A DIY festival wedding in the Scottish Borders

Been holding out for the return of dancing? Planning the party to end all parties? This one is for you!

In Pre-Covid times, wedding videographers Tracy and Drew tied the knot in a greenery-filled marquee before partying the night away under canvas in a Nordic tent. With welly throwing, a firepit and colourful flags, their DIY farm festival wedding is packed with great ideas to pinch. They won’t mind, promise!

How did you two meet?

Like a lot of people now, we met online and had our first date in a lovely little coffee shop in Moffat. It wasn’t until our first camping weekend away on Islay that we realised we had found our person. We cycled from whisky distillery to distillery in the pouring rain and had an amazing time. We now go mountain biking with a beautiful little boy who is very cheeky.

What inspired your wedding plans?

As wedding videographers (Jst Married Wedding Films) we go to lots of weddings all over the UK but one did capture our hearts.

We filmed one for a couple called Fern and Beef (yes that’s correct), who had a lovely festival style wedding on their farm near Dumfries. I will always remember driving up and seeing the tops of the tents rise over the hill as we got closer. It was all dressed up with personal details and covered in fairy lights. It was really magical and so different. We love to see all the details that people do on their day. 

Tell us about your venue…

Both of us love to be outside so we were set on a barn or in a field somewhere. Being under canvas made this idea really come to life as it provided us with the chance to create our wedding our own way. We could choose the suppliers we wanted and decorate it in a style we loved, making it very personal to us.

We set the tent on a local farmhouse B&B outside Biggar. It was a lovely big old house with amazing views of the hills. We decided to get married on the lawn and then have the tent in the field in front of the house for the reception. We had a lot of guests, so we decided to separate the reception from the ceremony to help spread out the day and excitement. 

How did you choose your photographer?

Tracy first met Zoë at her friend’s wedding in Glasgow. She really liked her style and friendliness so we checked out her website and booked her. We also did an engagement shoot with Zoë which is always lovely as it gave us a chance to get to know her and on the day this made everyone a bit more chilled out and buzzy.

It was really interesting as videographers to be the bride and groom. As with most couples, you are just in a bubble all day and go with the flow if it. When Zoë wanted to take us out for a golden hour opportunity we did it, going with any background she recommended. We were bride and groom that day and it was nice not to think about work.

What was your first dance song?

Galway Girl for first dance song followed by “Killing In The Name Of” (Rage Against The Machine) for the end song to make sure we got the dancefloor jumping. We also used confetti cannons for extra magic!

Were there any challenges along the way?

Loads but it was worth it. You really do notice the suppliers that smashed it. If we told you all the challenges and issues this may put you off creating your wedding from scratch but it was totally worth it. A few pointers though, make sure your generator can handle what you need and always have a plan B.

Get a wedding planner for a DIY wedding and make sure you have enough rest the night before. Don’t stay up decorating late into the night, you will be exhausted the next day. Always ask for help from friends and family. Also plenty of food and drink, we really wanted our guests to feel comfortable and relaxed all day to keep it going!

Honeymoon or minimoon?

Both! We had a lovely minimoon in the lake district at a spa retreat. It was amazing, we can’t wait to go back there. 

Our honeymoon was about six months later in New Zealand. We travelled around doing all sorts. Lots of mountain biking, Hobbiton movie set (amazing coffee and pudding) and checking out some breweries. Our best man lives in NZ so it was ideal seeing him and returning the favour of flying to our wedding.

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

For us, it’s not one moment it’s lots of little things rather than the big stuff. Such as Tracy walking down the aisle, the best man and I driving to the wedding in a sports car really fast! (don’t do that) and seeing people we’ve not seen in ages having a good time around the fire pit. And also your friends and family jumping to Rage Against The Machine and don’t forget the sticky toffee pudding! When all of this combines, you know you have smashed it. 

Anyone else feeling a bit giddy at the thought of getting to bust out some moves on a dancefloor again?  Thanks for sharing your beautiful BIG day with us Tracy & Drew! x