Leigh and Chris met when they decided to take part in Camp America during Leigh’s third year of university. As she told us “I was sent to a children’s summer camp in the Santa Cruz Mountains, California. Chris was the surf instructor and we got together within the first week…he loved my accent! At the end of the summer we weren’t sure if we’d stay together because we lived so far apart but as soon as we were apart we realised how much we missed each other and decided to give it a go…four years later we got engaged!”
Chris proposed to Leigh in Venice, Italy. Leigh said, “ He’d taken me there for my birthday. He proposed on a water taxi between Venice and Murano…I cried, then said yes”.
Leigh and Chris chose Cornhill House because they’d visited it during one of Chris’s visits to Scotland and felt that it “perfectly embodied what we were looking for in a ‘Scottish’ venue…beautiful scenery, and classic decor. We were so glad we chose Cornhill, Mae Fraoli (the owner) was absolutely wonderful, she took care of every detail and I never felt like I had to worry about anything-she totally had it under control.”
Leigh and her bridemaid’s make up was done by Alex from Healing Hands in Lanark. Peter from The Directors Box, also in Lanark did Leigh’s hair.
Leigh told us, “My dress was a Benjamin Roberts dress from Anne Priscilla in Glasgow which I’d seen in a magazine and knew was ‘the one’, I also got my shoes from there. My jewellery came from Mica, also in Glasgow. I wore my grandmothers pearl earrings which now belong to my mother as my something old and borrowed.”
The flowers were done by Floral n’ Hardy in Lanark and the cake was supplied by Special Days.
According to Leigh & Chris, “Our minister Melville Schofield was wonderful and everyone enjoyed our service along with the Cairn String Quartet who played during the ceremony and immediately after.” Leigh told us, “I walked down the aisle to ‘Falling Slowly‘ from the movie ‘Once’ which the string quartet played beautifully…I believe quite a few people cried! We both have a huge love for movies and that one is particularly special to both of us. For our first dance we’d taken classes and had a whole choreographed routine which was so fun to do. I got to live out my ‘Strictly Come Dancing‘ fantasy.”
Chris and Leigh explained that, “We had a ‘modern’ ceilidh, provided by The Tatties. It was amazing! We were so impressed by how much our American guests really got into the spirit of it and gave everything a go. I even managed to dance in my dress…which I never thought I could have! Our favourite moment was probably during the final 12 minute ‘Strip the Willows’ (yes, that’s 12 minutes!) when the band worked in The White Stripes ‘Seven Nation Army’”.
For photography Leigh and Chris chose Archibald Photography because Leigh remembered meeting Mark at a wedding fair quite a few years before when she was working for her Dad. As she told us “his style was exactly what we were looking for, informal and modern but also very beautiful. We were thrilled with our photographs and we both cried when we saw them for the first time.”
“It’s so hard to choose a favourite image”, confessed Leigh, “I love the one of us laughing together in the line-up, to me it really sums up our relationship and how fun the day was but I also love the one of us in front on the Cornhill which we actually have blown up in our living room.”
The best bit of the wedding day for Leigh and Chris was, “having all the people we loved with us. Our relationship has been a crazy ride and the whole visa process for me to live in the US took so long, it was just wonderful to know that it was over and we were finally together for good”.
Chris and Leigh put it simply by telling us it was, “The best day of our lives! Totally cheesy…but absolutely true”.
