Real wedding of Hayley and Darran at Achnagairn Castle, Inverness.

Styling a Scotland Wedding…

So let’s get down to the details. The brief was to create a rich toned wedding, with hints of Persian wedding cultures, to tie in and celebrate Darran’s family. They wanted a different look to what they had previously seen at the venue, they wanted it BIG and they wanted it BOLD. The couple loved over the top floral displays and wanted non-traditional elements to their wedding day. No cake cutting here, you guys!!

One of the most important decisions, when working on the styling, was choosing that colour scheme with the couple. It really does set the tone for the entire wedding and can help create the ambiance and vibes this couple wanted. This rich toned wedding colour scheme has become one of my favs. I love the bold and moody vibes that it added to the venue, with the dark reds and oranges. With pops of gold, to add contrast, and tie in with the Persian wedding style. And the look, well it defo wasn’t something I had ever seen at a venue before!! A very unique combo!! I was also keen to step away from the classic December wedding colours but still make it look cosy. With the colours, it also gave us the freedom to add brighter tones of pink to the new years eve party event. Allowing us to keep the florals and stationery the same but adding an extra zing to the party.

Adding those special details

When I planned the styling for this wedding, I took my time and researched Persian wedding designs and traditions. The brief was to add a subtle hint of this throughout the wedding day. I did this by suggesting the stationery included Persian names and symbols, and to include elements of a traditional Persian wedding table. Traditionally, a Persian wedding table, named Sofreh aghd, is a table filled with symbolic items and the couple sit at the table throughout the ceremony. This was something the couple wanted to include but not at the ceremony, so I focused on using this idea at the Reception instead. At the top table we added the symbolic items along the front of the table to flow in-between the florals and candles, so they were seen by close family and friends and tied in the families religions.

Reuse your wedding flowers

These were the life and soul of this wedding styling. Go big or go home people!! I worked closely with the florist, Elizabeth, and we talked about ways in which we could use the colour scheme and also the different areas we were styling. It was also important for her to locate certain florals giving the season the wedding was being held.

As the florals were such a big statement, it had to work well within the wedding day and also the New Years Eve party styling. The design of the florals gave a relaxed and modern look to the room. How they were structured gave us freedom to style in both a romantic wedding setting to a relaxed and informal party.

Think about your budgets

Florals can be a big chunk of your wedding budget, so I would always recommend reusing these wherever possible. Think about areas in which you can set florals in the ceremony and then move them to the top table, cake table, fireplaces. The ideas are endless.

When I am setting up and designing a wedding, it is one of my top tips to give to all my couples. I’m there on the day to move these items around and style them making all focus points looking cool as!!

I am always in awe of how florists work and the magic they create. They really do make it look fit!! They are super talented people and working with a stylist they can find a florist that matches your style but also gets you as a couple.

Behind the scenes

There is a lot of behind the scenes that happens before a wedding and as a stylist there are some elements we take on so the couple don’t have to. For Hayley and Darran’s wedding there was communications with the venue for checking sizing, logistics and table layouts that were suitable for the guest counts. This had to be for both the wedding day and the New Years Eve party.

One thing that was challenging for the couple was a lot of changes with the guest counts and menu changes. To relieve the stress off the couple, I managed the last minute changes and reprints, communicated with the caterers and got the stationery checked, double checked and tripled checked.  There is a lot of time that goes into speaking to suppliers that couples are unaware of and as a stylist it’s important to me that the couple have a stress free planning experience. Cause it’s all about celebrating love and having fun!!!

I still can’t get over the fact that my little business went all the way to Scotland and styled this castle. Thank you so much to this amazing couple who took me on board with them and allowed me to do ma thing! THANK YOU!!

And all of this wouldn’t of been possible without the awesome team. YOU ROCK!

Photo @laurenelliottweddings
Venue @achnagairnestate
Florals @bothyblooms
Prop hire @evas_covers5 and @twoeightone
Stationery and Signage @daydreamer_creative_studio
Cake @konjcafee

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