Lora Murphy's Blog: A Culcreuch Castle Hotel Wedding with Natural Styling

This post A Culcreuch Castle Hotel Wedding with Natural Styling first appeared on The Wedding Community Blog

Today’s feature is a fairytale wedding at a Scottish castle, and it’s simply stunning! Maureen spent the run-up to her wedding on crutches (having broken her ankle during a fitness bootcamp), not knowing if she would be able to even walk down the aisle cast-free… But of course she did – no fairytale wedding ends with a bride on crutches! Maureen was also able to wear a fabulous pair of blue shoes to glide down the aisle in. They looked perfect with her beautiful bespoke wedding dress.

Maureen and Pieter’s natural wedding styling really suited the surroundings of their spectacular Scottish wedding, with thistles and tartan of course featuring. Something else that ‘features’ is a really cool Lego cake topper… so cute!

Huge thanks to Andy Thomas Photography for sharing the amazing pictures of this fabulous wedding.

Good in a Crisis

“Maureen and I met in a bar in west London back on February 13th 2014. It seems we both had the same idea that being single on Valentine’s Day is a bit rubbish, so decided to head out and see if we liked the look of anyone!

“Now no one ever believes me, but Maureen actually took the initiative and chatted me up. I was at the bar with a friend when she leant over and said “you look like a man who is good in a crisis – I’ve got no idea what to drink!”

“I proposed to Maureen on March 4th 2016, by the side of Lake Windermere in the Lake District, as the sun was setting. Little did we know that James Matthews would propose in the same place to Pippa Middleton only a few months later.”

“Maureen knew exactly what style of dress she wanted but couldn’t find it during months of dress shopping. She uses a local seamstress occasionally to make skirts for work so decided she would have a go at designing her own dress so she had something very personal to her and unique in its style.”

Relief and Happiness

“Our memories of the day are very much linked to our memories of the entire build-up to the wedding. While taking part in a military fitness class in January, Maureen broke her ankle in two places, requiring surgery with screws and a metal plate put into her ankle. On crutches and in plaster for six weeks before moving to crutches and a boot, Maureen only began moving without crutches in May, one month before the wedding. Needless to say it took intensive physio so Maureen could walk down the aisle, and some good flat shoes to complete the first dance!

“This dominated the whole build up to the wedding day, so the relief and happiness we felt that it didn’t end up affecting the day was amazing. Oh, and the Scottish weather turned from rainy to glorious sunshine on the day – so lucky!”

Natural Styling

“Our wedding reception took place at Culcreuch Castle Hotel. We wanted very natural wedding styling to suit the aesthetic of an old Scottish castle. With that in mind we chose wild flowers as the bouquets and eucalyptus on the tables. We then had several candles across the tables and the venue to remove any overhead lighting and make it feel more atmospheric. Lanterns outside the venue, draped white lighting on the back of the dance floor, and festoon lighting in the courtyard brought the venue to life.

“For the evening entertainment we started with my brother and one of my best friends singing a duet (they’ve both played in bands), and then we had a traditional Scottish Ceilidh Band. Even Maureen’s 90 year old grandfather danced!”

Advice to Other Couples

“Don’t get bullied by suppliers into dressing your venue the way they want. Stick to your guns and your own vision. We had to find someone different to help us dress the venue only a month before the wedding as the previous person had agreed with our thoughts then totally ignored us when we saw the final idea.

“Also, book your photographer really early. We booked ours six months out, and even then there were a couple who were already booked. The same, of course, goes for the venue!

“Finally, relax and enjoy the day, and find some time to spend just with each other. We grabbed a glass of champagne together for 20 minutes on the day, out of the way of everyone else. It was such a lovely way to listen to each other and talk about how great the day had been whilst we were still living it.”