Fareedah Khan and David Ewen
30th September 2017
Venue | Newton Hotel, Nairn
Photography | Eilidh Sutherland Photography
“After visiting a few venues in our hometown, Inverness, we checked out the Newton Hotel in Nairn. We were sold on this big country house with Highland cows on the grounds. Janet Cross, the wedding co-ordinator at the hotel, had lots of experience, so we trusted that everything was going to fall into place under her control.
After securing our date, we promptly booked our ceilidh band. We realised early on how quickly wedding musicians get snapped up.
A Scottish coastal feel inspired our décor in homage to Nairn’s East Beach, where we can often be found walking the family dogs. We had glass vases atop tree trunks for our centrepieces filled with shells, sand and candles; our tables were named after beaches with signs that Dave handmade using distressed wood, and our favours were chocolates which looked like little pebbles, inside a scallop shell.
The whole family attempted as much wedding DIY as they could. Looking back it was actually a lot of work! We made our wedding invites from tiny shells and Dave’s clan tartan ribbon. My dad used his calligraphy skills to write the guest’s names on cards, while my mum made our beach hut-themed table planner. It really was a team effort.
The ceremony was the part of the wedding I was most nervous about, but it ended up being the highlight of the day. It felt like I was in a dream walking into the hotel’s ‘chapel’ to see all our nearest and dearest smiling at me. Seeing Dave waiting for me at the top of the aisle with a big grin on his face was the icing on the cake. Humanist celebrant, Halde Pottinger, led a lovely, relaxed ceremony.
Towards the end of the night was also pretty special. It was wonderful when we were in the middle of the dancefloor circled by family and friends singing along to ‘Loch Lomond’ and ‘Caledonia’ – the room felt like it was filled with love.”
Top tip: “Having confidence in a good dressmaker for your alterations is essential. It’s crucial that they know how to get the dress fitting spot on. Mine did which enabled me to wear the dress all night long and dance away at the ceilidh.”
Dress Wedding Belles
Bridesmaids’ dresses Forever Bridal
Groomswear Scot Kilt
Cake Harry Gow
Flowers Floral Elegance by Nikki Roberts
Venue décor Seating Styles and Hanging Lantern Company
Entertainment Hò-rò and Denis Lenz: Guitar Dreams
Photo booth Betty Booth
Transport Highland Hobo
Hair Jenna Cooke
Makeup Sam Whitby
