Audrey & John Carlowrie Castle Wedding

posted on 03 Jun 19

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Real Life Wedding Blog

Bride and Groom stand outside Carlowrie Castle wedding in mist

Introduction/Back Story

We originally met at high school when we were dating mutual friends but met up again 5 years later and hit it off straight away. After 8 years together John proposed outside one of our favourite restaurants in December 2016. We were escorted to the restaurant by Santa in his sleigh!

We always knew that we were going to have a small wedding so we wanted somewhere that wouldn’t feel empty with our low numbers. Exclusive use also became a big factor for us.

Bride and Groom kiss under sparklers outside Carlowrie Castle wedding

Q&A

Why did you choose your wedding venue over others?

As you travel up the driveway to Carlowrie you can tell it’s going to be something special. We walked in the front door, looked at each other and we both had massive grins on our faces. It is just incredible inside. Very modern but also feels so homely. It ticked all the boxes and definitely had the wow factor. From that very first meeting with Jen we knew we would be very well looked after and decision was made there and then. We didn’t need to go anywhere else.

Bride in wedding dress and flowers standing outside Carlowrie Castle wedding

Carlowrie Castle Edinburgh Wedding Venue outdoor grounds

Carlowrie Castle Edinburgh wedding venue inside Christmas set up

Did you add any personal touches to your wedding day?

Music is a huge part of John and I’s life together so we named all our tables after our favourite bands. I made each table name frame with one of the bands album covers and a ticket from when we had been to see them live. I also roped John in to helping with the favours. As it was a December wedding we made baubles for everyone. They matched our wedding colours and had each guests name inside so doubled as place names. We are still finding bits of sequins round the house now!

Band Music inspired table plan at Carlowrie Castle Wedding Edinburgh

Silver music themed wedding table Christmas bauble favour Carlowrie Castle wedding

Music inspired table names with flowers Carlowrie Castle

Framed music band themed table names Carlowrie Castle wedding

Can you describe the type of wedding ceremony you had and why?

We went for a humanist ceremony as we knew it would be a lot more personal than some other types would allow. It was funny, had touching moments and we had so many comments about how different it was. We chose to include a Mexican hug at the beginning of the ceremony which was brilliant to watch and helped settle our nerves. We also got to ‘tie the knot’ with traditional hand fasting. Karen was fantastic and helped create the perfect ceremony for us.

Bride walking down the aisle with Father Carlowrie Castle wedding

Groom and Bride meet for first time at wedding ceremony Carlowrie Castle

Bride and Groom perform Hand Fastening Humanist Ceremony at Carlowrie Castle Edinburgh

Bride and Groom first kiss after wedding ceremony Carlowrie Castle Edinburgh

Why was your photographer a good fit for your wedding?

Rob at Lifetime is amazing! Initially it was the high standard of his images that caught my eye, especially the low light/creative light shots. Rob has such a warm nature as well though and you instantly feel like he’s a mate that you haven’t seen in ages. He fitted in with our guests so well on the day and no one felt uncomfortable in front of the camera. He captured so many parts from the day that I didn’t even realise had happened. He really has given us a lifetime of memories to treasure and I can’t thank him enough.

Bride and Groom embrace in gardens Carlowrie Castle Edinburgh

Bride and Groom posing for photo Carlowrie Castle Gardens

Father of bride delivers speech with bride in tears Carlowrie Castle wedding

Wedding guest reacts to speech Carlowrie Castle Edinburgh

Bride and Groom stand outside Carlowrie Castle night black and white

Tell us about your wedding meal/breakfast?

Carlowrie provided the meal for us all. I’m not going to lie, seeing the baked Alaska on the menu was what made us go for a viewing! We did have a difficult time deciding what to have as it was all so tasty. Also, the lobster cone canapes are a must for anyone booking Carlowrie!

Silver and Navy wedding cake Carlowrie Castle

Silver and Navy wedding cake floral Carlowrie Castle

White and Silver wedding decor tables Carlowrie Castle

What was your first dance song and why?

Our first dance was Dashboard Confessional – Stolen. The words fitted well and we are both big Dashboard fans. Our choice to go for DJ was more down to our overall music for the night to make sure all our favourite bands were played (and we could ban ABBA haha!). Lee Live responded listing most of our favourite bands and one of the highlights was dancing to Biffy Clyro with my new hubby.

Bride and Groom first dance Carlowrie Castle wedding

Bride and Groom first dance and kiss Carlowrie Castle Edinburgh

Can you describe how guests were kept entertained during your wedding reception?

We opted for a photobooth with the awesome Odd Box! We actually sat in our room the night of the wedding and looked through all the pictures and messages, what a giggle. It was brilliant to see all our guests having a laugh and getting their own wee memory of the day to take away. One of our groomsmen was actually so impressed with Odd Box that they have booked them for their wedding in October!

Bride and Father of the bride first dance Carlowrie Castle

Bride and Father of the bride embrace during first dance Carlowrie Castle

Bride and Groomsmen dance Carlowrie Castle wedding

Bride and bridesmaid dance Carlowrie Castle

Summary

I’ll never forget standing with my dad waiting to walk down the aisle to John and hearing the opening lines of The Xcerts. It was like being hit with a wall of emotion, it was really happening, I was about to marry my best friend.

Without a doubt waiting on RSVP’s was the most challenging aspect of wedding planning. There’s so much that can’t be finalised until you hear back from everyone. We also had a few very late cancellations which mucked up things like the printed table plan and favours but these things happen.

What advice would I give myself if I could go back in time? I think it would just be the same as what I kept telling myself throughout the wedding planning, the day is about the two of you. You choose things for you, not to please other people.

I would love to do it all again. The day goes by so so quickly and seems like a total blur at the time. It’s an amazing feeling having all your friends and family around you celebrating the next chapter of your life.