Courtney lived out her fairytale dream when she married David in July 2022. From a Disney proposal to pet pup Alfie falling asleep on her train, she shares that her experience as a bride couldn’t have been any more perfect
Courtney Trainor and David Crawford
9th July 2022
Venue | Trump Turnberry, Ayrshire
Photography | Jessica Withey Photography
“David and I were together for three years before we got engaged. He got down on one knee outside Cinderella’s Castle at Walt Disney World in 2019, which was a dream of mine since I was a little girl! We were engaged for three years.
When it came to the wedding, we wanted it to feel whimsical and magical – like something from a Disney movie. The vibe was ‘Cinderella getting married in 2022’. We even had a hidden Mickey Mouse on our cake to symbolise where we got engaged.
Trump Turnberry was an easy choice to host our wedding. Between the venue, the views and the staff, we fell in love in with the place instantly. The ballroom (below) in particular – with loads of natural light streaming in making the chandeliers glimmer – was breathtaking. We invited 150 people for our ceremony and reception and 30 more in the evening.
The photographer I had originally been eyeing up was unavailable. At that point, I remember thinking that the world had ended (ha ha), but it led me to Jessica Withey. It took me no longer than two minutes of scrolling on Instagram to know that she was our photographer. She captured the true love and happiness of our day perfectly from start to finish.
I had an incredible experience at Opus Couture looking for my dress. I adored the boutique’s overall vibe and choice of gowns, so I didn’t bother going anywhere else. The Odette dress by Enzoani was the second I tried on and I knew straight away it was the one.
The night before the wedding we arrived at the hotel and arranged a dinner with all the wedding party. It was so nice to be together and enjoy the wedding buzz!
After dinner, some of us went to the bar for a few drinks and quick rehearsal of where everyone was going to stand on the day, then headed to bed for some beauty rest. I spent the night with my younger brother and sister which I thought was really special as it was our last night sharing the same last name.
I was really calm on the morning of the wedding. My bridesmaids had made me up a personalised box with lots of my favourite goodies and some things with my new name on them. The bridesmaids, mother of the bride, mother of the groom and I all got ready altogether. We played some good music, had a breakfast grazing table brought up to the room and enjoyed mimosas.
When I stood outside the ceremony room, I welled up and couldn’t stop crying! I was so emotional with the mix of nerves and excitement. I walked down the aisle to Elvis Presley’s ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’, which was my papa’s favourite song. He unfortunately passed away in 2019 and would’ve loved to have been there, so I felt this was a nice way to feel he was there with us somehow.
I couldn’t stop smiling throughout our ceremony. We had both given our celebrant, John Leo Scott of Fuze Ceremonies, a list of five things that we love about each other. Hearing those repeated for the first time was probably our favourite moment of the day – and of course, being announced as husband and wife!
We arranged for pianist Alex Graham to play throughout our drinks reception. We served incredible canapés and also had an old-fashioned ice cream cart by Porrelli.
The speeches were amazing – honest, emotional and truly spoken from the heart. My dad didn’t plan his in the traditional way most people do. He wrote down just a few bullet points and went with it on the spot. The speeches were captured by our amazing videographers, the talented Cherry Tree Films, and I now watch them over and over again. (Watch video below.)
The team at Turnberry aced it with the wedding meal and their impeccable service. We gave each guest the choice of three dishes for their starter, intermediate, main and dessert, as after attending our menu tasting, we simply couldn’t choose what we wanted! I had a classic prawn Marie Rose, watermelon and champagne sorbet with Chambord jelly, beef fillet with pressed beef cheek and a white chocolate cheesecake. David had roast plum tomato soup, haggis, the same main as me, and sticky toffee pudding to finish.
The reception was so much fun; the party literally didn’t stop. Our band Velvet Noir were unreal. Our first dance was to ‘Still the One’ by Shania Twain. “The lyrics mean so much to us."
I know everyone says it, but your wedding is such a fast day: one minute I was getting ready, the next minute the night was over! It ended perfectly with our little dog, Alfie, falling asleep on my train.”
Top tip: “I recommend using the WithJoy website to manage all your RSVPs. It handily generates a final Excel sheet with all the responses and food choices. I also used Hitched’s online table planner and it made that part so easy!”
Venue Trump Turnberry
Photography Jessica Withey Photography
Celebrant John Leo Scott, Fuze Ceremonies
Bride’s dress Enzoani at Opus Couture
Bride’s shoes and bag Sophia Webster
Bridesmaid dresses Lulus
Flower girl dresses Etsy
Mother of the bride outfit Catherines of Partick
Mother of the groom outfit Frox of Falkirk
Makeup Stacey Toner at Artsy
Hair Kimberly Logie
Nails EJH Nails and Beauty
Engagement and wedding rings Mr Harold and Son
Groomswear MacGregor and MacDuff
Cake Audrey Neeson Cake Design
Flowers Mood Flowers
Stationery Candyfloss Creations
Ice cream cart Porrelli
Favours Macarons for the ladies in gold mini cake stands; tequila shots for the men
Dancefloor hire The Kilted DJ
Ceremony and drinks reception music Alex Graham Piano
Reception band Velvet Noir Band
Filmmaker Cherry Tree Films
