Sarah and Craig
31st December 2023
Venue | 23 Montrose Street and Shucks, Glasgow
Photography | Megan Lannigan Photography
“Craig and I had been together for five years when he proposed. We got engaged on 24th May 2021 at Hotel du Vin at One Devonshire Gardens in Glasgow. We had just bought our first home together and were moving house two days later, so I thought it was our chance to have a quick break before the dreaded unpacking.
We were offered a tour of the wine cellar which Craig had secretly got the hotel team to fill with flowers and candles. I am still not living down the fact that I walked right past my own engagement ring sitting amongst a bunch of peonies and roses!
Initially we fell in love with the idea of having a ‘big’ day and looked at lots of larger venues. However, we ultimately felt that a smaller, low-key wedding was more ‘us’.
After a few years of not being able to travel due to the pandemic, we decided we’d be better saving a bit more for future holidays.
We booked the beautiful Clyde Suite at 23 Montrose Suite in Glasgow City Chambers for the ceremony and lined up a meal at Shucks in Hyndland for our reception. We kept checking in with each other to make sure we were having the wedding that was right for us. Neither of us enjoy being the centre of attention, so it felt right.
Our planning was quite relaxed. In fact, it was almost too relaxed as we ended up with a fair bit of running about to do before the wedding.
Katrina McDiarmid, an amazing Ceremony Officer from Glasgow City Council, led our ceremony. It was really personal and poignant, and we loved the vows that she put together for us. Craig had made his vows personal and funny and we had a lot of laughs.
We included a quaich in our ceremony. Whilst I wouldn’t call whisky my favourite tipple, it was nice to include a wee dram. It’s funny looking back at the wincing I did in the photos!
The quaich is a gorgeous keepsake too as Craig’s dad had it engraved for us.
Our favourite moment was our dog, and light of our lives Bear, wearing his kilt, being brought along by friends. He was the star of the show and even got mentioned in our vows. Every single guests’ face lit up when they saw him outside the ceremony. Craig says his other favourite moment was seeing me enter the room – even though we got ready together and arrived in the same car!
We wanted a photographer who captured and created natural, relaxed moments. We were lucky to find Megan Lannigan Photography. She included all the traditional shots we wanted with our families, along with the smiles and unscripted moments of our day.
The family photos were so fun. Megan made the process much more enjoyable than we were expecting. We even welcomed a dodgy- looking pigeon who sat through many of our photos, photo-bombing us. It was hilarious.
I wanted quite a modern vibe for my bridal look. I had lots of dress appointments and tried on many gorgeous dresses, but just couldn’t find the right dress for our more intimate wedding. In the end, I clicked one on ASOS that was quite a bargain!
We got our wedding rings from Bercotts in Glasgow’s southside. We absolutely loved the process of choosing our wedding rings and wish we could do it again. We can though, right?! More rings please!
The morning of the wedding, my sister and I went to LUX, a beauty salon in Cathcart, to see Stephanie McKinlay MUA for a peaceful morning of pampering. Then, we had just an hour to get my hair sorted and dress on, which was a fun challenge!
Our flowers from Florresters on Duke Street in Dennistoun are a standout detail from the wedding. Craig arranged the engagement surprise flowers from this florist and we frequently bought blooms here for previous family celebrations, so it was essential and meaningful that they sorted us out for the big day too!
We had our meal at Shucks and they arranged a stunning feasting menu for us. It was the most stunning way to celebrate and there was such an abundance of food and wine.”
Top tip: “Start out by thinking ‘what kind of wedding do we want?’ We had a quite an untraditional wedding, but it felt right for us and our families,” says Sarah. “We were fine with missing some of the ‘must-have’ moments and memories, but there might be some elements that other couples would regret not doing.”
Ceremony venue 23 Montrose Street
Meal venue Shucks
Bride’s dress Forever New Bridal at ASOS
Bridesmaid dresses Pretty Lavish
Make-up Stephanie McKinlay at LUX
Bride’s nails Chey Nails at Aesthetica Bishopbriggs
Wedding rings Bercotts
Flowers Florresters
Groom’s suit Walker Slater
Groom’s watch Paulin
