Angela+Ewan

We met through work and after flirting a little and joking about escaping the usual family Christmases and disappearing to Asia for the festive period I called the Ewan’s bluff and booked some flights. We subsequently fell in love on a snow-covered Great Wall of China on Christmas Day…

Romantic ideals of a remote location, rugged countryside, cosy fireplaces to offset the winter chill, twinkling candlelight and Scottish traditions from a piper to welcome the guests and lead the bride down the aisle, to a raucous ceilidh to dance the night away.

Being event planners ourselves and the bride being a wedding photographer we were keen to escape the norm and put our own individual mark on things. With an intimate gathering of only 34 guests we took exclusive use of the hotel so everyone could make it their home for the weekend and tried to keep everything personal and informal but with the same level of perfect execution and planning that we would expect to deliver for our own clients.

The weekend began with an intimate gathering for dinner the night prior and ended with a long walk around the loch on the morning after the wedding, before we finally had to tear ourselves away and say our fond goodbyes to both our friends and family and the venue that had been our home for the weekend – one in which we had created such fond memories.

Goats cheese terrine with beetroot and candied walnuts; Roast sirloin of Scotch Aberdeen Angus Beef with all the trimmings; Trio of seasonal desserts. Then there were the tray bakes to devour in the evening along with bacon rolls and a large cheese board and many a dram of whisky!

We always intended to take dance lessons and therefore chose a song we could move to (Ray Le Montagne’s “You’re the best thing”) but time ran away with us so it ended up being a slightly drunken shuffle with some “crowd pleasing” turns and lifts (which to the bride and groom felt like a performance worthy of the closing scene of Dirty Dancing, but to the spectators was probably more akin to the first round unsuccessful hopefuls from Britain’s Got Talent!)

Keep it simple and intimate – invite only your very closest family and friends and enjoy spending time with each and every one of them on the day. Put your guests first in many of the decisions that you make, from the accommodation to the entertainment and menu choices, as their happiness will radiate back to you and this will keep your stress levels to a minimum on the day knowing that everyone is relaxed and enjoying themselves. There’s no point in booking your favourite rock band for your big day if it’s just going to drive your guests to bed as soon as the party starts!

Seeing the smiles on our guests’ faces and hearing their happy memories after the big day was worth it’s wait in gold and the reluctance of everyone to leave the following day was testimony to an unforgettable weekend that no-one wanted to end.

The very beautiful and romantic boat shed on the loch edge with floor to ceiling glass and a breathtaking view across the loch.

Our guests making a huge amount of effort to join us in such a remote location and the happiness we felt that each and every one of them could be there to share the most perfect day with us.

Being half Scottish, the groom was keen to show off the beauty of the rugged Scottish landscape and with kilt in hand it seemed like a fitting place to spend our big day! Shortly after proposing the groom couldn’t wait to share his romantic vision with the bride, an idea which was eagerly embraced and became the foundations for our big day.