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Katherine+Paul

Photographed by Chantal

Lachance-Gibson Photography

at Strathaven Hotel

Lanarkshire-Scotland

Perfectly pretty and oozing romance, Katherine and Paul’s wedding set family right at the heart. From the honey from Dad’s bees to street names where they’d grown up, it was a wedding jam-packed with happy memories and good times…

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How did you meet and become engaged?
We met back in 2006 as we both lived in the same building in student halls. After being friends for a while we realised there was something more there, and the rest is history! We became engaged in 2013 in Coullioure in the south of France. We went on a walk up to a hilltop fort, and stopped for a picnic with a beautiful view of the see and harbour. I got up to head on and almost missed him propose, he called me back and I turned around to him on one knee with a ring! Perfect surprise!
Our wedding day was inspired by…
Our love for each other and our family. We wanted our wedding theme to be love, and it was very family focused.
Our wedding favours were little honey jars with honey from my Dad’s own bees, I decopatched papier-mâché K & P symbols to put by the cake, our table names were all the streets where Paul and I had lived growing up and together. Sadly I lost my grandma a month before the wedding which, although she’d been ill for some time, took us all by surprise, so I had a candle on the table we signed the register as a symbol of remembrance for her and all the loved ones who couldn’t be there.
There were some kids invited so I made little party bags for them with sweets, balloons and a disposable camera with an eye-spy game to keep them entertained. Every now and then a child would just appear with a camera and take a photo without any warning, making for some hilarious shots.
It was also my little cousin and flowergirl’s 5th birthday. We surprised her with a cake and balloon at the speeches – her face was absolutely priceless, and Chantal caught it all on camera which is lovely to look back on!

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Any advice for future brides and grooms?
Organisation is key! List, lists and more lists were the only way we kept track of what had to be booked when and paid by when. Also, don’t stress the small stuff. Not everything will go to plan (I bought real petal confetti only to not be able to use it because it was raining – I’d been desperate for that perfect confetti shot).
Little things that may seem massive to you wont even be missed by the guests. In the end, it’s all about celebrating your wedding with the people you love, and every one will have fun regardless of whether you’ve managed to find chair covers to exactly match the flowers.
Tell us about your first dance and evening celebrations…
Roadhouse were incredible. Still to this day people tell me that was the best thing about the wedding. We paid extra to have a three-piece brass section which was totally worth it. There honestly wasn’t a single song where the dance floor emptied, every song was a hit.
Our first dance was to ‘These Arms of Mine’ by Otis Reading, which the band performed perfectly. They also had a good sense of humour: when they noticed Paul and some friends starting a limbo competition they played continuously until there was a winner, and at the end of the night they got Paul and I up the front to play a kind of crowd participation game. It all just made the night even more fun.
What is the one thing you’ll never forget about your wedding day?
Apart from the ceremony itself which was so lovely, Paul and I have similar ideas about what made the day (and night) unforgettable. I think the best thing was seeing new the dance floor packed all night long, watching all your hard work come together and just having an amazing party with all your loved ones together in one room.
Paul’s favourite moment was his limbo competition, of which we have slo-mo video footage!
WHY SCOTLAND?
We both live in Scotland and most of our family and friends are here. As amazing as destination weddings look, we wanted as many of our loved ones to be able to make it, so couldn’t have imagined doing it anywhere but Scotland!

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‘In the end, it’s all about celebrating your wedding with the people you love, and every one will have fun regardless of whether you’ve managed to find chair covers to exactly match the flowers.’ Sound advice, don’t you think? Alie x
Suppliers
VenueStrathaven Hotel
PhotographerChantal Lachance-Gibson Photography. Chantal and Scott are the loveliest couple you could meet. They made us feel so at ease both during our engagement shoot and the wedding day, they even managed to relax Paul and get some very natural shots (he felt a bit uncomfortable to begin with). They were also absolute professionals who dealt with some rather typical Scottish weather without a second thought – gale force winds on our engagement shoot and heavy downpours on the weeding day! I absolutely adore our photos and love flicking back through our photo album, it never fails to put a smile on my face.
FloristAllison’s Flowers.When I saw the flowers for the first time on the morning of the wedding they took my breath away. We had a meeting with Allison a few weeks before where I’d shown her photos of what I liked, but on the day she had somehow created exactly what I’d wanted without me even knowing myself, they were even better than anything I could have imagined!
Hair Stylist & Make-up ArtistAlana
Wedding dressRonald Joyce,’Priscilla’ from Point Nouveau Bridal. They were so sweet and helpful. This dress was the last one they brought in, and as soon as I saw it I loved it. All the little details were perfect – the lace details on the bodice and edging, the beaded waist, and the unusual pleated under layer I hadn’t seen on any other dress. When I tried it on it felt so much lighter than other dresses I’d tried, other bigger dresses just felt heavy and restrictive. This dress was so comfortable and made me feel like a bride, suddenly the wedding felt real!
Shoes – Perfume by Pink, dyed blue by the lovely ladies at Arabesque in Perth
Accessories – I got my veil at Point Nouveau Bridal – it had little crystals dotted along the edge and was so pretty. My earrings were from Corrine Smith Design, I didn’t want anything too blingy and they were just right in setting off the outfit. My bracelet was just from the jewellery section in Debenhams.
Groom’s outfitSlanj Kilts
Bridesmaids’ dressesIn One Clothing – Multiway Knee Length Dress
Stationery – Our good friend Louise Duffy designed them especially for us.
CakeSpecial Days
BandRoadhouse
Additional suppliersBlue Parrot company – tablecloths and chair covers