REAL WEDDING H & J

Today we are sharing Hannah & James’s timeless winter wedding. Twinkling lights, family photos, pearls and beautifully embroidered accessories enhanced subtle details that makes for a personal and sophisticated day.

Lets start at the beginning, how did the two of you meet? We met at University in Aberdeen, we had mutual friends and all stayed at the same student halls. James would tell you that I made the first move at 'pearl lounge', this was 100% not the case!

I knew James was the one fairly early on in the relationship, he ALWAYS makes me laugh. We have been together for 10 years this year!!

So having been together 10 years, James had some time to plan the proposal. Can you tell us what happened?

We had planned an overnight in Edinburgh for the Christmas markets. The morning we were due to go to Edinburgh, James surprised me with an outfit to wear to dinner that night. The dress was perfect. We headed off to Edinburgh and checked into the hotel. We had a few hours to kill before getting ready for dinner so went around the markets and got some hot chocolate.

When we got back to the hotel, we began to get ready for the evening ahead. Once we were both ready and sat down to open a bottle of champagne and James said "I have one more surprise" and got down on one knee!! The most magical day/night of my life.

Did you already have ideas of what your wedding day would look like? Yes, After 10 years of being together I had in mind pretty much what we/I wanted! I had lots of spreadsheets and Pinterest boards!

What did you book first? We sorted the venue first and went from there…

And, how did you find wedding planning? I was surprised at how fast the time went.. It was only just under a year from our engagement to our wedding but the time flew!

I loved the planning process, however it was quite an emotional journey. We found out my grandad had cancer a few weeks before our engagement. We wanted nothing more than for him to be able to spend our day with us. Unfortunately, he passed away in Summer 2022, just a few months before our Wedding in November 2022. I made a wedding photo area within our Wedding reception, this had old photos of our parents at their wedding, and our grandparents at theirs.

Including photos of your family is a beautiful touch and such a lovely way to remember your Grandad on your special day.

Was there anything you really loved about wedding planning? The best bit was definitely finding THE dress! I loved the whole experience.

Finding your dress was the best bit! That is what we love to hear. Can you tell us a little about your shopping experience? Yes! I think I must have tried between 5-10 dresses... I knew that I wanted something quite simple, elegant and something with sleeves! I didn't want any lace!

I loved most of the dresses that I tried and so did my mum and sister, but when I tried the one, we all just knew. It was such a happy day.

So, how did you know it was “the one”? I knew when we kept talking about the back of the dress and the material, it was exactly what I was looking for but I wanted sleeves. My Stylist suggested putting a Sassi Holford jacket on top. Once we did that, the choice was made! It was perfect.

We love to give our bride more than one look with accessories. It seemed like your stylist really understood you? She was amazing! She knew what I was looking for and she pulled a look together in no time. She made the whole experience so relaxed and chilled.

When James saw you for the first time, what has his reaction? He loved it!!!

And your guests? I think everyone knew I would go quite simple but having the jacket that I could take off before the dinner made it even more of a surprise.

So, after all this planning how was they day itself? We got married in Portland church in Troon, I walked in to Einaudi - Berlin song, played on the piano.

We then headed to the Brig O'Doon in Alloway for our reception. I wanted the day to be festive and Wintery, we had mince pies served alongside the canapes and a string quartet playing for the guests. The Brig O'Doon is the perfect place for a wintery wedding. We had some photos on the bridge next to the Brig O'Doon and some outside the front of the house.

We had banquet style tables and a huge Christmas tree behind the top table. We had 125 people for the meal and an extra 30 in the evening. I handmade all the wedding favours, little Christmas tree decorations for everyone and tied them around a little bag of sweeties. We got bagpiped into the dinner and the speeches followed.

After the speeches everyone tucked into the amazing four course meal prepared by the Brig, we began with haggis neeps and tatties and finished with a Raspberry torte. The meal was divine.

We had a live band for the remainder of the night and did a mixture of ceilidh and todays music. The whole day was perfect, I wouldn't have changed a thing.

What was the best part of your wedding day? Definitely coming into the church and seeing James. After that, it would be having everyone, all our family and friends together celebrating with us.

You looked like you were dancing all night, what was your first dance? Our first dance was “You Send me” by Aretha Franklin.

Last but not least, can you give our future bride’s an insight into marriage or any advice? It doesn't feel much different apart from the name change! But, my advice would be to try and take in different moments of the day, it goes by in a flash!