Victoria and Richard live in Northern Ireland but decided to make the trip across to Scotland so that they could be married in Inverness, the place they had first met seven years previously.
Embracing the great Scottish outdoors Victoria opted for an outside ceremony and they celebrated their nuptials with a back garden replica of the Highland games. If you have never seen a bride tossing the caber before then this just might be your lucky day. Beautiful Alan Hannah dress, super scottish kilts and a record player… There is something here for everyone.
Victoria The Bride: We both live in Northern Ireland but I (Victoria) wanted to get married in my home country and Richard was up for it so we made the journey to Inverness in Scotland – which is where we both met originally 7 years ago. Bunchrew House is in a stunning location on the banks of the Beauly Firth and we knew that we wanted a venue that was exclusive to us so took the hotel for two nights and made it our own – kind of like the ultimate house party. The staff were incredible at Bunchrew and couldn’t do enough to help us. Really couldn’t have asked for a kinder more helpful bunch of people.
The Beauty
I wanted to go for a really natural and relaxed look for my hair and makeup on the day. I didn’t want to look completely different so kept my usual curls but styled them up with my blue feather hairpiece all the way from Australia. Make-up was done by my sister-in-law and she did a great job. I used Dior products and my perfume was Lady Million by Paco Rabanne.
Alan Hannah
My dress was by Alan Hannah and it was from Blush Bridal Boutique in Belfast. It was actually the first dress I had tried on during my hunt – I then went to about 15 other shops but of course came back to this one. I had originally wanted to go for a short style 1950s type dress but everything changed when I tried on this dress. The style seemed to really suit my curls. I was surprised at myself for picking such a ‘bride-y’ dress. But I don’t regret it for a second.
The Choos
Richard bought me my bridal Jimmy Choo shoes as a surprise for my Christmas before the wedding. It was a total shock and I couldn’t believe he had picked them out himself and got the right size – massive brownie points and one very happy bride-to-be!
Of Maids & Men
The overall colour scheme was a light blue. Richard’s suit was a light shade of blue along with his blue tartan bowtie from Etsy. I matched my blue feathered head piece with him – also from Etsy.
I had a bit of an entourage as my wedding party with my 2 sisters as bridesmaids, 4 flower girls and 4 page boys who were all of our nieces and nephews. Yikes! All of the dresses were handmade in Aberdeen and Dubai (bestman’s family live there) and the boys wore kilts. Richard had his eldest brother as best man and his two other brothers and my brother as ushers.
Highland Games
The theme and feel for the day was really important for us. We wanted a relaxed summer fete feel to the day with a vintage twist. We created our very own Highland Games as we were really conscious of our guests having something fun to do in-between the ceremony and the wedding breakfast. The Highland Games was a labour of love for Richard – ordering all the games online, getting signs made by friends and setting it all up on the morning of the wedding. We even had one friend make us a caber to toss – along with our not so traditional pineapple and haggis shy. The sack race and tug of war were the most fun parts and I was so happy everyone got stuck in.
Hey Mr DJ
We had gramophone DJ’s supplied by the amazing Butler & Taylor that played old gramophone tunes on the lawn after our reception which added a really relaxed atmosphere. Everyone drank their pimms from their vintage tea cups and enjoyed the games in the sunshine. Bliss! Butler & Taylor also helped us decorate the ceremony area and reception area creating a beautiful wedding scene – they really helped us realise our vision. We also hired various items from Grace & Saviour in Belfast.
There were also quite a few DIY projects on the go for our wedding – scottie dogs handmade by my mum hidden around the venue for the kids to find – although I think the adults ended up doing most of the seeking. Mum also made some bunting and put together the favours – tablet/fudge in wee bags with bespoke labels.
Both Richard and I made the table plans and seating cards – a joint effort. We bought loads of extra flowers ourselves to pop in jam-jars all around the venue and hang from the tree so spent the night before sorting all the containers out and sorting the flowers.
A Bike Of Blooms
Our florist was the amazing Angela Hunter from Inverness that created our bouquets and table centres to go in the vintage tea pots. Ivory Roses, blue roses, spray roses, Bouvardia, Thistles, crystals Bound with Organza and secured with diamond clasp – just gorgeous. Angela also did a great job of decorating our vintage bike frame.
The Great Outdoors
I loved the ceremony outside under the beautiful cedar tree – known as the loving tree. We had a Scottish Handfast section to the ceremony where you have the symbolic act of our hands being tied together with a ribbon – representing the union.
We had a reading from The Velveteen Rabbit and it was by chance that as I was walking down the aisle a hare bolted across the lawn. It was really surreal and guests weren’t sure if we had set it off on purpose or not. We hadn’t – but it was pretty magical! Other readings included an Irish blessing and These I can Promise by Mark Twain.
We had Sigur Ros to play us up the aisle and bagpipes to pipe us down the aisle.
Vintage Tunes
We had bagpipes for the guests arriving. I loved the sound of the pipes lilting across the Beauly Firth. We had Butler & Taylor as gramophone DJ’s while we had our drinks on the lawn. This was brilliant and the old and young loved this mix of vintage tunes.
Maximum Bob – a local Inverness band – provided the music for the evening with a ceilidh and cover songs. They were fantastic and I think everyone got roped into the dancing at some stage.
We also set off sky lanterns later on in the night which was really funny. We had bought biodegradable lanterns as Rich had read about wildlife getting caught in lanterns once they landed BUT they didn’t seem to work very well and it was epic trying to get them all to float – with lots going into the nearby tree. It was hilarious!
Glorious
The food provided by the hotel was tremendous. We had a trio of Salmon to start, followed by steak with Blueberry Crème Brulee for desert. So delicious.
We had found an image of a wedding cake on a blog and asked a local baker – Harry Gow to replicate it and we bought our cake toppers from Etsy.
The favours were bags of tablet from a shop called The Starry Rock Shop in Kirriemuir where my mum and dad live and Richard’s most favourite thing in the whole world. My mum put the bags together and we put bespoke labels on them.
Paper Pieces
Our place names were handmade by me and Rich. We also bought a load of picture frames and created the table plans ourselves. Our invites were designed for us by a local designer in Northern Ireland called Shelly Moore. They were incredible! She even created our very own logo for the day.
Don’t Stress
Try and enjoy your day when it comes and don’t stress the little things. Remember your guests are there because they love you and are there to see you get married. At the end of the day that is what is important.
Click here & view all images from this wedding
Venue: Bunchrew House Hotel
Photography: This Modern Love
Vintage Event Hire Specialists & gramophone DJ’s: Butler & Taylor
Wedding hire service: Grace & Saviour
Flowers: Angela Hunter
Cake: Harry Gow bakers
Chair Hire: North of Scotland Marquees
Dress: Alan Hannah
Boutique: Blush Bridal Boutique
Shoes: Jimmy Choo Band: Maximum Bob
Hair: Hairworks
Good to see a bride putting a bit of welly into it.
This is one of those weddings that you look through and wish you’d been invited to.
Any of my friends out there who are planning on getting married soon, can we please have the highland games please. PLEASE.
These images by This Modern Love have captures the fun and frolicks perfectly. Not only do they have a kick ass name but they also seem to live up to it – creating some seriously eye popping picture candy.
Adam.