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A Festive Highland Wedding

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Tom and Sophie

It’s one of the first questions most winter brides ask us – do you think we will have snow, and if not, is it possible to order it for our wedding day especially for the photos! Well Sophie got snow, more snow than she bargained for and possibly more than she ever wanted! For the scenery, the atmosphere and the photos it was fantastic. Logistically for guests, the bridal party and family it was potentially a nightmare!

However with the planning of all weddings you have to prepare for any eventuality and be able to deal with it in a calm and organised fashion and as my ex military father would have said, “ Whatever it takes, make it happen”!

Tom and Sophie Wedding in Scotland Drumochty Castle would probably in most brides’ opinion, come under the heading of
“A Scottish fairytale Castle”. It’s located in the middle of a quiet glen with a gorgeous church at the end of the driveway, a fair proportion of the guests can stay within the castle and surrounding accommodation, and so it really is ideal for that special occasion whereby you can keep everyone together for a weekend.

Sophie and Tom looked at the castle and fell in love with it – but Sophie’s father had also looked at the castle and liked it even more – he had always wanted his daughter to come back to his birthplace of Scotland for her wedding, and so their dream began.

Winter 2010 was pretty stern and we saw more snow in a short spell of time than we had for many years. All week prior to the wedding all of us watched the weather forecast intently, mainly because most of the guests were travelling from the south and some from overseas, and the travel networks were now in chaos. Airports were closing, trains weren’t running, motorways were just passable with care, but not somewhere anyone wanted to drive, and so the journey for everyone was very unpredictable as to whether they would actually reach Scotland let alone the castle.

Luckily the Bride and Groom got up on a flight, but things started to close in behind them. Their guests were amazing, juggling their travel plans, some sitting on flights for hours waiting to take off, people jumping on overnight transport – they were going to get to Scotland no matter what it took – its great to have friends like that to support you, and as each party arrived in their own groups there was real surprise and happiness amongst all, the battle was won and they got through – would they get home, well that was another problem for another day! The minister managed to get through for the rehearsal and we all huddled into this freezing church hoping tomorrow would certainly be much warmer inside let alone out!!

Tom and Sophie Wedding in Scotland The wedding day dawned and we had had more snow overnight making the roads pretty impassable for anything other than 4 wheel drive vehicles – thank goodness for mobiles which was our only communication with the outside world - all the phone lines in the castle were down and had been for over 2 weeks, this enabled us to keep in touch with suppliers making their way north for the wedding. None of them had any chance of getting up to the castle, and so we gathered everyone in one location and drove them up the glen in order to get them there. As a wedding planner you have to deal with any given situation and definitely go that extra mile, without our suppliers the wedding could never have been the same and therefore we were prepared to do whatever it took to get them there.

The guests loving the fact they had made it to the castle, were now going to make the most of this special day – many of them walked down to the church having lots of fun and chatter as they went – the inside of the church was lit all around with lots of candles and it was cosy and inviting for everyone’s arrival. The bride’s car, an old Rolls amazingly managed to climb up the driveway with no apparent problems! Sophie was absolutely stunning she looked beautiful and so poised despite all the happenings around her during the previous days. Perhaps one gets to a point whereby you accept you cannot control weather which in itself let her relax a bit more. Her bridesmaids were all lovely girls and certainly helped Sophie to be calm and collected as she made her way to marry Tom.

There is nothing quite like a Christmassy service with beautiful hymns, a choir we could have all listened to for hours, and a couple getting married, it adds a real romance. It truly was a very special moment, in a very special setting, with very special people all supporting Tom and Sophie.
After the service the choir joined everyone at the castle for drinks and canapés and Christmas carols which was a real treat and the guests loved it. Those all important photos were taken and guests chatted enthusiastically about the day. Dinner was called and guests made their way into the amazing ballroom which looked gorgeous with deep tones of reds throwing a blanket of Christmas cheer around the room. The piper piped the newly weds to their seats giving them a healthy hearty toast before retiring. Good Scottish Fayre and wines were served and the chatter round the room was testament to the guests wholeheartedly having the time of their lives in celebration of Tom and Sophie’s wedding. Its so lovely for us to see that total contentment and people thoroughly enjoying such an occasion, and equally lovely for their hosts to see them having fun.

After some very entertaining speeches, guests retired while the ballroom was turned around for dancing. The very entertaining and delightful band “The Light Years” who were friends of the Grooms and had travelled from London, entertained the party for the rest of the evening – the floor was full which is always a great sign of a good band!

We say this so often, where did the day go – before you know it, it’s over, but as the old saying goes “all good things come to an end” – the end of the wedding day but the beginning of a wonderful life together for Tom and Sophie. We so enjoyed our time spent planning with you, it’s a special time and we are always honoured to be asked to be a part of it, with thanks to all of you.

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