Ashley and Shane’s wedding was a beautiful blend of tradition, romance, and personal touches, set against the charming backdrop of The Free Company in Edinburgh. The couple, both tech professionals, envisioned a relaxed and informal celebration that truly reflected their personalities and shared passions. With a heartfelt handfasting ceremony and a laid-back reception, their day carried an effortless, joyful, magical vibe.
The couple fell in love with the venue’s intimate atmosphere and its farm-to-table ethos, which perfectly aligned with their love for good food and great company. Every detail, from the seasonal flowers by Studio Seapink to the soulful harp music that filled the ceremony, was thoughtfully curated to create a day that was as memorable as it was meaningful.
We’re so absolutely delighted that two Love My Dress recommended suppliers contributed to this beautiful wedding. Ashley looked stunning in her Clement dress by Andrea Hawkes Bridal, a choice she made after a truly special experience at the designer’s Islington studio. With Caro Weiss Photography capturing every moment, their wedding day was beautifully documented, allowing them to relive the joy, laughter, and love shared on that day.
Venue & Location
Our venue was The Free Company which is in Balerno, just outside of Edinburgh. It was the first venue we viewed and we both fell in love with it. We thought it was the perfect size for the number of guests we were planning to invite and really liked its atmosphere – we left with a really good image of what our wedding might be like there.
We also loved the ethos of the The Free Company and had heard so many good things about their seasonal farm to table restaurant, which as foodies, was a huge bonus. The owners and all staff we interacted with were really friendly and we just knew that we would have an amazing day there.
The Dress
Andrea Hawkes Bridal
I wore the Clement dress by Andrea Hawkes and I got my dress directly from the Andrea Hawkes studio in Islington.
The studio has the most beautiful selection of dresses and I just knew from my first visit that I would find my dress there.
I had my first appointment with Siobhan who was so helpful, listened to my vision and gave me lots of suggestions which ultimately helped me find my perfect dress! The whole process was just a dream from start to finish and everyone went out of their way to make the experience so special.
I never felt rushed or pressured and the teams expertise made me feel confident in every decision. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to find my wedding dress and I would definitely recommend to other brides.
I knew I wanted long sleeves and something quite simple that I would look back on in years to come and think yes I would still wear this. After trying on a few dresses during my first visit it became clear that I was drawn to designs with sheer sleeves. I loved the contrast against the solid silk fabric and thought it would be a bit more practical for summer.
Siobhan then recommended the Clement dress and when I tried it on I knew it was the one. I liked that it had a bit more structure, the back detailing was beautiful and it really just felt very ‘me’.
What I loved most about my dress is how amazing I felt in it. The quality is incredible, it was comfortable and really such a joy to wear.
Bridal Beauty & Accessories
My hair stylist was Stacey Deane and my make-up artist was Sarah Jane MacInnes.
It was important that I still looked like ‘me’ and Stacey and Sarah did such a great job of making me feel like the best version of myself. I honestly don’t think I have looked or felt better and we had such a fun morning getting ready with them!
I found my bridal bag on Instagram from a brand called ROOP. I chose the Mini Aurora in Ivory which was such a great size and got it embroidered with my new initials. I wore the Hetty Mid shoes in ivory from Harriet Wilde. I wore pearl drop hoop earrings from Missoma.
My scent was Byredo Rose of No Man’s Land. I don’t normally opt for anything overly floral but thought this was a lovely modern twist on a classic rose scent. I also wore it during our honeymoon and so it will always remind me of the summer we got married.
Aphrodite Pearl Clutch Bag With Gold Chain
£746 (was £995)
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The Ceremony
We wanted to incorporate some Scottish traditions into the ceremony and decided to officially ‘tie the knot’ through a hand fasting.
My dad walked me down the aisle and it was such a special moment that we will both treasure forever. I walked down the aisle to Dreams by The Cranberries played on the harp.
Onie Tibbitt was our celebrant. We opted to write our own vows as we wanted the ceremony to be as personal as possible. Our celebrant gave us lots of tips on how to write vows and offered to read through them to check they were roughly the same tone and length which was really helpful.
My favourite part of the day was definitely the ceremony and seeing Shane for the first time as I walked down the aisle – all of my nerves just melted away in that moment.
We originally planned to have the ceremony outside but the weather wasn’t on our side so we made the decision to move it inside the day before the wedding and it worked out perfectly.
We used the hay loft at the Free Company which is a beautiful space and it created such a cosy and intimate atmosphere for the ceremony which is exactly what we wanted.
We got our rings from Blair and Sheridan who were recommended to us by friends. We both got plain yellow gold bands.
Photography
Caro Weiss was our photographer. We loved her natural, documentary-style approach and how well she captures the personalities of the couples she photographs. On the day, Caro was an absolute delight – just so lovely, fun and put everyone at ease. She struck the perfect balance of being present for every important moment and blending seamlessly into the background that we hardly noticed she was there.
We were completely blown away by our photos – they truly tell the story of our wedding in the most beautiful way. Booking Caro was easily one of the best decisions we made and we couldn’t recommend her enough.
How They Met
We met on a dating app in 2019 and our first date was in a local pub after realising we actually lived really close to each other in the west end of Glasgow. We moved in together just before Covid and got engaged in December 2022. Our wedding was in June 2024, so we were engaged for a year and a half which felt like the perfect length of time to enjoy the planning process.
Shane wore a three piece tweed suit and rust colour tie, all from Walker Slater. His shoes were from Dune.
The Reception
We hired harpist Rebecca Hill for our ceremony and drinks reception and catering was provided by our venue. The Free Company also printed our menus for us and our on the day stationary was by Poppy Forrest.
Our cake was from Liggy’s Cake Co. We chose a two-tier cake decorated with wild flowers which was very in keeping with our decor.
Our florist was Jenny of Studio Seapink. We wanted our flowers to be in keeping with our venue and so the brief was relaxed and lush with pops of colour that reflected the early summer season in Scotland.
It was also important to us that the flowers were locally grown where possible and so we felt that Studio Seapink was the perfect fit!
We chose to have a broken-arch style installation for the ceremony that we re-used later in the evening for the cake cutting.
For our reception decor, Jenny created table scape styling with bottles and bowls of various sizes and tapered dinner candles, giving a lovely natural and flowing effect that was perfect for our banquet style dining tables.
We didn’t request any specific flowers which meant we could get the best of what was available that season and we were so happy with how everything turned out. I even think a few tears were shed when I saw my bouquet for the first time (in a good way!)
Evening & Dancing
The Upbeats were our band for the evening and they did a ceilidh followed by music. Having a ceilidh at the start was a great way of getting everyone on the dance floor!
Our first dance was ‘Crazy Love’, by Van Morrison, as it’s a song we both really like. Shane is also from Belfast so having a Van Morrison song was quite fitting.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
I think it is important to prioritise what is most important to you – there is so much inspiration out there, and it is tempting to think you need to have everything which can be overwhelming. We didn’t mind spending more money on those things that we felt really mattered to us.
We had a shared online document we could both edit to organise our wedding planning. This was really useful as we could both plan independently and see what was happening in one place.
The day goes by quickly, so we found it important to take a minute to pause and be in the moment.
There was nothing we would have done differently, the day was just perfect for us.
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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.
