Inspired by “ceilidhs, tipis, welly boots and kilts,” Hayley and Matt got married on the bride’s family farm. They even sealed their ceremony with a log-sawing tradition from Bavaria!
Hayley Keir & Matt Wright
30th April 2022
Venue | bride’s home, Craighead Farm, Perthshire
Photography | Good Luck Wolf Photography
“Matt and I got together in late 2017, bought our first house in September 2018 (a renovation project), then got engaged June 2019. Our original wedding date was meant to be 22nd May 2021, but the Covid restrictions in place at that point wouldn’t allow us to have the ceilidh that we had our heart set on and – for a short while – the legality of getting married in a non-public space in Scotland was removed. So, we rearranged for the following year…
There was no problem changing the date with our ‘venue’ though! We got married on my family farm – Craighead in Perthshire – where I grew up. I’d known since I was young that’s where I’d marry.
Most suppliers were fantastic honouring our new date, but we had to book a new photographer. We ended up finding two of the best: Gary and Corinne at Good Luck Wolf. Their record of our day is a genuine capture of the fun and love in the artsy, ‘Wes Anderson’ style we had hoped for. They found ‘moments’ we didn’t even know we wanted captured. They are so much more than ‘just’ photographers; they were sounding boards, wedding planners, people managers and dog managers.
Our caterers, The Kirkstyle Events, really pulled it out of the bag too. They worked wonders despite the short notice (we were let down by our previous caterers four weeks before the wedding). Both them and the photographers were so involved, they superseded their roles and have become genuine friends as a result.
Matt piped me down the aisle. I didn’t know this was happening, so when I looked up and realised he was the one playing, emotions completely overwhelmed me. My knees buckled and my dad had to hold me up!
Our celebrant David Smith, AKA David the Humanist, made sure our ceremony was ‘us’. He added the perfect amount of audience interaction and belly laughter. My grandad also wrote a poem and read it during the ceremony.
We included log sawing too, a Bavarian wedding tradition, showing Matt and I’s strength as a team. This was a nod to our love of Germany (where we went on our first holiday), as well as to the renovation project we spent a lot of time working on.
After the ceremony, my dad drove us around the field in my grandpa’s vintage grey Massey Ferguson. Many hours were spent on that tractor when I was wee, so it was a dream for it to be involved.
Along with friends and family, we made so many things for the wedding to really feel like our day. The personal touches were plentiful: we created all our own stationery and favours; sourced lots of decor on Facebook and Gumtree; both our mums made bunting from significant fabric (with more made at the hen weekend by the hens); my brother, a joiner, designed and built our wedding arch; my maid of honour made pompoms; and mum’s friend made headpieces for myself and my bridesmaids.
I love that my grandmother’s (and her mother’s before that) wedding ring was used to create mine. Thanks to jeweller Jen Cunningham, my ring and Matt’s reflect the landscapes of mountains Ben A’an (where we got engaged) and Stuc O’Croin and Ben Vorlich (we could see both from the window of our first home together).
Our dog Haggis ran around all day, wearing a strip of material from Matt’s kilt around his collar. He really stole the show! We were so happy he could share our day with us, before he sadly passed away not long after the wedding.
We ditched traditional wedding speeches. Instead Matt and I spoke together and my parents did a joint speech, as did Matt’s dad and twin brother. We also scrapped the traditional top table and sat with our closest friends in the middle of the tipi space.
Ceilidh band Bell Rock was the first supplier we booked and they went down a storm. Without my knowledge, my mum and Matt had collaborated with the band for her to learn to play our first dance, Sense of Family by Ross Ainslie, on the violin which she managed to do brilliantly!"
Top tip: “Take your wedding as the one opportunity to have the most fun you can. Do not worry about other’s opinions and do not let anyone take away an ounce of that fun!”
Venue Craighead Farm and Craighead Howf
Photography Good Luck Wolf Photography
Celebrant David the Humanist, Humanist Society Scotland
Bride’s dress All Who Wander from Eleganza Sposa
Bridesmaids’ dresses Rewritten
Bride’s hair Hair by Chazz
Bride’s makeup Helen McNeill Makeup
Bride’s nails Lumia Spa
Groomswear Braw Kilts; Gordon Nicolson Kiltmakers
Wedding rings Jen Cunningham
Catering and wedding cake The Kirkstyle Events
Cake topper Lucy’s Toppers
Wedding tent and venue decor Dreams Under Canvas; additional items sourced by the couple
Flowers Tomnaha
Stationery all handmade by the bride and groom
Ceilidh band Bell Rock Ceilidh Band
Transport The bride’s grandpa’s tractor and own Land Rover Defender
