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Modern Scottish Winter Wedding at Rowallan Castle

March 16, 2018 | Junebug Weddings

Lorna and Ryan put a modern twist on traditional Scottish traditions in their wedding at Rowallan Castle, and it couldn’t have been more beautiful. Their mix of autumn and winter colors worked perfectly with the old-world architecture, and the combination of bare branches and lush foliage gave the entire space a whimsical, modern feel. They also incorporated nods to their Scottish heritage, which included the groom’s MacGregor and MacDuff kilt, a hand-fasting ceremony, and Quaich toast at the reception. The bride blew us away with her modern, romantic style that featured a stunning Berta gown and a silver braided updo accented with a diamond and pearl headband. From the joyful getting ready photos to the intimate couple portraits throughout the castle grounds, The Gibsons could not have captured every gorgeous moment of this Scottish wedding more perfectly!

The Couple:

Lorna and Ryan

The Wedding:

Rowallan Castle, Kilmarnock, Scotland

Autumn/winter is my favorite time of year and I wanted to mimic what was going on outside on the inside. I definitely wanted everything to have a whimsical feel about it. I chose more foliage and bare branches for the bouquets and table centre pieces over lots of flowers. We also had 2 free standing tree’s, with lots of foliage and candles for where we stood during our ceremony. I wanted everything to feel effortless and natural.

We chose to have a Humanist Wedding. It is a non religious ceremony that is personal to you. We wanted something that was personal to us, that told our story. It made the ceremony more enjoyable and fun, which is what we wanted. Due to it being a Scottish wedding we also incorporated some Scottish traditions such as Handfasting-2 pieces of material are taken from the bride and groom and used to tie their hands together to symbolise the joining of the couple. It is where the phrase ‘tying the knot’ comes from, and a toasting from the Quaich- a Quaich is a 2 handled shallow cup, you then fill it with a drink of your choice, usually whiskey- we choose Jagermeister, and the bride and groom take a handle each and drink from it. We did this as we got to toast our marriage straight away instead of waiting for the speeches during the wedding breakfast.

Straight after we got married we were outside the venue, before the guests had even left the ceremony room, we got about 5 minutes to ourselves (the photographers were there, but it felt like we were alone). It felt so surreal that we were actually husband and wife. We both had this amazing feeling of excitement and joy all rolled into one. It was nice just to get that time to enjoy what had just happened, before we were ambushed by our guests.

If you aren’t happy or unsure with something wedding related don’t be afraid to speak up and say. It’s your day and your vision and you should have it exactly the way you want it. Don’t stick with something because you don’t want to offend a supplier, just to look back and potentially regret some of the decisions you made, all because you didn’t speak up!

Processional – “Always and Forever” by Heat Wave
Recessional – “Sugar” by Maroon 5
First Dance – “Baby, I Love Your Way” by Peter Frampton

The Wedding Team:

Photography – The Gibsons
Venue – Rowallan Castle
Floral Design – Myrtle and Bracken
Cake – Happyhills Cakes
Officiant – Stuart Rodger
Live Music – Groove Anatomy
Videography – Leven Films
Stationery – E.Y.I.LOVE
Makeup Artist – Laura Gray
Hair Stylist – Laura Clark
Wedding Dress – Berta
Bridal Accessories – Corrine Smith
Bridal Shoes – Prada
Bridesmaids’ Apparel – The Finer Detail
Groom and Groomsmen’s Apparel – MacGregor and MacDuff
Rings – Roisin Connolly
Favors – Ayrshire Hospice

 

Congratulations to Lorna and Ryan, and a big thanks to Junebug member The Gibsons for sharing this gorgeous Scottish wedding with us! If you’ve ever thought about getting married in a castle, you’re definitely going to want to book a castle venue after seeing this Chateau de La Noue Le Coq wedding!

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This Leonard Lake Reserve Wedding Among the Redwoods is Pure Romance

March 16, 2018 | Junebug Weddings

There are so many perfect locations for a wedding in the Redwood forests of California, and Leonard Lake Reserve is one of our new favorites! Jem and Peter took full advantage of the lakefront property, the private cabins, and the dreamy woodsy spaces to host an unforgettable wedding weekend. It’s not hard to see that this wedding was all about community. Every element, from the decor to flower arrangements to the reception dinner, were made by Jem, Peter, and all their friends and family. We adore the unique look Jem and Peter created by making everything themselves, and we especially love their twist on traditional wedding style. Jem’s blush Leanne Marshall gown and Peter’s red and blush Beckett & Robb suit added both a level of whimsy and a pop of color that looked beautiful against the woodland landscape. Paige Nelson Photography nailed it in capturing every detail of this wildly romantic California wedding!

The Couple:

Jem and Peter

The Wedding:

Leonard Lake Reserve, Redwood Valley, California

SHOP THIS LOOK

 

The venue was one of our main priorities. We wanted a place that could host us and our guests for a weekend. We didn’t want people to have to travel once they got to the site. We also wanted somewhere outdoors. Peter and I love spending time in nature, and we started falling for each other on a camping trip. I knew I wanted either the ocean or a forest, and eventually decided on redwood trees in particular, and Peter requested that our venue still have a body of water. After a long search for venues with redwood trees and a body of water that met our requirements, we landed on Leonard Lake Reserve. The place was a dream!

SHOP THIS LOOK

 

The most memorable part of the wedding day for me was during the ceremony. I had asked our officiant (Peter‘s step-dad) to include a moment early into the ceremony for Peter and I to take a deep breath, slow down, and turn and look at our guests. This allowed me to be really present and soak up the loving support of our guests. Being able to share this special moment with our wonderful community was very important to me. So much of the day can rush by quickly, so having that moment carved out was really lovely.

When I asked Peter what the most memorable part of the day was for him, his first response was, “Only one?” I asked him to think back on the day. What is a memory that came to mind? Then his answer was, “Dinner.” I asked him if there was anything particular about the dinner — the toasts, the food. His answer, “Eating with guests. Just eating it.” Peter decided early on that he wanted to serve tacos at the wedding. We both love tacos, and it fit in well with our wedding theme! In all fairness, he did add, “Besides you being my wife, right?”

Our advice is to start early, especially with securing a venue! But I would also say dream big first. What is your dream wedding? What are the themes/concepts you can distill from that dream? Take those and edit it down to something that is more manageable. Consider feelings, not just how something will look. It helped Peter and I to discuss our priorities early on, and also our budget. Remember that it’s the groom’s day too, so include him as much as he wants to be included! Lastly, if you can, definitely make a weekend of it! Peter and I were able to spend a lot of time together on the actual wedding day, because we were able to hang out with our guests the night before and the day after.

To save money, and also because our venue was basically a destination wedding, we ended up DIY-ing a lot. It was really a community affair. I hand-lettered all the favor labels, escort cards, and place cards. I made hot cocoa mix to go with campfire s’mores. Peter, his cousin DJ, and I pickled a bunch of vegetables, which we served for our Plowman’s lunch platters. A couple day’s before the wedding, I went flower shopping with our friend Lynn and then home we de-thorned and de-leaved a bunch of the flowers so they would stay alive and healthy for the wedding day. On the day of the wedding, a bunch of our guests came together to do the wedding flower arrangements. They were gorgeous and extra special because I felt the love that had gone into making them. 

SHOP THIS LOOK

 

SHOP THIS LOOK

 

For dessert neither Peter nor I wanted cake. So we asked his aunts, who are the best bakers ever, to make us pies, and thankfully they said yes! We seriously had the best guests and could not have pulled off this wedding without them.

The Wedding Team:

Photography – Paige Nelson Photography
Venue – Leonard Lake Reserve
Florals – Urban Flowers and San Francisco Flower Mart
Stationery – Forever Fiancés
Wedding Dress – Leanne Marshall via Lovely Bride SF
Bridal Accessories – Lovely Bride SF
Groom’s Apparel – Beckett & Robb
Bow Ties – Brackish
Rings – Teri Lee Jewelry and D&H Jewelers
Rentals – Party Tents and Event Rentals
Favors – RP & Associates

 

Congratulations to Jem and Peter, and a special thanks to Paige Nelson Photography for sharing this incredible forest wedding with Junebug! Love the whimsical details and looking for more inspiration? This whimsical Crete wedding transformed Agreco Farm into a Greek wonderland!

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5 Ways to Include Your Favorite Wedding Traditions in Your Elopement

March 15, 2018 | Junebug Weddings

photo by Maggie Grace Photography

Just because you’ve decided to elope doesn’t mean you shouldn’t include some of your favorite wedding traditions in your big day. In fact, eloping gives you a golden opportunity to pick the traditions you love and leave that ones you don’t. Whether you’re saying “I do” with just a minister present or you have a handful of your nearest and dearest around you, adding one or more of these wedding traditions will make your elopement feel extra special.

photo by Lindsey Noel Photography

Wear White

We’ll be the first to admit that there are few things that make a wedding feel more like a wedding than the bride(s) in white. Even if your fiancé is the only person to see you, you should choose a wedding dress that makes you feel like a bride. For some, that means a lavish wedding gown they’ve had their eyes on for years. For others, that means a simpler dress, such as one of these wedding dresses under $200, a handmade gown from Etsy, or even a little white dress that they can wear beyond the wedding day. No matter what you’re looking for, this handy list of elopement dress inspirations is sure to help you find the wedding dress of your wildest dreams!

photo by Emily Kirke Photography

Indulge in a Wedding Cake

Hopefully this goes without saying, but you should never pass up an opportunity to eat cake! And you definitely don’t need a room full of people to justify getting a wedding cake you’ve always dreamed of. We are obsessed with these wedding cake trends for 2018 and think any of them would be perfect for any size celebration. You don’t even need to go for the full-out wedding cake if you know you two won’t be able to finish it. Simply ask your bakery to make a small-scale version of your favorite design so that you have a little something sweet to enjoy on your wedding day and freeze the rest for later.

photo by Kayla Rocca

Have a First Look

A lot of couples that elope choose to get ready together on their wedding day, which we absolutely love! But, if you’ve had your heart set on that emotional and exciting moment when your husband- or wife-to-be sees you for the first time in your wedding dress, we say go for it! You could even have the best of both worlds with a relaxing morning and breakfast together then go your separate ways to get ready before your first look. Depending on where you’re getting married, you might even be able to do one of these first look alternatives and save the reveal for the ceremony.

photo by Nicole Veldman Photography + Video and Kelly Breann Photography

Include a Ceremony Reading

In addition to your wedding vows, make your ceremony one to remember by reading a meaningful passage that reflects your understanding or wishes for marriage. If you need a little inspiration, we have a list of unexpected wedding ceremony readings from famous books, TV shows, and movies to get your creative juices flowing. This is also a great place to include any witnesses that will be attending. You can either ask them to read a meaningful passage or ask them to write a little something special for you two, such as a prayer or their best marriage advice, and read it before you exchange your vows.

photo by Kristen Kaiser

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and Something Blue

While a lot of old-time wedding traditions have gone out of style, the sentiment behind something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue has stood the test of time. Traditionally, your something old should reflect a connection to the past, such as a family heirloom or childhood photo you can carry with you during your elopement day. Your something new signifies optimism for your future and can be anything from your new wedding attire to a new piece of jewelry or a even simply a new haircut. Look to your grandparents, parents, siblings, or dear friends for something borrowed to show respect for the support your loved ones have given over the years. And, finally, get creative with showing your love and fidelity through your something blue. If you’re stuck for ideas, take a peek at our round-up of the best something blue ideas for your wedding day.

Are you planning an elopement and looking for ways to include your loved ones? We’ve got some tried and true ways to keep your family and friends involved when deciding to elope.

Happy planning!

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