Rhoda Banfro & Peter Fowlie
21st October 2020
Venue | Drumtochty Castle, Aberdeenshire
Photography | Karolina Kotkiewicz Photography
“Peter and I were together for six years before he popped the question. He proposed on my birthday in the beautiful walled gardens at MacDonald Pittodrie House Hotel.
We chose to get married at exclusive-use venue Drumtochty Castle in Laurencekirk. As Peter and I are both Christians, it was important that we got married in a religious ceremony. The fact that there’s a pretty church in the grounds called St Palladius really sold it to us.
We chose to get married in late October 2020. Autumn is our favourite season, so we wanted to incorporate those colours throughout the wedding. We luckily didn’t have to change date, but the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic meant we had to adjust our numbers dramatically.
We initially hoped to invite 120 guests, with many planning to stay in the area for a few days. That way, we could intentionally spend time with family and friends and not feel as though we only had our wedding day to catch up with everyone.
In the event of things, we were limited to 20 people, so only our immediate family and bridal party could attend. Although this was completely different from the day we envisaged, we enjoyed the intimacy of the day. It also allowed us to spend more time simply enjoying being married. We spoke to absent friends and family via Zoom at various points during the day.
We were married by Tom Seal, assistant pastor at Kings Church, Aberdeen. He narrated a beautiful story of a grandmother who, on her golden wedding anniversary, had revealed the secret of her long and happy marriage. She said that on her wedding day, she had decided to choose ten of her husband’s faults which, for the sake of their marriage, she would overlook.
When someone asked her to name some of those faults, she told them that she had never gotten round to listing them, but whenever her husband did something that made her mad, she would tell herself: lucky for him that’s one of the ten.
Immediately after this story, we were supposed to sign the marriage schedule…only to discover that Peter had forgotten to bring it to the church! Consequently, we had to pause the wedding while the maid of honour and one of the groomsmen took the wedding car back up to the main castle to retrieve the paperwork!
Meanwhile, Peter and I had a 15-minute catch-up about how our mornings had been while standing at the altar. He had two jobs: turn up and bring the schedule…He hasn’t lived it down. Safe to say that this was one of the ten things I’ve decided to overlook (haha!).
We wanted a photographer that we had a rapport with and who’d document our day as naturally as possible. Karolina and Ricky put us at ease and I loved how creative they were with so many of the photos.
I had my eye on a dress from Enzoani before I began wedding dress shopping, but I wanted to keep an open mind. After visiting a few other shops, I booked an appointment at Avorio Bridal in Fochabers. As soon as I tried on an Enzoani dress, I knew that it was the one that I wanted.
Gemma and the team at Avorio were outstanding and supportive throughout my whole experience. I was concerned about my dress being delayed due to Covid-19, but they were great at keeping me up-to-date and booked me in for a fitting as soon as restrictions allowed.
My customised leather jacket by Amy Singer Art and stunning, bespoke shoes from Harriet Wilde completed my look. I added detailing at the back of the heel and was also able to personalise my soles – meaning my shoes were truly unique to me.
We’ve both been surprised by how unsurprising marriage has been, in the best of ways. Having spent a long time getting to know each other, we have really enjoyed the smooth transition into married life.”
Top tip: “Planning a wedding can be overwhelming; it’s all too easy to get caught up in all the details. If anything, Covid has taught us what really is essential: each other. Your wedding is just the starting point for building a life full of laughter, love and adventure.”
Pastor Tom Seal, Kings Church
Bride’s dress Enzoani at Avorio Bridal
Bride’s shoes Harriet Wilde
Customised leather jacket Amy Singer Art
Bridesmaids’ dresses MixBridal
Bride’s hair Grace Agbana at Dela Rose
Groomswear Gibbs Menswear
Wedding rings Mr Harold & Son
Wedding cake Lois Caked It
Flowers Kim Dalglish Florist
Stationery Paper and Petals
Wedding film Papermill Designs
Wedding transport Silver City Wedding Cars
