A double proposal was the start of Aimee and Lindsey’s DIY trip to the top of the aisle that included their friends and family every step of the way
Aimee Smith and Lindsey Welsh – now The Welshes!
21st June 2023
Venue | The Byre at Inchyra, Perthshire
Photography | David Grant Simpson Photography
“Lindsey and I got engaged in 2022. She took me to Tenerife and proposed to me at sunset on the beach. I thought it was only fair I proposed too, so she didn’t miss out on the experience. One month later, I took her to Lanzarote and popped the question there – and she said yes right back!
We looked online and came up with a shortlist of potential wedding venues. Our favourite was the Byre at Inchyra and when we went to view it, we were smitten. From there, it was around a year to our wedding.
We knew we wanted to have a summer wedding and get married outside, no matter the weather.
The Byre at Inchyra has a walled garden and one of the longest outdoor aisles in Scotland that’s lined with beautiful apple trees. We could hold our reception in the on-site barn, decorate it how we wanted, have family stay in the accommodation and it’s dog- and camping-friendly. It was everything we wanted.
Our officiant was Rachel Walker from Rainbow House in Falkirk. She’s a minister with Spiritual Pathways Scotland Healing Association. We felt this sort of ceremony was more appropriate to our beliefs. Rachel was happy to work with us on the format and we included our mums in the ‘eternal flame’ candle-lighting ritual.
Our dads walked us down the aisle. Lindsey walked down first to ‘Dance Monkey’ played on the violin, a song she associates with her gran who has sadly passed away, then I walked down the aisle to a violin cover of ‘My Heart Will Go On’. I was super-nervous as I hate being the centre of attention, so I just focused my eyes on Lindsey as I made my way down.
We included drinking from the quaich and invited our dads up to join us for that. They didn’t communicate their plans with each other, so turned up with two different drinks to put in it – we didn’t expect to be drinking a cocktail. One had Tequila Rose and the other had Drambuie, so the mixed liquids sort of curdled in the quaich! We tried not to show it in our faces as we drunk it down, haha!
After we said ‘I do’, we had flower dudes who jumped up from their seats and started showering everyone in confetti as ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love’ by The Darkness played. After an emotional and tearful ceremony, it was great to get our 80 guests’ spirits lifted again.
We chose purple and blue as our main colours as we associate them with the thistles and flag of Scotland. We personalised the barn with loads of DIY decor, including wedding favours, archways, welcome signage and order of the day pallets. We thrifted from charity shops and got creative as much as we could.
The only thing we’d change about our wedding? Being a bit more organised towards the end. We left too many DIY tasks a bit late in the day, thinking we had plenty time, but with us both working full time, time flew by and things got a little stressful.
We didn’t expect there to be as much admin work as there was. Try to find a healthy balance between the two of you and don’t be afraid to ask family and friends for help. We certainly had to when it came to some of the last-minute projects!
Entertainment was important to us. Before the reception began, in between main course and dessert, we did the ‘Time Warp’. We love a bit of ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’! It got everyone up on their feet and ready for the fantastic DJ Paddy playing the reception. We even got to do our own DJ battle! We also had Drums N’ Roses perform a 45-minute set – this was the highlight of the reception for us and the talk of guests to this day!
Our first dance was probably the one thing that took us the longest to decide. We had so many songs we could relate to that meant something to us. However, we chose Coldplay’s ‘A Sky Full of Stars’ as it was upbeat and matched our personalities. We didn’t want to slow dance and do the two-step for long!
In terms of photography, we didn’t want anything too staged: we just wanted everyone to have lots of fun and be captured candidly. David Grant Simpson did this impeccably and we couldn’t recommend him more – he’s a lovely guy who is amazingly talented.
Top tip: “Get yourself a wedding-planning book with timescales of when you should be doing things – this helped keep us on track. Even though we were behind on things at times, it all came together in the end.”
Venue, lighting and furniture The Byre at Inchyra
Photography David Grant Simpson Photography
Celebrant Rachel W. Walker, Rainbow House Grangemouth
Filmmaker Nine18 Wedding Films (see highlights below)
Aimee’s dress CKS Bridal
Lindsey’s dress Pamela Jayne’s Bridal
Aimee’s hair Hair by Hannah
Aimee’s makeup Makeup by Victoria
Lindsey’s hair Laura Hynds Hair within Me Time
Lindsey’s makeup Nadine Grant Makeup Artist
Father of brides’ outfits JH Kilt Hire
Cake WeeCakesNBakes
Catering Season Catering
Flowers Forever Florals by Ashifa; with more DIY’d by bride Lindsey and her stepsister Amanda
Stationery DIY
Favours Key bottle openers from Amazon; wax melts from Lili & Rose Aromas
Table linen and crockery Gordon’s Cater Hire
Glassware hire Hutton Bars
Piper and drummer Perth Pipe Band
Reception music DJ Paddy
Other entertainment Drums N’ Roses
Transport Family friend’s Land Rover
Dog sitting Tails and Trails Perth
(Photo: David Grant Simpson Photography)
(Photo: David Grant Simpson Photography)
