Jenny, in Harriette Gordon for her Effortlessly Elegant Cambo Estate Wedding

Talented textile and embroidery designer, Jenny, married publisher Jack on 14th May this year at the Cambo Estate, Kingsbarns, Fife, Scotland.

I love how Jenny shares her passion for the little detail. As a talented couturier who works with fabric, considered detail was really important to her on her wedding day and this is evident in her choice of dress and overall styling.  She turned to The Fall Bride, an East London bridal boutique, to find her effortlessly elegant Harriette Gordon dress and veil which she accessorised with a Simone Rocha Egg Bag. She also carried an exquisite bouquet of seasonal Spring blooms, that featured the most sublime Clair de Lune Peonies, created by the couple’s florist, Tupelo Tree.

Photographs were captured by the wonderful Nikki Leadbetter.

The Venue & Location

We always knew we wanted to get married in Scotland. I am from Glasgow and Jack is from London, but spent much time up there as Jack’s grandmother is from Scotand. We instantly fell in love with Cambo Estate – it had the history and grandeur of a beautiful country house but also felt very down to earth and relaxed.

We felt so at ease there and we knew our guests would too. I had seen Cambo featured in other weddings on Love My Dress, it’s so great to see how other couples use the space. The house was such a versatile venue and that’s what drew us to us, no two weddings are alike there and you can really create such a unique day.

Cambo has a pathway down to the beach, filled with snowdrops, the gardens and grounds, which meant that there were many areas to explore. The team at Cambo were so open to all ideas we wanted and went out their way to make it all happen, whatever the request.

We chose the venue ultimately due to the fact there were no hard rules or curfews, meaning we could have our close family and friends to stay all weekend to help us celebrate under one roof.

We had an on the day coordinator through our caterer, Lazy Sunday, who was able to handle all the behind the scenes logistics on the day so we could fully enjoy ourselves. Louise, the Cambo coordinator was unbelievably helpful and positive throughout the whole experience. always on hand to answer any questions.

She is such an amazing person and was there on the day to keep everything running smoothly and deal with any last minute changes. We cannot thank her enough. Everything else was all done by ourselves.

I work in the creative field so wanted to inject lots of personally designed elements into our day to make it very personal to us. This included the signage, invitations, decor, drawings, bridal accessories and styling. I was very passionate about getting stuck into planning the style and vibe of the day – it helps when you also have an amazing bridesmaid who’s also a top wedding photographer, providing all the wedding inspiration and advice anyone could need.

It was quite an undertaking on top of everything, but super rewarding to see it all come together in the end. We are also very blessed with some extremely talented family and friends. It was fantastic to get people involved – they generally are very touched to be asked and it was a pleasure to see so many different hands create the look of the wedding. It really felt like a group effort.

Shoes, Veil & Accessories

The highlight of my wedding look was designing and making my headpiece. It’s something I had thought a lot about and planned almost before anything else. Having a dress with minimal amounts of fuss meant there was a perfect opportunity to create something more intricate as an accessory.

I’d used flowers from the lace my grandmother wore on her wedding day and used the silhouette to embroider them into 3D wire embroidered flowers, which were then hand embellished with crystals and micro sequins. These were then hand-guided machine embroidered, using a range of white and ivory tones. I had been lucky enough to buy my own embroidery machine during lockdown and so it was a pleasure to finally use it to work on something for myself.

I’m type one diabetic so always important to carry some glucose tablets on me. The Simone Rocha Egg Bag was just the perfect size. I thought if I needed a bridal bag then why not chose something that looked beautiful but was also highly practical on the day for any emergency sugar! It was such an unusual bag and tied in well with the pearl veil and bridesmaids hair, I thought it was great to included something a bit unexpected with a twist.

My shoes were good old ASOS.

I wore a two-tier, cathedral length veil, the ‘3.9 Detachable Bow’, also from  Harriette Gordon via The Fall Bride. The veil is scattered with pearls which matched the pearls in my bridesmaids hair.

The Dress

I wore the 1.5 Natural Gown by Harriette Gordon, from The Fall Bride in London. I saw they were one of the only places to supply Harriette Gordon and the type of brands they stocked were all similar – simple, yet modern shapes and often with small and interesting details.

The Fall Bride stocked some beautiful accessories too. I wanted to have a bridal look that was built from lots of interchanging elements and The Fall had such a beautiful selection of really gorgeous, interesting pieces that felt very considered.

I really enjoyed being able to go in and have the space to ourselves to try on dresses without other customers in the studio. They were so helpful and always quick to answer follow up emails.

I had spent a lot of time looking at family wedding pictures, especially of my grandparents’ generation. I loved looking through their wedding albums and seeing so many interesting details – especially the wedding dresses.

Having an haute couture design background, I’ve always taken a lot of interest in the small details. I work on bridal dresses and embroidery in my career, so I have spent a lot of time working with the high quality materials. When I tried Harriette Gordon, I could feel the love and care put into the design and making process.

The dress itself was like liquid silk, absolutely divine and felt so amazing. The simple bias cut was such a beautiful drape on the body and the addition of the small silk pleats around the neckline were so precious and the super low back was an element I absolutely adored, whilst also giving a more grown-up feel.

The most beautiful detachable bow made the look come alive, something a bit unusual but made the silhouette interesting whilst not drowning me. The bow was slightly more structured in a silk taffeta, I think the combination of materials worked so perfectly.

My bridesmaids dresses were the Camilla gown in sage green, from TH&TH.

Flowers by Tupelo Tree

I absolutely love greenery and we wanted to try to bring the outside in. I had had her eye on Tupelo Tree’s famous green canopies for a while, and Cambo’s inner courtyard was the ideal place to make it happen.

Tupelo Tree use only seasonal and local greenery and flowers, so much of the final choices are left up to chance – which we loved. I loved the fact nothing was flown in and we had what was growing naturally in the area – it was so in-keeping with the venue and area.

The bouquets were gorgeous and each one slightly different. I wanted to stay away from having everything too uniform. I loved the idea that it might look as if we had picked the bouquets ourselves from the gardens.

Ceremony

My dad Derek accompanied me to the ceremony to the sound of At Last, by Etta James. It was a very special moment to have that father/daughter moment just before waling down the aisle. Dad came to see me in my dress for the first time just before the ceremony and the pictures say it all.

We had a Humanist ceremony, which was perfect for us. It was a fantastic mix of formal and relaxed – perfect for us. It was conducted by Ian Willox – a family friend on Jack’s dad’s side. We each chose a reading that reflected our interests – these included an excerpt from Dr Zhivago and a short piece by Marcel Proust.

Photography by Nikki Leadbetter

We chose Nikki Leadbetter as our photographer. She was the very first supplier we booked after we had our date set, as photography was an important element for us. We absolutely love her pictures and style.

The most important thing for us was to have imagery of the day that was as natural and candid as possible, something that would capture all the joy and energy of the day – Nikki’s work does just that.

We are unbelievably happy with the way they turned out, her editing style is so beautiful. She made us feel so comfortable and at ease, just perfectly capturing everything as it happened and never felt intrusive. She was so flexible on the day – we decided to change the plan and do some pictures down on the beach with the bridesmaids and groomsmen after dinner and she somehow made it all happen so smoothly, even with last minute requests. The beach was one of our favourite moments of the day. We took a bottle of fizz down to open during sunset and just had a right old laugh with all our best friends, so perfect.

We enjoyed the ceremony so much, you could really feel the love and energy in the room. We had some champagne, just the two of us, right after the ceremony to take it all in! It was so important to have a moment to pause. You realise what makes the day is the people. It’s what creates the energy and fun – having people there who are all there rooting for you and behind you as a couple on that day and beyond.

Reception Decor & Details

We hired much of our finishing touches style decor from FiftySix Events, this included glass and amber candle holders, flower vases, tealight holders, chairs for the lawns and some fun bits to attach our signage to. I tried to hire as much as we could to have less wastage and to support local business.

We hired some great metal grids and easels for our seating plans, also flower stands to just add that special touch to bring the place to life. We had a basket of blankets for guest after the dancing when we headed up to the fire pit for some drinks and marshmallows round the fire, the perfect way to end the evening.

I planned out how to create a space that felt special and thought-through but still relaxed and natural, kind of like if we had hosted the party at our house, but more refined. I wanted our guests to feel at home and see our style and personality on the day.

Overall I love to have the traditional elements but with a touch of something different or intriguing, something a little unexpected with a twist, mixing traditional wedding etiquette with some modern components.

Seasonal Food & Family Made Cake

Our catering was provided by Lazy Sunday. We had seen some amazing weddings from Lazy Sunday and heard about their fantastic feasts through word of mouth – something the specialise in. We were absolutely blown away by our food tasting with Carole and Kazia from Lazy Sunday and we knew instantly our guest would love it it too. They focus on local and seasonal ingredients served in a family and sharing style which was right up our street – everything was absolutely delicious.

The sharing/family style meal was perfect for the type of day we wanted. We had a vision of all our guests being able to pass around plates and get a good energy flowing around the room. It was a huge hit. The long trestle tables worked perfectly for this type of meal. The food itself was out of this world. Many guests commented on how great the food was.

We were so fortunate to have Jack’s Aunt Sue as a fantastic cake designer and maker. Sue and I designed the style of cake together and Sue made the the most amazing 3D icing flowers that were out of this world and a work of art. We chose the same flowers as were in my headband.

We had some lovely weekends spent together on the run up to the wedding, helping with the design and placement of the flowers. It was a great way to share the excitement by asking family members to help make our vision come to life.

We had a family friend who owns a few restaurants in Glasgow make us tablet for each guest, packaged perfectly in a little box tied with string. Something sweet to take away.

How They Met

We met at ten years ago at Edinburgh university, whilst I was studying textiles at art college and Jack was studying Russian and German. We had spent a few years long distance but this meant we had many great adventures travelling together. Finally both back in the UK we have lived and worked in London since.

Moving around different flats until eventually buying and settling during lockdown 2020. Jack had bought the ring pre-lockdown, a beautiful vintage marquise diamond.

He chose vintage as he loved the idea of something having a story behind it.

Jack had kept the ring for a whole year. However, a little thing called covid scuppered his plans for a surprise proposal party.
But just the two of us in the garden of our new home, around the firepit, was the perfect proposal and so intimate.

One thing we both agreed on was having our closest family and friends to stay in the estate for the entire weekend. We both come from families who love spending time and holidays away together and enjoying each other’s company.

As we have been in each other’s lives for many years, it means our families have naturally intertwined and it’s always a pleasure to have everyone together in one place- we are very lucky in this way.

We wanted to create this relaxed and fun environment throughout the weekend with an emphasis on sharing and spending quality time together. Cambo Estate provided all the opportunities to do this! The house is entirely yours and there are so many beautiful spaces to enjoy.

Friday night in the Drawing room with whisky by the open fire, Saturday night up by the woodland campfire after the dinner and dancing, Sunday with a hog roast in the courtyard with everyone recalling all the wedding festivities.

Evening & Dancing

In the evening we had the Corra band provide a ceilidh, followed by live cover songs, the dance floor was full all night.

Our first dance was to Van Morrison’s ‘Into the Mystic’. Jack always imagined that would be the first song at his wedding.

The canopy by Tupelo Tree was everything. I loved having dinner and looking up to see a sky of greenery entwined with twinkling lights. For the tables we asked to have a selection of picked flowers in glass vessels scattered around the candles, something that looked like weekend a dinner party with friends. The flowers and candles were moved around the courtyard windowsills for the dancing and it was beautiful and created just the perfect ambiance.