Scottish Wedding Traditions At San Diego’s North Chapel
We have a wonderful wedding sent to us by Sarah at Fuzzynk Design Studio for you to enjoy!
And all in the bride’s very own words …
My husband and I were married at the historic North Chapel, a recently restored naval chapel that is now open for public use. In the 1940’s the chapel was part of the Naval Training Center in San Diego, where 40,000 plus recruits were housed during WWII. My family has a long history of military service (father, brother, both sets of grandparents ~ grandmothers and grandfathers, and a great-grandfather) so I thought it would be special to be married there in a way to honor my family. With our wedding site in a historic chapel and groom and groomsmen in kilts to honor our Scottish heritage, we thought it would be nice to have our paper designs have a “vintage feel” and Sarah definitely accomplished that in her designs.
About a year and a half before I was married, I contacted Sarah with Fuzzynk Designs to see if she was interested in doing some custom paper designs for my wedding. There were a few things I had in mind from the beginning of the design process and knew Sarah would be able to deliver!
I wanted a cohesive design throughout the process ~ from our engagement announcements to the save-the-dates to the wedding invitations to the wedding signage. I wanted each wedding paper item sent out to follow the theme and to get the guests excited about the upcoming event.
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Since Scott and I are both of Scottish descent, it was important for us to incorporate the colors from my husband’s family tartan into our “wedding colors” of navy blue, sage green, and ivory since he would be wearing that kilt on our wedding day. I found a picture of a Scottish luckenbooth ~ one of the most romantic of Scottish symbols since the 1700’s. Luckenbooth pendants were traditionally exchanged between lovers at the time of betrothal.
I sent it to Sarah to incorporate into my wedding designs. Sarah’s talented husband hand drew a version of a Luckenbooth surrounded by our initials E&S which became a “wedding logo” for us and was included in everything we sent out to the guests. The best part of the luckenbooth design was included on our wedding invitations; a small paragraph explained to our guests the meaning of the luckenbooth symbol that they had seen in every design.
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My husband, his family and many of his friends are from the East Coast. I was born and grew up in San Diego. My husband and I met in the Midwest at the University of Michigan (Go Blue!), so when it came to our wedding guests, we definitely had people from all over the country. At the rehearsal dinner, my mother-in-law put up a map so that people could pin where they are from in the country. It was amazing to see how many people had traveled so far to be with us on our special day. The finished map was then put on display at the reception.
FIRST LOOK ~ We had our first look at the Point Loma Lighthouse because some of the cliffs and open areas up by the lighthouse reminded us of Scotland and made for some really pretty pictures …
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Haydee De La Cruz with Haydee’s Creative Flowers did all of the florals for my wedding. I knew that I wanted primarily white and green flowers with touches of thistle (the national flower of Scotland) as a nod to our heritage. Haydee took creative control from that point on and my wedding flowers were absolutely gorgeous ~ who would have thought orchids, peonies and thistles would look so good together?
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Since we were going for the whole Scottish theme, when it came to transportation, I knew I wanted a classic British double-decker bus. A limo wouldn’t feel right for a bunch of men in kilts! All kidding aside, we did our bridal party pictures before the ceremony and the open-air seating on top was a great way for the bridal party to relax and take in the sights of San Diego before the wedding.
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It was fun getting my husband’s groomsmen to wear full Scottish attire for the wedding. The groomsmen wore the kilts for the ceremony and pictures. As part of their groomsmen gift, we bought them matching ties to wear with a dark suit to change into for the reception. I think the guys had fun wearing the kilts, it was definitely a “once in a lifetime” experience for most of them.
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Cake by Sumi’s Oven in San Diego. It was a beautiful and simple four-tier white fondant cake decorated with flowers from Haydee’s.
All photos are courtesy of our photographer John Schnack with Schnack Studios. He and his second shooter were amazing throughout the day. My husband and I felt very comfortable with him since we had done an engagement session with him a month prior. I feel he really captured the feelings and the special moments of the day and the shots never felt forced or contrived.
Thank you, Erin & Scott for sharing the details and the images from your absolutely lovely wedding!
And thanks to Sarah at Fuzzynk Design Studio for sending it our way! You can see more of Sarah’s incredible designs on her website and blog!
The whole thing is gorgeous! Where are the Bridesmaid dresses from?
I have to know who makes those BM dresses! Please share, thank you!
Wow, what a classy wedding. The Bride's dress is amazing. The photos are unbelievable too! Thank you for the links.
[...] their beautiful wedding with the rest of the blogging world. Be sure to check them out right HERE on the Style Me Pretty: Little Black Book [...]
wow! thats really cute :D
where can i find the candle centerpieces?
Gorgeous wedding. Love the blue thistles... and the color combination !
I love the navy bridesmaid dress- where are they from?
oh - the number 19 was my favourite routemaster bus! I was at the last stop so could always fall asleep safe in the knowledge the friendly conductor would wake me up.
So sad it doesn't take me home any more but glad it has been put to such stylish good use!
Congratulations on a beautiful wedding.
What a lavish affair! The photography is stunning. I LOVE the map; it's something the couple can keep and hang in their home.
[...] Studio, to let me know that Erin and Scott’s Scottish-themed wedding had been featured on the StyleMePretty blog! The SMP blog is one of the most popular wedding blogs on the web, so it’s a thrill and an [...]
The bridesmaid dresses are the Vineyard Collection by Priscilla of Boston and the color is marine. Hope this helps!
I was very pleased to learn of this luckenbooth symbol to incorporate into the wedding I'm planning. My client is scottish as well and will be pleased with this information. Colorado has a Scottish Festival every September. Here in Colorado, especially in September, everyone is Scottish!
Wedding Consultant/Event Designer
What a great story to accompany the symbol they incorporated into everything. Definitely very personal!
Glad to see a wedding with similar colors I am using. I love all the personal details, esp the map! Details like that, which are usually inexpensive, make the wedding that much more special.
Love the texture and colors in the flower arrangements! The green and blue is a great pair!
I loveee the necklace!! Where can I get one like it?
Thanks!
Beautiful wedding and from one Wolverine to another: GO BLUE!!
The necklace is by Regina B, New York... www.reginab.com
This is probably my first comment here. I am very impressed with your site, giving lots of useful information, and all it gives a sense of happiness.
What a well planned out theme. Everything ties together so lovely. I love the idea of a wedding logo.
As an active duty military member with a family history of military service, my breath caught at the sight of the bride coming down the aisle on the arm of her distinguished father. Love that image.
Love the double-decker bus. Speaking of unusual modes of transport ... I took my unicycle to our wedding photo shoot. I think it helped our photographer win "wedding photographer of the year", see this photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bfhoyt/5128878/
beautiful wedding, however being Scottish myself I have to say that the London double decker bus does not go hand in hand with men in Kilts or anything indeed Scottish - however it is a nice quirky touch x
This brings back memories of my own wonderful Scottish wedding years back. We were married in a stone castle with pipers and men in kilts. The bridal party was mostly girls in organza and head wreaths all ranging in age from 4-12.
Love the bridal party shot with double-decker bus!
I'm Scottish myself and you did get the red double deckers in Edinburgh as well as London have a look at http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/0_street_p/0_street_views_-_princes_street_looking_east_1956_buses_ally.htm . You still get the red tourist buses around today and I had a couple hire a red bus a few weeks ago.
Did you rent the kilts or purchase the kilts? We are planning on using kilts for our wedding and I am having a difficult time locating a kilt rental for our wedding party.
OHMYGOSH! These wedding photos are out of this world gorgeous! Everything transmits so grace, beauty and flat out fun! Thanks very much for sharing such beautiful work!