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Intimate winter wedding

After a slightly unconventional proposal, Karen and Tom tied the knot just after Christmas, in the loch-side setting that stole their hearts. Packed with pretty colours (and more than a few pairs of shoes!), plus a spectacular fireworks finish, their intimate winter wedding made us smile lots…

Love at first sight?

As Claire, The Humanist beautifully summed up in our ceremony, “When you proposed Tom, and when you said, ‘Breakfast!’, Karen, you chose each other, forever”.

Tom proposed in Prague during a mini-break full of beautiful sights – none of which he proposed at, instead waiting until the last morning, opting to stay in bed rather than get down on one knee, where he asked “What would make this stay even more special?” to which I replied, “Breakfast!”. The moral of this story is – never ask a woman to marry you before she’s been fed.

Tell us about your venue…

Sitting on the ACTUAL banks of Loch Lomond, we fell in love with Cameron House due to the stunning scenery of the loch and quirky interior, complete with gingerbread village and Christmas decorations at the time of our wedding. After the first meal we had there, we were sold!

How did you choose your photographer?

We found our wonderful photographer, Margaret Soraya through your blog! We were captivated by her portfolio of stunning landscapes and relaxed couples, just what we were after for our small gathering by the loch. We really wanted our photos to reflect the setting of Cameron House and got exactly that.

Margaret was a dream to have with us on our special day, arriving earlier than planned, taking time to get to know the wedding party before the ceremony and everyone commented on how friendly she was, and we really felt relaxed throughout.

We love your vintage-style dress! Tell us more…

My wedding dress was a tea length, 1950s inspired gown, with a sheer lace back and satin buttons. I had been looking for this style of dress and thought all hope was lost before Elderberry Brides surprised me with this perfect dress after a tiring afternoon of trying on every dress my dad and sister pulled off the rack! Instantly, I knew this was THE dress.

I had two outfit updates and three pairs of shoes on the day. For the ceremony, I wore a three-quarter length sleeve lace bolero and satin peep toe kitten heels, which had been custom dyed to match the pale pink colour of my dress. For photos by the loch, I kicked off the kitten heels in favour of Joules wellies, and for my final outfit rocked a white feather bolero and silver sparkle Kate Spade Keds as my dancing shoes.

Other accessories included a pearl and crystal head band and pearl drop earrings from Liberty in Love and a diamond Tiffany necklace, a gift from the groom on the day, along with a bracelet of my mums.

And what about the groom?

As an Englishman, Tom couldn’t sport the traditional kilt and Prince Charlie jacket but he added his own twist on this with a tweed three piece suit, navy blue trousers and burgundy tie – looking very handsome indeed!

Tell us about your flowers…

We decided on a combination of cool water dusky lilac roses, deep purple lisianthus, purple veronica, thistles and mixed foliage with Bridal and Maid of Honour bouquets garnished with purple ribbon and pearl pins and bridesmaid bouquets of gypsophila. The groom wore a cool water rose and thistle buttonhole, whilst groomsmen wore thistle and heather.

We had lanterns and rose petals lining the aisle for our ceremony and a scattering of votives and flowers framing our table centrepieces for the wedding breakfast. Our florist, Laura was fabulous and her bubbly personality made us giggle, calming our nerves ahead of our ceremony.

Slow shuffle or big number?

We found Stolen Kiss through Hireaband Scotland, looking for a duo with lots of personality and, importantly, the ability to make an intimate gathering fun and entertaining. We got so much more than we imagined! John and Clare really brought our evening reception to life with Clare’s amazing rapping, impromptu ceilidh and John’s incredible guitar solos. They anticipated the next song requested by the bridesmaids before they had a chance to utter the words.

John got in touch a month before the wedding to see if we had decided on our first dance and at the same time recommended we end the night with Loch Lomond by Runrig, which we wholeheartedly agreed with (especially as I’m a massive Runrig fan!). We chose Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, which was sung beautifully by Clare. Magical.

Any surprises?

The most surprising thing about our day was not for us but for our guests, where we had organised a post wedding breakfast firework display and provided sparklers to our guests. They had no idea!

And any advice?


Take a quiet five minutes together during the day, to reflect on everything that’s going on and appreciate having all your closest family and friends together in one place. Most importantly, plan your wedding day for you – not for anyone else, because it’s your special day.

What’s the one truly unforgettable thing about your wedding day?

A month after our wedding, we’re still buzzing from our ceremony. We opted for a Humanist ceremony as neither of us are religious and we loved that we could personalise the words said and symbolic gestures included.

Luckily for us, Claire (AKA Claire The Humanist) was available for our day and was absolutely incredible. The effort she put into crafting our ceremony based on what she called “The best homework ever” was immense and it made for a truly individual and unforgettable ceremony. Her humorous jokes, lively personality and disgust of whisky – “because it’s minging” – had us and our guests giggling throughout. We were able to include handfasting and drinking from the quaich, which were really special to us, as well as readings from my sister, Tom’s brother and one of my bridesmaids. We’ve never been to another ceremony like it and our guests were asking afterwards “Where did you find her?”, “She was brilliant!”. We even laughed again when looking through our wedding photos to find Claire photobombing the professional shots!

I second Karen’s advice – taking five minutes together to just take in the day is such a good idea! Christina x

Suppliers

VenueCameron House, Loch Lomond
PhotographerSoraya Photography
FloristFlowers by Cherry Blossom
Hair & MakeupLauren Elise Wright
Wedding dressSincerity 1950s inspired Tulle Tea Length Gown with Keyhole Back in sand/ivory (3875) from Elderberry Brides
ShoesRainbow Club satin Saffron peep toe court shoes, Kate Spade Keds and Joules wellies
Accessories – Pearl and crystal head band, and pearl drop earrings from Liberty in Love and diamond Tiffany necklace
Groom’s outfit – 
Moss Bros
Bridesmaids’ dressesASOS TFNC wedding high-neck, pleated Maxi Dress in Foxglove, Halter Chiffon Maxi Dress in Navy and Lavender Fog
StationeryGreylein on Etsy
Cake – The Groom’s Mum, Carol
MusiciansStolen Kiss
Additional suppliers21CC Fireworks, Big Letter Event Hire, Claire The Humanist