Catherine and Fergus
3rd September 2022
Venue | Archerfield House, East Lothian
Photography | Willow & Wilde Photography
“Fergus and I got engaged in the autumn of 2020 during a muddy walk on the west coast of Scotland. The engagement was right in between Covid lockdowns and we didn’t want any restrictions to affect the wedding, so that delayed planning things a little.
I think lots of other couples did the same and 2022 ended up being a really busy year for weddings, so lots of suppliers had been booked and were unavailable by the time we started making enquiries.
We are based in London, so travelling up to Scotland to meet suppliers was not easy. We did a lot of Zoom calls and remote organising! The first thing we decided on was the time of year we wanted to get married – we ideally wanted it to be warm! In the end, it was so windy that I remember thinking the marquee where we held the ceremony was going to fly away at points!
We looked around a few different venues close to Edinburgh. We were absolutely blown away by the waterfront at Archerfield House. It completely stood out from the others thanks to its view of the sea and surrounding coastline.
After some research, we chose to have a humanist ceremony. We had attended a few humanist weddings before and felt it was the right fit. Our celebrant was the lovely Marnie Roadburg. Leading up to the wedding, she gave us lots of options to tailor the ceremony and made us feel really relaxed and prepared.
The ceremony was one of our favourite parts of the day. It ended up being really fun and light-hearted. We loved that we could involve our families too – we had both mums reading poems, dads pouring the quaich and our sisters were our witnesses.
We had a few ideas and visions before we started planning. We ultimately wanted the day to be relaxed and reflective of us as individuals and also a couple. I wanted lots of flowers and Fergus wanted a really fun party in the evening! We had 120 day guests and an extra 20 in the evening.
We incorporated a few elements which combined our Scottish and Chinese family heritages. Our photographer Vicki Woods from Willow & Wilde Photography was truly fabulous. She has this knack of making you feel at ease and is so professional and hard working. She ended up being so much more than just a photographer on the day.
The night before the wedding was really special. Both families came together at Archerfield for a casual, intimate dinner, before going on an evening beach walk. The morning of the wedding started relaxed and leisurely…but towards the end, I realised you can never start getting ready too early!
“One of the best things we did was to have a first look. It gave us some quiet time to be together and enjoy the moment with just the two of us.”
I had two wedding dresses. I found it really difficult to find ‘the one’ in bridal shops, so I ended up designing my own look in conjunction with Selfa Bridal on Etsy. The evening gown was a total bargain from ASOS!
During dinner, one of the groomsmen was a cracking MC. We were treated to brilliant and downright hilarious speeches given by the maid of honour and best man. Fergus and I also gave a joint speech.
Menu tasting is one of the best parts of planning a wedding. Don’t skip this step and take some guests/family with you if you can. I make no exaggeration when I say the Archerfield kitchen team worked wonders on the day when making our three-course meal.
Fergus and I both love a dancefloor and it was no secret that we had high expectations for ours. I’ll never forget how incredible it was: we had a ceilidh, conga lines and dance-offs! Our first dance was to ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered’ by Stevie Wonder
Everyone always told me how fast time goes on the day, and I discovered they were correct. I think it’s easy to get swept up, but I’m really glad we prioritised spending a little time with all of our guests.”
Top tip: “My top planning tip is to set aside lots of time for wedding admin in the weeks leading up. There was a surprising amount to do just before – all the nitty gritty smaller details. I even taught myself calligraphy in the lead-up to the wedding just for the table stationery!”
Venue Archerfield House
Photography Willow & Wilde Photography
Celebrant Marnie Roadburg, Humanist Society Scotland
Bride’s dresses SelfaBridal and ASOS
Bride’s hair Gordon Wilson Hair
Bridesmaid dresses Coast
Groom’s outfit Kinloch Anderson
Engagement and wedding rings Queensmith
Piper Callum Watson Piper
cake and flowers Save the Date Collective
Entertainment The Scottish Soul Collective
Marquee Field & Lawn
Furniture 88 Events
Favours Sourced from China
