Keith and Lisa met at secondary school where they were good friends throughout. However, they never got together until they had both started university and as Lisa laughed and told us she “finally gave in to his pestering!”
For Lisa’s birthday in January 2010, Keith had arranged a long weekend in Paris. Lots of people automatically assumed that after being together for almost 7 years he was planning the romantic trip to pop the question and several asked Lisa if she thought that was the case. Her response was always the same “no chance would he be able to have something up his sleeve without me knowing about it!”.
On their last night after having visited the sterotypical romantic Parisian hotspots with no proposal, Lisa figured that she was correct. She told us “we must’ve walked half way around Paris trying to find a restaurant that had been recommended to us to no avail. It was a Friday night and everywhere was packed and unbeknown to me Keith was starting to panic that with my aching feet and rumbling tummy, tonight would not be the best time to ask. Eventually we found a lovely restaurant, had a delicious meal and shared a bottle of wine (I still maintain he needed this Dutch courage to take the plunge!). We were on a street that ran parallel to the river Seine so after dinner decided to go for a walk. Keith was thinking that it might be romantic to propose on the banks of the river however when we got there he soon realised that the row of tramps who had pitched their tents there may ruin the mood! We were not far from Notre Dame which was beautifully lit with the Christmas tree still at the front of it. We sauntered over and once we reached it I was busy snapping away with our camera when I turned round to find Keith down on one knee. My surprise grew when I opened the ring box to find the tackiest ever looking huge “diamond” ring. Keith kept a straight face as I told him I loved it before he finally burst out laughing and admitted it cost £20 from Argos! Nonetheless I wore my Elizabeth Duke ring with pride as we went out for drinks to celebrate…..only to realise later that night that the stone had fallen out it! Thankfully I was able to pick a more tasteful ring on our return to Glasgow the next day….and the stone remains in it!”
Lisa and Keith got married at the Western House Hotel in Ayr which they found when looking online. They had visited about 4 or 5 venues at that point without much luck and were keen to get something booked. Lisa loved the look of the main house building which she says was “full of character”. The house also appealed to them because as Lisa recalled “you could hold a fairly big wedding there and it still felt intimate because you can pretty much take over the hotel. The number of rooms was also a bonus for us because none of our guests were local to Ayr. On visiting the hotel we were certain it was for us when we met the friendly staff who all seemed laid back but efficient. Exactly what we were after!”
Lisa found her dress in a bridal shop in Glasgow and fell in love with it although she said “I struggled with the price tag!” After a bit of research she found that a shop in Doune called Charlotte Grace also stocked Sassi Holford‘s dresses and after speaking with the owner, Carol, she knew that she would be getting her dress from her shop. Lisa told us “the difference in customer service was huge, Carol made everything so much more personal and went out of her way to suggest accessories and possible hairstyles and the added bonus was that the price was slightly less because she doesn’t have the same overheads as city centre stores. Cannot recommend her highly enough!”
Lisa’s full length veil was also Sassi Holford so it matched the tulle of her skirt perfectly. Lisa absolutely loved it even though it did cause no end of problems on the dancefloor as it kept getting tangled round Keith’s ankles!
Lisa’s shoes were from online store called Perdita’s Wedding Shoes and she added the embellishment to jazz them up a bit. Lisa said “they were so comfy that I’m having them dyed for when I’m bridesmaid to my bridesmaid Jacqueline later this year.”
Lisa’s hair was done by her hairdresser Lisa from James Hughes Hairdressers in Glasgow who came out to her Dad’s house the morning of the wedding as did Laura Dawson who did the make up. Lisa found Laura from searching online and had left it pretty last minute so was lucky that she had their date free!
Lisa’s friend Dawn works at Ruby Flowers on Hyndland Road in Glasgow and Lisa said “I knew she would come up with original flowers that I would love. All I asked was for bright, colourful, seasonal flowers that didn’t look too structured. My only other request was that some peacock feathers were randomly and discreetly tucked into the flowers because I love the colours in them. I was thrilled on the morning of the wedding when I saw what she had come up with. Our bouquets were set off by some photo charms which I had asked Dawn to hang from the stems of the flowers. My Mum passed away 18 months before our wedding and I wanted to include her in a subtle way so that she would be with us. I found the photo charms on the Etsy website and was delighted with how they turned out. My bouquet together with those of my two bridesmaids had a photograph of my Mum with each of us hanging from it so that she was with each of us in some way on the day of the wedding.”
The couple got their cake from Marks & Spencer and had 3 different tiers – one chocolate, one sponge and one fruit.
Keith already had his kilt before the wedding but decided that he would like a different jacket for the wedding. Lisa told us” I suspect he felt left out because I had a new dress!” The couple got the ‘Crail’ jackets for Keith and his best man, brother Alistair from Slanj in Glasgow.
Lisa and Keith hired a pianist called Alex Graham to play as their guests arrived, throughout the ceremony and at their drinks reception. Lisa told us “Alex also played in the background throughout our meal which was a real talking point for our guests. He plays by ear so he was taking requests from our guests throughout the day which proved highly entertaining….everything from Daft Punk to the Home and Away theme tune was played!” Lisa walked down the aisle to Pachebel’s Canon played by Alex.
Keith and Lisa found Archibald Photography from searching online and told us they “loved the informal shots on the website. It was important for us to have minimal time spent away from our guests having ‘posed’ photos taken and after meeting with Mark we were confident that would not be the case. Mark was fantastic on the day and not at all intrusive. When we got to see our photos we couldn’t believe how many there was as we really weren’t aware of them being taken. I think we were away from our guests for a total of 15 minutes on the day and yet there are so many great photos that you wouldn’t think so!”
Lisa also added “I love the photos of me getting ready at the hotel with the girls and was great to see photos of Keith pretending to be calm before I arrived. The photos of the two of us under the tree having a giggle are favourites as are the sequence of pics on the dancefloor with Keith tripping up over my veil….comedy gold! Some cracking shots of the dancing as the night goes on and the drinks are flowing….we definitely have plenty material for blackmailing now!”
Lisa said as corny as it sounds, it’s difficult for them to say what the best thing about their day was….they loved it all! As she recalled “It was great just to see all our friends and family in the one room having a good time. I think after the ceremony was over and the formalities had been dealt with we both loved having a chance to chat to everyone and throw some shapes!”
Lisa continued “I almost wish something had gone wrong just so that my answers made for a better read but everything went like clockwork….annoyingly! Oh in fact, both of our Dads in their infinite wisdom rearranged the place settings at the top table before everyone took their seats for the meal. The wedding coordinator was lining the wedding party up in the correct order before entering the ballroom when the confusion set in! So I suppose if you can call the wedding party getting the wrong favours something that didn’t work out as planned, that’s as scandalous as it got!”
Lisa and Keith’s band were a 3 piece called “Franco” and they found them through the Music for Scotland website. They provisionally booked the band and then went to one of the wedding band showcases that Music for Scotland had arranged at the Classic Grand in Glasgow which they said was a great night! Lisa told us”they sounded just as they did online and we loved the fact that they had a bit of banter with the crowd. Although they played a wide range of tunes, we loved their rockier stuff which was up our street so we booked them that night. Franco were playing at a friend’s wedding the month before our big day and thankfully we enjoyed them just as much as we did the first time we heard them. Our dancefloor was full the entire night and everyone commented on how good the band were. Loved them, loved them, loved them!”
Franco played a cover of the Goo Goo Dolls “Slide” for Lisa and Keith’s first dance. It was a song which was around when the couple were at school; they both loved it and still do. Lisa told us “we have seen the Goo Goo Dolls several times in recent years and the song always reminds us of when we were young pups at school nervously chatting about what songs we liked!”
Lisa and Keith would summarise their day as “surreal yet awesome!”
For Mark, he enjoying providing Lisa and Keith with fun and chilled feel to their photography. His favourite part of the day was watching Lisa and Keith really let their hair down in the evening and made for some great images. There are some lovely sequences in this wedding…dancing between the tables into the first dance for example. As the night moved on, the music got louder, the dancefloor got wilder and Keith found it increasingly difficult to stop stepping on Lisa’s veil…
