A Luna Bride Dress for a Handmade and Intimate Secret Garden wedding

One of my all time favourite childhood books is The Secret Garden. It weaved an enduring spell upon me at a very early age, and so I must confess that my heart skipped a beat when I saw I’d be writing about a summer wedding that took place at a venue called The Secret Herb Garden.

This one can be found on the outskirts of Edinburgh, and what a truly lovely place it is – filled with plants and flowers. Settle down and read on for this wonderfully intimate and rustic wedding that will have you dreaming of long, warm summer days, scented meadows and flowers – lots and lots of flowers. Ailsa, Administrator for the Edinburgh Book Festival and Paul, Managing Director of Rolling Haggis were married on the 8th July 2017.

“I didn’t really have much of an idea of how to style the day until we chose our venue, The Secret Herb Garden, which gave me plenty of inspiration for the flowery, rustic style that we chose. I made a book of inspiration from magazine clippings which was very much flower themed!’

Photography by The Gibsons

Once the couple had decided on their venue, it became a source of huge inspiration for other aspects of their planning, and they were ably assisted by event organiser Ellen. Not only that, Ailsa and Paul have the practical and romantic bonus of being able to go back and visit, too!

“The Secret Herb Garden on the outskirts of Edinburgh. It was just what we wanted for our venue; a stunning setting, a relaxed atmosphere, plenty of outside space for our guests to enjoy and lots of gorgeous flowers! We wanted people to be able to relax and enjoy the day without too much formality! The venue is also a café and garden centre which means we can go back and visit and reminisce regularly!”

Ailsa wore the soft and romantic ‘Beach’ dress by Luna Bride, which she purchased directly from designer Keely via Etsy. Back in November 2017, we featured dresses from Luna Bride in a natural, bohemian inspired photo shoot, and doesn’t Ailsa look wonderful in hers?

“I was instantly drawn to how beautiful and light the dress looked. I wanted something quite simple but also with delicate lace and think I found just what I wanted. The dress was perfect! It was so comfortable and soft to wear, especially as it was a really hot day! I also absolutely loved the jewelled belt that went with the dress, it added a hint of sparkle to match my accessories with.”

Complementing the sparkling belt on her gown, Ailsa chose a simple crystal and pearl headband from Jon Richard at Debenhams and cream satin Mary Jane shoes from Rainbow Club.

‘These shoes were so comfy! I don’t wear heels that often so I may have changed to my leopard print converse in the evening..!’

Ailsa also wore a pretty pearl bracelet from Rosie Brown Jewellery, pearl earrings, which were a gift from her Mum a few years previously, and carried all of the essentials for her day in a glittery clutch bag from Accessorize.

‘I wore my vanilla perfume from The Body Shop, as it is what I wear every day.’

Ailsa created her own softly curled hairstyle, with help from her bridesmaids, and university friend Kayleigh Brock took care of the bridal party make-up.

“She did a fantastic job and really listened to what we wanted, as we all have different styles and make-up preferences.”

Florist Bryony at The Secret Herb Garden was the talent behind the wild and wonderful floral arrangements for the day. I love the mixture of soft meadow grasses and wildflowers, freshly picked in vases, and the bright, surprising and sometimes architectural touches in the bouquets for Ailsa and her bridesmaids.

“Secret Herb Garden did our flower arrangements which was such a plus when we picked the venue! They have stunning wildflower table arrangements on display in the café daily and we knew their style was exactly what we wanted. Once we chose the bridesmaids dresses we advised that we would like reds and pinks in my bouquet and the bridesmaids’ bouquets but we didn’t ask for any flowers specifically.”

“What Bryony (the florist) came up with was so beautiful and we were all completely thrilled with the flowers! Some of my favourite pictures of the day are of my bridesmaids and I with our bouquets!”

“We used Holli Howell Designs for our wedding invitations. She is such a talented illustrator from Inverness and was a joy to work with. She also provided us with a some beautiful poster-sized versions of the invites with a welcome message. These were such a lovely addition which we framed in gold frames from Ikea and displayed at the entrance to the venue, and at the bottom of the hill to the ceremony location.”

“I did the order of day and table plans myself. We got large chalkboards from Amazon and eBay which I wrote on (after many attempts!) and decorated these with fairy lights and bunting.”

The bridesmaids looked to the High Street for their individual dresses, and it was important to Ailsa that they would be able to wear them again.

“We didn’t have a colour theme decided before we started looking but we ended up with pink/red after getting the first few! They all chose their own dresses so they could decide what they liked best. I went shopping with all the girls individually so we could try on lots of options! I love all of the pictures of the girls at the wedding. The dresses worked so well with the Herb Garden setting!”

The mixture of pastel pink and bright red floral prints are beautiful, reflecting summer and the bright pops of colour, from the lipstick shades worn by Ailsa and her bridesmaids, to the bouquets and all around the flower beds of The Secret Herb Garden.

“We met eight years ago through our friends Calum and Rachel at a small house party and started going out a few months later. We got engaged on the 17th of January 2015 while walking along the Water of Leith in Edinburgh. It was a beautiful, icy day and we were wearing our cosiest jackets – which incidentally Paul can hide a ring box in! Paul was acting strangely and eventually asked me as we were watching the ducks waddle across the ice!”

Groom Paul wore a wonderful kilt, which had been a 21st birthday gift from his parents from Campbells of Beauly. He completed his outfit with a waistcoat, jacket and sporran from Edinburgh based Davison Menswear and Kilt Hire, while his two best men wore kilts of their own.

Ailsa’s dad Brian accompanied her down the aisle – a special moment for them both.

“It was so exciting when we came round the corner and had our first glimpse of everyone gathered waiting for us up the hill! Myself and Paul’s niece Robyn came running down the hill to greet us which was so cute!”

“We both love music so wanted it to play a big part in our ceremony! I walked up the aisle to ‘Breathe Easy’ by Rachel Sermanni who is one of our favourite singers. We then had ‘Mint Car’ by The Cure playing when we signed the registry documents, and ‘Stay Young, Go Dancing’ by Death Cab for Cutie playing as we left the ceremony as a married couple! It was really important to us to personalise the ceremony and make it reflect our shared loves and interests.”

The couple opted for a Humanist ceremony, conducted by celebrant Moira Heatly, who worked with Ailsa and Paul before their wedding, taking on board their wishes and suggestions and ensuring the ceremony was a relaxed occasion involving family and friends.

“We used fairly standard vows as we wanted to personalise other aspects of the ceremony instead! We had a Quaich ceremony at the start of the wedding, where Paul, myself, my mum Christine and Paul’s mum Moyra shared a drink from a Quaich to symbolise our families uniting. We thought it was a lovely way of including our mums in the wedding. We also had a handfasting ceremony where we literally ͚tied the knot͛! It was such a lovely moment and Moyra gave us the ribbons we used from the ceremony to keep which as such a great memento of the wedding!”

Paul’s sister read a beautiful poem, Harlem Night, by Langston Hughes,

“…which we included as it reminds us of one of our favourite songs ‘Casanova, Baby!’ by the Gaslight Anthem (which incidentally was played as an impromptu first dance!).”

Friend Jade read a moving and lovely extract from Stardust, a favourite film,

“We were watching Stardust not long after we got engaged and realised how beautiful this speech is and how perfect it would be for the wedding! This part is when Yvaine is declaring her love for Tristan while he has been temporarily be transformed into a mouse.”

With music being such an important part of their ceremony, Ailsa and Paul were also keen to include a song as a reading, too, and bridesmaid Hannah read Bruce Springsteen’s ‘If I Should Fall Behind’.

‘We both had a panic and were doing eyes at each other during the wedding as we both realised I had forgotten to give Hannah my print out of the lyrics but luckily our celebrant Moira came to the rescue with a spare copy!’

Paul’s wedding ring, made from Tungsten Carbide, was purchased online from Titan Jewellery – a practical, scratch-resistant choice given that he spends much of his time working outdoors. Ailsa chose not to have a wedding band, but decided on using her engagement ring from Lapis Gold Jewellers for the ceremony.

“I didn’t want a wedding ring as well as an engagement ring (I am forgetful enough without having to keep track of two rings!!) so we used my engagement ring for the ceremony. It was second-hand from Lapis Gold in Inverness…My ring is so special to me as my mum and I used to look at second-hand jewellery in Lapis Gold shop window every time we went passed. We used to spot my ring a lot and when Paul was going to propose, he asked my mum about rings and she took him to get that exact one!”

“Our ceremony took place on the hillside among the flower beds, so we needed no decoration there! The reception/meal took place in the glasshouse (usually the café area at Secret Herb Garden) which was obviously already in abundance with beautiful flowers! My bridesmaids helped me to decorate the day before the ceremony. This is what we used: We hung triangle flower bunting criss-crossed over the ceiling which looked gorgeous in the floral setting (one set of bunting was saved from my hen party and the other was from eBay).”

It’s a real pleasure to share the charming and thoughtful work of husband and wife photography team The Gibsons. They’ve captured the emotion and atmosphere of the day brilliantly, as well as the enchanted warmth and colour of the setting, helping Ailsa and Paul relax and enjoy their moments together.

“They were such a joy to meet and absolutely fantastic on the day. They blended in with our guests, allowing everyone to feel at ease and taking stunning photos in the process! We were a bit nervous about getting our couple photos taken but they made it so enjoyable that we went back and took more when the lighting changed!”

A favourite part of the day for Ailsa was the ceremony, and despite expecting to be nervous, found that she wasn’t after all.

‘There was something so beautiful about standing in the gorgeous sunshine in a flower garden, surrounded by all our favourite people. Another favourite moment was the speeches. It was another amazing collective experience with everyone laughing (and crying) together!”

 

Following the ceremony, guests were served summery gin and rum cocktails and canapes, provided by the team at The Secret Garden, while Edinburgh-based caterers Union of Genius provided a fabulous wedding feast, including lots of vegetarian and vegan options – something very important to Ailsa and Paul.

“We used Union of Genius which is an amazing café in Edinburgh. They have a food van (called Dumbo) that they take to events and serve hot food from! The food was really important to us; being vegan, I have had my fair share of terrible food at weddings! We were really keen to have a big variety of options (vegan, veggie and meaty) that people could help themselves to.”

“The cold salads and assorted breads, dips and extras were served in big bowls on outside tables next to the van serving the hot food. It was just what we wanted! We had big tables set up in a u-shape in the greenhouse so everyone could sit together in a really relaxed, informal setting. Everyone commented on how amazing the food was and what a change it was than formal wedding dining!”

Ailsa cleverly handmade many items of decor, hunting down the rest in sales, online and in charity shops as well as recycling bunting from her Hen Party! A string of patterned hearts from Anthropologie and ‘Just Married’ sign from Hobbycraft completed the pretty and rustic styling. Tables were scattered with petal confetti, wooden hearts and jars of wildflowers in the incredible glasshouse full of plants, including peach trees laden with ripening fruit.

“I bought a wooden box from Hobbycraft, which we lined with fabric from a charity shop to collect any cards or gifts in. We hung a floral print sign say ͚cards͛ on the box from Artcuts on Etsy…We hung a string of polaroids of our favourite moments together along one of the fences in the glasshouse. The photos were printed from Photobox and the twine and pegs were crafts I already had.”

“In amongst the plants of the greenhouse we had our guestbook displayed. We got a bespoke fabric map over a pinboard from The Crafty Traveller on Not on the High Street. We had our guests pin suggestions of where we should travel to and write in the guestbook why. We got some lovely pins for it from The Dancing Octopus Shop on Etsy. The only problem is we forgot to tell anyone it was there… Luckily Ellen was on the ball and moved it towards the end of the day! The overall effect of just a few small touches in the glasshouse really put our own style on an already beautiful space.”

Favours also doubled as place settings and beautiful keepsakes – personalised wooden hearts with guests name inscribed on them, purchased from Bateman Design via Not on the High Street.

“I have seen many guests using them since the wedding which is so lovely! Our Auntie Linda uses it as a keyring on her car keys.”

Five different, delicious cakes were made by The Secret Garden, including some incredible sounding vegan options – Victoria sponge, vegan carrot cake, lemon drizzle, vegan chocolate and beetroot and orange and almond cake.

The evening revelry took place in the Secret Garden’s barn, which provided the perfect blank canvas for decoration.

“We hired lots of fairy lights from Get Knotted and Paul, his best men, and my dad hung these from the rafters. We placed a light box on top of one of the barrels at the entrance to the barn which said, ͚stay young, go dancing, in reference to the song which played as we left the ceremony. We decorated the entrance to the barn with more flower triangle bunting and cute floral letter bunting (a present from my mum) which spelt ͚best day ever! Some of my favourite photos are from the entrance to the barn below this bunting. It just encapsulates how much fun we had!”

“We initially didn’t want to have a first dance as we are both terrible dancers and embarrass easily when singled out to dance! We had a ceilidh and after a few dances one of Paul’s Best Men, Calum, paused the ceilidh to ask our guests if they wanted to see a first dance (which we had widely told everyone we weren’t doing) and proceeded to play our favourite song ‘Casanova,Baby!’ by the Gaslight Anthem.”

“It was such a sweet moment and we danced for one whole verse and chorus by ourselves before the embarrassment got the better of us and we called up all the kids for a dance! I have some amazing memories of dancing to this song with all our wee nieces and cousins who were unintentionally all dressed in almost the same outfit! The Gibsons captured some beautiful pictures of this moment!”

Later in the evening, The Secret Garden served mini burgers and grilled vegetable rolls to sustain everybody at the evening ceilidh, with music from the couple’s friends and family.

“Our friends provided the music for a ceilidh in the evening! Ruairidh Maclean played the accordion and one of the Best Men, Calum, played guitar and sang. Another of our guests, Kirsty, also joined them on the fiddle for a few tunes. Later in the evening my cousin Peter played the guitar and sang a few songs too. It was so lovely to have our friends and family play while everyone danced, and it really added to the relaxed, fun atmosphere of the day!”

“I think on reflection I shouldn’t have worried so much beforehand about people enjoying themselves on the day. I was so panicked that there wouldn’t be enough for people to do and that people would get bored that I felt stressed in the run up to the wedding. It turned out on the day that people were perfectly relaxed to wander round the garden, eating, drinking and chatting, and the children had the best time charging about the grounds playing hide and seek.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“We were determined not to spend money on lots of decorations and accessories that would then be stuck in a cupboard gathering dust after the wedding. We tried where possible to use things that we would reuse again in our flat (although we may have a lot of floral bunting left!). I also got decorations from Ebay, charity shops and in sales, to try and minimise money spent on things we might not use again.

We got really caught up initially in how a wedding is supposed to be and not what we wanted. Take a step back if planning is feeling a bit overwhelming – and it probably will at some points. If a giant cake, seat covers, and a formal meal are your taste then that͛s perfect, but if they aren͛t try not to worry about maybe not being the ͚done͛ thing. It͛s your day and it should reflect what you and your partner love. I think once we realised this, the planning process was a lot easier.”

“Ask for help! Our friends and family were so willing to help us out. The bridal party, Paul and I all decorated the venue together the day before the wedding which was such a massive help, and was a good chance for us all to spend time together before the wedding. Don͛t worry if you don͛t get a chance to talk to everyone properly. We had a fairly small wedding of about 68 people and I still feel like I didn’t get a chance to talk to everyone properly! Your friends and family will understand that the whole day is such a whirlwind and you may not have a chance to sit down with them all for long periods of time.

Enjoy yourself!! I think my wedding is the most fun I have ever had as we both just relaxed into the day and enjoyed it. The day goes fast enough as it is, don͛t spend it worrying!

Make sure somebody else is aware of anything that needs to happen on the day so it is not just all in your head! At our photographers’ suggestion we had some guests poised to gather people for specific family photographs so that they went as smoothly as possible.”

What lovely, helpful and practical advice. Thank you Ailsa and Paul for allowing us a glimpse into your beautifully informal celebration. It’s so wonderful to see family and friends rallying round and being involved, too, and what an enchanting and floral delight The Secret Garden is! Huge thanks to The Gibsons, for capturing the joy and intimacy of the day, and for sharing their brilliant work with us. You can find more gracing the pages of Love My Dress here.

With love,

Laura