Good morning lovely ones, this morning’s wedding is such a fun and celebratory affair – Physiotherapist Edel married Teacher Rory on 19 July 2014 at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh, and I get the feel the whole bridal party had so much fun the entire day long. These images depict the kind of wonderfully relaxed day (despite the threatening down fall) that most of us aspire to when planning our weddings, but I’d like to begin this feature by sharing a lovely little film created by Boda productions.
“We always wanted an outdoor wedding ceremony and fell in love with the Botanic Garden in Edinburgh. We loved its natural feel and wanted everything to be beautiful, individual and rugged. We wanted the styling to be relaxed and informal yet elegant – and with a focus on bringing the outdoors indoors.”
Film Production Copyright (c) 2014, Boda productions
“We met in Belfast at university in 2003 and started dating in 2004. Edel is originally from Derry in Northern Ireland, Rory was born in Belfast but grew up in the South of England (Chichester). Rory proposed on the 7th Feb 2012 in Belfast, he picked Belfast as it was place we originally met and because we both loved Belfast as a place. We were engaged 2 year and 5 months prior to wedding.
We moved to Edinburgh in August 2012, and looked for a venue that had an outside area to have the ceremony, as had our hearts set on having our ceremony outside in nature. We viewed the Royal Botanic Garden and just loved the John Muir Grove area for our ceremony and thought the rest of the venue was perfect as we wanted somewhere we could have all three sections of the day.”
Photography Copyright (c) 2014, Kimberley Brand Photography
Edel wore a gown by designer Benjamin Roberts that she purchased from McElhinneys Bridal Rooms in County Donegal, Ireland. Her veil was also purchased from this boutique.
“I tried on lots of dresses, just got a feeling with this dress the minute the lady in the shop started helping me put it on. I liked the way it felt even before I had seen it on me in the mirror.”
“We both loved the intimate nature of the ceremony, we had our friend marry us and we loved everyone huddled together within the beautiful redwood trees. The music and the ceremony was lovely and we had the piper pipe us out of the trees and everyone followed us walking to the drinks reception. It was so misty and was like a dream.”
“We chose photographer Kimberley Brand as we loved her work – she really captured every aspect of our day. She was a pleasure to work with.”
“Our florist was Rose Parks – we wanted to keep the flowers all neutral/paler colours. We asked them to be unstructured like they had been picked from a garden, as we loved the wild flower look.
Leanne their lead florist suggested the branches with the flower heads and little pots with moss to keep with the garden and bringing the outdoors indoors. They did a fantastic job. It was exactly how I had dreamed it would be.”
Those pretty shoes are the Mimosa design in ivory by designer Rachel Simpson, which Edel purchased from the Hummingbird Boutique in Falkirk, Scotland.
“My Father walked me down the aisle to the sound of Pachelbel’s Canon in D, played on the harp – it was so lovely.”
“We tailored our vows, after having done lots of research, and chose the vows that best suited us. Our readings included ”Take My Hand’, by Dick Johnston – a beautiful poem read by my sister, and ‘What Is Love?’, read by one of groomsmen.
There was a possibility that the outside ceremony would be brought indoors due to rain, but at the very last minute the rain eased off and we had a window of opportunity to have the ceremony outdoors as we had planned all along. Rory went for it as it was very light at worst. Our guests had umbrellas, and no one seemed to mind. The Botanics even put up a gazebo last minute so we were sheltered.”
“The overall style of our wedding was a mixture of rustic, vintage and home made, featuring mismatched jars, vases, jugs, watering cans, and a vintage typewriter – all items lovingly collected via charity shops. My sister Seanna made the bunting, the little pots of jam and little vintage bottles of rum for the favours.”
“I collected all the jars, vases, jugs, watering cans from charity shops, Ikea, Dunelm mill etc. I bought the vintage type writer from a charity for £15 pounds, borrowed an old suitcase from my mother in law, it belonged to her mother. All signs and other small touches sources from Ebay and Etsy.”
“Our wedding favours were little pots of strawberry jam for ladies and little vintage bottles of rum for men, the children had little packs with colouring in items and sweets, the were all made by my sister Seanna – she has her own business and makes things, and is very creative. My wedding favours was a new avenue for her. She made the jam from scratch and even picked the strawberries herself. They were a lovely touch.”
Words of Wedded Wisdom…
“Planning – enjoy it and have fun! Make it personal to you as a couple. Go to wedding fairs, I loved the vintage ones, research and search for ideas, be creative.
Ceremony – Relax, Soak up your day.
Make a point to take in moments throughout the day and enjoy the experience. So lovely seeing all your efforts come together. It really is the most beautiful day. Memories for ever.”
Such a lovely, lovely day, huge thanks to photographer Kimberley Brand for sharing this beautiful work today – I so hope it has inspired some of you who are planning your own pretty weddings.
Love Annabel x
Photographer – Kimberley Brand Photography
Film – Boda productions
Venue – Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh
Dress – Benjamin Roberts via McElhinneys Bridal Rooms (County Donegal Ireland)
Veil – McElhinneys Bridal Rooms
Shoes – Rachel Simpson (Mimosa in Ivory) via Hummingbird Boutique, Falkirk, Scotland
Accessories – Lily Luna Jewellery Boutique Edinburgh
Groom – Victor Valentine + Mrs Bow Tie
Bridesmaid’s Dresses – made by a family friend
Flowergirl – Monsoon + Next shoes
Page Boy – Trousers via M&S + kacket, shirt & bow tie, shoes via Next
Florist – Rose Parks Edinburgh
Favours – Sally & Lila
Entertainment – Margaret Knight Harpist + Tom Bisset (piper) + Superhouse (band)
Catering Company – Royal Botanic Garden + drinks via Majestic Wines
Stationery – Florence and Bette
Make-up – Jenni Muir
Annabel View all Annabel's articles
Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.
