In his own words: groom-to-be columnist Lee talks wedding planning
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In his last column Lee told us he had crossed a lot of major bookings off the wedding to-do list.
He and Louise found their dream venue in Auchen Castle, and they’re set to marry there this October.
From the start they were struck by the venue’s attention to detail and were super-impressed when on their last trip they were surprised with a Champagne tower.
“On my first visit, I briefly mentioned I might like one on the day, but to be honest I had completely forgotten,” says Lee.
“This was another five star gesture from the team.”
Their chosen wedding package means many elements are taken care of so recently they’ve been concentrating on making memories.
Treasured moments
Wanting to add special meaning to their rings they decided to incorporate some Scottish gold – “If it’s good enough for kings and queens, it’s good enough for us!” smiles Lee.
He booked a day’s gold panning with The Museum of Lead Mining at Wanlockhead.
They arrived on a wet and gloomy morning but threw themselves into the task, with a crack team of instructors at a secret location.
“By the end, we had collected a small amount of gold each and were over the moon,” he says.
“We had so much fun.”
With their precious gold secured they’ll be working with a jeweller to incorporate it into their wedding bands.
Be our guest
After fine-tuning their guest list, it was on to invitations.
“Louise had decided who we were going to use after meeting a lovely husband and wife team at a wedding show.
“Their company, Com Bossa Luxury Wedding Invitations, was exactly what it said on the tin, luxury but without the luxury price tag.
“We loved having a picture of Auchen Castle on the invitations.”
Lee and Louise added a QR code that takes guests directly to their wedding website where they can RSVP and choose menus.
For an elegant finishing touch the couple decided to have a go at wax sealing their invitations.
“I can neither confirm or deny whether a few glasses of wine were involved, and I made a bit of a mess of it to begin with, but we had fun doing it together,” smiles the groom.
Do I even have the legs for a kilt?
From the beginning Lee has been keen on wearing a kilt, but being a Welshman, he thought it may be frowned upon.
After speaking with “every Scottish person I know” and being given the green light, he decided to take the plunge and best man Tony booked an appointment at Kapital Kilts in Linlithgow.
“I have never worn a kilt before and felt overwhelmed before going to visit Mark but what he doesn’t know about kilts isn’t worth knowing!” Lee enthuses.
“Over a few visits he made me feel comfortable and together we found exactly what I was looking for.
“As I’m buying the outfits for Tony and me, we wanted to add our own personal touches and got to decide every last detail – cuffs, pocket angles, collars, buttons, linings, stitching – a complete bespoke service.”
And while Lee says it feels like he’s “trying to break the enigma code” to get a hint of what Louise’s dress is like, he knows she was very well looked after at Eleganza Sposa who made her feel like a queen.
Keep an eye out for Lee’s next column as the wedding planning really ramps up
And you can read all about his super-romantic proposal here
