WWW readers Zoe and Dave tied the knot in May at Kirknewton House Stables, West Lothian. With a vision of a personal, relaxed and fun wedding day they certainly achieved it by the bucket load.

Zoe and Dave hand crafted much of their cosy day, with reams of bunting, a pretty fabric wreath and home made cakes. I so love the spring florals and pretty bridesmaid dresses.

Zoe looked super beautiful with a natural look to her hair and make up and a customised dress, while Dave went for a traditional Kilt. Such a loved up happy couple.

Thanks so much to Photos by Zoe for sharing her gorgeous images with us today.

 

The Proposal… At sunset, by the beach!

The Vision for the Day… We really wanted to make sure our wedding was really personal and fun for everyone. We aimed for a relaxed, cozy feeling, with lots of  home made touches, good food and good music.

The Planning Process… The main bits of the wedding were easy decisions – as soon as we saw the venue we knew that was where we wanted it to be. Dave was quite happy to let me get on with most of it, but the one thing he was adamant about was that he wanted a hog roast. The rest was probably quite stressful for everyone else because I’m sure I changed my mind about 50 times about everything!

The Venue… Kirknewton House Stables, West Lothian.

The Dress + Accessories… My dress was practically re-made by an amazing dressmaker in Edinburgh that a friend put me in contact with. I don’t know which bit I loved more, the lace jacket or the pockets! My shoes were Rocket Dog and I wore earrings that were my great-gran’s and a bracelet given to me by Dave.

Finding the Dress… I actually found my dress on ebay but it was only available to collect in London, so my amazing friend collected it and brought it up on the train (he became an honorary bridesmaid!) It was sort of what I wanted but I thought we could maybe change a couple of things so I took it to Carol, who was amazing – It needed so many alterations in the end that apparently it would have been easier to start from scratch. The dress itself was strapless and Carol made me a lace jacket to wear over the top with some beaded French lace.

Groom’s Attire… Dave wore a kilt (of course!) and grey tweed waistcoat and jacket.

The Readings + Music… My bridesmaid Fiona read a passage from Captain Corelli’s mandolin and Dave’s sister read a poem by John Agard called ‘Nuptials’. Our friend played the bagpipes and another friend accompanied us down the aisle to Coldplay’s ‘Reign of love’ played on the harp.

Beautiful Bridesmaids… I had three bridesmaids, my sister Nikki and my two closest friends Fiona & Hannah, who are sisters too. I’ve known Fiona since we were born (and Hannah too). They all looked so gorgeous and were the best people to have standing up there with me!

The Flowers… Our flowers were done by Tattie Rose in Edinburgh. We had a selection of rannunculus, peonies and anenomies as well as lots of other gorgeous flowers which I don’t know the names of! I was quite vague about what I wanted but had loved everything I’d seen on Tattie’s website, so when we met I trusted her with a vague notion of colours and left the rest to her.

The Cake… Our cake was made by our friend’s mum. She made us a two layer cake with fruit cake and sponge, decorated with the most intricate lace icing. We also asked some of our friends to bake their ‘signature dish’ for after the meal so we had a huge selection of pies, tarts, cheesecake and sweets.

Your Photographer… Our photographer was the lovely Zoe from Photos by Zoe. She was so amazing on the day. The weather really didn’t co-operate and it could have been so challenging but she made some of the most beautiful images and really went above and beyond the call of duty. Being a photographer myself provided lots of hilarity for everyone and we had to be named ‘photographer Zoe and bride Zoe’ to avoid confusion!

The Details + Decor… I decided I wanted to decorate the hall with bunting, so me and my mum with help from Fiona & Dave’s mum Celia made 200m of bunting. I got the easy bit of making the flags, and my mum painstakingly sewed them all together. I was collecting lots of different fabrics and it worked so well! My mum even surprised me with a wreath made of the scraps of fabric. We collected lots of jam jars and bottles for the centrepieces which we filled with Stocks and Gypsophilla, and used rounds of wood for table numbers. We also had lots of jam jars full of candles with really helped create a warm atmosphere since it was so dark and rainy outside.

The Honeymoon… We went to America on our honeymoon. We visited New York, Boston and Cape Cod. It was such a great combination of places, each one so different and got gradually more relaxing as the holiday went on. We’re already saving up to go back.

Memorable Moments… There were so many. What we remember most are all the smiling faces, and the laughter. I didn’t want the day to end. Jumping in puddles in the dark for photos was so much fun. I’ll also never forget how I got my left and right mixed up when exchanging rings, and agreeing to ‘lawfully hed my wusband’.

Advice for Other Couples… Relax and enjoy all of it. The planning may be stressful, but stick to what you want to achieve, and focus on the reasons why you are doing it. It’s so easy to get caught up in wedding fever, but as long as you enjoy your day, that is what people will remember most!

Credit Where Credit is Due…

Catering: Oink hog roasts – http://www.oinkhogroast.co.uk/

Bar – Largesse Edinburgh – http://www.largessecorporategifts.co.uk/

Bridesmaid Dresses – Ghost in John Lewis.

Kilt Hire – http://www.mccalls.co.uk/

Flowers – Tattie Rose – http://www.tattieroseflowers.co.uk/

Hair – Cheynes – http://www.cheyneshairdressing.com/

Make-up – Sophie Alexis- http://www.sophiealexismakeup.co.uk/

Band – The Occasionals – http://www.theoccasionals.com/

Photographer – Photos by Zoe – http://photosbyzoe.co.uk/

 

How utterly lovely, and proof that rain on your wedding day can be so romantic. Thanks so much to Zoe and Dave for sharing their beautiful wedding with us today XOXO Lou