First impressions count, of course, but is there substance when you take a closer look? Amy Shearer hears from three north-east wedding suppliers whose work is well worth a second glance
I really love a detail. It’s the small things that catch my eye – like metal buttons on a jacket, the subtle hint of coloured thread running through a fabric, or the tiny crystals that just catch the light on a thumb ring.
I know that if I ever get married I will treat it like a ‘Where’s Wally?’ image – I’ll want there to be something worth noticing wherever you look. We talked to three wedding experts, all based in Grampian, who are also focused on the details, and who tell us how they help couples add those special finishing touches to elevate their all-important day.
Scottish landscape wedding stationery
Stationery serves a practical purpose, of course – apart from obvious things like invites, you might have an order of service to tell guests what’s going to happen when, and a menu to whet their appetite. But it also allows you to inject your personality into proceedings, helping to set the tone for the day ahead and giving your guests an idea of what to expect. Wild Mountain Thyme – Scottish Stationer creates beautiful hand-embossed stationery with a Caledonian twist.
“We draw on elements of the landscape of Royal Deeside and the Highlands – mountains, pine forests, heather and roaring stags,” says owner Charlene Eagleson. “It’s a way to give a subtle nod to our homeland, and all our collections are named in Gaelic as well as English. “Our business is all about creating luxury stationery that is special, classic and with a hint of Scotland.”
Aberdeen wedding flowers
The thistle is our national emblem, but Scotland produces an awful lot of other more beautiful flowers, to the delight of Gemma Twigg, owner of Aberdeen florist Twiggs and Thistles. “I find it so rewarding to use home-grown flowers in my work,” she tells us. “Despite our cooler weather, we usually have a great selection of local blooms in summer.”
If you’d rather just have a hint of bonnie Caledonia in your bouquet, Gemma suggests looking beyond flowers: “Some couples like to incorporate a tartan ribbon if this suits the wedding colours better – it can be wrapped around the bouquet handle, or loops can be added into the table arrangements.”
More and more brides are choosing a modern, natural style, she adds: “I rarely get asked to do an all-white wedding either – most couples want a touch of colour.”
Wedding cakes Aberdeenshire
Lockdown was a strange time. TikTok dances, drinking countless bottles of fizz on Zoom and getting dolled up each week to do the supermarket run were ‘normal’ activities. Pam Rennie swapped school dinners for sugar flowers in August 2020 and hasn’t looked back.
“The schools were closed so I was off work,” remembers part-time dinner lady Pam. “I signed up to an online cake-making course, which gave me the push to start my small business. I wish I’d done it sooner, as I’m so happy doing something I love.”
