Just getting started...Glasgow area I would love to hear from you :)

Hi and WElcome!

Im Glasgow based, though getting married abroad in Italy, so feel your pain trying to organise details from a far is a little more difficult. There probably isn't going to be as much little details in our day that would have been thought of if we got married here as it is too difficult trying to source things.

I used to live 10 minutes away from house for an Art lover and it is lovely, though never been to a wedding there.

This website will be good for you as there are a few Glasgow brides on here now and they will hopefully come along and give you more advice on suppliers etc in glasgow.

Are you planning to buy your dress in Australia or Scotland?

Good luck with the planning....

Hi Miss Australia,

Congratulations on your engagement!

House for an Art Lover is beautiful. There are loads of places in Glasgow area that would suit your numbers but might make your life easier if you pick a venue that has a great wedding co-ordinater who can put you in touch with suppliers they use regularly etc. The Grand Central Hotel has recently been done up, it's gorgeous and the guy that works there was really helpful when I went to view it. Mar Hall is probably worth a look too as they have a small private house on the grounds of the main hall which could be perfect for your numbers.

Good luck!

Hi and congratulations! Why don't you have a look at the Scottish wedding directory's website? Obviously you can't receive the magazine but there's loads of info re suppliers, venues, dresses, etc! Hope this helps!

Hiiiiiiii and welcome to Hitched ?

I'm not sure about HFA as I have never been in it, but it looks lovely from outside.

With Hotel du Vin, at One Devonshire Gardens - based on the level of service they offer I would imagine that they would be very good at making long distance organisation as hassle free as possible.

What kind of day are you looking for, relaxed, formal, etc.

Are you looking for scenery or architecture?

Will it be the standard all day event with formal meal, followed by evening buffet and reception until midnight or so?

Will try to help as much as possible, any info that springs to mind will help us to think of good venues and suppliers for you.

Wow a wedding in Italy.....how beautiful! Yeah it does make it a little difficult being so far away......thankfully the internet has made it all possible!!! I think Im going to buy my dress in Scotland.....the exchange rate for me makes it so much better! Fingers crossed it stays that way as it may mean the difference overall of $$$$$$$$$. Im going to try some dresses on in Glasgow this year, seen a beautiful one from Berketex brides. Any experience from them? Are you buying your dress in Scotland?

xxx

I was really considering One Devonshire Gardens. The menu is fantastic, I just worry it looks a little small for 120 evening guests. I want something pretty relaxed for everyone but at same time i want it to feel very weddinay. is that a word lol? In an ideal world I would love to have it in a castle but unfortunately the logistics seem impossible due to having family/friends coming from Helensburgh/Glasgow/Motherwell etc etc. i would have to turn into stagecoach to bus everyone around. I seen Airth Castle which looks lovely. Ahhhhh too many places and all the harder as Im going off website photos.

Thanks so much for your help xx

Thats a great idea....Ill have a look tonight when Im home from work. Im such a procrastinator I must start making some decisions!! xxx

Thanks so much everyone! So nice to speak to some people in Glasgow going through the same thing and with so much experience! EEEEKKKK I literally dont know what to do. i love HFA, they only have a few saturdays left. But at same time One Devonshire Gardens look nice and then away from that if I went out of Glasgow I could look at Airth Castle or Mar Hall.

Ill be in Glasgow in March so I may need to leave it until then to put a deposit down as I guess I wont know till i see the place. i just dont want to miss out on any saturdays in 2013!

Was looking at Mood Flowers...anyone know if they were any good. Also bagpipers? And cakes?....and ehhh any recommendations haha!

i seen a beautiful dress from berketex brides i want to try on, anyone getting their dress from there? xxx

I bought my dress from berketex brides! I love my dress, it's called emmie by Andrew harker though it's identical to the Ronald Joyce Livorno dress. I've found the lady's in berketex really nice. The only thing is they won't let you take pictures unless you buy the dress. I don't know if you wanted to take a pic to send back to family/friends before you commit to buying.

You should try and get around a few bridal shops if you have time

What dress in berketex did you see?

Xx

Not quite the same, but what about Serbrooke Castle Hotel: http://www.sherbrooke.co.uk/weddings

It is an absolutely stunning venue and they take up to 180 for a wedding. It's only ten minutes drive outside the city centre, but in a fabulous location with lots of greenery and outside space for photographs. I have heard wonderful things about them, as we are getting married just round the corner from the hotel.

When I first started out , I booked a venue in Scotland which was the same group as Airth Castle. The co ordinators were lovely, but we decided to cancel and that caused a big problems. Eventually got it sorted through Trading standards though.

I totally fell in love with the Oran Mor in the west end, handy for everyone to get home, it's a gorgeous big converted church https://oran-mor.co.uk/

Hello!

Fellow Glasgow bride here

I attended a wedding at 1 Devonshire and I'll be brutal - as gorgeous as it is, it was a tight squeeze. Bar was limited too.

The Oran Mor is absolutely gorgeous! Great for some urban pictures too.

House for An Art Lover is beautiful, we considered it. My partner has also shot a few weddings there and it's amazing for that sort of thing.

Another place would be City Halls, and then the Fruitmarket. If money was no object for me, I'd have a massive shindig there

Have fun!

Jen x

Thanks so much, it is so so helpful to me!!

I think 1 devonshire gardens will be too boxy and small and it doesnt have nice grounds outside to take pics. Your feedback is so helpful i think i have just knocked it off my list.

Oran Mor is lovely but in some ways i would feel like i was on a night out as i used to go there sometimes.

first ive looked at city halls and fruitmarket. they are beautiful! particularly one of the halls and its not anymore expensive than HFAL. again though its not having any grounds which puts me off a little. stunning venue though!

Jen where are you having yours? is your partner a photographer?

xx

Hey, I found this pic of Sherbrooke Castle Hotel at night - thought you might like ?

Hi, I'm getting msrried at HFA! This Dec and we're then off to Oz on honeymoon! I know of a personal friend who's a super piper and I also know of a super caker, i'll pm you.

Mood Flowers are excellent, bit more pricey but they supply all top hotels etc and are affiliated wigh HFA. Its actually my neighbours daughter so im hoping that'll wing us a wee discount!

Sherbrooke Castle is lovely, I've been there for a couple of functions and the food was excellent both times. It's a good sized room for your numbers and is near House for An Art Lover so worth going to see it on the same day. I visited them when looking for our venue and they can provide a DJ, piper, chair covers, wedding cars etc.

The Sherbrooke Castle is where we are getting married - we picked it for the options taking photographs and that they will arrange for us to get married outside if the weathers nice or inside if not. Its lovely

Hi and welcome to Hitched! I'm another Glasgow bride

I've never been to a wedding in either of the venues you are considering, but I have heard a handful of times that One Devonshire Gardens is not the best, customer service and size seemed to be problems for other people.

House for an Art Lover is stunning, we considered there. Sherbrooke Castle too. We didn't visit either of them but they were on our internet shortlist! Actually the only thing that put us off Sherbrooke Castle was it being a little out of our budget.

Just to give you some more options to consider! We went to view Duck Bay Marina (and fell in love with it, that's where our wedding will be), The Cruin, Hilton Grosvenor (the one across from Oran Mor) and Crowne Plaza at the SECC. Hilton was beautiful and there are plenty of photo opportunities with the Botanic Gardens right across the road. You could even have your ceremony in Oran Mor (goooooorgeous!) and reception in the hotel since it's right there. Crowne Plaza was our #2 choice, they have a lovely little conservatory for your entrance and for drinks reception, and the space works well in that they have partition walls to section off as much of the room as you need, I would say it would need some drapes or something though as it is a bit of a blank canvas inside the room. Their accommodation is great too, and the suites are gorgeous, like a little flat with an amazing view down the river.

There are so many beautiful venues in and around Glasgow, it can be hard to narrow them down!

Re: having no gardens at the Fruitmarket - you could always head to Glasgow Green/Peoples Palace for some pictures?

Ahhhhhhhhh we have just booked HFAL for August 2013. CANNOT WAIT!!!! My future mother & father in law visited yesterday, fell in love with it and put a deposit down for us. Im so so excited. A teeny weeny bit of me still wishes we could hae went to Glencoe to a castle somewhere but to ask 100 people to pay for hotel rooms/travel etc etc is too much on them. Glasgow is convenient for everyone. I think we will book hotel rooms for ourselves in the Malmaison or One Devonshire Gardens.

I kept hearing some mixed reviews on O.D.G, bad service, too small etc. But as yet nothing bad on HFAL. I just hope it fits everyone ok for the evening part as I cant quite imagine the size. At the same time I do want it to feel busy and it does say it fits 130 guests.

Yeah I hear mood flowers are good, im going to email them asap for some ideas and pricing. I think I want just white arum lilys which freely grow like weeds in my garden but are my absolute fave! My favourite colour is white so it will be kept very simple. Now the fun part can begin.....dresses, cakes yesssss! xxx

It's absolutely stunning - the link I sent you has a few weddings there Congrats!

Hiya

We first looked at here - http://www.glasgowconcerthalls.com/weddings/ but eventually decided on Ross Priory on Loch Lomond.

With regards to One Devonshire Gardens, I used to work there and I would say that the buidlign is too small for your numbers. I worked on lots of weddings and unless there is a small number of people, it gets quite cramped.

There are some Loch Lomond Wedding websites that you can have a look at too.

Jx

Congrtulations on your engagement. Both of those venues are stunning.

Checkout www.theglasgowgirlsweddingguide.com for local wedding suppliers.

x

Thats so funny we are literally swapping places ?. Where are you going in Oz?

What are your numbers for HFAL. My only concern is it being too small! moreso for the evening reception. Will you be getting married there or elsewhere. Did you manage to get a look at the style of the menu, seating plan etc. I seen somewhere its a dove design, which would be beautiful. Or are you doing your own.

I think i will hire seat covers too. Oh & whats the tables like for the evening reception, it looks quite plain in the pics. like just a plain white.

Eeeek it really isnt long till your wedding!! xxx

Soooooooo.......we had a bit of a hiccup. I am the worst at making decisions and after provisionally booking HFAL I started feeling it would be too small....not grand enough for the evening reception etc etc. Started looking elsewhere to the other popular places outside Glasgow such as Airth Castle, Glenskirle, and places towards edinburgh etc. We started thingking maybe we do want the big castle wedding and panicked think oh no lets book Airth castle. My future mum & father in law made an appointment and drove out there meanwhile cancelling our existing HFAL booking.

They phoned us up aftewards and said it did not have a patch on HFAL. Sorry any Airth castle brides, everyone has different tastes etc. They said the hallways were grubby, the reception isnt even held in the castle, you had to pay extra to have pictures in the grounds and the bedrooms were dated and dirty looking. One look on tripadvisor confirmed this!

On the same day our HFAL booking was cancelled they were also holding a wedding fair and since our date was one of the last saturdays of the year we felt siiickkkk knowing someone else will have booked that day. it was too late to confirm this so we had to anxiously wait through our timezone to find out for sure...whilst also sending frantic emails to them saying STOP!! we have made a mistake. knowing we lost it made us know how much we really liked it after all.

Monday morning my mother in law called to say we had it.....yayyyy its all booked. Did consider Glenskirlie but the actual function room is pretty boring.

Ive looked at having a dj play with the room in purple uplights just to add a bit of atmosphere to it. Also going to do some other things in the rooms table to give it more of a classy feel.

Oh and best bit, we have booked St Andrews Cathedral for our ceremony. Only opened up last years after a massive refurbishment. It is STUNNING and will make for the most amazing photographs.

Cannot wait!!!

Any recommendations for chair covers anyone?

Hi there

I'd be delighted to help you find suppliers.

I see you need chair covers - where is your wedding venue? I see you have family in Helensburgh and there's a chair cover company there called Your Wedding and Events. Scotland wide there's companies such as Supernova, Make Believe and Azure.

Loch Lomond is an amazing location for a wedding. As one of the other brides above mentioned, why not try one of the websites for that area? We recommend the Your Wedding at Loch Lomond one.

As for the bride getting married at Duck Bay - there's a wedding show there on 26th February at 1pm. We'll be exhibiting ?

If you need any other supplier help, just holler, we've worked with loads in Scotland!

Hi,

I'm just outside Glasgow so if you need any help with suppliers I'll do my best to help. I had white calla lillies which I loved

Good luck with all your planning. x

Oh you must have been frantic!

We're having between 60-70 for our ceremony + meal and the maximum 130 for evening time.

I'm gonna be doing my own seating plan etc, not that I don't like theirs but I'm going for a winter themed wedding so want it all in keeping with that.

I do know of a company who hire lovely chair covers, sounds daft but they're fitted as opposed to being 'loose' if you know what I mean?

I've taken lots of pics of HFA so I can think about decor etc, if you want to PM me your email address I'll gladly send them on and the link to the chair covers etc.

Have you organised music yet? we're having Ernest, look them up, they're fab, pricey, but really good.

Just re-read your post. So are you getting wed at St Andrews then having your reception at HFA? That's a fair drive...