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Gemma + David

By Julie Tinton Photography

at Balbirnie House Hotel

Fife-Scotland

Happy weekend lovely readers! Unless you’re heading off to a wedding, we suggest you snuggle back down under the covers and enjoy Gemma & David’s sunny autumnal village church wedding. Packed with pretty vintage florals, loads of personal touches and a whole lot of love, it’s sure to make you smile.

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Who saw who first?
We met in a local bar in our hometown, we got chatting and hit it off straight away. We had been to the same school but didn’t know each other as there are a few years between us!! They say timing is everything but I think when me and Dave met neither of us thought a relationship was on the horizon. Dave was about to embark on a 4 month tour in Afghanistan and I had decided to go off to Australia! We quickly realised that we made each other very happy though and wanted to see where things would take us. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder and when Dave completed his tour he came to Sydney for a long holiday where the romance grew. Back in the UK the following year we got engaged and started to plan our big day!
We were on holiday in Cuba and had gone to Havana for a couple of days during our trip. We decided to go out and explore the city by night. After a few mojitos we stopped at a very quaint wee bar down an old cobbled street where Dave got down on one knee with a gorgeous ring and asked a very important question to which I said “yes!”. Later that evening, we celebrated in our hotel bar with plenty of bubbly and new friends we had met. These friends included a couple from Scotland who we are still in touch with and came to our wedding! Apart from our immediate families we didn’t tell anyone our news until we got home and enjoyed being in a wee bubble for the rest of our trip.
We were inspired by…
Our day was inspired by vintage, romantic touches and the idea of a traditional village wedding followed by a good old fashioned Scottish knees up! I was drawn to soft colours and the idea of having lots of flowers. We really enjoyed making lots of bits and pieces for our wedding. We were up at the crack of dawn the day before the wedding to go and buy lots of fresh flowers to decorate the church. Mum and I made floral pew ends using white wicker hearts which we attached with ribbon. A vintage bicycle laden with flowers from Mum’s garden made for a lovely welcome sign as guests arrived at the church.
We came across a lovely reading called “The Key to Love” and my cousin Hayley read this beautifully in the church. The words just really resonated with us and summed up the ingredients necessary to make our marriage happy, supportive and successful. This reading inspired some of the little touches on the day – we attached mini antique keys to our place settings and decorated vintage keys with flowers.
I really liked the idea of romantic stationery which set the tone for our day and luckily, I found a lovely designer on Etsy who creates downloadable wedding stationery designs which I was able to customise. I then printed them before hand finishing with co-ordinating twine and rubber stamping the envelopes. The result: professional looking stationery at a fraction of the cost! I was so thrilled with the invitations that I ordered co-ordinating menu cards, orders of service, tags and a table plan from the same designer and printed these myself.
We also made all of our own place settings, handpainted wooden table numbers and used an old vintage leather suitcase found in my parent’s attic as a place for guests to leave cards and well wishes.
My auntie dried lots of petals for me to use as confetti and I put these in confetti cones I had made using paper doilies. Rather than give favours we decided to make charitable donations to two charities close to our hearts: St Columba’s Hospice and Combat Stress. We had a selection of home-baked treats for guests to enjoy as part of the evening buffet, these included my sister’s delicious cranberry and white chocolate fudge and the best tablet ever made by my friend Debbie.
Family is really important to us and it was so lovely to be surrounded by our brothers and sisters as we said our vows. Our sisters Lisa, Jenny and Lauren were our bridesmaids and flowergirl and Dave’s brothers Stuart and Ciaran were an usher and pageboy.
I enjoyed reading We Fell In Love during the wedding planning process, it was so nice to sit down with a cuppa and look at ideas and advice from other brides. Reading the blog made me realise how diverse Scotland is and what a beautiful place it is to be married. I quickly realised that whatever the Scottish weather threw at us, we would be just fine.
Tell us about your venues…
We were married in Dalmeny Kirk, where I was christened and went to Sunday school. The church is a stunning Norman 12th century building and inside has the most intricate stonework and detail. It was lovely to hear the church bells ringing as I arrived (after making Dave wait an extra 20 mins!).
We didn’t really have a specific reception venue in mind and considered a variety of options. I had always liked the idea of an outdoor wedding but me and Dave figured we just couldn’t trust the Scottish weather and decided to focus on indoor options that were accessible from the church. When we first visited Balbirnie we were really wowed by the country setting and the long driveway. The house has an elegant yet relaxed vibe and the most beautiful ballroom. We knew instantly it was perfect for our celebrations.
As luck would have it, the day of our wedding was beautiful, which meant our drinks reception was held outside in the beautiful grounds and gardens of Balbirnie. As dusk fell, the venue looked warm and relaxed with twinkly lights and candles, a great backdrop to our first dance and party. Before we cut the cake we snuck outside to get some evening shots with the beautiful house in the background.
We love the vintage touches. Tell us about your flowers…
Being a real flower lover, florals were a big part of the day and I worked really closely with a local florist to come up with vintage-style bouquets for myself and the girls incorporating a mix of colours, textures and foliages. My bouquet was probably one of my favourite things about the day – it combined ivy, eucalyptus, dahlia, astrantia, David Austin roses and lots of other florals in soft peach and pink tones. Dave’s youngest sister, Lauren was our flowergirl and she wore a beautiful fresh floral headband and carried a floral wand – so cute! Our flowers at Balbirnie continued on the vintage theme. At our tables we had candelabras with soft flowers and trailing greenery and simple eucalyptus leaves at each setting. Our beautiful cake was decorated with more fresh flowers.

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And something surprising about your day…
My Dad and Dave are both very big football fans. My Dad’s speech incorporated a football and involved him getting Dave up to demonstrate his skills – no pressure! Needless to say this was very entertaining for our guests!
Despite being busy in the run up to the wedding getting things organised, the morning of the wedding was so lovely and relaxed, and myself and the girls enjoyed being pampered, it really was a great way to prepare for the celebrating which lay ahead.
Dave surprised me on the morning of the wedding with a beautiful bouquet charm. Inside he had put photographs of my grandparents who sadly aren’t with us anymore, on their wedding days. It was a lovely way to have them there on the day.
Of all the surprises, the biggest of them all was the weather! I don’t think either of us expected a warm, sunny day. This allowed us to be outside for most of the afternoon. Not bad for an October wedding in Scotland!
How did you know your dress was The One?
When I first started my search for a wedding dress, I didn’t really know what I was looking for and found myself liking lots of styles in bridal magazines and blogs, rather than shortlisting! I went into the process with a very open mind. Quite early on I went into La Novia with my Mum and tried on a beautiful lace made to measure dress designed by Liliana Dabic, the owner. I just knew it was really special the minute I tried it on, I loved the off the shoulder detail of the bolero – it just felt so romantic and delicate, yet understated. I loved the fact you could wear the bolero and then remove it and create two different looks. A beautiful silk bow belt finished the dress perfectly. I took note of the dress and visited a few other bridal stores but I kept coming back to this dress. I eventually took the plunge and said yes to the dress!
Which accessories did you choose to finish your look?
I wore a really sweet little pearl hair band from Susan Gregory, Edinburgh (a real bargain!). Delicate pearl drop earrings, which were a gift from Dave’s Mum, and a fine Swarovski bracelet which was a gift from my Dad complemented my dress perfectly. I borrowed my good friend Sarah’s cathedral length veil and this was my “something borrowed”. My “something old” was a vintage rose brooch that belonged to my late Gran and I pinned this onto my bouquet.
And how about the boys?
For the boys, Dave chose coordinating kilts in “Hunting Pride” tartan with charcoal waistcoats and jackets. Dave wore a tartan tie to match his kilt and gave the best man and ushers a wool tie as a gift to wear on the wedding day. The tartan is a lovely mix of charcoal and green/beige tones. The boys all looked very dapper! Dave was able to proudly wear his Royal Air Force veterans badge on his lapel.
What did you choose for your first dance?
Our first dance was ‘This Year’s Love’ by David Gray. Quite early on in our relationship we discovered we both liked his music and we would listen to him in the car together. Shortly after, Dave travelled to Afghanistan and we spent our first New Year’s apart. I sent him a link to this song on Hogmanay and it’s always stuck as ‘our song’. We can’t recommend our wedding band enough! Groove Sector are an 8 piece band complete with brass section. After a colleague of mine suggested them, we went to Glasgow to an open rehearsal and we knew there and then they were the band for us. Their repertoire is really cool and combines soul and modern classics. Our dancefloor was completely packed all night, everyone had a ball.
Any advice?
Choose suppliers that you feel relaxed and comfortable with and reflect you personalities best. If you have space in your budget to have a film of your day, do it! It is true that the day goes by in a flash and it is lovely to be able to revisit the day and the parts you’ve missed. We were so lucky that Dave’s Uncle Gareth is very handy with a video camera and so kindly did our wedding DVD as a gift to us. We have already watched it loads and look forward to showing it to future generations.
You can really personalise your day by being creative. Not only can you have lots of fun but you can save yourself lots of cash! Pinterest is great for ideas but if you are like me and hugely indecisive it can all get a bit much! Don’t be afraid to take a break from Pinterest if you are feeling a bit overwhelmed! Also don’t worry too much about defining a theme for your day, if you choose things which reflect you and your personalities you’ll find a theme naturally emerges and things just come together.
Lastly, have fun and enjoy the wedding planning journey, it’s just the beginning of an amazing adventure together. If you ever feel stressed remind yourself that you are saying “I do” to your best friend surrounded by those who you love and vice versa and that is the most important ingredient for a wonderful wedding.
Why Scotland?
Scotland is home for us and we both love it. Dave spent quite a bit of time away from his home and family in his previous job and that made it all the more important for us to be married at home. Even though we are biased, our hometown of South Queensferry really is a beautiful place and is special to us, some of our favourite photos from the day are those taken in “The Ferry”. Despite being slightly worried about what the Scottish weather could throw at us we were prepared for all eventualities and were so fortunate to have a beautiful sunny day.
What’s the one truly unforgettable thing about your wedding day?
Having all our friends and family in the one place celebrating our love, enjoying a great party and making lots of happy memories! I remember taking a very quick moment during the evening’s celebrations to look around and I could see everyone so relaxed and happy – it was just magical and if I could bottle that moment I would!

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I love the floral bicycle – such a lovely touch to use flowers from Gemma’s mum’s garden for it! Christina x
Suppliers
VenuesDalmeny Kirk, Dalmeny village by South Queensferry & Balbirnie House Hotel
PhotographerJulie Tinton (We loved her soft, natural and romantic photographs. We will treasure our wedding photographs forever.)
FloristMuscari Blue Flower Studio
Hair stylistCalm Hair & Beauty
Make-up artistRebekah McVitie
Wedding dressLiliana Dabic at La Novia, Edinburgh
ShoesKate Spade, New York “Micah”
Groom’s outfitMcCalls Highlandwear
Bridesmaids’ dressesEliza & Ethan full length multiwrap dresses, purchased from Crystal Bows, Edinburgh. Flowergirl dress from Monsoon.
Stationery – Printable wedding stationery from HoneyLaneDesigns at Etsy (printed and hand finished myself)
CakeMarks & Spencer (decorated by our florist)
BandGroove Sector
TransportEcosse classic wedding cars, Rennie’s (coach hire)
Additional musicians/suppliers – John Gilmour (our school music teacher) – piano and organ at church and piano at Balbirnie. Fraser Kelly (friend) played bagpipes for us at Balbirnie. Gordon’s Cater Hire – hire of chiavari chairs.