“HOW TO COOK A HUSBAND” – A COCKTAIL INSPIRED CLUNY CASTLE WEDDING
FEATURING
Melissa + Jamie partnered castles with cocktails and added surprise fireworks!
“There is a lot of planning goes into a wedding and the day just flys so we tried to enjoy spending as much time together throughout the day.”
~ Melissa + Jamie
We Fell In Love With…
Castles, cocktails, fireworks, and champagne towers.
Don’t stress about the weather! Excellent advice from Melissa and Jamie whose dream wedding day at Cluny Castle included a very personal reading passed down through generations.
Read on to find out all about it and stay tuned to the end to hear their fabulous advice for those currently planning a wedding!
TELL US ABOUT YOU TWO + YOUR WEDDING JOURNEY
We met through mutual friends and hadn’t been dating long before lockdown hit. Jamie used to make his flat into our own cocktail bar so we had different homemade cocktails on each of our tables (also named after cocktails) at the wedding. These brought back lots of happy memories.
Jamie proposed at the Plaza de Espana in Seville so we made sure there were little nods to Seville throughout the day.
Venue wise, Cluny Castle looked perfect and was relatively local so all our close friends and family could easily attend the wedding. We were completely blown away by the private chapel. Tenants Hall was also perfect for our numbers (80-90 guests) and again was beautiful. We loved the grounds and there were enough bedrooms to host our immediate family and bridal party.
We took on a couple of DIY wedding projects. Our place names were cocktail garnishes, our table names were some of our favourite cocktails and the table plan was our living room mirror. We left everything else to our vendors who did not disappoint! Natalie, Cluny’s wedding coordinator, kept the day running smoothly. She was brilliant.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR OUTFITS
Jamie had his kilt custom-made by Moira of Soy Kilts (Portsoy) with a green tweed jacket. The tartan was Fraser Hunting as Simpson is part of the Fraser clan.
Melissa wore a Rosa Clare dress (Verocha) with a matching overskirt. The overskirt totally changed the outfit without having to buy a second dress. It was very detailed with layers of lace and beading and a scalloped edge. Melissa’s shoes were from Rainbow Club and were comfortable enough to wear all day. They had the most beautiful floral detailing.
Our groomsmen wore matching kilts (Cullins of Skye) that complimented Jamie’s tartan. The bridesmaid dresses were from Rewritten. There was a selection of styles to suit all the girls, even my sister-in-law who was pregnant. They will be able to reuse them again which we loved.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR CEREMONY
Sheila Lawtie led our ceremony, she is the most lovely witty woman! Melissa walked down the aisle to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Hysteric. We both like our indie music and love the lyrics in this song.
We tied the knot with two tartans, one representing Morrison and the other Simpson. My bridesmaid did a reading from a cookbook passed down from my great granny to my Mum, “How To Cook a Husband”. It was very tongue-in-cheek but lovely to have something so personal.
We finished with a drink from the quaich, filled with a special whisky provided by Jamie’s Dad.
TELL US ABOUT THE RECEPTION
Platter and Pop did our catering and they were brilliant. We had a mix of canapés along with Prosecco and Cruzcampo beer – an ode to Seville. Our meal was a sharing style starter as we both love tapas. The main was beef, an obvious choice as Melissa’s Dad is a beef/lamb farmer.
Joel, Jamie’s groomsman, introduced us into the meal and had our guests do the Scottish Haka which turned into the Macarena! We were piped in and toasted by Rich our piper.
Our cake was from Torta, the flavours were espresso martini and passion fruit and mango. Again, bringing the cocktail element back in.
Our band kept the party going right until the end, I don’t think my granny was off the dancefloor! During their break we surprised everyone with fireworks. It was so nice to get a moment to sit and watch them together.
ANY LESSONS LEARNED OR ADVICE YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE?
Our day went super smoothly and we really trusted our suppliers. When we started planning we wanted a summer wedding but due to venue availability, we had to pick between April or October. We love autumn colours but, as we didn’t want to wait another 6 months, we decided on a spring wedding. We’re so glad we did as we got to have the most beautiful seasonal spring flowers and fireworks.
You can’t guarantee the weather (especially in the north east of Scotland) but we did get a guest appearance from the sun during canapés!
There is a lot to organise but we managed to do all the planning ourselves and it was part of the build up and excitement to our wedding day.
The day just flew by so we tried to spend as much time together as we could throughout the day, kept group shots to a minimum and opted for more relaxed photographs. This gave us more time to mingle and enjoy the day with our guests.
