Eucalyptus, gum nuts and paper cranes at Coos Cathedral

Gillian and Stuart fell in love with their rustic barn venue, Coos Cathedral in Aberdeenshire, before they even stepped inside it. And the birds and bats living in the roof just added to the charm! From the thousand white paper cranes to the eucalyptus arch and gum nut buttonholes, their day was as personal as it was beautiful. And they made sure to do things their own way when it came to discarding any wedding traditions that didn’t feel like a good fit. So much to inspire here!

Love at first sight or gradual attraction?

Gradual attraction. We first met at secondary school, aged 13. We didn’t know each other well until we were in 5th year and had nearly all our classes together (and sat together in practically all of them). Once in 6th year, we didn’t have any classes together any more, and we realised we actually quite enjoyed each other’s company!

When we were 17 we started going out and stayed together through university in different cities, Stuart working offshore for a year and then living in England for work for a year too (while Gillian stayed in Scotland). We got engaged in Crieff at Buchanty Spout on 16th February of 2016. It had been snowing and we were walking our dog, Lily along the river.

Tell us about your venue…

This was only the second venue we visited and as soon as we drove up the driveway we knew it was the one. We had seen pictures online and hoped it would be half as nice as we were expecting, however it was even better! (Well apart from the birds/bats living in the roof, but that added to the charm!).

We loved how we could have the whole wedding in one place, that we could completely make it our own and the fabulous outdoor space. These were our three main priorities in a venue and it ticked all three!

Food was an important part of our day. We wanted a family feel dinner – Tom and his team at Deesidedly Tasty got it spot on with large pies which were cut up and served by the guests at their tables.

Our celebrant, Eve was amazing, she set us tons of ‘homework’ so she could really get to know us individually and as a couple. She created the perfect wedding ceremony that was so personal to us. It hit the right balance of lightness, love and laughter that we wanted.

How did you style your wedding?

We spray painted coke bottles (Gillian’s favourite drink) for candles and flowers, decoupaged glass jars with pages from Harry Potter books for candles, used stoneware bottles/vases sourced by Gillian’s grandfather, slices of wood for table centres and a large arch made with eucalyptus (from Stuart’s parents’ front garden) and silver birch – made by Stuart’s uncles, dad and cousin.

Family photos were pegged up around an alcove, with photos of all grandparents prominent in glass frames. We had 1,000 white paper cranes – hung from chandeliers and around alcoves.

Gillian’s brother provided bales for a ‘bale sofa’. Gillian hand painted a ‘Heyman Wedding’ pallet to direct guests from the end of the driveway and another pallet (picked from her father’s farm) with an order of the day. We also had outdoor games – cricket, rugby ball, croquet etc.

Bernie is a friend of the bride’s mum, who no longer runs a florist. However she offered to help with the flowers anyway. We didn’t want any brightly coloured flowers, just whites with lots of foliage, and didn’t want the bouquets/ arrangements to look too ‘done’. They were exactly what I had pictured in my head and smelt amazing due to the freesias – a scent which reminds me of the day.

Stuart’s godmother, Vhairi took some gum nuts over from Australia to be included in the boys’ buttonholes/on the napkins – to include a bit of Australia as Stuart was born there and still has family there. We also included lavender on some of the napkins as this is his grandmother’s favourite and she was unable to travel from Australia to attend the wedding.

Our bridesmaid, Rachel designed the invites, table plan and table centres for us (all songs which meant something to us), she also designed the labels for our favours (small pots of jam made by the groom’s granny). The designs were all bespoke for us and were exactly what we wanted.

A good friend of ours, Aimi made the cupcakes and cake for us. We had peg dolls from My Peg Friends of ourselves and our dog, Lily as cake toppers.

Your photos are beautiful!

We met Liana Mitrea (Firefly & Embers) at the first wedding fair we went to (we took both of our mums to). We were drawn in by her vibrant personality and amazing dress sense. We felt a connection immediately with her as a person and to her work. She was the perfect photographer for us.

Her laid back approach and style fitted in perfectly with our day. Liana blended in with all of our guests and we didn’t even notice she was there most of the time. We wanted candid photos and that’s exactly what we got. She was so well prepared – with flat shoes for one bridesmaid, body tape for another and little things for the bottom of the bride’s shoes so that I didn’t sink into the grass. We were nervous about the couple shots being too posey and cringey, but she put us at ease and made us laugh.

We love your dress! Tell us more…

I wore an ivory dress with a tulle skirt. I knew I wanted something simple and this dress was exactly what I imagined – it just took a while to find it. I tried on loads of different styles and colours and dragged my mum around a lot of shops before we found this one! I felt so comfortable in it.

I had a lace edged veil from Blossom and Bluebird on Etsy, a gold belt and matching hair vine from Britten Weddings. My mum bought me a charm for my bouquet of our late family dog, Josie. I had a small bag made from a piece of Stuart’s Australian grandmother’s wedding dress, which had also been worn by his auntie. My maid of honour bought me a gold bracelet as a little gift from her little boy, who couldn’t be there. I wore the gold watch my mum gave me as a graduation gift.

My shoes were from Next and were bought to match the bridesmaids’ dresses.

Where did you get your kilt outfit Stuart?

Millsom and Main were the third kilt hire shop we visited and their small shop could easily be accidentally overlooked by a potential customer. However their friendly and professional approach was perfect for us. They have a limited specialist selection which made me feel unique, unlike any other off-the-rack kilt hire. They were the nicest kilt hire shop by far and had a great depth of knowledge.

I wore my late Australian grandfather’s watch and my Australian grandmother’s rosary beads were in my sporran.

What was your first dance song?

Kings of Leon – ‘Use Somebody’. This was one of the first songs that we both remember liking as a couple. It has always been a constant throughout our relationship.

Ghillie Dhu folk and ceilidh band played a good mix of ceilidh and cover songs to get everyone dancing. Their ability to seamlessly mix modern music in with the traditional Scottish ceilidh music was exactly what we wanted.

Honeymoon or minimoon?

Mini moon – we went to Skye for five days. It rained the whole time! So sightseeing was mostly done from the inside of the car. We stayed in an air bnb which had a pet sheep named Lambiekins in the garden!

Any advice?


Do everything exactly how you want to, it’s your day and no one else’s. Don’t do things because you feel you have to or because it’s tradition – I had my mum walk me down the aisle instead of my dad, we had our siblings and partners at our ‘top table’ instead of a traditional set up. We mixed up the groomsmen/bridesmaids while they stood at the top with us at the start of the ceremony. We had our dog Lily there with us until dinner time (she walked down the aisle with me and my Mum), even though many people thought that was ridiculous.

What’s the one thing you’ll always remember about your wedding day?

Looking out from our table at dinner and seeing our family and friends mingling together, sharing a meal, laughing together. Seeing our guests passing the sides around, dishing out the food to each other, exactly how we had imagined it, made us so happy.

Love this advice from Gillian & Stuart – do it your way, and don’t feel obliged to follow tradition if it doesn’t resonate with you! x