ISLAND VIEWS & AN INCREDIBLE SUNSET

When it came to choosing their wedding venue, Fiona and Craig fell for The Waterside Hotel’s modern feel, stylish beach hut theme and views to the Isle of Arran. With two daughters who were ready to rock their flower girl duties, their September wedding celebrated love and family, and finished with the most spectacular sunset. If you’re dreaming of a Scottish seaside wedding then something tells us you’re going to love these photos.

Love at first sight?

We met on a night out. Neither of us were looking for anything serious at the time but we fell in love quickly and have been inseparable ever since. We bought a house two years later then had our daughter. We had our second daughter four years later.

We went on holiday to Center Parcs when our youngest was only 3 months-old and Craig proposed while we were there. He had made a slideshow of photos of us over the years and played it to me one night when the girls were in bed. He had Bruno Mars’ ‘Just The Way You Are’ song on throughout the video. At the end it said ‘Will you marry me?’. He got down on one knee and gave me my beautiful engagement ring. I was so overwhelmed that I cried a little. It was so romantic.

Tell us about your venue and the inspiration behind your day…

We looked at a lot of venues on our quest for the perfect one. The Waterside ticked all the boxes for us. We loved their attention to detail, from the beautiful decor down to the delicious smelling hand soaps/lotions in the toilets. The place was immaculate. The Waterside has a modern feel with a stylish beach hut theme. The staff were all very professional from the start which was a big deal for us.

Craig particularly liked the fact that there was a good selection of lager on tap (a big deal for him apparently). I loved the spacious rooms and the overall brightness of the place. Obviously the private beach was a big selling point for us and we just hoped for nice weather on the day so we could make the most of the outdoor area. We loved the views of the Isle of Arran that can be seen from our wedding venue.

Our wedding co-ordinator, Stacey deserves a special mention as she did a fantastic job on the day and kept my nerves at bay as I knew she had everything in hand.

I became obsessed with the colour rose gold as I went through the planning process so this features a lot throughout. I think it goes really well with the navy blue in the dresses and kilts. So mostly navy and rose gold with a floral touch. Our table names were named after munros as one of Craig’s hobbies is to climb them, so this fitted well.

Our florist, Lynn McPhail from Grassroots Fine Flowers was very easy to work with. She knew all the right questions to ask and she made me realise there was a lot more to wedding flowers than I first thought. My flowers were exactly what I was looking for and presented beautifully. When she dropped them off on the wedding morning she told me how I should hold them, etc.

All our wedding stationery was made by my mother-in-law, Carolyn Graham.

Your photos are beautiful!

I met Jacqui of Chic Photo when she photographed my best friend’s wedding who I was bridesmaid for a few years ago and I just loved her style of photographs. She seems to capture the atmosphere of the day perfectly. Jacqui was the perfect presence on the day. She brought the calm and level headedness which we were all lacking due to nerves and adrenaline.

We love your dress! Tell us more…

This was the very first dress I set my eyes on and I knew I would love it when I tried it on. It’s Champagne in colour and I loved this as it was slightly different to the traditional white dress. I always wanted that style. I wanted to be a princess for the day and this dress certainly gave me that. Olivia Cameron Bridal were fantastic and I still absolutely adore my dress.

My bridesmaids wore navy blue Little Mistress dresses. I actually won them in a Facebook competition – big thank you to Little Mistress!

Craig chose the kilts. I loved the navy and brown colours which went perfectly with the bridesmaids dresses and I particularly loved the rose gold touch in the belts.

What was your first dance song?

Our first dance song was ‘Earth Angel’ by Marvin Berry and The Starlighters. We’ve always loved this song and have always said it’s “our song”, we even had a dance on our decking outside to this when we first moved into our house. We always said that would be our first dance song.

Allan our dj was amazing and so professional. He even had us playing a game of Mr and Mrs, which everyone loved.

Honeymoon or mini-moon?

We decided to go on a family moon with our children after the wedding. This was our first family holiday abroad so we wanted to make it extra special. We went to Kos in Greece on an all inclusive family holiday. There was loads for the kids to do including an on site water park. It would’ve been nice to get away alone for a few days but in all honesty we wouldn’t have done it any different. We had an amazing two weeks in the sun before it was time to come back to reality.

Any advice?


I would say try and enjoy the planning of your wedding as it can get pretty stressful, so try not so dwell on the little things. Remember it’s your day so do what suits the both of you and not everyone else. I would definitely recommend getting a videographer so you can look back on your day as often as you want. The day really does go so fast and there will be parts of it that you don’t even see.

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

I loved seeing everyone so happy and having such a great time. Especially my parents as they don’t get out very often. It’s also rare that our family all be in the same place at the same time so this was really special. The most amazing thing was THAT sunset!

We love these incredible sunset photos (and the barefoot flower girls on the beach – so cute!).  Congratulations Fiona & Craig, we loved hearing the inspiration behind your day! x