Sarah & Paul

You really feel like you're on the edge of the earth at this Isle of Lewis wedding. I have never seen views like it, with the gorgeous rustic marquee set up near Bosta Beach at the north end of Great Bernera, taking full advantage of the Atlantic ocean and wild Outer Hebrides backdrop. The scenic drive between the islands in the couples classic car is heavenly as are the sunset portraits captured by Maureen du Preez. And I have to say your are going to be completely spoilt with all the delicious DIY decor the couple added to their reception. There's wooden crates, woods slices, palettes and more, all adorned with the prettiest of wild blooms and florals. Lets face it a Scottish wedding wouldn't be complete without a groom in a tartan kilt and I must say Paul wears it well, not quite as well as Bride Sarah in her Essense of Australia Zita gown though, but we always have a huge soft spot for the bride. Shall we take a look?

The Dress

Sarah the Bride: "I think I may have been the only bride in the world who didn't know what I wanted. I spent two days with my mum and sister shopping in Glasgow and narrowed it down to two dresses by the end of the weekend. The following week I took one of my friends with me and tried on the dresses again, and went for the Essense Of Australia, Zita dress from Eleganza Sposa. The girls in there were so nice and helpful and made me feel at ease. I went for a long veil with beautiful Swarovski crystals dotted all over it. 

I had two pairs of shoes to choose from, but went for the beautiful ivory jewel embellished stiletto sandals from No.1 Jenny Peckam. 

My something borrowed was a diamond necklace and earrings from my auntie Normana. On the few months prior to the wedding we found an old pendant that my granny wore around her neck all the time so I had it sewn to my garter. 

I am very lucky to have so many talented people around me and my cousin Chrisetta kindly did my hair. Simple curls and a gypsophila flower crown around my head for the reception."

Grooms Attire

Paul hummed and hawed for months about what he wanted to wear. He wasn't sure wether to go with the more traditional look of kilts or to go for a suit. As soon as he tried on the kilt he knew straight away that's what he wanted. As we live in Glasgow, we got Pauls outfit, his best man (and brother) Ally, his dads and nephews kilts in Slanj Kilt shop in Glasgow. Who were very helpful. They all wore button holes with lavender and gypsophila.

The Venue

We are both very fortunate to have been brought up with such beautiful scenery and stunning beaches. Paul is from the main town of Stornoway, and I was brought up 26 miles from there, on a small island off lewis called Great Bernera, connected by a bridge. We now live in Glasgow but we always knew we would go back home and get married. 

We decided on the Stornoway Town Hall for our marriage as it's such a beautiful building inside and out, and we also wanted to take time out after the marriage to go and visit Paul's granny who was sadly, unable to make the wedding. Our location for the marquee was at Bosta Beach on Great Bernera….which is not the most easiest of locations to get to, and the hebridean weather can be very unpredictable so we were taking a very big risk but thankfully it turned into a beautiful day and evening and to see everybody watch that amazing sunset made all the stress and worry worth while. 

The guys from North of Scotland Marquee were such a great help to us but we honestly could not have done any of it without the help from our family and friends. We are so lucky to have them in our lives.

Colour Scheme/Decor

We didn't really have a colour scheme or theme as such. I got most of my inspiration from Pinterest and your amazing RMW blog. The marquee was a blank canvas to start with, thankfully it all came together in the end (with the much needed help from my friends and cousins) Everything was DIY and locally sourced. From using unwanted slates from my Aunties roof, to going around the island picking up abandoned wooden pallets for the bar. My family are very used to doing DIY weddings so we were very lucky to have them there to advise and help us out. 

I knew I wanted big LOVE lights but due to our location, a lot of the companies on the mainland did not hire them out to the islands, so my very talented cousin Louis made them from scratch which turned out amazing, better than we ever expected. 

Our tables were named after places we have been to and loved. The centrepieces were round ash wooden slices from Ebay, with beautiful flower arrangements done by my auntie, put in jars that I collected over the last year. On each table we put an Isle of Harris Gin bottle with fairy lights inside to set the mood when the sun went down. 

For some fun and games on the table, we had some articulate cards, a selfie stick and questionnaire cards for each guest to fill out, which gave us a giggle when we went through them all.

Flowers

My wonderful Auntie Chrisetta did my bouquet, the bridesmaids bouquets, and all the flower arrangements. She is not a trained florist but has a love for gardening. She was very worried about doing it as she has never done anything like that before but I trusted her and she did such a beautiful job. I wanted simple and elegant and that's what she did. She got some of the flowers from her garden but most of them were supplied from a garden centre in Stornoway, Maybury Gardens. Alison who runs it was such a great help to us, and got everything we asked for.

Wedding Party Fashion

The main thing I wanted was for my bridesmaids to be comfortable. I seen the dresses from Biba, House of Frasers and knew instantly that I wanted them…providing that my maids loved them too, which they did! They also wore a stunning ivory beaded cape from No.1 Jenny Peckham. Earrings and necklaces came from H&M. 

We had 4 Ushers, 3 of them live on the Isle of Lewis, so it was easier for them to get their kilts in one of the local kilt shops in Stornoway -Celtic Clothing. My dad has never worn a kilt in his life so I didn't want to push the idea of that to him, and I wanted him to feel comfortable on the day so he got a very smart Ted Baker suit from Slaters in Glasgow.

 Our beautiful niece Kirsty was in a sequin and tulle party dress which we got on notonthehighstreet.com.

Ceremony

There were many special moments throughout the day but one that sticks out for us was going to see Paul's granny Mary, We are so thankful to Maureen for capturing these special photos for us. She was so happy to see one of her grandchildren get married.

Entertainment

We had my sisters friend, Scott sing and play the guitar after the ceremony and before the reception, his voice is amazing and every song he sang got people going. Our band later that evening was a local band called Catch 22 who played everything you could think of and had all the guests dancing throughout the night, with of course, a few strip the willows in between. Once the band finished we put a playlist on for the people not ready to leave the party. 

We did hire a silent disco for the evening but unfortunately the equipment did not arrive until the morning of the wedding and there just wasn't enough time to get it set up.

Food

After the ceremony we had really tasty canapés from a lovely local deli called The Good Food Boutique, with of course, some prosecco. 

Our main menu was a BBQ with meat sourced from a local butcher. Desserts was a 'Great Bernera Bake off' theme where we had some of our guests make the desserts which went down a treat.

 Our beautiful wedding cake was made by Paul's Auntie Catherine, and we also had a delicious cake of cheese also made by The Good Food Boutique.

Photographer

Maureen du Preez is absolutely amazing at what she does. She made us feel totally at ease, and she managed to get all aspects of our day captured. I cannot thank her enough for our beautiful photos. We will treasure them forever.

Videographer

Shoot it Yourself is such a fun way to get your day captured. With your own guests taking the video, it makes the other guests more relaxed and personal. We can't stop watching our highlights video and has us laughing everyime. They did a fantastic job editing it.

Advice

Planning your own wedding can be very stressful, but you have to stick to whats right for you as a couple. Once you see all your friends and family in the same room together having a great time you soon forget about all the little things that didn't go to plan. Both of you take time out together and just to let it all sink in, because the day goes by in a flash. 

Again, we could not have not done any of it without the help of our family and friends, so we thank you all for making us have such a special day.