Halloween Back Garden Wedding in Angus

Halloween has always been a special time for Stephanie and Andrew. So when their 2020 holiday plans fell through, they decided to get married in their back garden and celebrate their wedding instead.

From painted pumpkin decorations to love potions as wedding favours, we love the way they embraced the theme and made their micro wedding big on fun.

How did you two meet?

Romantic story – we met at work and became pen pals via email, finally getting together at a colleague’s wedding.

And what inspired your wedding plans?

We started dating around Halloween time, so it has always been a special time for us. In 2019 we went to New York to join in the Halloween parade and decided to go bigger and better in 2020.

When our holiday plans fell through, we decided to get married and celebrate our wedding Halloween style. Big thanks go to Andrew’s mum for her creativity in painting pumpkins, putting together decorations, and brewing alcoholic love potions for wedding favours.

We planned to have the wedding reception in tents in the garden (as they looked like witches hats) but with the last-minute changes in the Covid rules, we were not permitted to go through with that. Panmure Golf Club stepped in and saved the day and it was even better than we could have hoped for. It was especially nice as all of the Wallace family are members of the club, so it is a special place for the family.

We love your outfits! Tell us more…

Due to the uncertainty of the Covid pandemic and the ever-changing rules, I decided I wanted a dress that I could take home as soon as I saw it. Wed2b was perfect for that and the only shop I went to. I had a huge changing room to myself and could try on as many dresses as I liked. In the end, I opted for a style I was going to be comfortable in. Our wedding was about fun and so I wanted a dress that was pretty but relaxed and comfortable. My dress was just that – albeit a little chilly without sleeves on the cold and windy day we got for our wedding!

My shoes were from Lucie Green on Not On The High Street. The floral design was perfect for a garden wedding and they were so, so, so pretty with the bonus of being comfortable too. My denim jacket was also from NOTHS and was by Sadie Sadie.

Andrew wore his own Wallace tartan kilt and waistcoat. The tie and sporran were from Bowden’s Kilt Hire in Edinburgh.

Our bridesmaid was my 6-year-old niece. Her dress was from JJ’s House, an online retailer. Her broom for sweeping up the aisle halloween style was designed by Mrs Wallace and her “flower crown” as she called it was by our florist Margaret Cook. The best man and groomsmen wore their own kilts with waist coats, ties and socks from Bowdens Edinburgh.

Your photos are making us smile!

Barry [Barry Robb Photography] took photos at our friend’s wedding and they were beautiful and so we got in touch to see if he would capture our special day.

We love how Barry worked hard to capture the special moments and the memories of the day. Looking back at the pictures they really tell the story of the day perfectly – full of smiles, laughter, love, and fun. We were delighted with his work.

Tell us more about the flowers and florist…

The flowers were amazing!!! Margaret listened to our vision and colour scheme and captured it perfectly. I cried when I saw my bouquet as it was so beautiful. I lost my mum in 2016 and wanted a nod to her somewhere in the ceremony – Margaret added a beautiful white butterfly to the floral design as a subtle tribute. A lovely touch.

What was your first dance song?

Our first and only dance was a mash up of Frank Sinatra, Witch Craft and Michael Jackson’s, Thriller for obvious Halloween-themed reasons. Romantic and funny combined!

Were there any challenges along the way?

Where to begin. We started planning a wedding for 60 people in the back garden but the Covid restrictions changed almost weekly and so we were constantly chopping and changing our plans.

We finally ended up with 20 people in the garden and in the golf club but even on the morning of the wedding when we were chasing gazebos across the lawn we weren’t quite sure that was going to happen – it was almost five people in an intimate ceremony in the house if the rain hadn’t cleared half an hour prior to our ceremony time!

It all worked out in the end. We had the most perfect day. So much fun and looking back we wouldn’t have changed a second of it.

Shout out to Ian Potts for filming the ceremony and streaming it live on youtube – he did a very professional job in challenging weather conditions and allowed us to share the day with as many people as possible. Over 400 people have viewed it to date!

Did you manage to stick to your budget?

Yes as we ended up with a much smaller wedding than anticipated. That will get blown when we can finally have a big party to celebrate with those who weren’t able to attend! Halloween anniversary party maybe?!

Any advice to share?

Just do it! We wanted to get married and are so glad we didn’t let the government restrictions stop us. There is still so much you can do within the rules to have a special day. The most important thing is having an intimate and special day together and we certainly did.

Honeymoon or minimoon?

We had a minimoon at Isle of Eriska Hotel and Spa. We stayed in one of the spa suites and had our own hot tub. Michelin star dining and beautiful scenery made for a special trip away. We will get the big abroad holiday one year when we are finally allowed to travel and the world is “normal” again.

What’s the one moment you will always remember?

There were so many fabulous and fun moments. That’s down to it being a smaller, more intimate wedding. We could just relax and enjoy the fun of the day.

Andrew always laughs at the moment I stepped out of the house and did an unintended mummy impression with the wind wrapping me up in my veil! But our favourite moment was when the ceremony ended and we lifted the knot we had tied high in the air – we had overcome so much to finally get married and we were delighted.

Restrictions on guest numbers may have lifted, but micro weddings will forever have our hearts! Thanks for sharing your wonderful day with us Stephanie & Andrew. x