Lauren Gallagher & Alex Jackson
24th September 2021
Venue | The Waterside Hotel, Ayrshire
Photography | Karen Simpson Photography
“After seven years together, Alex popped the question on 23rd September 2018 at Troon Harbour. 24th September 2021 would mark our 10th anniversary together, so that was the date we had in mind to marry.
We only shortlisted and visited one venue, The Waterside Hotel in West Kilbride, Ayrshire. I’ve always loved it there, so when they had the date we wanted available, we booked it on the spot.
We weren’t fussy in our approach to wedding planning. We were open-minded about what our day would look or be like; all we wanted was a day that we could celebrate with our family.
The Covid restrictions at the time meant a lot of our appointments with vendors were over Zoom. This made it so much easier to fit in calls around our work and family life.
I got gifted a lovely wedding-planning book. It was so handy to have everything I needed for all our suppliers in one place and meant I could keep on top of appointments too.
The weeks leading up to the wedding were so nerve-wracking. We tried our best to keep a low profile and dodge the virus, but there was still a lot of wondering will it/won’t it go ahead? We toyed over whether we’d go ahead with reduced numbers or reschedule. As it approached our original date, restrictions fortunately began to relax and we could stick with our original guestlist. Phew!
David Mitchell from Mitchell Celebrants was our celebrant. He created a ceremony that felt really personal. We included a sand ceremony and the resulting vase is now one of my favourite keepsakes from the wedding. I also treasure a shell that Alex gave me from the beach when we were getting our pictures taken before our evening guests arrived.
Our celebrant David also runs Devotion Weddings who provided all our entertainment. Its ‘I Do to Last Dance’ package provided a master of ceremonies; music for our ceremony, drinks reception and wedding breakfast; and a DJ for the evening do.
Our youngest son was desperate to be part of the ceremony, so he spent most of it hugging onto our legs! It gave our photographer Karen Simpson the opportunity to snap some amazing pictures of him.
We had a lot of kids at our big day, so were after a relaxed style of photography from someone who was patient. We also didn’t want to spend a big chunk of time away from our guests. From the minute Karen arrived, she put us all at ease and managed to capture the most amazing pictures that summed up how incredible our day was.
We opted for a rose gold colour scheme. I hadn’t fully decided on that until I found my dress (David’s Bridal) and our bridesmaids’ dresses (Next). After that, all the details fell into place.
Flowers by Karen worked wonders on our wedding flowers. Although I had some ideas in mind, I left my first appointment with Karen feeling even more excited to see what our blooms would look like. Our bouquets were so different to anything I’d ever seen before – gorgeous!
The bridesmaids’ and I’s makeup was done by the lovely Georgina from I Do Makeup by Geo Kane. She gave us lots of advice for the day ahead and made us all laugh. She really helped us relax throughout the morning. Even better, our makeup was stunning and lasted all day.
I was also delighted with my hair by Megan Lindsay Bridal Hair. Similarly, it didn’t budge and still looked ‘just done’ by the end of the night.
The day was filled with countless highlights, and we wouldn’t change a thing for the world. It was the first time that we had gotten to see a lot of friends and family since the start of the pandemic, so seeing them all under the one roof to celebrate our wedding was emotional.”
Top tip: “It’s your day, so do what makes you happy. Don’t sweat the small stuff, and take in every minute because it will be one of the quickest days of your life.”
Celebrant David Mitchell, Mitchell Celebrants
Bride’s dress David’s Bridal
Bridesmaids’ dresses Next
Hair Megan Lindsay Bridal Hair
Makeup I Do Makeup by Geo Kane
Nails Lyndsey at Sakura Nails
Groomswear Kilts 4 U
Cake Made by the mother of the groomFlowers Flowers By KarenWedding invites Zazzle, decorated with finishing touches by the mother of the brideOn-the-day stationery MONOpaperie at EtsyFavours Seedbombs in hessian bags and heart-shaped lollies for the kids
Venue decor Enlighten My DayCeremony and reception music Devotion Weddings
