Music-loving pair Kirstin and Callum set their nuptials against the industrial, blank-canvas backdrop of The Engine Works in Glasgow where they let a less-is-more aesthetic lead the way…
Kirstin Valente & Callum Miller
30th July 2022
Venue | The Engine Works, Glasgow
Photography | Lewis MacMichael Photography
“Callum and I had been together for six years when he proposed. He had grand plans to do it on a trip to Ibiza in April 2020 (an anniversary present), but a looming lockdown meant that was scrapped. Instead, he planned a day out at a few of our favourite places in London, just a couple of days before lockdown hit. It perhaps wasn’t as romantic as Ibiza would have been, but we got to celebrate with some of our closest friends which made it special.
Booking the venue was the first planning decision we made. We looked at various warehouse-type venues around Glasgow, but lots of them felt a little too ‘undone’. Callum spotted The Engine Works on Instagram and we were sold on its bare plaster walls and polished concrete floors. We could instantly picture our wedding there when we saw it.
With blank-canvas venues like The Engine Works, it’s easy to fall into a trap spending lots of money and effort filling them up. I’d suggest other couples try to keep their decorations simple like we did.
We let our incredible flowers by Glasgow florist Little Botanica be the focus. I’d seen pictures of owner Gemma’s work and knew straight away that we needed to book her. I completely trusted her style; so much so, I didn’t brief her or request any particular flowers. It was an amazing surprise to see how beautiful they all looked on the day.
We wanted our wedding to be a relaxed day with good food, music and company. We also really didn’t want to miss any of it, so planned a very short time for couples’ photos. Both of us hate having our photo taken, so we knew we wanted to avoid lots of posed photographs. Lewis MacMichael got what we wanted straight away and we were fans of his candid style. Along with his second shooter, Matt, he really captured the striking nature of the venue which was important to us too.
Fiona Bennie at Humanist Society Scotland led our ceremony. She was calm, kind and made everyone feel included. She asked us to tell her (secretly) three things we love about the other and one thing the other needs to work on. We also wrote our own vows in secret. The whole ceremony was very emotional but really special.
We asked two of my bridesmaids and Callum’s sister to do readings during the ceremony. To our surprise, they all personalised the readings we gave to them which was a touching thing to do.
We also asked both of our dads to choose a drink that reminds them of us for the quaich. It was entertaining on the day. My grandpa passed away during our engagement, so we used his antique dirk (a Scottish dagger) to cut the cake. It was special to be able to include him on the day.
I was keen to have a modern and unadorned dress as my usual style is quite minimal. I came across The Fall Bride on Instagram and it ended up being the only place I went to try dresses on.
I knew I wanted to change into something else for the dancing part. I searched second-hand apps for months and ended up finding my dream evening jumpsuit on Vinted just two weeks before the wedding – for £15!
Music is important to us, so we wanted to avoid the run-of-the-mill wedding ‘hits’. Two members of ceilidh band The Houlies played live for the ceremony and I walked down the aisle to Everywhere by Fleetwood Mac.
We also asked our amazing DJ from Anti Wedding Wedding DJs to do a set during our drinks reception and it made everyone feel much more relaxed. Our first dance was to Love Hangover by Diana Ross.
Looking back, our guests (we had 75 during the day with 25 at the party) said they loved how relaxed the day was and how much it reflected us as a couple. They also appreciated that their drinks were always topped up – it was a Scottish wedding after all!”
Top tip: “At the beginning of the planning process, identify what is most important to you both and really focus on those aspects. It can get overwhelming at times, so concentrating on those non-negotiables can really help to ground you. We found having a shared to-do list helpful.”
Venue The Engine Works
Photography Lewis MacMichael Photography
Celebrant Fiona Bennie, Humanist Society Scotland
Bride’s dress The Fall Bride
Bride’s jumpsuit Vinted
Bride’s shoes and accessories Depop
Bride’s earrings Bonjouk Studio
Hair Claire McGowan
Makeup Claire Nisbet Makeup Artist
Nails Bellini Nails
Flower girls’ dresses Next
Groomswear Beggars Run
Cake The Little Cake Parlour
Catering Really Delicious
Flowers Little Botanica
Stationery Studio Dazee; Papier
Favours Buckfast miniatures
Venue Decor Make Believe Events
Engagement and wedding rings Clarice Price Thomas
Ceremony and reception music The Houlies
Drinks reception music and reception DJs Anti Wedding Wedding DJs
Dog chaperoning Walkbusters
