Rachel Hannah & Sean Gunn
31st July 2022
Venue | The Redhurst Hotel, Glasgow
Photography | Biggar Picture Photography
“Sean and I met in 2015 and got engaged 2017. We had five-year engagement due to Sean’s training and Covid getting in the way, so we didn’t book a venue until 2021. We chose The Redhurst Hotel in Giffnock because it had wheelchair access (important for my gran) and had a great competitive wedding package. Our overall wedding budget was around £23,000.
The thing that surprised me most about getting married? Everyone’s got an opinion whether you ask for it or not! Other than that, the only issue we met with was keeping the guest list down – we had to be strict with plus-ones. We ended up with 80 during the day and 60 more at night
We used a spreadsheet to help keep on top of everything and delegated the workload where we could. I had an amazing bridal party who helped along the way. Our families also helped massively with planning. Sean’s mum is a florist and did all of our amazing flowers.
I knew I wanted a modern, summer wedding with a blush-pink colour scheme and a relaxed, fun day. That didn’t change, but my dress choice did!
I thought I would end up with a fitted, elegant white dress. When we visited David’s Bridal, all the dresses I chose to try on were in keeping with this – apart from one wild card. This princess dress with blush undertones was the first I tried on and I instantly knew it was the one!
Our ceremony was special. Our humanist celebrant Maria Cairnie has known me since I was 16 (we were students together and she’s now a fellow primary school teacher) which helped make the ceremony feel very personal.
I walked down the aisle to Ed Sheeran’s ‘Tenerife Sea’, the song that Sean played before he proposed. I was full of nerves until I laid eyes on him at the bottom of the aisle. We even had our dog Roxy as a ring bearer.
The weather was lovely, so after the ceremony we had drinks and canapés on the hotel’s outdoor terrace. We didn’t bother organising much entertainment for the drinks reception as we felt that guests might like this time to chat and socialise, and it gave us the opportunity to get our photos taken.
Our photographer was Allan Forrester of Biggar Picture Photography. We wanted a photographer who had a great personality and blended into our big day, and Allan fitted the bill. He put us at ease from the outset and we felt in safe hands thanks to his experience photographing weddings at the Redhurst before.
Certain traditions were important to us. For example, my dad walked me down the aisle, we had a dad and daughter dance at the reception and closed the night with the obligatory rendition of ‘Loch Lomond’. On the not-so-traditional side, my mum did a surprise speech which was so natural, and heartfelt.
My bridesmaids and I had a lovely pamper evening at the hotel the night before the wedding. We went out for dinner and my parents and groomsmen popped by for a quick drink. The next morning, I felt quite nervous until the excitement of getting ready took over! We had a fun time posting on TikTok and getting our hair and makeup done by Laura Slaven and Rachel Louise Newton.
We are big fans of Radio Clyde DJ George Bowie, so we had a GBX hour at 11pm. We gave our guests glow sticks and the dancefloor was packed. Our guests said it’s one of the parts of the day they loved the most.”
Top tip: “Always go with your gut; shop about when it comes to suppliers as prices can vary wildly; don’t be afraid to ask for help and, lastly, check how the groom is getting on with their list – they sometimes need support.”
Venue The Redhurst Hotel
Photography Biggar Picture Photography
Celebrant Maria Cairnie
Bride’s dress and accessories David’s Bridal
Bridesmaid dresses Victoria Lou Bridal
Hair Laura Slaven Hair
Makeup Rachel Louise Newton Makeup
Groomswear Slater Menswear
Cake Special Days Cakes
Flowers The groom’s mum
Favours Lottery tickets
Venue decor Booths 4You
Transport MET Wedding Cars
Filmmaker Lucian Films
