4 minute read
Christopher & Stuart
Elegant and Enchanting
Classic yet opulent with lots of gold, baroque and greenery, plus handmade wedding rings, scented dinner candles and a six-tier wedding cake… We’re completely in love with Stuart Williamson and Christopher Malcolm’s magical wedding vision, pulled together with the help of some very special suppliers. Chris tells us more about their whimsical, regal, Sleeping Beauty-style day…
“After getting engaged (with the help of our dog Patsy), our priority was finding a venue big enough and fabulous enough to host all our family and friends. They’re so important to us and we wanted to make sure that noone would be left out of the celebrations.
We fell in love with Thainstone House Hotel, its country house manor style and wonderfully regal décor as soon as we arrived. The colours in the rooms we wanted to use matched our wedding theme perfectly and we liked the idea of being married in one part of the hotel, moving outside for the drinks’ reception and having the rest of our day in the beautiful ballroom. Given we have a dressing room at home that’s bursting at the seams with clothes and shoes, it’s no surprise that we were both very excited to get our outfits! We’re very fortunate that we share similar taste in pretty much everything, so we discussed at length what we wanted and found we shared the same vision. Luckily, as soon as we walked into Kilts Wi Hae, there it was on a mannequin… Meant to be!
We spent a lot of time picking the perfect accessories and chose very different sporrans. Stuart went for copper stag details and used my Vivienne Westwood watch as his something borrowed because it toned in perfectly. I went for silver stag accessories, and my mum bought me a beautiful blue and silver brooch – my something new and blue. Our florist attached my late grandparents’ engagement and wedding rings to my flowers so they were close to my heart all day. Our gorgeous bridesmaids wore Vera Wang and given they’re all different shapes and sizes, we were happy for them to have varied styles in the same colour. As it happened, though, they found a dress they all loved and that was it… In and out of the boutique in less than an hour! On the big day, having everyone together made our hearts so full. We were married by my dad’s cousin, Alisanne Ennis, a newly ordained celebrant who is simply made for her job. She handmade us a quaich for the ceremony, complete with engraving and handles in the shape of paws to represent our four beloved dogs.
Afterwards, our guests joined us on the terrace and lawn where we enjoyed drinks, canapes (including plenty of sausage rolls for the kids!) and a playlist we’d prepared together. The meal that followed was absolutely beautiful – the food was piping hot on arrival and the service was seamless. Our guests picked from a menu prior to the wedding, and Jennifer at You Are Invited printed their choices on their place cards to jog their memories. We intentionally sat people together who hadn’t met before and it worked a treat. Post-wedding, so many of them have already connected and planned to meet up. My bridesmaid, Kate, and Stuart’s bridesmaid, Kerri-Lee, did speeches, and I spoke too. Then we surprised everyone after the meal with singing waiters. We often find there’s a lull at this time during a wedding so wanted to give everyone an energy boost and really set the tone for the party to come!
Stuart wasn’t keen on a first dance, so we mixed things up. We asked our band, The Big Show, to choose a song and we opened up the evening celebrations by dancing with our wedding party. To say the band were phenomenal would be an understatement – the dancefloor was always full, they set off confetti cannons and even invited our friend, Sarah, on stage to belt out a song with them as it was her birthday. The whole day was just magical, filled with love, happiness and a desperate need to party. We were beaming throughout, to the point people asked if our faces were sore from smiling! If we could offer any advice to other couples, we’d say to keep it simple and classy, stick with your vision and use local suppliers. Our dream team gave us the most stunning event, all created from our vision, and we wouldn’t change a thing.” ♥
