A pretty garden-inspired Winton Castle wedding
Alexandra and Seumas
- ThePlus Audio
- ThePlus Audio
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Alexandra and Seumas first met in the summer of 2021 at Winton Castle.
“I have worked in events at Winton since 2018 and Seumas took on a temporary grounds job that summer.
“He was waiting for his visa to go to South Africa for his safari guide training (he is originally from Kenya),” she explains.
Alexandra’s colleague and dear friend Fay thought they’d make a good couple so she teamed up with the head groundsman Douglas to set them up!
After 20 months together – and 10 long-distance – Seumas proposed in March 2023 while on a campervan holiday in Iceland.
“One day we went to visit Goðafoss waterfall. As we were walking towards it, the sun was setting over the snow and ice – it looked so beautiful and romantic.
“Seumas decided to throw a huge snowball at me to put me off the scent!
“Then when we were in front of the waterfall he knelt in the snow to propose.”
Seumas proposed with his great-grandmother’s ring, a gorgeous vintage art deco-style diamond and sapphire ring from 1926.
Liam Ross Jewellery did a beautiful full reset, keeping it as close as possible to the original design but adding a little extra crescent moon detail on the side of the setting for a personal touch.
“Having worked at many weddings before, we wanted to make sure our wedding really felt like it was our own unique day, so we spent a lot of time thinking about what we could do to personalise our celebration.
“We chose Winton Castle, as it is a place that has been so special to us and we wouldn’t have met without it!
“It’s the place where we worked, met and lived, so it only seemed fitting that it was where we chose to celebrate this new chapter with our friends and family.”
Colourful florals
The couple chose the beautiful Walled Garden for their ceremony as it was the place where they first felt a spark between them.
They also took inspiration from the flowers in bloom there at that time of year, such as wisteria, forget-me-nots and coral roses.
The theme was a rustic vibe with lots of colourful florals and brass candlesticks, while their artistic friend, Hannah, designed their invitations.
They made their table plan using vintage maps of Scotland, Kenya and Iceland, and Alexandra’s own watercolours of waterfalls they have visited together in each of these three countries.
The bride’s talented mother also made their rose and pistachio wedding cake.
Family connections
Alexandra admits she struggled a bit with dress shopping.
“I am quite short (under 5ft) and felt more like a flower girl than a bride in some dresses that didn’t flatter my height.
“However, this was solved when my wonderful Aunt Laura offered me her wedding dress!”
Alexandra had been a bridesmaid at her aunt and uncle’s Westminster Abbey wedding and she was able to alter her aunt’s dress to suit with the help of the wonderful Mette at Freja Designer Dressmaking.
“We kept the main corset of the dress, and added on a new skirt with a train, and my favourite – the sleeves using the floral lace from the dress’ original train.”
She completed the look with a delicate floral crown created by their florist.
Alexandra had five bridesmaids and a bridesman, while matchmaker Fay was their witness.
The bride’s goddaughter, Gwen, was flower girl, and she wore Alexandra’s first communion dress, which had been made from her Nanna’s wedding dress.
“We went for the mismatched look with the bridesmaids.
“We made a mood board and divvied up our colour scheme amongst them and they picked their own dresses in their colours, so they matched the florals beautifully.”
Seumas had a new kilt made in his Grant Ancient Hunting Tartan and bought his fitted tweed jacket and waistcoat in highland green.
His party was a mixture of friends, and his sister Kristina was a groomslady.
Feeling lucky
The day before the wedding was such a busy one with guests arriving, a rehearsal and setting up that Alexandra found it hard to drop off to sleep.
“Waking up on the day I was not tired the way I’d usually be after such little sleep.
“I think the excitement and being with my friends gave me the energy I needed.”
She admits the morning of the wedding was very surreal as Winton is such a familiar place to her, so it felt strange to actually be the bride!
“The dreamlike feeling continued all the way to walking down the aisle to John Rae, aka The Pickled Piper, playing The Skye Boat Song, when reality really hit.
“When I saw Seumas I felt very teary but couldn’t stop smiling either, it was wonderful.”
They chose a humanist ceremony with celebrant Caroline Pearson, who helped the couple remain calm.
After the ceremony there were cocktails and mocktails as well as Scottish and Kenyan beers.
Guests both young and old were also entertained with lawn games like croquet and cornhole.
A lovely wedding breakfast for their 120 guests followed in the outdoors under a stretch tent, before they then headed inside the castle for the evening reception, with a ceilidh in the ballroom and whisky tasting in the vaulted cellar, all topped off with sparklers on the peacock balcony.
Alexandra recalls one highlight of the day that truly made them feel the love.
“I do remember a moment during the meal, when Seumas and I were at the top table holding hands and looking out at all of our guests, people who had travelled from all over the UK and Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Kenya and Australia to be there with us.
“We told ourselves to really let that sink in and appreciate how lucky we were to have them.”
Winton Castle
- 01875 340 222
- Winton Castle, Winton Estate, Pencaitland, East Lothian, EH34 5AT
- enquiries@wintoncastle.co.uk
- www.wintoncastle.co.uk/
Tony Marsh Photography
“We had such a fab day, the rain didn’t dampen anybody’s spirits – a wonderful couple and I felt privileged to be sharing their day.”
Allan
Here are the amazing suppliers that helped make our day so special
– I’d highly recommend them.
Band | Pacific
Bride’s dress | Freja Designer Dressmaking
Bride’s shoes | PinkyPromiseAccs
Caterer | FieldFireFork
Celebrant | Caroline Pearson, Humanist
Society Scotland
Flowers | Secret Garden Events Florist
Groom’s outfit | Jean O’Rourke Kiltmaker
Hair | Eireann Roberts Bridal
Make-up | Erin Stewart Makeup
Rings | Nikki Stark Jewellery
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