Jenny and Jeremy met at work about 8 years ago and Jeremy proposed to Jenny in January 2009.
Jeremy planned to pop the question at the top of Yes Tor on Dartmoor but the weather conspired against him and the couple ended up in a local pub for lunch with his Mum. As they did their traditional 4 mile walk home from the pub through the fields (without his Mum!), Jeremy proposed at what they call the skimming pond; a place on the river where they often walk the dogs. Jeremy didn’t quite get down on one knee but got very nervous and shy, whipped out a ring and popped the question – Jenny’s response was “are you sure?”!!!
Jenny’s friend Paula is responsible for them choosing Culcreuch Castle. She had been there to a wedding 3 years previously and thought it was their kind of place; she was right. As Jenny told us “when we were being shown round I just knew I wanted to get married there – the location, the scenery and the laid back feel all made it feel right. Luckily Jeremy felt the same. When I asked him at what point he knew it was where he wanted to get married his response was ‘when we were coming over the fells, about 4 miles before we arrived’. The location was so magical as it felt like you were deep in the Highlands but were actually only half an hour from Glasgow. It worked really well for us as it was not stuffy or formal and the staff were incredibly friendly and helpful.”
Hair on the day was done by Wilma McWilliam and makeup was done by Linda from Sistars. Jenny said “I am not a girlie girl so doing my own was not an option!”
Jenny’s dress was by Sassi Holford; she found it hard to find the right thing as she is not a dress person but said to us “I think I got away with it!” We thought she looked stunning and her dress was perfect for her – rather than just “getting away with it”! Jenny’s hair accessory was borrowed from her friend Paula who was vital to so many elements of the wedding!
Jenny told us that she wants to tell the world about Jane at their florist, Snapdragon! ”She was beyond amazing and the flowers were so perfect – exactly what we wanted. I love flowers and wanted a really wild, natural feel to go with the older style, rustic feel of the castle. We were so lucky to find Jane. She is based at Balfron Station, a few miles from Culcreuch and every flower used on the day was from her garden – incredible! Check out her blog and you know where to go next time you need to order a bouquet!”
One Fine Day Wedding Cakes, based in Glasgow, provided the wedding cake. Jenny told us that Claire from One Fine Day was another person who was lovely to deal with and Jenny’s Mum loved the cake – so it must have been good!
Jenny & Jeremy had a mixture of ceilidh and disco, both provided by The Jiggers; a fantastic band that were great at getting everyone up and dancing. As Jenny told us “a large portion of the guests were from south of the border and had never been to a ceilidh before so it was ideal for them. The disco was also great as we were able to put together a play list which meant we had control! It felt like Jenny & Jeremy’s greatest hits!”
Greg from Blue Parrot who did the couple’s chair covers was worthy of mention for the couple. He was lovely and his Mum was a bit of a star too! Jenny said they were “really helpful and offered a great price!”
After Jenny met us at The Scottish Wedding Show, they decided to book with us. According to Jenny “I just felt like I instantly clicked with you and Mark was so lovely to my Mum. We are thrilled with the whole experience and couldn’t recommend you highly enough. I hate having my picture taken but Mark was great and I actually look decent in the pictures (I dread to think of the ones that didn’t make the cut!). The biggest thing for us was how many people said to us how lovely Mark was and how much he blended in with what was going on. Having been to other weddings, I fully appreciate just how relaxed and unobtrusive he was. He was perfect and really helped create the relaxed, friendly vibe we wanted for the day. And of course the results are superb and really capture the feel of the day.”
Jenny continued, “there are so many images I love, particularly of my niece and nephew who were too cute for words.
But if I was forced to choose a favourite images, it would be the one of Jeremy standing waiting for me before the service. He looks very emotional and in the background everyone else is looking to the back of the room except for his Mum who is keeping an eye on him. It so perfectly captures the moment and the emotion of the day.”
I asked Jenny what the best thing about her day but she asked if she could have two things!! She told me “the first one was the whole emotion of the service- getting to the end of the aisle and seeing how emotional Jeremy was and then seeing that the registrar was nearly in tears. The ice was then well and truly broken by Georgia, my 3 year old niece and flower girl saying in a loud voice ‘mummy, I need the toilet’ just as we were about to start the main bit of the ceremony. Everyone cracked up and it really helped create a relaxed and fun atmosphere.
The second one was seeing how much my Mum enjoyed it. She has very limited hearing and vision and I was worried it would all be too disorientating for her or that she would get frustrated that she couldn’t enjoy the day properly but she was amazing and went round talking to everyone – all day and all evening. I was so relieved.”
Jenny and Jeremy wanted their wedding to be a bit less formal than some weddings. The flowers were very special to them but were maybe not what you would normally expect at a wedding – garlands of flowers on the walls, wild flowers in tea cups on the tables and urns of foxgloves in the room where the ceremony was held.
The couple’s place names and table names were slate with names that they etched on (which took them forever to do!) and the favours were boxes of shortbread made by Jenny’s Mum. They also put a bottle of Avon Skin-So-Soft on each table to ward off any midgies. It was meant as a joke but the midgies were actually so fierce in the evening that all their guests were glad of it! The space hoppers provided for the kids also went down well!
I asked Jenny if there were any funny moment in their day. She told me “well, the main thing that springs to mind is me putting my foot through my frock before I had even got down the aisle! I managed to catch my heel in it on the way over to the service from the castle. What a muppet! Luckily it wasn’t too noticeable and I was able to laugh about it – it was a very timely reminder that none of the fancy clothes, make-up or fuss mattered and actually it was just about saying I do to my lovely man!
I also totally failed to get my dress up off the floor for the ceilidh. I had been given specific instructions and demonstrations on how to hook the skirts up from the shop where I bought it but I could not work it out on the day and spent the whole night with it folded over my arm – not exactly a serene picture of calm and elegance but probably more a reflection of who I am!”
When asked to sum up the whole experience, Jenny said it was “a truly special day that was all we hoped it would be.”
For Mark, he loved shooting Jenny & Jeremy’s wedding because there was so much emotion in the day to record. It was a bit difficult to get a shot when they weren’t hugging or kissing!!
