22nd August 2015
Venue | Archerfield House, East Lothian
Photography | DH Photography
“Choosing the venue was the first decision we made. We fell in love with Archerfield House as soon as we walked in. We knew we wanted quite a small wedding so it suited us that there was a maximum of 50 guests permitted in the house. All-inclusive hire meant we had 15 stunning bedrooms to use as well, so friends and family could stay over.
Archerfield House was so beautiful that we felt we didn’t need to stress about decoration or detail too much as we knew our families would like it as much as we did. We’re both very family-orientated so we wanted a small, laidback wedding where everyone would feel comfortable and have a good time.
We had a couple of Spotify playlists for our guests arriving and the drinks reception. Every song had a memory or meaning behind it and we tried to keep it fairly upbeat so our guests could sing along or dance if they wanted to! We had children’s activity packs that included bride and groom colouring books to keep the smaller children entertained throughout dinner.
The best man’s speech included a guitar and props! They’d changed the lyrics to some well-known songs to document Gareth’s life, from growing up right through to the night we first met. They had everyone in stitches!
Until a couple of months before the wedding, we had decided not to have a photographer. It was only when we looked through friends’ wedding albums that we changed our minds. We knew we wanted to avoid any staged photographs and find a photographer who captured natural photos in the moment. We came across DH Photography and loved Dan Hariga’s portfolio.
My auntie Gail and uncle Brian are freelance documentary makers and their gift to us was our own documentary of the wedding. They even arranged a drone to capture shots over the venue!
Top tip: Try to keep track of everything you have to buy/arrange for the wedding along with a note of your budget against amounts spent. We thought we were prepared but when we tried to book bands, we realised many had been booked almost two years in advance!”
Dress Simply Exquisite Bridal and Prom Boutique
Veil Isabella Bridal
Bridesmaids’ dresses ASOS and BHS
Cake and flowers Marks & Spencer
Rings Beaverbrooks
Entertainment David Munro DJ
Hair and Makeup Emma Motion