Third time lucky for this magical Drumtochty wedding day!

Third time was the charm for Kat and Kadi, after not one, but two wedding cancellations! But Covid couldn’t stop them, and in the end love won, with celebrations well worth waiting for. Their stunning Scottish castle wedding is giving us all the feels!

How did you two meet?

We went to school together! We have known each other since we were around 14 and I guess you could call us high school sweethearts, as cheesy as that sounds. Our ‘romance’ started on a school trip to Paris when we were seventeen so we’ve been together for around thirteen years.

Kadi brought out all the romance and proposed on a trip to Paris 10 years later! We were due to get married in March 2020, the weekend before the UK went into lockdown… so we had to cancel our wedding five days before, which was all very traumatic! We rescheduled for March 2021, only to have to reschedule again! We eventually got to celebrate our day in July 2021.

What inspired your wedding plans?

I always wanted a fairly traditional Scottish venue and Drumtochty Castle really couldn’t be more perfect for that. We also wanted a venue that was exclusive use and could accommodate all of our guests onsite as we wanted everyone to be together for the whole weekend and had guests coming from overseas.

Our main criteria was also somewhere with no curfew so we could keep dancing all night, so Drumtochty ticked all the boxes!

Tell us more…

Drumtochty was recommended by a friend, as she knew we wanted somewhere with a lot of on-site accommodation. We loved it as soon as we went to visit! The castle itself is so beautiful and the surrounding area is just amazing, so picturesque. You couldn’t get a more Scottish venue with deer on the castle grounds and tartan carpets!

We also loved the relaxed feel of the place and Nikki, the manager, really made us feel like the place would really be ours for the weekend to use it how we wanted. We were keen for the party to continue long into the early hours and Drumtochty could make that happen! The bridal suite is also just beautiful! You really feel like a princess in there.

We love your outfits! 

My dress was a very simple dress from Charlie Brear – I really fell in love with its simplicity and bias cut. I also then wore a lace topper by Catherine Deane for the day. I wasn’t planning on wearing anything lace but when Rachel from Olive Jones suggested I try it on, I loved it! In the evening I took off the topper and wore a sparkly belt. I loved being able to have two different looks with only one dress! I tried on quite a lot of dresses, but that was part of the fun for me.

I also wore dusky pink velvet heels from LK Bennett – pink and velvet is my dream combo! I was keen for my shoes to bring a pop of colour, so tied them in with the colour scheme too. I also wore a pair of earrings that were given to me as a wedding gift from my two dear friends, who own a jewellery business. The earrings were by designer Ruby Jack and I’ll treasure them forever!

Kadi wore a classic dress suit with a bespoke waistcoat made in Johnstone tartan (my family tartan). He also had a matching Johnstone tartan bow tie, which matched with the groomsmen. Two of them wore the same bowtie and my brothers wore the Johnstone tartan kilt.

Your photos are gorgeous!

Emma was an absolute superstar. After cancelling our first wedding date due to Covid, our original photographer wasn’t available on our new date so we had to find someone new.

Emma’s style really came across on her website and I just love how natural and relaxed everyone looks in her photos. She captured our day so beautifully and I’ll treasure the photos forever, she managed to keep us laughing throughout the whole day and that really comes across in the photos. I am laughing and smiling in every one!

What was your first dance song?

Can’t take my eyes off of you by Lauryn Hill. Kadi and I both love her and this album in particular, so this version of this song just seemed very appropriate. Iron Broo were brilliant and so lively! They definitely got the party started.

Were there any challenges along the way?

Covid! The timing was pretty heartbreaking for us as we were so close with our first day – we had to cancel five days before the big day. So that was tough but it did make us appreciate everything more I think, and we were so ready for the day when it came and all of our guests were very ready to party!

Did you manage to stick to your budget?

Not quite…after having to cancel our first wedding I may have added in a few extras!

Any advice?

Don’t worry about everything going perfectly…just try to relax and have a good time on the day. And if you are having an exclusive use venue and are able to – have a get together the night before the wedding or the day after so you get more time with your guests and can keep the party going for longer. As Kadi’s family are from Ghana, we had a Ghanaian themed celebration the Friday night before the wedding which was so much fun!

Honeymoon or minimoon?

Our honeymoon plans for our original date were to go to the Maldives, but sadly we of course had to cancel that too (which was extra painful as we were due to be there for my 30th birthday!).

The Maldives were still pretty tricky to get to by the time our new date came around, but we were so lucky and managed to go to Santorini for our honeymoon and it was truly amazing! Made even more special after not being out of the UK for so long.

What’s the one moment you will always remember?

I was surprised by how calm I felt before the wedding itself – my bridesmaids all kept asking me if I was okay and ready, and couldn’t believe how calm I was! But after waiting for so long to get married I felt so ready and relaxed on the day – so I’m grateful for that.

We said our own vows during the ceremony, which I thought I’d be so nervous for – but on the day it just felt so lovely to finally be able to say them.

So much love and joy in these photos! And kicking the weekend off with a Ghanaian celebration sounds wonderful. Thank you for sharing your incredible day with us Kat and Kadi! x