Jasmin French and Ryan Flannigan
9th September 2022
Venue | Gleneagles Hotel
Photography | Stacey Clarke Photo
“Ryan and I were together for eight years before he proposed at Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder. Choosing our venue was the first decision we made: after getting engaged at the hotel and already spending so much time there, coupled with the fact my parents married there too, it was an easy and obvious choice to wed at Gleneagles as well.
My main inspiration for the wedding was the flowers: I needed them to match my exact vision, which was to bring the outside indoors. I’d always loved the idea of an outdoor wedding, but in Scotland you cannot guarantee the weather, so doing this removed some stress.
I spent ages looking through Pinterest and drawing ideas to bring my vision to life, and managed to do this with the help of Wild Flowers. They went above and beyond to source everything, from the hanging chandeliers, to creating the most unbelievable arch.
Choosing my dresses was my biggest stress. I am a very indecisive person when it comes to clothes and finding the perfect gown was a challenge. I had two other dresses I wasn’t happy with prior to my final decision (and even went down the bespoke route but was worried I wouldn’t like a gown once it was complete), so started looking for another dress with only six months to go.
Non-negotiable elements of my gown were incredible fabric, a simple style, and a slightly modern twist. I would advise brides not to pick their dress too early, as fashions change and your vision for the day might too.
I matched my dresses to The Gleneagles ballroom: I wanted them to have a slight shine against the room’s chandeliers. I choose two dresses as I wanted to be comfortable in the evening, but also wanted to wear a dress I wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to for my ceremony. I’m pleased I changed, as my first gown from Suzanne Neville had a built in corset so wasn’t the comfiest to be in all day. My dream was always to have a pure satin dress, and my evening Vivienne Westwood dress met all expectations. My husband wore a navy velvet blazer and tartan trousers in the evening which matched the vibe perfectly.
Entertainment was the most important thing for me: it was all about experiences and memories for my guests and I. Our incredible opera singer performed as I walked down the aisle, and sang throughout the ceremony. She then joined us again to sing during our wedding reception alongside our fabulous electric violinist Colette Hazen and pianist who both played up-to-date music with a twist. This created such a lovely atmosphere for our guests. We were piped into the ballroom for our wedding breakfast, and our pianist played throughout dinner.
We were meant to have fireworks in the evening, but due to the Queen passing, no outdoor entertainment was allowed so we had to change that last minute.
We had more entertainment organised, however, and I used a pre-recorded audio of one of the ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ professionals to lead us back into the room after tables from the wedding breakfast had been cleared. This was to announce our ballerinas from Black Rabbit Projects, who performed the most incredible piece. They then led me on to the dance floor for our first dance to ‘At Last’ by Etta James. Our main band, Scintillate, took over and were incredible – not one person was sitting down!
For our wedding, we chose to do things our way. We opted for a humanist celebrant so we could write the ceremony ourself and we ditched the best men and their speeches (instead, my father and husband spoke before dinner).
We had 130 guests all day, and the evening before the wedding we hosted a private dinner with close friends and family at Gleneagles.
I loved the natural, not-too-posed style of photography offered by Stacey Clark Photo. We just wanted normal keepsakes from our day that weren’t too staged and she captured this perfectly.
For my hair and makeup, I had plenty of great options as I own Jasmin French Makeup Lounge in Edinburgh. I chose my old hair stylist, Georgia Peters Hair, as I trusted she would be able to create the exact look I was hoping for. Also, my makeup artist, Alice Dickson Makeup, worked at the training academy some of my staff trained in, so I knew her standard would be perfect.
I would have used my own staff at Jasmin French but didn’t want them to feel stressed about having to do their boss! I loved how natural I looked, I didn’t want to look different to my usual self. I would advise against over complicating things and trying to achieve a different look to what you’d usually go for. In my option simple is best! Go for a look where you feel like an elevated version of yourself.
One thing that surprised me about getting married was just how nervous you get. I organised the whole day myself, so I would maybe suggest enlisting the help of a wedding planner to take some of the load off. A tip for couples is to try and enjoy your big day as best you can despite the nerves and stress, it will all work out perfectly anyway.”
Top tip: “Start planning your wedding well in advance and book the good suppliers early. Some can be booked up years in advance so don’t wait too long to get those you want for your big day secured.”
Wedding dresses Vivienne Westwood and Susanne Neville
Shoes and accessories Jimmy Choo
Bridesmaids dresses Jenny Yoo
Groomswear Andrew Brookes Tailoring
Celebrant Susan Mathieson
Cake Liggys Cakes
Catering Gleneagles
Flowers Wild Flowers
Stationery Strawberry Sorbet and Say It With Print
Venue décor Wild Flowers, 88 Events, Supernova Wedding Design and Flowers and Catalyst Event Production Services
Engagement/wedding rings and jewellery ROX and Cartier
Drinks reception music Pianist and Collette Hazen Electric Violinist
Reception music Scintillate band and ballerinas from Black Rabbit Projects
Filmmaker Peony Films
Hair, makeup and nails Georgia Peters Hair, Alice Dickson Makeup and the Jasmin French Team for all prep
