Traditional Glasgow wedding with heartfelt speeches and surprise shots

It’s the small moments that matter, the ones you remember. In Ashleigh and Jamie’s case, it was a small person who made the biggest impact at their big day at the Busby Hotel.

“We got engaged on Christmas Day 2020 and contacted the hotel in the January to book a viewing in the hope of getting married later that year,” explains the bride. “By February, though, we were delighted to find out we were expecting our first baby, so we decided to postpone until this year. It wasn’t something we’d planned, but having our daughter there was the highlight of our day.”

As the toddler was only 18 months at the time, she added a dose of humour to the ceremony, recalls her mother: “She wandered around the guests, saying ‘hiya’ while the ceremony was conducted!”

Jamie and Ashleigh had arranged to see six venues, but in the end visited just one other before becoming “totally sold” on the Busby. “We fell in love with it as soon as we arrived – and cancelled the other viewings that evening,” laughs the bride. “We were both very laid-back in terms of planning, but we loved the idea of a venue with a traditional look. We wanted beautiful decor and a welcoming atmosphere, and I needed to feel we’d be well looked after and that the communication throughout the planning stage would be easy. The Busby’s staff were outstanding from our initial enquiry.”

The couple chose a navy-blue theme to run through their decor and for the bridesmaid dresses. The three bridesmaids conveniently stayed at the hotel the night before the wedding.

“We had breakfast as soon as the restaurant opened then started to get ready for the big day,” remembers Ashleigh. “When Jamie arrived, the staff let him know where he should be. We were kept up to date throughout the day and always told where to be and when, without feeling as though we were rushed or didn’t have our own timings taken into consideration.”

The couple had opted for the Busby’s Timeless package, which included a stay in the honeymoon suite, the meal, cake, decor and a welcome drink for their 67 guests (a further 51 joined them in the evening). A DJ was included as part of the package, but Jamie and Ashleigh had their hearts set on a band, Fortébeat, so booked them instead.

There were many special moments throughout this magical day, including a few surprises during the ceremony. “I loved it when our humanist celebrant Lesley Anderson shared the details of what Jamie and I had sent her in secret,” smiles the bride. “We answered different questions about each other: what annoys us most, what we love about each other and what we mean to one another. We’d also secretly selected ten of our guests to have a shot of Tequila Rose with us as we drank from the quaich! That went down really well too.”

Other stand-out details of the day included the wedding breakfast of lentil soup, steak pie and sticky toffee pudding, which was enjoyed in between the speeches.

“The speeches were amazing! My maid of honour (who’s my sister), my husband and the best man all spoke,” says Ashleigh. “Beautiful memories were shared – along with some very embarrassing stories! There isn’t one thing I would change about our day – I just wish we could relive it ten times over.”