KEEPING IT LOCAL – FESTIVAL WEDDING VIBES IN GLASGOW CITY
FEATURING
Jennifer + Ian kept it thrifty and DIY with the help of pals and lots of pizza!
“Accept that some things will go wrong and try not to stress about it”
~ Jennifer + Ian
We Fell In Love With…
Dogs, thrifted china, pizza, and pals.
Fate (or rather, their Golden Retriever) found Jennifer and Ian’s ideal wedding venue for them. They kept things local and, with assistance from friends, put together a lively festival wedding. We love the colours and unique styling of this Pearce Institute wedding.
Read on to find out all about it and stay tuned to the end to hear sage words for those currently in the throes of wedding planning.
TELL US ABOUT YOU TWO + YOUR WEDDING JOURNEY
We met at a house party of a mutual friend 8 years ago not long after Jenn had moved back to Scotland from London.
We were unsure where to hold our ceremony until one fateful day our Golden Retriever, Scout, ran into the church round the corner from our flat. It turns out Govan Old Parish Church is actually a museum that holds the Govan Stones (look them up!). When we found out they did weddings an idea was born…
The Pearce Institute is next door to the church. It has stunning rooms and we love that we kept everything local. While we’re not from Govan we’ve grown to love being part of the community here. One lovely neighbour even cleaned the street for Jenn’s walk to church, which really moved us.
We’re both massive music fans so we went for a ‘festival’ kind of vibe. We had about 150 guests and we wanted something more fun and casual rather than fancy.
All our friends were an incredible help with flowers and decor, really bringing the room together in a beautiful way. Katherine Taylor of The Wedding Fairy was a wonderful addition. She helped in our final weeks of planning and with on-the-day coordination. She seamlessly brought together all the different moving parts for us, alleviating any worry.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR OUTFITS
Not long after we got engaged Jenn fell instantly in love with Eva Lendel’s Liana dress. Think stunning silhouette, fully decorated with leaves patterned lace and tulle detailed sleeves.
As somebody who doesn’t really wear heels, she thought why not wear her usual footwear of choice, trainers! Having chosen Nike High Tops, Jenn found a brilliant trainer painter (Custom For You) to personalise them. She also personalised Vans high tops for the bridal party.
Jenn’s Dad sadly passed away in 2017 so, wanting to keep him close in some way, she wore his wedding ring on a gold chain.
Jenn’s dearest and oldest friend Laura gave her her wedding veil to wear as “something old”.
The bridal party wore a blush colour scheme, with everybody choosing an outfit that they felt best in.
Ian had always wanted a Hugo Boss suit and this seemed like the occasion to finally get one! His shoes were beautiful black brogues that belonged to Jenn’s Grandfather. He also wore a Police watch gifted by his late Grampa.
The groomsmen all wore their own black suits with a matching Hugo Boss black tie.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR CEREMONY
Our humanist ceremony was conducted by Jenn’s cousin Harriet. It felt so special to be married by a family member who knows and loves us. Scout was our ring bearer.
Govan Old Parish Church is a stunning space so not much decoration was required apart from dried flower bouquets at the end of each pew. Jenn and her friends put these together.
The Cairn String Quartet played an incredible mix of contemporary and classical tunes which really added to the festival vibes. They played Jenn down the aisle to Pachelbel’s Canon and we exited to Paramore’s Still Into You.
We wrote our own vows, with no idea what the other one was going to say. It was a really nice, personalised dedication of our love for one another.
TELL US ABOUT THE RECEPTION
Our food was from Base Pizza ( a festival favourite) and they put on an incredible spread of sharing pizzas. Flour Girl Bake put on a stellar sharing dessert spread. The food went down a storm though we were doing the rounds chatting to our guests and barely got a chance to eat!
Our wedding cake was made by Jenn’s Gran. It felt really special to have someone we love put so much time and effort into doing that for us. We decorated the top with little figurines of us and Scout.
Our band, Little Red, were unreal. The dance floor was never empty. We’d also set up the downstairs cafe as a games room and bar.
Our day really wouldn’t have been complete without Harper Scott Photo who Jenn had found the previous year. Carole-Ann and her team slotted right in – it was like we were all old friends – giving us photos and a wedding film that we’ll treasure forever. Jenn is currently figuring out ways to work with Carole-Ann again she liked her so much!
ANY LESSONS LEARNED OR ADVICE YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE?
It’s a cliche but try and take some time for yourselves, just to take everything in. You are pulled in so many different directions and the day goes by so fast.
Accept that some things will go wrong and try not to stress about it. Luckily we had an on-the-day wedding coordinator and it was an absolute godsend to have someone to keep things on track. If you can afford one we’d say it’s essential on the day. Otherwise, put your bridesmaids and groomsmen to work!
Be prepared for the mother of all comedowns after the wedding. We went on a mini-moon with our best friends immediately after, we highly recommend doing this as it meant we got quality time together. Once we got back it really hit us that we were emotionally and physically exhausted. It turns out this is really common so please be kind to yourselves.
