A gorgeous Christmassy wedding at Mansfield Traquair, Edinburgh
Cassie and Tomo
- ThePlus Audio
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Working as an event sales manager, Cassie had a pretty clear idea of what she wanted when she and Tomo were planning their wedding.
“I think because it’s my job I knew exactly what I wanted and was very decisive,” she says.
And when it came to finding their venue, it was only ever going to be Mansfield Traquair, which suited their Christmas theme to a tea.
Read on to hear all about their dream day, captured beautifully by Blue Sky Photography…
With a ring on her finger and the venue picked out they knew it was all come together for a December wedding day.
“Mansfield Traquair is so magical,” says Cassie. “We wanted somewhere where we could have everyone in the same place, and not have to move about from venue to venue.
“The fairy lights are so magical and fitted in perfectly with our Christmas theme!
“I loved a forest green colour and we ran with it, adding in touches of golds and creams.”
Florist Caroline of Nectar and Pollen decorated candelabras with soft creams and foliage and with this wedding having a Christmas theme the couple of course had to line the aisle with trees from their friends’ Christmas Tree farm – Duff Trees.
“The real Christmas trees just had simple twinkling warm lights on them, and made the room smell all Christmassy.”
Beyond expectation
Working in the wedding industry Cassie has seen a lot of dresses and while she knew she wanted something fitted for herself, she made sure she tried on everything different style in shops across Scotland to find the perfect gown for her own day.
Finally on a shopping trip with her mum, grandma and sister-in-law Robyn she found what she was looking for in Glasgow’s Eleganza Sposa.
“My dress was a Suzanne Neville one called ‘Abigail’. It honestly exceeded my expectations.
“It was elegant and classy, and at the time, was nothing like any other dress I had seen before.”
In keeping with her gown she kept her accessories simple, wearing her grandma’s pearl necklace which her papa had bought her before he passed away.
“Tom had taken the necklace to Liam Ross Jewellers and matched the colour of the pearls to pearl earrings as my wedding present, and I wore them on the day,” she remembers.
“I kept the pearl theme going with my shoes.”
And for her eight bridesmaids – “Tom and I decided on the wedding party together, it was special. His sister was my maid of honour” – Cassie opted for the Infinity dress which meant they could have the design of dress they wanted and felt comfortable with.
“They all looked like princesses!” she smiles.
Back to his roots
Tom paid tribute to his heritage and Scottish tradition, purchasing his kilt from Gordon Nicolson Kiltmakers in the Welsh Williams tartan.
And not to be outdone by Cassie he had two best men and 10 groomsmen
“Yes, I know. It is outrageous!”
All the excitement
Cassie admits to not sleeping much the night before the wedding – “I was just so excited!”
But a cup of tea in bed from her sister-in-law in the morning helped calm the nerves and then it was on to a relaxed few hours chilling with her girls, listening to the playlist her best friend Louise had made and drinking mimosas.
“It was lovely morning with all the favourite women in my life (and my dog Flame),” she smiles.
Capella String Quartet played as guests arrived at Mansfield Traquair and then did a rendition of the Braveheart theme for the bridesmaids’ entrance.
Then Roddy from Reel Time Events piped Cassie into Highland Cathedral as a surprise for Tomo.
The couple’s friend John Tonner from Fuze Ceremonies presided over the legal side of the ceremony and they opted for a humanist ceremony as they felt they had been through a lot together and wanted to make it about them and to add their own touches.
Their friend Toby also took on the other parts of the ceremony.
“He was incredible,” recalls Cassie. “It was the perfect balance of happy and emotional.”
Cassie and Tomo wrote their own vows and had Flame dressed in a kilt bring the rings down the aisle, which turned out to be the highlight of their entire day.
Talk about cute!
“He was such a good boy, except when he did a pee on one of the Christmas trees on his walk back down the aisle!
“No one thought he would do it as he is usually a nightmare!
“Tom and I couldn’t have imagined our day without him.”
Time to celebrate
For their wedding breakfast the couple really treated their 150 days guests serving charred langoustines followed by slow cooked beef cheek and a trio of mini desserts.
And the speeches went down a treat with the two best men committing to their re-enactment of Brave Heart by applying blue paint to their faces!
An additional 80 guests arrived in time for the evening reception and were greeted by children’s charity Pulse of the Place playing.
“The money we gave them goes to children getting music lessons,” says Cassie.
Then band Callanish filled the dance floor with a mix of ceilidh and covers.
“The atmosphere was really relaxed, happy and emotional,” remembers Cassie. “I couldn’t have asked for much more!”
With organising events being Cassie’s day job you may think planning her own wedding would feel like work but she loved it all.
She says, “It was so nice to be on the opposite side of planning and not doing it on behalf of someone.”
And she has some sage advice for to-be-weds.
“Write a to do list and rely on your bridal party for help,” she says. “As much as I thought I could do it on my own, I couldn’t.
“The girls and I had lots of craft nights (with fizz of course!) which made the whole experience more fun and helped lighten the load.
“It was the best day of our lives and we wish we could do it all over again!”
Blue Sky Photography
Alie and Niels
Here are the amazing suppliers that helped make my day so special
– I’d highly recommend them.
Band | Callanish
Bride’s dress | Suzanne Neville at Eleganza Sposa
Celebrant | John Tonner from Fuze Ceremonies
Cheese cake | I J Mellis
Christmas trees | Duff Trees
Flowers | Nectar and Pollen Floral
Groom’s outfit | Gordon Nicolson Kiltmakers
Hair | NC Hair
Make-up | Nikki Marshall
Music | Pulse of the Place
Piper| Roddy of Reel Time Events
Rings and earrings | Liam Ross Jewellers
String Quartet | Capella String Quartet
Videography | Chestnut Productions
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