From the beginning…
Before telling you all about our wedding day, let me start from the beginning – the proposal.
29th July 2021 – We are on holiday with our boy Sherlock. It’s our last day and before heading home, we are stopping at Lunan Bay for a picnic. Sherlock is running everywhere and occasionally heading for a swim in the sea.
We find the perfect place to enjoy our picnic even if the weather is not the best to be on the beach. But we don’t care, we are just enjoying the moment. At this time, I have no idea what is about to happen.
Gee tells me to look at the horizon with the binoculars because he has seen something. Unfortunately I don’t see anything, until I look at Gee and see a ring, a plastic one!
We have a private joke with this plastic ring. I used to tell him that the day he wants to ask me to marry him, he better have a blue box (from Tifanny & Co) or I will never accept. To that, he always answered that all I will have will be a plastic ring! He kept his promise! Here is the plastic ring and Gee asking me to marry him! After 8 years together, he finally popped the question!
Needless to say that I am over the moon as I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time! I can’t wait to start planning our wedding day and to celebrate with all our friends and family!
(In case you wonder, yes I got another ring, one that fits my finger and that is not in plastic :D)
Let’s start planning!
Now we are talking about my favourite part – planning our wedding! We sat down with Gee and started to establish the vision we had for our wedding day. The venue, the food, the decor, the music etc, all of it. We decided to go for an Autumnal Rustic theme.
Once we had our vision, we talked about another important aspect – our budget. This part is not to omit as it is the key to any planning journey. Without clearly defining the budget you want to spend for each supplier, unless you have no issue with money, you can easily be in trouble! I wrote an article with tips on how to spend your wedding budget.
Vision, check. Budget, check. Now let’s search for a venue that matches our vision and budget. We were looking for a barn to create that rustic look we were after but we also needed on-site accommodation for all our guests. After a visit to a first venue, the location and barn were great but we were not convinced with the accommodations.
Then, we went to a venue open day in Perthshire and we completely fell in love with it. The venue ticked all our boxes and from that moment we knew it was the one. In order to book the venue, we needed to pick a date. Our criteria was simple – full on autumn season to have the beautiful colours. As for the day, we had no preference, as long as it was in autumn and the venue was available. 9 November 2023, will become a day to remember in our love story!
Once we had our wedding date, it was easy to get in touch with all the suppliers to ask for quotes and continue on the planning journey. Registrar, photographer, caterer and bar, stationery, flowers, hair and make up, band etc, we looked at one supplier at a time and booked those who clicked with us. It is super important to work with professionals that share your vision for your big day. You want to enjoy the day without worrying of the service delivery for each supplier. Some will accompany you for the entire day, therefore it is super important to have a good relationship with them.
The final details before the big day
After planning our big day for months, it is time to get the final details sorted. Here are all the things we have done to simplify the logistic of people and set up before the wedding:
- Keep track of guests arrival days/times and departure – it helps to schedule your days in case you need to pick up/drop off people at the airport.
- Organise our decor per table and store in boxes, one per table – it speeds up the set up as everything you need is in one place.
- Create floor plans – you can visualise how the room is set up and give proper instructions to your suppliers with no confusion.
- Create décor guide – whether you décor everything yourself or have a décor team, it helps to know your décor vision for the room. Be specific and provide images/drawings to support your vision.
- Confirm the timeline with each supplier – it ensures every supplier understands where and when you need them to be.
- Check the space in your car – if you are having a DIY wedding and bringing everything to the venue, ensure to have enough space in your car to transport everything. “Tetris” your car and take pictures once done. It will save you time and stress on the day of departure to the venue. Make arrangement with other guests if you need some of their car’s space for transport.
- Create a checklist of things to bring with you – in the spur of the moment and with the stress it can be easy to forget things. With a checklist it ensures to keep you on your toes before you leave for the venue.
Quick tip for your big day – hire a wedding coordinator to take care of all the little things on the day for you to enjoy your wedding. I know I am biased but I can tell it makes a huge difference and it releases so much stress!
The Big Day is finally here!
The day we have dreamed of is finally happening and it was really magical! We decided to go for an intimate wedding with 30 guests and it was amazing! It gave us the time to enjoy the company of all our guests and to create meaningful memories with them. We were also surrounded by amazing suppliers who helped make the day magical. It’s official, we can say that we are married and that it was the best day of our lives!
Here is a massive shout out and Thank you to all our suppliers:
Venue: Comrie Croft
Caterer: Regis Banqueting
Bar: Mobile Measures
Celebrant: May Ellis – Perth Registrar
Photographer: Ryan Murrant
Hair Stylist: The Bride To Be and Lidia Attino
Make Up Artist: Nicola Farquhar Makeup
Flowers & Stationery: Papercut Posies
Cake: All That Glitters Cakes
Band: Splendid Gentlemen
Piper: Craig Ward Piping
Kilt: Slanj Kilt
Dress: Gillian’s Bridal
Pizza day before: Well Fired Pizza
Thank you very much for reading the entire article! Do not hesitate to reach out if you wish to hire a Wedding Planner or Coordinator and to book your Free Consultation to discuss your event with me! I look forward to chatting with you! 🙂
Photo Credit – Ryan Murrant
