25th June 2016
Venue | Monachyle Mhor, Balquhidder
Photography | EnaMay Photography
“We chose Monachyle Mhor for our wedding reception as it encapsulated everything we wanted from a venue: beautiful food, stunning location and fantastic, friendly and relaxed staff. We also wanted a venue that was a little bit different and its Dutch Barn suited us down to the ground.
We wanted to honour both sets of parents by having the ceremony in a church and the picturesque Episcopal Church in nearly Callander was perfect. The minister there, Richard Grosse, was so accommodating of our wishes and allowed us to pretty much write our own ceremony, encouraging us to include our friends and family as much as possible.
The speeches were brilliant: the sun shone, so we were able to do them in the courtyard outside the barn. There was a lot of laughter, some tears and a spontaneous speech from Sandy’s dad. My bridesmaid Maryanne read an Irish blessing in Gaelic for us which she changed the words of slightly. A copy of it now sits framed in our living room. Best man Jamie put together an outstanding speech and also hand-carved a beautiful stone which was inset with some wood from both sets of parent’s gardens.
We wrote our own ceremony, put our favourite food on the menu, and used Polaroid pictures for our table plan and place settings, so we definitely managed to put our own stamp on the day! All our nearest and dearest mucked in: my dad and cousin performed at the ceremony; Sandy’s mum made bouquets and buttonholes; my aunt added lots of finishing touches to the venue and my mum did the flowers for the church. It was a pretty good effort all round – all Sandy and I had to do was rock up!”
Top tip: “Don’t let wedding prep take over your lives. It’s one day – a very special day – but don’t lose sight of that. We sorted our table plan over a couple of pints in our local (highly recommend!). We knew that our pals would enjoy themselves partying in a field, so throwing in amazing food, drinks and an absolute class band, we knew we’d be on to a winner!”
Dress and headpiece Edel Tuite Bridal Design
Back necklace Wildest Dreams Bridal
Bridesmaids’ dresses Monsoon
Groomswear Rose Kilts
Stationery Cute Maps and Notonthehighstreet.com
Flowers Green Pea Studio
Favours donation made to Clic Sergeant
Entertainment MASS
Transport The couple’s campervan, Marcy
