A Humanist, Village Hall, Whimsical Wedding in Scotland with Fresh Oysters + Sottero & Midgley Bride

Good evening loves – we’re heading to the shores of Loch Ard in Scotland for a wonderfully whimsical and sweet village hall wedding.

Curious as to the location of our couple’s venue and setting, I looked it up and found a beautiful quote by Sir Walter Scott from his novel Rob Roy, in which he described Loch Ard as ‘an enchanting sheet of water.’ Surrounded by fells and mountains, the loch’s ethereal magic has been beautifully captured by our couple’s photographer, Solen Photography. Meet Drama Teacher Lesley, and Mark, a Quantity Surveyor, who were married on the 7 April at Kinlochard Village Hall in Kinlochard, Scotland.

“We chose the hall because we occasionally go hill walking in that area, and always adore the beautiful and serene lochside views.”

Images by Solen Photography

Brilliant Little Book member Solen, of Solen Photography documented all the lovely little details of the day, and it’s great to share this collection of beautifully composed images.

“Solen was such an amazing lady to have all day, as she had spent time getting to know us individually before the wedding, and was able to capture our vision of the day perfectly. She had the most hilarious chat and made us feel super relaxed.”

“We both agreed we usually don’t enjoy the photography element of being involved in a wedding, but Solen made it an enjoyable little escape, and a chance for us to spend some time away from our guests and just feel excited about how much fun we were having.”

From Glasgow boutique Melle Cloche, Lesley chose a dress by Sottero and Midgley, with an exquisitely embellished strapless bodice, filled with glittering floral and Paisley motif designs, and a softly draped tulle skirt.

“I loved the whimsical and flowing nature of the tulle skirt, and loved the vintage feel of the heavily embellished bodice, which were both elements I’d always envisioned. I also loved how comfortable and easy it was to wear and accessorise.”

I do love a bright red lipstick, and even more so when it’s part of a super-striking wedding make-up look. Make-up Artist Nicola Farquhar created a polished, vintage-inspired look for Lesley, who absolutely rocked her vibrant lip colour and winged eyeliner.

Her lipstick also matched the red love heart tips of her amazing manicure perfectly!

Lesley’s flowergirl looked lovely in a glittery pink tulle and lace dress with applique flowers (and a pretty matching headband) from Monsoon, whilst the bridesmaids wore blush pink multiway maxi dresses from Debenhams, with shoes from Office, and eucalyptus leaves in their hair.

Lesley wore a pair of pale pink Kurt Geiger sandals, adorned with ostrich feathers across the toe straps, and for jewellery, earrings from ASOS, along with her beautiful engagement ring.

There’s such a marvellous array of seasonal colour in Lesley’s incredible bouquet by Pretty Little Flowers, including glorious anemones and hellebore, delicate forget-me-nots and chamomile daisies, roses, lisianthus, sea holly and snake’s head fritillary.

“I wanted natural, undone, seasonal wild flowers that were colourful and pretty. Daisies are one of my favourite flowers, so I knew I wanted these to be included.”

Mark and his groomsmen were resplendent in highland dress hired from McCalls Highlandwear.

The groomsmen wore tartan ties, whilst Mark wore a contrasting grey tie, and they accessorised with their buttonholes and an assortment of rather brilliant, brightly coloured badges from Braw Wee Emporium.

Lesley was driven to Kinlochard by her brother-in-law, and was accompanied along the route by a traditional bagpiper (sadly, no further details provided about this). She was accompanied down the aisle by her father, Robert, and chose Sonny and Cher’s song, I Got You Babe, which had also been on the playlist Mark created for his proposal to Lesley.

“We met through mutual friends at Scottish music festival T in the Park when we were just teenagers, but we didn’t become a couple until a few years later when we bumped into each other by chance in Glasgow nightclub ABC.”

“We went to White Russians on our first date, and ten years later Mark asked me to marry him, on holiday staying at a cute countryside bothy, surrounded by little lambs on the Scottish borders.”

The couple chose to hold a Humanist ceremony, which was conducted by celebrant Marion McGunnigle, and exchanged specially written vows.

“We started by discussing what marriage meant to both of us, and why were were making this decision for our future. We spoke about our values and wishes, as well as all of the things we love about the other.”

In her lovely long, braided raven hair, Lesley wore fresh sprigs of eucalyptus and a cathedral length veil by Rainbow Club.

“Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille was my perfume, as it is my favourite scent, and Mark bought it for me as a Christmas present. It perfectly complemented my present to Mark on the day, as I bought him Tom Ford Tobacco Oud to wear.”

Lesley chose her unusual, Art Deco style wedding ring at Goldcraft Jewellers in Glasgow, whilst Mark’s ring was a Rennie Mackintosh Art Nouveau style ring originally belonging to his dad.

“Mark’s parents have been married for over 25 years, and his dad has since chosen himself a different style ring, but Mark always loved his original.”

“Although we didn’t have the most traditional wedding, we loved including traditional Scottish elements and our reading – a Scottish Toast – was one of them. We asked Mark’s dad to read this on the day. It had also been read at Mark’s sister’s wedding by her father-in-law.”

After the ceremony, Lesley and Mark toasted their newlywed status with drinks and delicious fresh oysters courtesy of The Oysterman Events – a real highlight of the day for them both.

“We absolutely loved The Oysterman, as he was great to talk to and had the most amazing, fresh Scottish oysters. For many guests it was their first time trying one, and it was a fabulous talking point of the day.”

Lesley kept off the early spring chill with a studded leather jacket covered in roses (sadly, no details provided about this), and the couple enjoyed time together on the dock of Loch Ard, and with their wedding party for some fun group shots before they rejoined their guests.

Inside the light and bright village hall, the space was decorated with strings of twinkling fairylights, white bunting and pink, white and gold streamers, whilst the tables were decorated with garlands of trailing eucalyptus and ivy.

The hall windows with that incredible view, were decorated with vases of flowers, and table centrepieces were more blooms placed inside recycled bottles of Edinburgh Love Gin.

The couple’s delicious wedding feast was cooked by d’Urban Dining, and there was an incredible assortment of cakes and treats made by loved ones, and a spectacular pink drip cake decorated with pillowy macarons by Big Bear Bakery.

“Big Bear Bakery are a Glasgow independent bakery that have a little shop near where we live. Everything they make just looks and tastes incredible, and we were excited about having layers of different flavours.”

After the wedding breakfast and cake, there was music from Stevie Scott (unfortunately unable to find any details about Stevie) and Lesley and Mark enjoyed their first married dance together to The La’s, There She Goes.

“We chose this as it is a song we have always loved dancing to, and we unexpectedly saw The La’s play this live one of the first times we met. We both feel it always reminds us of each other.”

As the day came to a close, the couple headed back to the Loch to reflect on their beautiful day, as the magical mist from the mountains rolled across the surface of the water.

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“If you feel unsure of any decision because you feel under pressure in any way, you should take a break from planning and come back to it later.”

“There are constant decisions to make, and sometimes it can be overwhelming. Give yourself space if this happens, and you will enjoy the process all the more.”

Lesley and Mark, thanks a million for sharing your day with us – it’s been a delight. Many thanks to Solen Photography for these fantastic, atmospheric images, too. To see more of her work on our pages, do take a look here.

With love,

Laura