From cool Keith Haring-inspired decor to one of them commissioning their own tartan, if there was a wedding element that could be personalised you can bet your bottom dollar these grooms did it!
Ryan McMonagle and Jonny McIntosh
10th June 2023
Venue | The Engine Works, Glasgow
Photography | Claire Fleck Photography
"We got engaged at Bracklinn Falls just outside Callander on 10th June 2021. We were away at log cabin to celebrate our 9th anniversary together. Ryan was adamant that we climb a Munro that morning but the weather said otherwise, so he got down on one knee and popped the question by the falls instead.
The Engine Works was the first venue we saw and we knew right away it was the one. We loved its industrial feel, exposed brick walls, the warmth of the canopy lights and the fact that we could put our own stamp on it. When we discovered that it was available on the second anniversary of our engagement and our 11th anniversary – 10th June 2023 – we knew we had to go for it.
We invited 161 guests during the day and 45 more at night. We wanted our wedding to be a massive, joyful celebration. We knew there’d be plenty of colour and dancing, so picking the perfect floor-filling DJ was at the top of our list after we booked our venue. When we met Miss Mobile Disco and she waxed lyrical about her love of Prince, we knew she was the wedding DJ of our dreams.
The theme of our wedding was ‘Keith-Haring-forest-disco rave’. Our artist friend Nicole (@uberdrawn_ on Instagram) drew us a Keith Haring-inspired engagement card and we loved the drawing so much that we used it as the illustration for our engagement party invites. The Keith Haring theme developed from there...
Ryan’s an architect, so he’s good with Adobe Creative Suite. He incorporated his interpretation of Keith Haring’s dancing men illustrations into our wedding invites, menus, welcome signs, order of service, table setting, and more.
(Photo: Claire Fleck Photography)
For our ceremony in the Engine Works’ outhouse, we also bought a huge neon Keith Haring sign which we hung from a hexagonal wooden frame that had been adorned with foliage by Gemma from Little Botanica, who really helped us realise the ‘forest’ element of our vision. The ‘disco rave’ aspect came to life thanks to hunners of disco balls!
I had previously studied alongside celebrant Lindsey Mason Ross. I had always thought she’d be a brilliant person to lead wedding ceremonies. When we heard she was now practising with Humanist Society Scotland, we couldn’t think of anyone better to officiate our ceremony.
She is friendly, hilarious, puts people at ease and really lights up a room. We knew from her writing that whatever type of ceremony she created, it’d be funny, sweet, sentimental, and personal.
The ceremony was more than we could’ve ever hoped for. It was intimate, funny and full of love. Lindsey did such a wonderful job of getting to know our story and created such a thoughtful ceremony that captured our adventures and relationship to a tee. Ryan got the sentimental, lovely part of Lindsey’s speech and I got roasted – a heartfelt and humorous combination that worked a treat!
We wanted Ryan’s late mum, Diane, to be included in the day as much as possible, so we opened our ceremony with the lighting of a memory candle.
Ryan even had some of his late mum’s ashes mixed into the gold of his wedding ring.
We also included drinking from the quaich (filled with Ryan’s favourite cocktail, a take on a Blue Lagoon) and a handfasting which gave us the extra chance to show off our McIntosh and McMonagle family tartans.
Our outfits and complementary handfasting ties were from MacGregor and MacDuff in Glasgow. My tartan was Modern Douglas, but Ryan had his McMonagle tartan specially made to preserve his family heritage. Neither of us had seen one another’s kilts until our first look 20 minutes before the ceremony.
The tone, light, and colours inherent in photographer Claire Fleck drew us to her work. She managed to capture the intimate warmth and emotion of our wedding ceremony, the giddy relaxation and excitement that we felt in the quieter moments, and the love, fun, dances, and many, many hugs that we shared with our nearest and dearest throughout the day.
One of our main aims was to make sure Ryan’s mum was with us throughout every part of the day. Ryan really did her proud with his speech about her. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house.
Ryan’s dad Peter’s speech – the self-proclaimed Tony Soprano that he is – was a masterclass in finding the perfect balance between titter- and tear-inducing public speaking, while my brother (another Ryan) also gave a beautiful, heartfelt speech.
One of the countless highlights was burling ourselves around in circles to Jessie Ware’s ‘Save a Kiss’ for our first dance. It was just an amazing day spent with amazingly thoughtful and loving people. And it’ll go down as one of the most fun days both of us have ever had."
Top tip: "The best advice we’d give is to lock down your music and food suppliers early, as these are the things that guests tend to remember from a wedding. Also, if you see something you like in the moment, book it or buy it. Chances are that if you don’t, and give yourself some time to think about it, it’ll end up booked or sold out."
Venue The Engine Works
Photography Claire Fleck Photography
Wedding film MacDonald Studio Films (see above)
Celebrant Lindsey Mason Ross, Humanist Society Scotland
Both grooms’ outfits and additional groomsmen MacGregor and MacDuff
Bridesmaid dresses David’s Bridal (out of business)
Flower girl dresses Carriage and Castles
Catering Really Delicious Catering and Events
Cake Marie Clare Cake Design
Flowers and floral decor Little Botanica
Stationery Designed and made by the grooms
Favours Keith Haring place settings, tablet from Tees Tablet, and pride loveheart pin badges from British Heart Foundation
Venue decor A combination of DIY by the grooms and Make Believe Events
DJ Miss Mobile Disco
Photobooth Oddbox Photobooth
