Event Planner Emma tied the knot with Stockbroker Luke on 2nd September this year at Barnbougle Castle, South Queensferry.
This gorgeous early Autumn wedding was full of effortless modern style, including the most beautiful, pearl adorned gown by our fave, Sassi Holford. The couple’s vision for a joy-filled day surrounded by friends and family was captued to absolute perfection by the very lovely Emma Lawson who we thank for sharing these beautiful images.
The Venue & Location
Right after we got engaged, we went up to Scotland to see as many venues as we could in three days. We squeezed six visits all around the country. Barnbougle was the second we saw and the only venue I had a tear in my eye walking up to it.
Not only is the castle beautiful, the grounds and the view are stunning too. Becky was our event manager at the venue and she was so friendly, inviting and really got me straight away. It was the perfect fit.
Bridal Beauty & Accessories
I did wear a veil. I got a plain white veil which was embroidered with our names and the date of our wedding. It was made by a local Aberdeen designer (that is where I am from) called Emma Louise Bridal.
I wore the classic Loeffler Randall shoe design – everyone has worn them – but they are just so comfortable. I also wore the Dior Tribales earrings. The pearls were the perfect match to my dress!
Luke and I went to Penhaligons for a bespoke scent experience. He picked Mr Sam and I picked Lothair. I can’t recommend this scent experience enough for couples getting married.
The girls hair was done by Kimberly Logie and Make up by Rae Mathieson.
The Groom
Luke wanted to be the perfect combination of traditional English tales with the hint of Scottish tartan. We found Andrew Brookes who worked with Luke to find a tartan that related to his surname but also had lovely colours in it. Andrew also designed my dads whole outfit. He rented his tales jacket from Slaters in Edinburgh.
I gifted Luke some gorgeous Hermes cufflinks on the morning of our wedding day! Something he will treasure forever.
Luke drove a family friends vintage Jaguar to the wedding day. It was a showstopper and definitely an Instagram worthy moment.
Flowers
Just like how we sourced our photographer, I saw Kim Dalgleish’s work on Instagram. She is Aberdeen based and has the most gorgeous colourful and wild flower look to her designs.
Nothing to prim and proper. She uses locally sourced flowers and ones she also grows on her land. It was as sustainable as we could be whilst also not compromising the overall look and feel we wanted.
The Photographer
Emma Lawson was our photographer. What a woman! We loved working with Emma. We saw her style on Instagram and loved it.
We booked Emma two years in advance to make sure we had her! Emma is the perfect combination of fun and friendly and get s*** done. Loved it. She had us giggling and feeling so natural during all of the couple pictures and I think you can see that in the results.
How They Met
It is not the most romantic story, but, our eyes first met across a meeting room. Luke and I worked together and first were great friends before he finally got out of the friendzone and made a move on a booze fuelled work night out.
We got engaged on my birthday. It was during covid and we were meant to be in Paris, but instead booked the most gorgeous converted Chapel in Bruton.
We were both in our PJs and the dog sat right beside him as he got down on one knee. He did not propose with my engagement ring, but instead got a replica ring made of one very special to me that I unfortunately lost. He made an appointment at a ring shop in Bath the next day to start shopping for the perfect ring together. It was perfect!
Evening & Entertainment
We hired a range of entertainers, that included Magician Cameron Gibson, Cairn String Quartet, a Piper and Ceilidh Band both sourced through Elite Bands, and evening band – The Get Down and Portrait Artist Cheryl Morrice.
We chose a rather unusual first dance. We are not into pop music so the decision was hard. We ended up doing a garage classic ‘Flowers’ done acoustically.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
Stay calm and give yourself plenty of time! I would suggest having a planner on the day and someone who is with you from getting ready all the way to the end of the evening. I would also recommend making an event sheet. Just get every bit of detail from your head down onto a spreadsheet.
Think about what your guests are doing when you are off getting photos and ensure they have plenty of entertainment and talking points.
When creating a table plan – do not try and and go straight to the laptop. Write every name out on a post-it note and you can move them around until you find the perfect table plan and only then commit it to a spreadsheet.
I would have been in my dress a little earlier. I was running a little behind! And I would have also insisted on my dad have a time limit to his speech.
Additional Credits
The below suppliers and venues are featured in this article, but are not part of the Love My Dress Wedding Directory.
Annabel View all Annabel’s articles
Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she’s not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family’s sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.