We Fell In Love – Scotland's Wedding Blog » Scotland's Wedding Blog

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WFIL guest bloggers

Baking, bands &

dreaming big

Today we’re delighted to hand over to Carla, who is getting all set to marry her true love in the Scottish Highlands this autumn. A former baker who dreams of becoming a wedding planner (and of adding a bit of Dirty Dancing action to her big day), she’s absolutely loving the wedding planning journey so far…

Carla

“According to the Oxford Dictionary, a tradition is: “A long-established custom or belief that has been passed on from one generation to another.” Jo and I are known to do things differently and anyone who knows us will tell you that, so the day we decided we were going to plan our dream day was the day we made a pact that our wedding day would be exactly how we wanted it. It isn’t for our mums, our dads, our grannies or our grandas, it is for us. Luckily, this came as no shock to our families and they were quite happy to let us go about our day, our way.
“Jo and I got engaged in January 2013, which makes our engagement last almost four years. I’ve been a fan of all things weddings for as long as I can remember so in my head I had a rough idea of the path I’d take when we decided to set a date and luckily Jo was happy with everything I suggested. Our ten year anniversary falls on a Saturday and we liked the idea of having our wedding on a date which meant something to us – rather than holding out for the sun to make an appearance in summer! It was in December 2014 that we decided we better get a move on and make those initial bookings.
“I am so glad we did! Luckily every supplier (photographer, videographer, band etc.) that we had our eye on was available so it was meant to be, we had them all booked before we even had a venue! That was our first biggest task, initially we wanted an intimate service and a big party at night so we looked at a venue called Cortes House which was only 30 minutes away from our house. We loved the venue, however this one in particular would require an outdoor marquee for our numbers – again, not ideal in the north east of Scotland on any day never mind in October! The logistics of it were beginning to worry me a little and it wasn’t until I was on their website and spotted their sister property, Achnagairn Castle, near Inverness. We went to see it and instantly fell in love.
“Our wedding is very much a DIY one, and we’ve had help from all of our parents in different ways. For example, Jo’s dad is a joiner so he is making us signs to use on the day of the wedding. I have sourced everything to make our centrepieces, the décor and most importantly, the cake! I had my own bakery business so I am making our cake. I used to make about six cakes a week, so for me the cake isn’t that important. (How will you have time?, I hear you ask – don’t worry, you get these amazing things called polystyrene cakes nowadays!).
“One of my favourite things so far about planning our wedding is the extra time we’ve got to spend together. Jo works for himself so a Sunday is his only day off and during the week he is rarely home before 9pm! The only time we have off is usually for friends’ weddings or if we are going on holiday so it’s been really nice to have the whole weekend to ourselves doing wedding things. (Even though I have to book him a couple of months in advance!).

Carla 2 Carla 4

“In terms of other preparations, we are pretty much all set apart from the men’s suits… did I mention I was organised?! I’ve had my shoes since we ‘set a date’– my very first pair of Christian Louboutin’s – I’ve always wanted a pair but let’s just say I am not very graceful on my feet and Jo said he would only buy me a pair if it was for a special occasion. We bought our weddings rings when we went to Dubai last September and whilst we were there I gave Jo his early wedding present – a skydive. And no I’m not evil; this was something he had always wanted to do!
“This month we are meeting our wedding band. One of the struggles we are facing is choosing our music. I like a bit of everything but Jo is a party animal! When we saw our chosen band, The Big Show, at a friends’ wedding we were both instantly impressed. The whole room was up dancing and they played different games along with a variety of music styles to keep everyone in high spirits, so we are looking to forward to hearing their ideas. If I had my way, I would be learning the Dirty Dancing routine to get everyone going but Jo isn’t keen!
“I can honestly say I haven’t found any of the planning stressful and I’ve loved sharing my experiences with my friends who are also planning weddings, they always mention how organised I am so the pressure is definitely on for everything to run smoothly on the day. I used to be a journalist and love writing, so I decided to create a blog to share my experience of planning so far and provide hints and tips to fellow brides (A Girl’s Dream Day). The only downside of this is that whilst I have been reading articles and researching, I am constantly seeing more ideas for our own wedding!

Carla 3

“April is also the month my dress should arrive. Knowing that I won’t get to wander round bridal shops looking at beautiful dresses will probably be what depresses me most post wedding. I have loved everything about shopping for ‘the one’, so I can’t wait for it to arrive to see if it’s still as I remember it and, most importantly, if it fits!
“We have a lot in the next few months which I am looking forward to sharing with you all. Maybe by next month’s post I’ll have convinced Jo to do ‘The Lift’!! Wish me luck!”
I love Carla’s stealth first dance campaign! Anyone else secretly longing to throw some big shapes on the dancefloor on their wedding day? Christina x
Carla & Jo are getting married at Achnagairn in the Scottish Highlands. Rustic details, DIY touches and pastel colours is the look that’s inspiring Carla.