Scottish Wedding with Vintage Charm

A little rain definitely didn’t dampen the spirits of this adorable couple and their guests, in fact, it just added to the memories. The bride and bridesmaids donned wellies while the groom and his groomsmen sported traditional Scottish kilts. Guests hid under tents while the couple posed with umbrellas in the oh so dreamy Scottish landscape. Traditional plaids and vintage touches created a stunning backdrop for the reception in a cozy farmhouse on this rainy day. And if this wedding doesn’t have you longing for rainy fall days and endless fields of green we aren’t sure what will! Check out more destination goodness from Archibald Photography in the gallery. XO, Tori & Myka

hurry on over to the gallery to see more of this gorgeous wedding.

From the photographer:

Susie and Paul originally met through Susie’s brother Matt, who was Paul’s boss at the time. They had met a few times at the pub and always got on really well, talking mostly about snowboarding! They got together over seven years ago after Susie had gone with Matt to a paintballing day organised by his work. Paul came to the pub after to meet his colleagues and when Susie headed off to a club Paul quickly followed. They spent the rest of the night in this club laughing. Paul proposed to Susie in New York in December two and a half years ago.

The couple chose Scotland for their wedding because Paul was born and spent his childhood in Selkirk and Susie was born in Dumfries and, although her family moved south when she was still very young she spent all her holidays in Powfoot, where her grandparents lived, until she was in her twenties. Scotland is very close to both of their hearts. They wanted a venue which felt relaxed and informal and could offer a real Scottish feel. They only looked at one venue and totally fell in love with it. Mavis Hall Park is a family run farm that has been converted for events. The couple first saw the barns and loved their character (especially the hens that greet you as you arrive) and inside they thought they were such a perfect blank canvas. Then Fiona, the owner, took them down to the loch to show them where we could get married and they were totally blown away. It was so beautiful and Susie and Paul just remember standing there in awe and all they could hear were birds.

The wedding party (family and close friends) stayed at Dalhousie Castle the day before and the night of the wedding. Dalhousie gave them the Orangery restaurant for exclusive use for the night before the wedding, which is in a lovely conservatory overlooking the grounds. Nearly 30 of their family and friends took over the restaurant and had a lovely meal to kick start the celebrations, and according to Susie, “it felt amazing having all our family and closest friends with us.”

Susie told us that “the wedding day was just amazing. Calling it the ‘best day of your life’ sounds cliche but it was just brilliant, we had so much fun. Both Dalhousie Castle and Mavis Hall Park were perfect and were a perfect combination for us: we got to stay in a beautiful castle but we had the wedding in a character filled farm whose relaxed and intimate feel was more ‘us’ than a the formal setting of the castle. The ceremony was so lovely, really relaxed. We loved that everyone stood, gathered around us, some with a beer in their hand, watching us make special promises to one another. Mavis Hall Park was the perfect venue, so many of our guests told us they thought it was an incredible place. They were blown away by how beautiful it was down by the loch, how cool the barns were and just how well run everything was. Fiona and her team are so professional and so lovely, they couldn’t do enough for us and they organised the day to perfection. And there were no complaints from Fiona when she received last minute emails about giant balloons and surprise guests on the day! We couldn’t recommend Mavis Hall highly enough.”

The couple had Scottish slang as the table names, like “Merrit”, “Haud yer weesht”, and “blootered” and bird cages hanging from the old beams in the barns. Susie and her new mother in law decorated the bird cages with ivy (from the florist), paper flower garlands and small sequined birds. Ivy and fairy lights were wrapped around the pillars in the barn.

When we asked Susie and Paul about the best part of their day, they told us “Everything! The relaxed ceremony, amazing Mavis Hall venue, the friendly staff, the lochside wedding, the highland games, the spit hog roast, the live band. Weirdly the rain made the day, we loved that our guests were happy to take their shoes/stilettos off and put on wellies to walk down to the loch side under their umbrellas, which they have since told us felt cosy. It also meant that the ceremony felt intimate because everyone was huddled round, although we were pleased to see the sunshine coming out just after we were married. Oh and one other thing, the last dance! The band surprised us with ‘you take the high road’ and Paul and I danced and jumped around in the middle of a circle of all our family and friends holding hands. It felt so amazing, a very happy moment.”

Thanks for sharing this lovely Scottish wedding with us.

XO, Tori & Myka of sittinginatree

Venues: Dalhousie Castle & Mavis Hall Park / Photography: Archibald Photography / Dress: Forget Me Knot Designs / Shoes: Rachel Simpson & Hunter Boots / Rings: Carr Diamonds / Band: Wildcard / Car: Premiere Velocity / Bridesmaid Dresses: Coast