Amanda & Carl’s Downton Abbey Meets Peaky Blinders Wedding Weekend at Gleneagles Hotel

Some gatherings are about nothing more than good people, good times, and a setting so naturally beautiful that it barely needs anything else. That’s exactly what Amanda and Carl wanted when they planned their weekend at Gleneagles in Scotland; a relaxed, non-traditional celebration that felt completely true to them.

Captured in an effortless, documentary-style by the wonderful Harper Scott Photography, their weekend was about meaningful connections, shared experiences, and stripping away usual wedding formalities and traditions. That meant no big ceremony – just time well spent with the people who mattered most. Amanda embraced the freedom of a weekend-long celebration with two incredible looks, first in a floral Rue de Seine gown for a day spent shooting and participating in outdoor activities, then, a super chic, modern and sensuous Alexandra Grecco gown with a high waist slit. With the dramatic Scottish landscape as their backdrop, the focus was entirely on being present and making memories.

For anyone drawn to the idea of celebrating love in a way that feels easy, natural and deeply personal, this one is for you.

LONG story short – I went on a solo Scotland trip as a gift to myself for getting into business school – and I love Scotch; I decided to do it up big and end it at this cool hotel I found, Gleneagles.

A few years later, after I met Carl (at business school), I took him to Gleneagles for his birthday. Our families and friends (besides school friends) had never met before, so we wanted to have more activities based weekend where people could have meaningful connections while having a good time.

We met on spring break! I was supposed to go on another uni trip, but a friend of mine convinced me to go on a sailing trip in Grenada in the Caribbean instead. He was already assigned to a boat, which had one extra spot, and spending a week in the water and the sun sounded fun.

Carl happened to be on the same boat and we turned out to be sitting next to each other on the plane ride down.

I think Carl wanted to propose before he did, in September 2021, but we were stuck in different countries during Covid. Anyways, we did a big American road trip from Las Vegas to NYC with my golden retriever (it was a relocation trip) where we hit many national and state parks.

Carl proposed during this trip.

My engagement ring was custom designed by a vendor called Gem Breakfast. I’d always told Carl I didn’t want a diamond ring because it wasn’t my style and was too basic. Unfortunately the only prompt I gave him was ‘art deco-y and not basic’, but he did an AMAZING job. No rings were exchanged on the day though, because we didn’t have a traditional ceremony.

Carl wore a semi-custom suit from Suit Supply. He wore a really nice pocket watch that used to be his uncle’s (who had passed away young). He also wore Mont Blanc’s ‘Elvis’ cufflinks, as a reference to our legal ceremony, which was to be in Vegas in one of those tiny chapels (with ‘Elvis’ marrying us).

We didn’t have a ceremony and didn’t want all the traditional wedding trappings and rituals because in my view, they signify very sexist traditions (plus, I didn’t want to make my guests travel so far and spend so much money just to watch us have the same ceremony we’d seen millions of times before). We love each other, end of story, everyone gets it!

After searching high and low, we came across Harper Scott’s website It was kismet; we got along so well, and I felt like she instantly understood what we wanted. Luckily, she also happened to live down the street

I was looking for a photographer with a more editorial style of shooting. I’d worked with other, more creative photographers before, and creating something cool together was always something I enjoyed. I didn’t want one of those cheesy, hyper-contrast, “look at us, we’re so cute and laughing” basic wedding photographers. I actually told Carole-Ann at one point that I wanted almost no pictures where we’re looking at the camera and smiling in a pose.

We had a mix of snacks that were local or meaningful to me (as an Asian American) and Carl (Norwegian). This included Kwik Lunsj (kind of like Norwegian kit kats), Shin Ramen cups, Tyrrells chips, some other things I can’t remember, and either a bottle of local gin or Scotch left in each guest room. There was no all-you-can drink package at the hotel so we had to be creative!

Our cake was supplied by Gleneagles. We didn’t go crazy with the cake – we went to the tasting and picked two flavours that would be different enough and that we both liked.

One of the good things about getting married in Scotland and Gleneagles is that I didn’t have to worry about the flowers. I knew they would be unique, beautiful, and not as wild as America (where I grew up and am used to). I knew there was a florist on-site so I met with her the days leading up to the wedding when we were at the hotel settling in. Head florist Morna was lovely!

It was important to me that we didn’t adhere to any traditions on the day – though we did do a ceilidh! Our DJ taught the whole party how to dance.

Like with all event planning, something will go wrong and/or not turn out how you wanted or expected. You’ll have to pivot and be flexible on some things and honestly, it’s ok. No one will notice, so just try to have fun!

We’d planned a logistically nightmarish schedule that was custom per person, but it seemed like everyone got to meet new people in an organic way and have an amazing time trying something they’d never done before. People were able to sign up for hawk hunting in the countryside or a shooting (clay pigeon, archery) tournament and falconry demo. Knowing that this part of our wedding was successful was super rewarding.

I would have tried harder to figure out hair and makeup, because I had to do it myself.

We recommend these amazing vendors who cover Scotland and would love to hear from you. And of course don’t forget the incredible photographer, Carole-Ann of Harper Scott Photography.