Bright and colourful chilled-out wedding at Kinkell Byre that had surprises in store!

Daisy Forster and Craig Dempster

10th August 2023

Venue | Kinkell Byre, near St Andrews, Fife
Photography | Photography by Emilie

“Craig and I were together for six years before our engagement. In August 2021, we were having a birthday dinner at The Shard and he planned to propose there. I felt unwell though, so he ended up asking me in the corridor of our hotel!

Turns out he had got the room decorated with banners and balloons saying ‘congratulations’, so he really had to do it before we went back into the room. From there, it was just over two years til our wedding.

The venue was the first thing to sort on our list. We went to visit a few, but when we saw Kinkell Byre, we walked out of the viewing knowing it was perfect for us. I wanted bright and bold flowers, so its rustic backdrop was perfect for those.

Our parents played important roles in our day. My mum did most of the decor for the venue, making cushion covers, confetti, bunting and more, while my dad made signage, including a welcome sign.
We also made a beer-pong table, a ‘bride and groom’ corn hole game and sourced candles, table, toppers and vases from lots of different places.

We had a Christian ceremony as Craig’s dad, Colin, is a minister. It was very special to have him marry us. The vows and ring swapping were our favourite part, even with me struggling to fit Craig’s ring on his finger!

It wasn’t straightforward finding a dress. I had no idea what I wanted and, after visiting four shops, I began to think I wasn’t going to find anything that I liked. Boutique number five was Avorio Bridal in Fochabers, where I selected five dresses to try. As soon as I put on my one-shouldered Pronovias gown with a bow, I knew it was the one.

Similarly, we looked at many photographers. We spoke to a couple, but clicked with Photography by Emilie the most. Emilie was a few years below me at school and I knew a few couples who had used her for their weddings. Her portfolio looked incredible – very atmospheric and natural, which fitted with our brief – and she did not disappoint. We were moved to tears on reviewing our pictures as we just can’t believe it’s us!

A videographer was something we decided we needed to have as we wanted actual footage to look back on. Our video by I Do Videos is fantastic. Booking a wedding video was one of the best things we did.
We can now watch back our brilliant wedding speeches. They were electrifying and a complete combination of different styles.

I even decided to do a surprise speech that no one knew about in advance! I referenced not having men speak on my behalf, knowing full well that Craig’s opening line was that this would be the only time he was going to be able to speak for me! Needless to say, Craig was completely shocked and the guests seemed to love it.

Craig quickly reconfigured his speech. It gave heartfelt thanks to both sets of parents and featured some stories of our relationship. Finally, the best man’s speech summed up Craig perfectly – he actually let Craig off quite lightly.

We wanted a casual and relaxed vibe for the day so ditched a formal meal. We didn’t bother with a starter, had a BBQ served buffet-style, and lined up a trio of desserts. It looked like a lot of food, but our 116 guests seemed happy.

In place of wedding cake, we had a tower of cheeses from The Cheesery in Dundee. One of our favourite things to do is have cheese and wine together.

Our reception was one big party and the dancefloor was never empty. Corra were amazing and played a mixture of ceilidh dances and covers that we had chosen.

When the band went for a break, we had a playlist to keep people going. Craig even performed an impromptu version of ‘Hero’ by Enrique Iglesias, which was a real hit with guests! Our first dance was Craig’s favourite song: ‘Dignity’ by Deacon Blue.

The one thing we wish we knew before we started planning? How much it was all going to cost! Our budget was initially £25k, but we went over that.

Our advice to others would be to enjoy the planning process as much as possible and try not to stress too much. Everything can become overwhelming, but it will work out on the day and be amazing – just like ours was!

Top tip: “Divide and conquer. Craig does a lot of project management in work, so he was very involved in the planning. We divided the larger tasks accordingly, and would put together a list of 10 items to be completed each week, ticking them off as we went on WhatsApp. An Excel spreadsheet for the budgeting side of things with required payment dates really helped, too.”

Venue Kinkell Byre
Photography Photography by Emilie
Wedding film I Do Videos (see below)
Minister Rev. Colin Dempster, the groom’s dad
Bride’s dress Pronovias from Avorio Bridal
Bridesmaid and flower girl dresses ASOS
Hair Sarah Stewart Hairdressing
Makeup Jill Sime Makeup Artist
Nails Nails by Gina Aberdeen
Bride’s tan Brown Sugar by Sam Milne
Groomswear Groom’s own kilt, with groomsmen outfits hired from McCalls
Rings Chisholm Hunter and Beaverbrooks
Cheese ‘cake’ tower The Cheesery
Catering Regis Banqueting
Flowers Stucio and Waow
Venue decor Mostly by the bride’s mum, supplemented with items from Fifty Six Events  
On-the-day stationery Ottie Design on Etsy
Favours Tequila Rose miniatures
Ceremony and drinks reception music Corra Music (as a guitar and vocal duo)
Reception band Corra Music (full band)
Transport St Andrews Vehicle Solutions