celo1 - wedding report 19th May

Thursday 17th May

Having been told we could collect the kilts anytime after 9am we were left hanging around in Glasgow until 2pm when they finally arrived. This wouldn’t have been too bad except that we had a meeting with bar staff we’d hired at the marquee at 3pm and I was having my spray tan done at 4:30pm. Spray tan done, it was time for the wedding rehearsal at the church. Much comedy ensued as it was raining and I’d been given strict instructions not to get wet or my colour would run and go streaky. We coped though with only a few splotches but they were on parts of me no one would be seeing so that was okay.

Friday 18th May

We had tried the kilts and suits on yesterday and as I’d kind of expected there were wrong size jackets, shirts and trousers all round and so we had to fit in another trip to Glasgow to get the correct sizes. After phoning the shop we were told we couldn’t pick them up until 4:30pm. More stressing as today we also had to drive to Ayr to collect OHs wedding ring and items for the bar, then 20 minutes back to Kilmarnock to get the glasses we’d hired and I was getting my nails done at 5pm. We also had to set up all the tables in the marquee and decorate the church.

Surprisingly enough – or not so by now! The place we had ordered our glasses from had no record of our order and not enough glasses of each type there to fulfil our order. Yet more wasted hours as we waited for them to fix the problem and get all the glasses together, most of them not even clean so another job to add to the list but we got there. Partly I think down to my mum explaining rather firmly that anything that could go wrong has gone wrong this week and if you don’t get these glasses sorted it will be the final straw and I wont be held responsible for my daughters actions!!

We eventually got half of the marquee set up and all the other jobs done and then I had to go and get my nails done. Afterwards, my CBM and I raced to the church and set up the pew end decorations and then went back to the farm to finish the table settings etc.

OH and his best man were there and helped us wash the rest of the glasses, check all the place cards were in the correct places and then we had a much needed beer from the bar OH had spent all day setting up; we are real ale drinkers and so we had bought 5 casks of beer for the wedding. OHs part of the dream day!

Best Man on Sunday at the bar.

I got home at 10:30pm and sat with my parents and my brothers (other brother and girlfriend had by now arrived as well) and gave them all their gifts. This was a lovely moment and one I will treasure, as a family we are quite spread out over the UK and so we rarely get to spend time altogether like this.

I could finally relax as everything was done and then it hit me “I’m getting married in the morning!” I went to bed exhausted but happy and looking forward to the day ahead.

The big day ?

I woke up quite early, 6ish I think and lay in bed enjoying the peace and thinking about what was to come. With 7 of us to shower and get ready I got up at 7 and had a shower and put my “getting ready” outfit/PJs on and went to make tea for everyone. My mum was the first up and joined me in the kitchen where we managed a lovely 20 minutes just us two before everyone else joined us and chaos began. At 8:30am our hairdresser and make-up artist arrived and wanted to get started but there was still a cake in layers on my kitchen table. Then the florist arrived with a huge box of flowers and wanted to put those somewhere as well. Finally at 9am my bridesmaids and flower girl arrived and we suddenly had no space to move. We sent my dad and brother off to set the cake up at the farm which created some space and then we were ready to start pampering.

Before we began I wanted to give my BMs and FG their gifts, we had decided to do presents before the wedding so we could enjoy giving them and have time to see the recipients reactions. The girls all loved their personalised bracelets and put them on straight away.

By this time my MUA was keen to get started as she is also a friend who was coming to the wedding and so needed time to get back home and get herself ready as well. At this point I remembered that all of our dresses were still over the road at my CBMs house and so my mum and I went over in our PJs to get them. Luckily her husband was up and decent as we all just walk into each others houses in our street! He helped us carry them back over the road and then we dispatched him to the shop for bacon sarnies for everyone.

We cracked open a bottle of Lanson and the next few hours were spent laughing and crying (when I gave our hairdresser and MUA their thank you flowers) and generally just enjoying the time with my family and best friends.

All too soon it was nearly 12 and the car was meant to be arriving to get my brothers. Typically they weren’t ready and had no cufflinks so there was me half my hair done trying to balance on the edge of my bed to get to my OHs cufflinks box to provide them with sets each. Luckily the car had been held up as it was also collecting my OH, his best man and his little boy from the farm before coming to our house. The car eventually came and dropped all the boys off at the pub – yes that’s right our local pub is handily (or not!) directly over the road from the church and so most guests, my brothers, OH, his BM and a couple of children were all in the pub beforehand.

Back at home, everyone’s hair was done and my mum is sitting looking very fetching in her PJs with hair and make-up done and her fascinator on. My mum never wears make-up and very rarely has her hair done for special occasions and so my dads reaction when he saw her, even without her posh dress was lovely “you look really nice your eyes are all sparkly what have you done?” Not the most romantic but for my parents it was! My mum then put her dress and shoes on and she looked beautiful, she had been agonising for ages over what to wear and in the end went for a simple shift dress from Hobbs but it looked lovely on her and she felt really great in it.

my mum, dad and brothers

I wanted to soak up every last minute and stay just as we were for ages but unfortunately we didn’t have time and we had to start putting our dresses on. BMs went first as they were simple zip-up jobs and then it was our wee FGs turn. Then it was my go. This was all happening in our front room as with all the people staying we had no space upstairs. By now apparently a crowd of people had started to gather outside and so it was quite a comedy trying to get ready and stay out of sight! Then that was it, we were ready to go and then the nerves started to kick in. This was it, it was actually happening. My OH and I have been together for nearly 16 years since we first meet at University and so I had really begun to think that this day would never come. Yet here I was, all made up and feeling like a princess finally about to marry my OH.

The car arrived for the BMs, FG and my mum and off they went, everyone from our street was outside and when (Kirsten) hairdresser came back she said “you won’t believe how many people are out there!”

I didn’t want all the people outside to see me before we left and so my dad and I stood in the doorway of our front room and hall – about the only place we couldn’t be seen from and Kirsten fixed my veil in place. We had a quick practice of my dad lifting it back from my face as I had a vision of him pulling too hard and taking it off my head completely and then that was it, the car was back. My dad gave my hand a squeeze and said “you look beautiful, are you ready to go?” We aren’t generally a very emotional family and so all these small things from him throughout the day really meant a lot. He took my flowers and my bag and Kirsten helped me up the drive. I had been told about the people outside but I was still taken aback. Everyone from the street was standing there and taking photos, I felt like a celebrity – albeit not a very elegant one as we struggled to get me and my dress into the car!

Then we were off, to prolong the excitement the car took us the long way round to the church but before I knew it we were there. I negotiated my way out of the car and made my way to the steps of the church where my BMs, FG and mum were waiting.

We went into the church and stood in the entrance, arranged my veil and dress and spoke to the minister. My mum gave me kiss, said good luck and then went to take her seat. The minister signalled to the organist that we were ready and then the beautiful sound of Highland Cathedral filled the church and the minister said “can you all please stand for the bride” – big gulp, that was me! At this point my legs went to jelly and wouldn’t work and I started to shake. My CBM set off first, then her daughter (FG) and then Tony’s sister (BM). They did a fantastic job, at the rehearsal they had all raced off down the aisle but this time it was perfect. Then it was my turn, my dad took my hand and said “you’ll be fine, enjoy it” and off we went. I couldn’t walk quickly as my dress was quite large for the narrow church aisles and the slight slope meant in my heels I couldn’t rush which made it ideal for timing. I tried to take it all in during that all too short walk to the front of the church. Smiling at as many people as possible and drinking it all in. That was one of my favourite moments of the whole day and I would do it over and over again if I could. The anticipation and excitement of what OH and I were about to do, seeing all of our family and friends there just for us and finally catching a glimpse of OH standing at the front of the church. He didn’t turn around; he told me later that he knew he could hold it together as long as he didn’t look directly at me; he assures me he was watching using the organists mirror though.

OH and Best Man just before the service

My big moment!

The minister thanked my dad for bringing me to marry Tony; my dad lifted my veil over, gave me a kiss and sat down. CBM took my flowers and then the service started.

It was everything I had hoped for, our FG was brilliant she stood so still all the way through the service holding her flowers perfectly all the time. We had a hymn and then my dad did a reading. Then it was the marriage vows and apparently I sounded really nervous but by this point I felt so calm and happy with OH holding my hand and then that was it, we were married. The rest of the service was lovely. My auntie did her reading and I am so proud of her; my uncle died 4 years ago and she really struggles with large crowds and hates public speaking but she did it for us as she knew that if my uncle had been there with us it would have been him doing the reading. Finally the sound of our recessional music – Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, yes ironic I know but we loved it! started up and that was us. I think we fairly skipped out of the church and there outside were even more folk. All of the people from outside the house earlier were there and more besides all waiting for us. We only moved up to Scotland 8 years ago but in that moment I knew we had made the right decision. We have made so many friends and met some lovely people and our small town has such a sense of community that everyone’s turns out and supports you and offers congratulations. It really made us feel so welcome and no longer “interlopers”!!

We stood and had lots of photos taken outside the church and then we got into the car and headed up to the farm.

This is fab! More more more!

What a beauty you are! Congratulations Mrs.

The meal was fantastic and everyone seemed to be having a really good time, all the stressing over the seating plan and who to sit with who had paid off.

Then it was time for the speeches. My dad went first. It was a beautiful speech plenty of laughs and lots of sentiment. As were are an English family and I was getting married in Scotland dad managed to get some Burns references in as well. As I mentioned before we aren’t a very emotional family and so displays of affection are few and far between but this part of his speech had me, my mum and my brothers all in tears –

“Burns once wrote to see her is to love her and love but her for ever; for nature made her what she is and never made another. In this case he was wrong though as Clare is just like her mother and Tony and I both very, very lucky men.”

OHs speech was short and sweet; he definitely doesn’t do speaking in front of crowds so I had no expectations there! Then it was his best mans turn and its fairly safe to say he’d been dreading this all day and looked so nervous. But, he did really well and it was very amusing – slightly too rude in places for my parents I think but very good all the same.

After dinner I went and tied my dress up, removed my veil and touched up my make-up and then it was time for the evening reception. We cut the cake once evening guests had arrived and then had our first dance/shuffle!

From there on the evening went by in a flash. We had such a good time laughing, dancing, chatting, drinking with all our family and friends and I didn’t want it to end but before we knew it the band were playing Loch Lomond and it was all over.

We spent a little while clearing up – another downside to organising your own venue, had a drink with folk staying up at the farm and then went to bed and reflected on the day.

We had an amazing day; it lived up to all expectations and more besides. Everyone we care about was there to share in the day with us and importantly they all had a fantastic time as well. I loved my dress and didn’t want to take it off and surprisingly I lasted all day and night in my shoes. Little personal touches like the toiletries basket went down well and the sweet buffet was a big hit – I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

The next day we carried on the party with a BBQ, bouncy castle and space hoppers as the marquee was staying up until Monday. This rounded off the weekend perfectly and gave us more time to spend with guests who had travelled a long way to be with us.

WELL DONE if you made it to the end!

Thank you to everyone on here for all the good luck wishes on my GL thread and for all the support and advice in the planning. I know I have been more of a lurker than a poster but hopefully there is a wee space on the OM bench over on OT and I can join in there a bit more now.

A few N&P –

I do Balloons – Jayne was fantastic and did exactly what I’d asked for without even seeing the venue.

Lou Lou Belle designs – Lisa made my beautiful personalised bracelets for my BMs and they loved them.

Lynseys Designs – Lynsey made my gorgeous tiara, bracelet, earrings and my BMs hair combs.

That was brilliant!

What a stressful week before you had! But all worth it in the end.

Brilliant report and love all the piccies Looks like you had an amazing day x

Fantastic report! not too long at all!!!

Glad the pre wedding disasters didn't spoil your big day x

Your Dad's reading made me cry!! Lovely report and some gorgeous pics too!

Lovely report !!

I was close to tears at many parts but it was your Dad's burns quote and added comment that caused the first one to roll down my face !

Wish you both every happiness in the future.

L x

Lovely report! You look so happy!

The BM's dresses really pop in the photos. Good colour choice ?

What a gorgeous couple! Congratulations! xx

Looks and sounds like u had a fab day, congratulations! x

Looks like you all had a lovely day. Congratulations!!

So pleased all the mishaps leading up to it didn't spoil the day.

Congratulations - loved reading your report

Fab report and pictures too. Just goes to show no matter what problems crop up everything gets sorted in the end, it all looks beautiful.

Lovely report. You looked beautiful!

Can I ask where you got the space hoppers? I am having these too. Have checked ebay etc but just wondered where you got urz incase I am missing a better deal? ?

The used ones are bought 1 at a time and I'd rather buy in bulk.

Brilliant report, glad everything came together! You look lovely!

Glad everything worked out ok in the end! The photos are lovely.

Your cake sounded amazing too.

Brilliant report! Thank you so much for sharing your day!

And congratulations too! x x x x

AHHH this is why i couldn't face having a DIY wedding I felt sooo stressed for you just reading it!

Glad it all worked out in the end and you had a great day ?

Lovely report! We had royal blue too! Good choice, it all looked amazing. Congrats

Fantasic report. The day looks amazing, as did you and your hubby!! Nice t see, after the weekly stresses that it was all alright on the day! Cngrats x

Congratulations! You must live close to me. I'm in Ayr. Lovely report.

What a lovely report, congratulations to you both.

Also, my mum is your mum's dress twin!!

Lovely report Twinny and you look gorgeous! ❤️

Thank you everyone, glad you are all enjoying reading this.

Little Miss Tweety, sorry only just seen your comment. We hired our bouncy castle and space hoppers from a Glasgow based company - https://www.bouncycastlehireglasgow.co.uk/ and it cost us £195 for the full days hire.

Lovely report, congrats! ?

Congratulations! It looks like you had an amazing day x