Liesbeth & Stuart

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Home from Home

We love nothing more than when a wonderful local supplier ties the knot, so we simply couldn’t wait to speak to florist Liesbeth Romani about her and Stuart McEwing’s “very informal, unweddingy wedding” at beautiful Ballogie House. If you love the idea of bucking tradition and fully doing you, get ready for some serious inspo…

“I fell in love with Ballogie House on a work shoot there back in 2018, so when we got engaged I showed pictures to Stu and we booked it without him even seeing it! We spend a lot of time outdoors and it was important to get married somewhere that if weather didn’t allow us to be outside, it was still full of natural light. The orangery at Ballogie was perfect. We love entertaining at home so wanted our wedding to resemble that – a delicious meal followed by dancing round the kitchen. It was a home from home vibe; fun and relaxed with lots of booze and good food. I knew it’d be dark when we ate so wanted to create a cosy, atmospheric vibe. We hung fairy lights and stars from the orangery roof and had lots of candles on the tables.

When it came to the rest of the décor, I didn’t have a clue what I wanted and was too busy thinking about other peoples’ weddings. I ordered our flowers just a few days before we got married and had thought very little about colours before that. It really was a case of what was available on the market that day and we landed up with lots of lovely warm reds and vibrant pinks. Having a lot of flowers was important to me but again, I wanted it to resemble our house and style – and funnily enough I rarely have flowers in the house! When I do, I never really mix them. So, I went for a lot of vases full of flowers, all one type per vase. I wanted it to look impactful but clean cut and not fussy. I didn’t actually go dress shopping. I’m very much a leggings, trainers and hoodie kinda girl and never really wear dresses. I wanted to feel special but still me. I found the wide-leg trousers quickly on ASOS but struggled to find a top I liked, so went to visit Nina Edge and we designed one together. I told her what I liked and didn’t like and put my full trust in her and her team. I’m a strong believer in leaving the expert to do what they do best, and I couldn’t have been happier with what they did. I left it entirely up to my bridesmaids to decide what they wanted to wear – matching, different, anything – and they both loved the gorgeous olive-green dress from Ivory Grace. Stuart wanted to wear a kilt but feel relaxed and comfortable so teamed it with a fine knit jumper. Quite a few guests followed suit – it was such a lovely look. The wedding morning was super chilled. We all got ready together and had a drinks reception prior to the ceremony because we wanted to spend as much of the day as possible with our guests. We were adamant we didn’t want a big entrance, and I didn’t want to walk down the aisle, so we said to Clare, our celebrant, to give a little ‘ching ching’ on her glass and marry us when she felt the moment was right.

Everyone gathered around us in the middle of the orangery where we’d created a mini arch/backdrop and it was perfect. Lots of laughter, love and tears! Our meal was amazing. We’re big foodies and recreated a meal we’d recently had in Edinburgh. It was fillet of beef, cooked to perfection and carved on the table by a few of our guests, accompanied by lots of sharing sides. It was followed by a dessert table full of our favourites and instead of a cake, we went for Wark Farm pies and doughnuts later in the evening. The speeches were short, sweet and full of laughs, and we opted out of having a first dance. Instead, we had a playlist of songs requested by our guests and a cocktail bar. It was genuinely perfect. We always wanted a small, intimate day and Ballogie was the perfect place to host a cosy home from home wedding over a whole weekend.

Advice for other couples? Don’t follow tradition if you don’t want to! We broke lots of the ‘normal’ rules and don’t regret any of it!" ♥

Liesbeth's Little White Book

Bride’s hairpiece: Garter & Veil Bride’s outfit: Nina Edge Design, ASOS Bridesmaids’ outfits: Ivory Grace Décor: Without a Hitch Favours: Handmade by Jessie Flowers: Flowers by Lilybet Food/drink: Val Morrison Catering, Simply Donuts,

Wark Farm

Groom’s tie: Kiltquine Hair: Michelle Reid Hairdressing Make-up: Steph M. Artistry Musician: Gareth Thomson Nails: Ros Beauty Nirvana Photographer: Hayley Fraser Photography, Jade

Esson Photography

Rings:

Sophia Perez Jewellery, Jamieson & Carry

Tan:

Brown Sugar by Sam Milne

Venue:

Ballogie House