A Laid Back and Elegant Edinburgh Wedding

It's lunch time! Whoopeeee! Have you been introduced to our brand new contributing team member Sarah-Leigh yet? If not, step this way.  This afternoon's wedding is a beautiful, wintery affair that took place on 14 December in Edinburgh last year.  Neil and Claire's tied the knot with a ceremony at Lothian Chambers, The Grainstore, followed by a reception at Inverleith House, Royal Botanic Gardens.  I love these photographs – they so beautifully capture the essence of a completely relaxed, laid back and down to earth celebration, and I adore how photographer Caro Weiss has worked with that wonderful winter light.

Claire and Neil wanted to celebrate their love with a down-to-earth and fuss-free celebration and I think they pulled off these wishes to perfection, with just the right balance of laid back elegance.

“We like mismatched, comfortable, homeyness. We're not really the primped and preened type. We like the way old stuff sits next to shiny new things, and much to my mother's horror I absolutely love a good pattern-colour clash. We didn't want to follow the rules of a colour-co-ordinated, precisely honed theme – but instead gathered bits and bobs that we both liked and smooshed them together.  As long as there was music, dancing, good food and happy people then we'd be on cloud nine.”

Photography Copyright (c) 2014, Caro Weiss

“Neil and I met six and a half years ago at our friend Charlotte's birthday party in Edinburgh. Charlotte and her husband Dan (Neil's Best Man) have been mutual friends of ours for year. It has to be said that Dan and Char did try to get us together on several occasions, but as little shysters we both steered well clear of cupid's blind date arrows. But that day, when Neil walked into Charlotte's birthday party, and I know this is utterly corny, but my tummy flipped, heart skipped – all of that.  When he recounts the tale, he claims that he walked in, saw me and decided to make a rapid beeline to that girl he just needed to speak to.

Later that night, after a rather tipsy frisbee game in the Meadows with a 6'5" transvestite with a Buckfast tattoo and a pink feather boa, we had our first kiss. And that, as they say, was that."

"Neil proposed in August last year – we were on holiday in East Sussex, and had just spent the day in sunny Brighton. Little did I know that when Neil left me nursing a drink in a beer garden as he went off to 'find a cash machine' he was actually calling my dad to ask for his permission – bless his cotton socks. Later that evening, back at the farm cottage we were staying at, we were sitting in the garden, drinking cava and playing Scrabble (the cottage came complete with a Scrabble board and a boxset of the entire series of Only Fools and Horses – both of which were used often throughout our stay!). 

There we were, surrounded by fields of sheep, and Neil popped the question after laying out a triple word score of WED – winning the game and the girl in one fell swoop. What geeks. Romantic geeks nonetheless.”

“On a budget and with a penchant for all things DIY, we decided to plan it all ourselves. Also, I hold my hands up, my name is Claire and I'm an organis-aholic – and handing over the reins may have been a tad difficult for me. I absolutely loved every second of planning our wedding.

When daydreaming about my wedding day (what can I say, I'm a girl, it's what we do), I'd always had a bit of a soft spot for the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh – my heart sunk a little bit when they said the Caledonian Hall wasn't available. However, they had something else up their sleeve – Inverleith House, usually a gallery space, would be available if we wanted. Did we ever! With a fine art degree and a history of art degree between us, it seemed perfect.

We were very definitely sold. As the house is split over two floors with a number of different rooms it meant that if you wanted to bop the night away downstairs on the dancefloor you most certainly could, but you could also grab a comfy sofa upstairs and have a good old catch up with new and old family and friends. It worked just perfectly.”

“I’m originally from the Highlands, and Neil's from down south and we have family all over the country, so we certainly had our pick. We decided on Edinburgh, it's where we live – and where we met, plus Edinburgh in December can be pretty magical – just the ticket as a wintry wedding backdrop. Lothian Chambers is a real gem of a registry office – all wood-panelled walls and vaulted ceilings. Also, as my dad and I were super-early (I have inherited my unashamed punctuality from that man) we were able to dash into the nearby St Giles Cathedral for a few minutes  – it was really nice to have that little bit of father-daughter time, and the tourists seemed to get a kick out of it too, I have a funny feeling I may well have ended up in one or two random holiday snaps.

After the ceremony we hot-footed it to the Grainstore for an amazing lunch – Paul and the team there did a spectacular job. Delicious! We kicked off with some great speeches that made people both cry with laughter and with heartfelt emotion, the atmosphere was just as perfect as the food.”

“My dress was made by the uber-talented Rowanjoy.  I had a picture in my head of what I wanted, but wasn't sure how I was going to find it – I hadn't as yet managed to stumble across anything that quite matched the picture in my head, and I was beginning to get slowly blinded skimming through webpage after webpage full of white chiffon.

I actually first came across Rowan on Love My Dress  – I spied one of her creations and thought, now there's a dress! It was original, but simple and brimming over with stylish poise – exactly the kind of thing I was looking for, and I thought maybe this is the lady to help me, and so there and then I got in touch."

"Wanting the whole bridal shop experience, I did also try on a few vintage dresses in a boutique in Edinburgh (I have to be honest, if there is one thing I regret, it's not trying on a meringue just because I could!) but I think Rowan's designs already had me hook, line and sinker. I'm so glad I made that decision – from the first email I sent panicking slightly that I needed a dress in just a few weeks, to our first meeting with me clutching a handful of scrappy sketches and some images printed out from Pinterest, on to the last fitting, Rowan always had the perfect advice. I loved my dress. I still love my dress. Rowan, you rock!”

"I had heard whisperings about Pyrus Flowers, so when a friend recommended them I got in touch immediately. Their ethos of using locally grown flowers and plants fit our hopes for a more natural, organic woodsy feel just perfectly.

After meeting up with Pyrus, they sent through a few ideas and suggestions – and they absolutely hit the nail on the head. My 'woman of the woods' leafy circlet was just perfect, as was the flowergirl's little crown of tiny pine cones and paperwhites – so sweet. The bouquets were amazing – and even included some cavolo nero Neil grew with his own fair hands down our allotment. And the buttonholes! Little sculptures in miniature – so beautiful. These are two talented ladies! I've even managed to keep a hold of some of the pine cones, gold-tipped feathers and honesty from my bouquet – lovely keepsakes that makes me smile very time i look at them."

"I bought my shoes in Dorothy Perkins – now, not that there's anything wrong with Dotty P's, but it's not a shop I usually shop in. I wanted a bit of glitteryness – and these little inexpensive treasures showed up through a random online search. Bingo! And, most importantly, I was able to dance in them all night long!”

“Although both my bridesmaids were given carte blanche – they both ended up with very foxy forties-style forest green numbers. My best friend had her dress made in Glasgow and got her stole from De Courcey's Arcade in the West End. My sister picked out her frock from Phase Eight when I visited her in Yorkshire just three weeks after she had her baby girl. They looked beautiful. Va-va-voom!  We got the little fascinator cocktail hats from a fabulous little shop on Etsy. They topped off their vintage glamarama look just perfectly.  We gave each bridesmaid a necklace too – each one was different, but all three came from from Hannah Zakari in Edinburgh. A great little boutique that is always a total winner for presents.

Our neice has an awesome little bit of punk rock about her and so we certainly didn't want to go all frills and flounce with her outfit. We ended up getting this sweet, simple little navy dress from Next. And boy oh boy, did she make that outfit her own with those amazing electric blue DMs!”

(Claire – your neice has amazing style – both my girls have those DMs – see here and here!)

“My auntie made our cake – she's a sugar craft wizard, and she did a stellar job with our geometric design. I think she's more used to making flowers, so this was maybe a little out of her comfort zone – but the end result was a stunning triumph in tiny triangles! And we have not had just one or two people say it was the best wedding cake they have ever tasted – it's a consensus!”

“Our photographer was Caro Weiss who we discovered via The Glasgow Wedding Collective.  Our photographer was Caro Weiss – oh me oh my, what a peach! I first stumbled across Caro's work on the Glasgow Wedding Collective website (I can heartily recommend GWC to anyone getting hitched). We met once at the GWC fair at The Lighthouse and she absolutely won me over  – so talented, but oh what a sweetheart to boot. After an exchange of emails we met up at her lovely home and chatted about our plans for the wedding – and Brighton and New York and wallpaper and a whole host of other things! – over a glass of wine.

On the day Caro was an absolute star – she fitted in so well with our wedding party that numerous folk have asked how long we've been friends. Caro's warmth, friendliness and ability to make everyone feel absolutely at ease is a real feather in her cap. And the photographs couldn't be more perfect! We really didn't want assembled rows of people staring uncomfortably into the camera, we wanted a story of the day – and that is what we got in beautiful, beautiful spades! I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank Caro for buying Neil and me a drink (this bride and groom were pocketless and so embarrassed to be cashless!) when we had our couple shots taken in the Bow Bar – thank you!”

“In line with the style of the frock, I kept accessories pretty clean and simple. My horseshoe necklace was a birthday present Neil gave me a few years ago, and my bracelet was borrowed – it belongs to my stepmother now, but it was originally a present my dad gave to my grandma. I would have loved Gladys to have been there, but this way I guess she really was. I opened one of my Christmas presents from my father and stepmother this year only to find that bracelet in there – I cried just a little bit.”

“Neil's been coveting the tweed three-piece suits from Walker Slater in Edinburgh for some time now. This was his chance! He picked out an off-the-peg blue tweed ensemble – and he got a smasher of a tweed tie there too. He looked so dashing – lucky old me marrying such a handsome, distinguished gent!”

"Another Glasgow Wedding Collective Find was Pinup Nights, who had us dancing all night long! In good old traditional style, we were whisked away before the very end of the night to chants of 'one more song!' from the dance floor.  Exactly what we wanted to hear!

We sat listening to a whole lot of records one Friday night – we had a blast, but realised that the majority of music we listen perhaps wasn't first dance material – after all, nothing quite says romance like The Fall. Then we thought we could ask Best Man Dan to sing  – Neil has played in various bands with Dan over the years, and it seemed just right that as Dan was so instrumental in getting us together, it would be perfect if he could sing us through our first dance together. Dan sang a newer song of his called Black Tambourine. Being a new song, rather than one we picked out from our relationship back catalogue, it's a lovely, perky little tune that will now give us a little lift whenever we hear it from here on in.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom…

“Go with your heart, and do it exactly how you want to do it. Don't get too worried about getting every little detail perfect – you, your friends and family will remember the love and laughter throughout the day more than what kind of favours were or were not on the table. Remember to take some time throughout the day to catch up with your groom and soak up exactly what you're both experiencing – it's an amazing day and can go by in such a hazy flash, so try and savour as much as you can.

I couldn't pinpoint one part of the day as my favourite bit – so many beautiful moments! When Neil and I arrived at the door of the lovely B&B we stayed at on our wedding night we stood on the pavement for a bit nattering away about how we'd just had the most amazing time ever, ever. I had never quite believed people that said it was the best day of their lives. It truly is.

And finally, and this was advice from my bridesmaid – get a good photographer – their images can let you relive the whole beautiful story again and again. Good advice definitely worth taking.”

A beautiful wintery wedding, so down to earth elegant, I just love it.  A huge thank you to you Claire for sharing so much of your wedding day memories with us.  We hope you have the loveliest first year of marriage together.

And a huge thank you as always to one of our all-time favourite photographers, Caro Weiss.  Caro photographed dress designer Rowanjoy's own wedding recently – we featured it last month -and you can see more of Caro's photography on Love My Dress here.

Annabel

Photographer – Caro Weiss
Venue -  Lothian Chambers at The Grainstore + Inverleith House, Royal Botanic Gardens
Brides Dress – Rowanjoy
Brides' shoes – Dorothy Perkins
Grooms Suit – Walker Slater
Bridesmaids - De Courcey's Arcade  + Phase Eight + fascinators by Kasia Girtler on Etsy
Flowergirls – Next
Flowers + Floral Crown – Pyrus Flowers
Entertainment – Pinup Nights

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