Glorious sunshine, barefoot dancing, a blissful boat trip and a surprise appearance by Clanadonia… could Louise and Louise’s country house wedding in Dumfries and Galloway have been any more idyllic?
Louise Magilton and Louise Flavell
3rd June 2023
Venue | Kinmount House, Dumfries and Galloway
Photography | Hemera Visuals
“We’d been together for nine years when we got engaged walking our dog in Rouken Glen Park, Glasgow, in February 2021. From there, we gave ourselves just over two years to plan our wedding.
We knew we wanted close family and friends present and to create a relaxed and fun atmosphere, so decided that an exclusive-use venue that we could have all to ourselves was best.
Kinmount House near Annan in Dumfries and Galloway won our hearts. It was relaxed, yet classy, and fitted perfectly with the vision we had. It offered so many different settings across the estate that we could use for each part of our weekend.
The night before the wedding, we had a party with a street-food truck, drinks and games. It was such a great start to the weekend, and it was lovely to see all our family and chill out before the big day.
The morning of the wedding was surprisingly laid-back and fun. We had a buffet breakfast and some bubbly on the go as we got our hair and makeup done together with our bridesmaids and mums. We then went our separate ways to put our wedding dresses on.
Neither of us felt that nervous – until the music started for us to walk down the aisle! My (Louise F.) brother’s girlfriend, Hannah, and her sister, Morgan, played ‘Always Remember Us This Way’ by Lady Gaga on violin and piano.
We had a humanist ceremony led by celebrant Alan Barr. He told the story of how we met and was very funny. We drank a gin made in Dundee (where we met as students) from the quaich. The botanicals used in the gin were even from the University of Dundee’s gardens, so it was a fitting personal touch.
It was a gorgeous sunny day, so we had our drinks reception mostly outside. We served cocktail trees, beer and prosecco with canapés. We had live music from Hannah and Morgan again, on piano and saxophone this time, and guests could play ping pong if they wanted.
We tried to keep the speeches short and sweet. Two of our bridesmaids and both of our dads spoke. They got plenty of laughs, before my new wife Louise M. finished off with a heartfelt take on our love story. Everyone did a brilliant job.
One of the hardest parts of the day was narrowing down the menu. There were so many great choices. In the end, we decided to spend more to give our guests lots of options for each course, including Solway seafood crumble, roast grass-fed sirloin of beef with Parisian potatoes and tiramisu cheesecake. We even had a choice for each of the courses on our vegan menu, including beetroot and spiced vegetable tacos and wild mushroom wellington with charred asparagus. It was all scrumptious.
After dinner, we lined up a surprise performance from Clanadonia. It was one of the highlights of the day. It was really entertaining watching all our guests’ puzzled faces as men in kilts with drums and bagpipes appeared round a corner!
We ended up dancing barefoot on the grass as they played. The energy was brilliant and really set the tone for the rest of the evening. The Yetis took over for the evening reception – they were fantastic, and the dancefloor was full all night. Our first dance was to ‘No Other Way’ by Paolo Nutini.
We took a quiet moment away from our 100 guests with an idyllic champagne boat trip on the estate’s lake. Our photographer Cameron from Hemera Visuals joined us. We were so relaxed in his presence that we forgot he was there! I think having an engagement shoot with him really put us at ease. We adore our photos. The modern film that wedding content creator R.S.V.P made for us was also outstanding.
When it came to wedding-dress shopping, I had no idea what I was looking for. I’d visited one bridal store and had no luck, but when I tried on a Pronovias dress at the second boutique I went to (Ivory Pinks in Bothwell), I knew it was the one. On the other hand, Louise M. chose the very first dress she tried on at June Brides in Glasgow. She had a clear picture in her head of what she wanted.
The flowers by To a Mountain Daisy were absolutely stunning. Florist Lucy made sure we could both have a bouquet that coordinated with each other while still representing our own style. They were exactly what we had hoped for.
We wouldn’t change a thing about our wedding. People told us that we would be too busy and stressed to enjoy the day, but we savoured every minute of it.
Top tip: “Decide on a budget and add a large buffer, as you’ll find more things you want as you go,” urges Louise F. “We found that things added up really quickly towards the end (we spent around £50k overall) and it was difficult to keep track of, so we’d suggest keeping detailed records of your spending from the beginning.”
Venue Kinmount House
Photography Hemera Visuals
Wedding film R.S.V.P
Celebrant Alan Barr, Humanist Celebrant
Louise M.’s wedding dress Demetrios at June Brides
Louise M.’s shoes Sophia Webster
Louise F.’s wedding dress Pronovias at Ivory Pinks
Louise F.’s shoes Harriet Wilde
Louise M.’s mum’s outfit Lady G
Louise F.’s mum’s outfit Bear Necessities
Makeup Bianca Rinaldi at BFIERCE
Hair Lorna Magilton-Ferguson and Isla Pryce at Hair Design Airdrie
Flowers To A Mountain Daisy
Ceremony and drinks reception music Family friends Hannah and Morgan Charleston
Reception music The Yetis
Surprise entertainment Clanadonia
(Photo: Herema Visuals)
