EDINBURGH EXTRAVAGANZA: A RIDDLE’S COURT WEDDING & NATIONAL MUSEUM RECEPTION
FEATURING
Elspeth + Tom chose two iconic city venues to get married with an army of friends to help them celebrate in style!
“Although there were little things that went a bit awry, it was still the most phenomenal (and fast) day of our lives.”
~ Elspeth + Tom
We Fell In Love With…
Two iconic venues, rooftop reception and the bride’s killer suit!
Elspeth & Tom couldn’t decide between two venues, so they chose both – a pretty awesome decision if you ask us! This couple’s wedding came with a mission statement: “a fun and memorable day for all, that celebrates who we are and the values we share.” We couldn’t have put it better ourselves.
Read on to see all the gorgeous inspiration and don’t forget to stay tuned to the end to get some valuable advice from this lovely pair.
TELL US ABOUT YOU TWO + YOUR WEDDING JOURNEY
We met on OK Cupid in 2017 when Tom was back from China for two weeks. Walking up to Tom on our first date, I started to have second thoughts. He was wearing bright red hareem pants! However, I stayed open-minded and went ahead with the date. Thank god I did! We chatted all night and did not want the date to end. Tom returned to China and lived there for about a year, we said we wouldn’t do long distance but ended up messaging each other every single day. On the 21st of September 2018 , we were reunited and have rarely been separated since.
We knew the wedding would be in summertime because Tom is a teacher and we wanted to go on holiday afterwards! The location had to be Edinburgh for us; it’s where we met, it’s where we live and most of our friends and family are close by. We wanted to make the wedding as easy to get to as possible so looked at venues in the city centre. The idea of a Riddle’s Court wedding charmed us with its history and painted wooden ceiling whilst the National Museum of Scotland wowed us with its rooftop terrace and incredible views. We couldn’t decide between them, so we chose both!
We had the ceremony and tea and cake at Riddle’s Court and then walked down the road to the museum for the meal and ceilidh. We got some great guidance from our married friends Tori and Mike who sent us a wedding planning resource. It asked us to separately rank what was most important to us and we came back with the same answers: food, drink and ceilidh! The resource also asked us to write a wedding mission statement which was “A fun and memorable day for all, that celebrates who we are and the values we share”. I am relieved to say, I think we achieved this!
Us both being art college graduates, we wanted a colourful and crafted wedding. Thankfully, we have a host of arty friends that we employed to help us!
TELL US ABOUT YOUR OUTFITS
I studied costume design at uni so my outfit was very important to me. I knew this was possibly my only chance to have a dream fulfilled: a tailored green suit. My mum found Alis le May on Instagram and when I saw a close up detail of a wavy hem she had made on another bride’s outfit, I knew she was the artisan for me! Working with Alis was an absolute dream; she understood my vision and brought her own pizazz. Upon seeing the pink Esska sandals I planned to wear with the suit, she found an off-cut of magenta silk to match and offered to make it into a halter top inspired by Grace Kelly. I love the whole outfit so much and hope to get more wears out of it.
Tom got his kilt, waistcoat and shoes from Gordon Nicholson Kiltmakers in Colquhoun tartan and found his blue shirt on Vinted.
We both changed into more comfortable shoes for the dancing. Ceilidh-ing is a serious business.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR CEREMONY
We had a secular wedding, with the ceremony beautifully crafted by Tasha the Celebrant. We wanted the ceremony to feel personal and intimate, whilst also being colourful and fun.
One of the things that bonds us as a couple is an undying love of Björk, so we walked down the aisle to her gorgeous song, ‘Unison’. There was a lovely balance of earnestness and humour in Tasha’s ceremony and our vows, capturing our attitude to life and love perfectly. We exchanged rings (made by our incredible silversmith friend, Imogen) and drank whisky from the quaich.
Riddle’s Court is already a stunning building, but Ochre Botanicals somehow made it look even more stunning. Our colour scheme was rich jewel tones, and this was carried through into the cascading florals. Down the aisle and on the window sills were empty gin and whisky bottles that we have collected over the years, with the labels lovingly soaked off by Tom’s mum, used as bud vases. This added a personal touch.
We utilised our creative friends very well, commissioning a portrait of us from Rose and a portrait of our cats from Rosalind, which were displayed behind our delicious cakes from The Pastry Section. We had 3 cakes: lemon and raspberry, carrot cake and a gluten-free pistachio cake. Another talented pal, Rory, graphic designed our schedule board for the day.
TELL US ABOUT THE RECEPTION
After sauntering down the road to the museum, we went immediately to the roof for drinks with a view. With Edinburgh Castle behind us, it felt like the city was ours.
The meal was a vegetarian feast provided by Benugo, which we ate surrounded by the same beautiful flowers (Ochre were little botanical elves working behind the scenes). As place settings we had wee origami animals that we had crafted together the week before.
After some brief speeches from the dads, we headed downstairs to Hawthornden Court for dancing. As we were reunited on the 21st of September, we did our first (disco) dance to Earth, Wind and Fire, getting everyone up at the end to join in. Then, it was ceilidh time! The music was expertly provided by Òr Cèilidh Band who lead us through some classics (Gay Gordons, Dashing White Sergeant, Strip the Willow) as well as some pure mental new-to-us dances, such as one that involved people holding hands in a long snake and weaving in and out of one another (the Spiral Dance).
Behind the band was an incredible (and massive) medieval-style banner by another super creative friend, Fionnuala.
WHICH SUPPLIERS ROCKED YOUR DAY?
Lou the photographer was absolutely incredible. She was so friendly and energetic and captured all the big and small moments beautifully.
Tasha the celebrant did an amazing job of telling our story and getting the tone of our ceremony just right.
Alis the tailor went above and beyond in the creation of my outfit. Her vision and technical skill is unmatched.
Special shout out to our incredible, creative friends who made things for our wedding: Rose – who created a magical portrait of us to sit beside the cake. Rosalind – who painted our beautiful cats so they could attend the wedding in spirit. Rory – who graphic designed the hell out of our schedule board and menu. Fionnuala – who fabricated the medieval banner of our dreams. Imogen – who forged the most perfect rings.
ANY LESSONS LEARNED OR ADVICE YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE?
Not getting too stressed about planning was the biggest challenge. When you are spending a lot of money and putting pressure on yourselves to make it a ‘perfect day’, then the planning can stop being fun. It’s possibly not as bad as gambling but, when the fun stops, stop. Take a break and come back to it.
On the day itself, just enjoy every moment. Nothing can prepare you for the feeling of entering a room full of people who love you and have gathered to celebrate you as a couple. It’s totally electric. I cried immediately.
Although there were little things that went a bit awry, it was still the most phenomenal (and fast) day of our lives.
