.”

“The best bit was the interactive dining style where one person from each table was invited up to collect and serve the food – the relaxed approach complimented our wedding style perfectly, the food was delicious, and guests were all talking about it afterwards!”

The very creative bride illustrated all of the wedding stationery, and the style of these helped to inform the style for their big day.

“We wanted to keep colours simple focusing on pale pink, pale green, and white. To complement this aesthetic, Virginia’s Vintage Hire provided beautifully chic rustic furniture in keeping with the venue and Through the Looking Glass provided props including a vintage crystal chandelier and hurricane lamps.”

‘The festoon lights and fairy lights were provided by Wedding Lighting Hire and we added oversized pastel-coloured balloons and clear balloons tied with clear thread, eucalyptus, candles and flower jars on the tables, pompoms, hay bales, a DIY ‘bar’ and ‘hi’ sign made from corks and most importantly a beautiful architectural model of the venue complete with gold people, made lovingly by Rick.”

“For the favours we bought a mix of sweetpea and forget-me-not seeds, and put them in envelopes each stamped with a personalised message. We also gave guests tablet (similar to fudge) from the Star Rock Shop, local to Rick’s home.”

“I also loved our DIY bar, a few planks of wood propped up by some whisky barrels. Rick grew up in a pub called the Newton Hotel that his dad has been running for over forty years. A couple of guys who are regulars in the bar and family friends kindly manned our wedding bar. As the night went on, the measures got more and more generous!”

“Getting a great band was one of our priorities (alongside great food and lighting). We had a different band booked but as soon as we heard The Silver Kings, we HAD to have them. They did an awesome mix of new and old favourites (I loved their version of ‘Shut Up and Dance With Me’), plus ceilidh dances. The dance floor was packed all night.”

“We chose Paul Weller’s ‘You Do Something To Me’ as our first dance song. It was Rick’s request (I said ‘Thunderstruck’ wasn’t appropriate!).”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Don’t sweat the small stuff! Get your main elements sorted (considering also what it most important for the guests’ enjoyment too), and everything else is a ‘nice to have’.

Our key elements were: the booze, the food, the band/ceilidh, the lighting (you can have the most ornate decoration but lighting really makes all the difference) and heating – there’s nothing worse than being cold at a wedding.”

“Rick’s mum also sorted out a big box of toys for the kids. On reflection, this was a great move and the kids were kept occupied all day.”

Thank you to Rick and Emily for sharing their blooming marvellous day with us. The sun shone, the guests danced till they dropped, and most of all the bride and groom were beaming with happiness in the images beautifully captured by Dom of  Duke Photography.

Love Jo -x0-