Halfpenny London Separates and a Knitted Cardigan for a Cosy and Family Focussed Scottish Wedding

I married my husband in autumn, and it’s the most magical season for us both, so whenever autumnal weddings find their way to me, I’m beyond excited to share them.

To that end, this gorgeous October wedding in its breathtaking Scottish setting and stunning array of seasonal colours and touches will put you in a cosy state of mind, best enjoyed with a cup of something warming.

Meet bride Heather, a freelance make up artist, and groom Darryl, a sub-sea engineer, who were married on the 28 October at the Craigellachie Hotel in Speyside. This lovely venue and setting provided our couple with the main inspiration for their day – autumn and all its wonderful colours, and the beautiful Scottish countryside.  Heather looks absolutely amazing wearing Halfpenny separates, which she purchased from their London boutique.

Kate Halfpenny’s brilliant designs have been inspiring us here at Love My Dress for a long time, and she is a much valued member of our directory of suppliers, Little Book. Heather chose the hand appliquéd ‘Susie’ skirt over the ‘Thea’ slip dress; so elegant, beautifully crafted, and the flowers and leaves of the skirt design are just perfect for an autumn wedding.

“When looking for my dress, Kate Halfpenny was the only boutique I wanted to visit. I thoroughly researched and within the Halfpenny range I loved so many different styles, I was convinced I would find my dress here so I booked an appointment and travelled to London.”

Images by Emma Lawson Photography

“The Kate Halfpenny boutique is just beautiful and was an incredible experience. My stylist Alexia picked out five different styles I had described. The first few that I tried and expected to really love were just not quite right. I then stepped into the Susie skirt with the Thea slip and was instantly in love. In this moment, it made me feel like the bride I had envisioned. It felt pretty and romantic.”

“The tulle, the appliquéd flowers, the movement of the skirt with the simple slip balanced the look perfectly and was so me. I felt the skirt also matched the autumnal feel of our wedding. I felt amazing…and comfortable. My experience with Halfpenny was a dream from the minute I walked into the boutique until I received my beautifully wrapped dress. I cannot recommend them enough.”

“The Craigellachie is surrounded by woodland and during autumn is particularly beautiful with the change in colour of the season. We received the warmest of welcomes from Kara and her team and were treated to a tour of the hotel and our lunch at The CopperDog. The food was fantastic and The CopperDog cater for all weddings held at the hotel. While we talked over lunch, we knew that this was the venue.”

“It was a particularly emotional time planning the wedding as I lost my mum 16 years ago and her absence was hugely felt. I would have loved her to have shared in the experience of buying my wedding dress. I had photographs and we spoke of her at the ceremony and at our table so I felt she was with us throughout the day.”

On her feet, Heather wore sandals with a pretty autumn leaf design from Zara, and for the post-ceremony photos outside, kept the chill at bay with a chunky oversized cardigan, also from Zara.

As a make up artist, Heather naturally chose to create her own look for the day, and together with her long hair in soft waves by Jaye from Linton and Mac, the whole effect was radiant and relaxed.

“As a Make Up Artist and being particular about how I want my make up to look, it made sense to do it myself. I wanted to feel natural, so I kept it simple with neutral tones. I am very lucky that my best friend and bridesmaid, Jaye is an incredible hairdresser. She knows me well and created the perfect soft natural waves for my hair.”

The picture-perfect flower girls wore pretty white dresses from Monsoon together with shoes from Childrensalon and beautiful flower crowns in their hair. The bridesmaids wore elegant cowl neck gowns in a rich café au lait colour from Jarlo London, which worked wonderfully with the spectacular autumnal flowers by florist Kim Dalglish.

I adore the mixture of soft muted tones in the roses and ferns together with bursts of orange in the dahlias and foliage, and the interesting textures used. They are a real celebration of autumn.

“We would like to highlight that our now 18 month old son, Dylan, was central to our day. Many of the aspects of our planning had him in mind. It was important that during the ceremony he was with us as the vows we made include all three of us. Sharing the day with Dylan made it all the more special.”

Our bride was accompanied down the aisle by her father to Bombay Bicycle Club’s song Fairytale Lullaby, and the ceremony was overseen by celebrant Janet Donnelly from the Humanist Society of Scotland, with rings exchanged from Aberdeen based Finnies the Jewellers.

“Darryl and I wrote our own vows, which we both felt were important to keep our wedding very personal to us. For me, it was important to let Darryl know in this moment how meeting him and building our life and family together has brought back a happiness that I hadn’t felt in a long time since losing my Mum 16 years ago. We both felt writing our own vows was an opportunity to best reflect our personal outlook on life, and selected a reading to reflect us and our hopes and dreams for the future.”

Groom Darryl wore a fabulous tweed suit with kilt and tartan tie from Georgian Dress Hire, as did the best man and groomsmen in their respective tartans.

“Darryl and I met seven years ago when my best friend and Darryl’s school friend, Jaye, introduced us to each other. We both recently returned to Scotland from travelling overseas.”

“Darryl and I were in Vietnam over my birthday and he took me to an incredibly romantic restaurant with a beautiful beach setting. After finishing our main courses, Darryl suggested we go for a walk on the beach to take some photos and as we were sitting on the steps to the beach, Darryl got down on one knee and popped the all important question. I said yes and we went back inside to celebrate with pudding and champagne – all was perfect in our little bubble. We then returned to Malaysia, where we were living at the time and eventually to Scotland to start planning our wedding, getting married just over two years after Darryl proposed.”

The ceremony was the favourite part of the day for both Darryl and Heather, giving them the opportunity to share their relationship journey with their loved ones.

“As part of our Ceremony we each told our Humanist, Janet, privately, what we loved about one another and why we wanted to get married. At the Ceremony was the first time either of us had heard what the other had said.”

Friend Rachel read a heartfelt and meaningful passage from the wonderful book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, which the couple had both read whilst living in Kuala Lumpur, choosing it because of its blend of love and travel.

“When he looked into her eyes, he learned the most important part of the language that all the world spoke — the language that everyone on earth was capable of understanding in their heart. It was love. Something older than humanity, more ancient than the desert. What the boy felt at that moment was that he was in the presence of the only woman in his life, and that, with no need for words, she recognised the same thing.”

“Because when you know the language, it’s easy to understand that someone in the world awaits you, whether it’s in the middle of the desert or in some great city. And when two such people encounter each other, the past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only. It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the world. Without such love, one’s dreams would have no meaning.”

These images of the couple are particularly beautiful, and have really caught the feeling of just married joy. For this we thank photographer Emma Lawson, whose work reveals flair and creativity, and who captured the whole day, the splendid setting and the spectacular seasonal hues.

“We followed Emma for a while prior to the wedding and were inspired by her documentary style, which we felt captured the range of emotions felt during each and every wedding, and we were not disappointed. Emma and her assistant Hayley were fantastic.”

Bride Heather did a cracking job of styling the venue for the wedding breakfast, with flowers and foliage purchased from wholesalers, and a collection of pretty vintage vases and candlesticks sourced from charity shops. Juniper Press provided on the day stationery.

The team at the CopperDog for the Craigellachie Hotel cooked a feast for everyone, while Heather and Darryl’s good friend Catriona created a sumptuous two-tier semi-naked cake, which was decorated with autumnal flowers and foliage.

The Beatles’ uplifting song, I Saw Her Standing There was the couple’s choice for their first dance as husband and wife, chosen to set the fun tone for the evening ahead, and to get everybody up and dancing! Ceilidh band Footerin’ Aboot continued the fun into the night.

“We started listening to their songs online and felt they could add a Scottish flavour to our favourite songs. Footerin’ Aboot were absolutely incredible, the band playing The Black Keys, ‘Lonely Boy’ will live long in our memories.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“We wanted an intimate and romantic atmosphere and have the time within the day to relax and enjoy the company of our guests. When planning we wanted to keep it simple and we focused and invested on the details that were important to us. I enjoyed adding the personal details myself and luckily had some good friends who are very creative who helped out and helped us keep within our budget.”

“It is only one day so keep it in perspective and do not feel the pressure to the stereotypical things just because it is frequently seen at weddings. Enjoy the whole experience and don’t take it too seriously as it will be over in a flash.”

“Ultimately your day is spent with the people you love and who love you and of course marrying your best friend and what is more important than that?”

I couldn’t agree more, Heather. Thank you so much to you and to Darryl for sharing your day, in particular how you paid tribute to your much-missed mum. Thank you also to the talented Emma Lawson for such spectacular and atmospheric images. You can see more stylish Halfpenny brides on Love My Dress here and more evocative autumn celebrations here.

With love,

Laura