This Seamill Hydro wedding had singing waiters, a beach sunset and a surprise visit from the couple’s pooch

Julia & William Davies

18th June 2022

Venue | Seamill Hydro, Ayrshire
Photography | Darren Mitchell Photography

“We were together for six years when William proposed, he did it in Dubai on holiday and we went shopping together over there to pick my diamond. We then decided on a long engagement and got married after 10 years together in 2022.

We saved for four years as we knew we wanted a big wedding. The first thing we decided on was our venue – as soon as we visited Seamill we knew right away it was the right place. We didn’t view anywhere else.

We chose a humanist ceremony as we wanted to make it as personal as we could. We met George our humanist at a local wedding show and hit it off with him right away. We loved his manner and knew he was the one to marry us. We are still in touch with George and are so glad we chose him to conduct our ceremony.  

We had 125 day guests and another 40 at night – I was always very decisive with the wedding planning. I knew exactly what I wanted from the moment we got engaged, I’m a very organised person so it was only fitting that this was portrayed throughout my wedding plans! I booked a lot very early on, some things as early as 2019, but I was confident my mind wouldn’t change and it didn’t. Everything was exactly as I had pictured for all those years.

Our main inspiration was green natural foliage with touches of white. I don’t really like colour so wanted it all plain and natural. The smaller details mattered, the mens’ favours were a personal touch and we had Jo Malone London boxes for the women replicated and personalised with our initials and wedding date. Also the little extras such as our dog making a surprise appearance with our rings and the surprise singing waiters really made it extra special for us.

We got both sets of parents included in our ceremony which was lovely. Our mums helped with our hand fasting and both our dads drank from our quaich with us. This was really personal as we are both really family orientated so wanted family included. 

As soon as I saw photographer Darren Mitchell’s work I knew it was different. I love his bold style and dramatic effects, this was something we wanted as I loved how eye-catching his photographs were. 

We hired the Glenashdale Suite from Seamill the night before, so we had a girly night doing our nails, having afternoon tea and opening gifts from each other. We had spray tans done and had a lovely chilled evening eating chocolate-covered strawberries!

The morning was lovely. It was so nice to spend some glam and pamper time with the girls and my mum. All the suppliers made us feel totally at ease and I honestly loved every single minute. 

The speeches were well organised and very funny. The men did such a great job and the Seamill staff were incredible. After came the meal, and then after dessert we had the singing waiters pop out – it was such a lovely surprise for our guests! Then, The Big Papas had everyone dancing and singing along all night it was amazing.

I was surprised at how long the day felt, everyone always says it goes so quickly but I thought it was a really long day. I was so tired by the end but absolutely loved every single second. Our guests said they loved the venue and food, we had so many comments on how beautiful Seamill Hydro was and how they’d love to return for overnight stays.

Looking back now at our day I’d change not a thing – it really was perfect in our eyes.”

Top tip: Enjoy every single minute! It’s not just about the day itself, it’s all the important things leading up to it. The appointments that you attend together are fun little days out and really get you excited. It’s important to share this with each other & enjoy the lead up to the best day of your life!

Venue Seamill Hydro
Photography Darren Mitchell Photography
Bride’s dress Galia Lahav via Browns Bridal
Bride’s shoes Jimmy Choo Misty 120 sandals
Bride’s headpiece and veil The Beaded Gem and David’s Bridal
Bride’s necklace and watch Cara Jewellers and Rolex
Bridesmaid dresses Opus Couture
Flower girl dress Six Stories Bridal
Mother of the bride outfit Matsouri 
Mother of the groom outfit Catherine’s of Partick
Makeup IDoMakeUp by Geo Kane
Hair Megan Lindsay Bridal Hair
Wedding/engagement rings Cara Jewellers
Groomswear Kilt4U
Celebrant George McLean at Fuze Ceremonies
Cake Cake Halliday
Flowers Blushing Blooms by Nicola Seymour 
Stationery Angels Creations
Favours Jo Malone and Renaldo’s of Ayr
Venue decor Supernova Wedding Design and Ever After Designs by Ruth 
Ceremony music Sarah MacNeil Harpist
Reception band The Big Papas
Other entertainment The Singing Waiters
Ice cream cart Renaldo’s Ice Cream Parlour
Filmmaker Nine18 Wedding Films
Bride’s transport Wedding Cars Ayrshire
Transport Doigs of Glasgow 
Dog chaperoning Chloe’s K9 Kingdom