Colin & Shaun
- ThePlus Audio
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For Colin and Shaun Dobson-Fox, a ceremony in a stunning Scottish castle was the perfect way to celebrate over 30 years together.
The content creators, who are originally from Wakefield but now live in the Scottish Highlands, are well known for their YouTube
channel Foxes Afloat, which began by charting their adventures on a canal narrowboat before they moved to their croft in 2021.
The couple became civil partners in 2006 and converted this to a marriage licence in 2014 but never had an official wedding ceremony to mark their union.
Then in 2023, Colin and Shaun began searching for the perfect venue for a once-in-a-lifetime celebration with family and friends, and found Ardross Castle on their doorstep.
Ardross is now famous for being the castle that features in TV show The Traitors, but the pair didn’t choose the venue because of this (though they did have fun making some playful nods to the series on the day).
“The reason we booked it wasn’t anything to do with The Traitors, it was because we wanted a Scottish castle and it was the nearest venue that we could use. We also wanted some privacy and a quiet weekend,” Colin explains.
The couple were offered their date, which had come available due to a cancellation, and Colin knew they had to jump for it – leaving only eight months to plan the rest of the details.
“The priority was to make sure that I could get the suppliers for the day,” he says. “We managed to get some recommendations and I built a list of who I wanted. I was so lucky that every single one I asked said yes!”
After making their initial bookings they decided to bring in the help of their good friend Vanessa so that she could start looking at the finer details and bring their vision together.
Roses and thistles
The theme was a mixture of their native Yorkshire and Scotland, and Colin and Shaun achieved this with gorgeous floral displays and buttonholes pairing white roses (Yorkshire’s symbol) with Scottish thistles.
Then when it came to what to wear, they planned a visit to MacGregor and MacDuff during a city break to Edinburgh. While browsing, they found themselves taken with the Harris Mist tartan.
“I liked it because it was earthy and natural, but it wasn’t too modern or flashy. We didn’t want to be too dressed up, although we did want to be smart,” Shaun explains.
They also chose Tarbert tweed kilt jackets and waistcoats along with Harris Mist ties and bespoke tartan ghillie brogues to complete the look.
The day before the wedding, they had an intimate dinner with family and friends with the entire castle and grounds to themselves.
Their guests were also excited to be using the same rooms as they do on The Traitors!
That night, they stayed together in the same suite. “To be fair, the bed in Ardross Castle is that big it was like sleeping apart anyway!” Colin jokes.
“The bedroom was bigger than our house!” Shaun adds with a laugh.
Shaun slept well, but Colin was a bit restless.
On the day though, neither were feeling too nervous.
“I’d spent so much time planning every single detail with a plan B, C and D! So from the second we arrived on the Friday morning, I knew every single thing that was going to happen. I was actually really chilled,” Colin recalls.
The morning went in a flash of final preparations, and while Shaun spent some time with his family, Colin enjoyed a walk.
“A friend of mine took me to one side and said, ‘while it’s quiet, while everybody’s busy getting things ready, go and walk around and take it all in now while you can’.
“It was the best bit of advice I got. I spent 40 minutes just walking, watching the people setting up, and just breathing it in and taking it in thinking, ‘I’m not going to get this again’.
“It was the best moment.”
The Great Hall
Shaun’s sister Michelle performed the role of his best woman while Colin’s best man was close friend Kev Kenny, who built the narrowboat that started their adventures.
When it was time for the ceremony to begin, they walked down the staircase together with their best man and best woman following behind.
A local piper piped them along the corridor that contestants use in The Traitors, into the Great Hall – the room that normally houses the infamous round table.
Colin and Shaun chose a Church of Scotland ceremony led by Rev. James Bissett, exchanging traditional vows and drinking from a quaich.
Afterwards there was a drinks reception and canapés for their 125 guests while the Great Hall was converted for the wedding breakfast.
Next up was Glasgow band Chart Society, who also did some ceilidh numbers and called the dance moves for those guests who weren’t familiar with them.
For the remainder of the evening, everyone enjoyed the castle, dispersing into its many rooms, having a chilled out night with some delicious supper to keep them going.
“Looking back, the highlight is a photograph of everybody on the steps with the castle in the background and me with my arm in the air shouting ‘Yay!’ It was just that joy you can see in people’s faces at that moment,” Colin says.
With guests travelling from England and further afield places like South Africa and Australia, the couple also wanted to ensure they too had a memorable day.
Colin adds, “The venue is spectacular. It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing for us. We’d never be able to do anything like this again, so we wanted to make sure everybody had that same experience.”
Ardross Castle
- Ardross Castle, Alness, Ross-shire, IV17 0YE
- www.ardrosscastle.co.uk/
David Grant Simpson Photography
“When Colin and Shaun asked me to photograph their wedding at Ardross Castle, I didn’t hesitate for the chance to return to such an iconic location. I had photographed two weddings there prior to The Traitors, so it was really interesting to return with a new perspective. It was such
a great day with two amazing guys and their international guest list.”
Allan
Here are the amazing suppliers that helped make our day so special
– I’d highly recommend them.
Band | Chart Society
Cake | Cakes by Fiona MacKinnon
Catering | Good Highland Food
Celebrant | Rev. James Bissett
Flowers | Angela Hunter Flowers
Grooms’ outfits | MacGregor and MacDuff
Hair Stylist for guests | Erin Mackay Hair
Harpist | Emma Chisholm Wright
Piper | Alexander Mackay
Stationery | Hearts & Twine
Videography | Pretty Little Films
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