Wedding photographer Gary, aka Good Luck Wolf, and tooth-gem artist Corinne had a ‘gothic luxe’ wedding and party at Harelaw Farm in Ayrshire on 29th October 2022
Photography | Jo + Liam Photography
You won’t be surprised to hear that one of the first vendors Gary and Corinne booked for their barn wedding was photography duo Jo + Liam. “It was an easy choice. Not only are they among the best in the business, they are good friends of ours. We knew they would make us feel relaxed and completely at ease, with no stress,” explains Gary.
With bride and groom both full-on at work across the whole of last year (Corinne helps Gary part-time with their photography business, as well as running her own dental-gem venture, Bite Club Glasgow), they didn’t get much time to breathe before they tied the knot in October. “We wanted loads of personal touches, but just didn’t have the time to do any of them. In the end, we saved ourselves the stress and passed them onto professionals,” confides Gary. “It felt so nice to book suppliers knowing they were going to nail it with little or no input from us.”
The couple’s florist, Jenny Mugford of Flowermug, came up with the term ‘gothic luxe’ to describe Gary and Corinne’s wedding plans, which helped keep all the other vendors on the right track. “Speak to your suppliers if you’re unsure about anything at all; they are there to offer guidance, after all,” recommends Gary. “Even though we were organised and planned and booked as much as possible early on, we faced loads of last-minute changes that were difficult to sort out – the biggest of which was guests pulling out just a few days ahead of our wedding when the table plan had already been decided and printed.”
Being present ‘on the ground’ at many weddings each year gave the couple excellent oversight of their big day’s running order – where to be and when, and how much time to allow for each of the different segments. “We may have been a tad guilty of ‘overbooking’ our entertainment, though,” laughs Gary. “As well as our wedding band, we had a magician, singing waiters, a photobooth, a silent disco and a tattoo station! They all kept the energy levels high and the whole day upbeat though. We didn’t want our guests getting bored at any point.”
One of the big lessons Gary says he learned from ‘being on the other side’ of proceedings, is to let the couple he is photographing enjoy their wedding morning with no questions from him until it’s absolutely necessary. “I found I was getting pulled from pillar to post a bit during my own wedding morning, so from here on in I’ll be even more hands-off with my couples at that point in the day.
“I’d also impress on clients that on the day – especially at a wedding of a similar size to ours (90 for the ceremony with another 70 for the party) – you probably won’t have time to speak to everyone for a decent amount of time, so don’t feel guilty about it. If there are people you know you want to spend more time with, make the effort, because the clock will run away like you won’t believe,” he says.
Now that they’ve had a few months to reflect on their wedding, would Gary and Corinne change anything? “Absolutely not. We always wanted a big party – an absolute riot, in fact – with our friends and family, and that’s exactly what we had. Things may not be 100% perfect on the day and stuff will probably go wrong, but you won’t really care.
“Never forget what the wedding is about: the two of you. Always put yourself first. People will be unhappy for many reasons, but you can never please everyone. If folk don’t like it, they ultimately don’t deserve to be on your guest list.” Preach, Gary – we are totally with you on that point…
Top tip: “Don’t underestimate how important it is to find the right suppliers. We stuck to the rule that you should want to invite your supplier(s) as guests if you had the chance,” says Gary. “It’s one of the best bits of advice I can offer. In particular, our photographer, videographer, hair and makeup artists made the morning so chilled out for us and really helped set us up for the day ahead.”Venue and catering Harelaw FarmPhotography Jo + Liam PhotographyCelebrant Claire Digance aka Claire the Humanist, Humanist Society ScotlandBride’s dress Savin London from Eleganza Sposa, teamed with Doc MartensBridal house coat and ribbon thread for bouquet A Lover’s ThreadBride’s and bridesmaids’ tooth gems Bite Club Glasgow (the bride’s company)Hair Square Hair ArtistryMakeup Linzi Lange MakeupGroomswear 8 YardsCake Pudge’s CakeryFlowers and floral venue decor FlowermugVenue decor LillyCole EventsStationery Two TabbiesFavours Homemade ‘trick or treat’ boxesBride’s engagement and wedding rings Tessa MetcalfeGroom’s wedding ring The Great Frog LondonFilmmaker Eleven Six FilmsReception band VH5 Singing waiters Singers SecretoMagician Magician RenzSilent disco Hedfone PartyPhotobooth Bygone BoothFake tattoo station Mvrk Tattoo, Dyltattoo and Mel Gracie Tattoo
