A secret engagement. Surprises galore. Laidback style.
Britten Bride Kate achieved something truly special by turning her surprise wedding to Greig into a perfectly intimate and totally personal occasion shared with their closest friends and family.
The pair had been plotting a surprise wedding for several months, after deciding they'd love a honeymoon in Costa Rica. When Greig officially proposed in September at Drumlanrig Castle things stepped up a gear as they got to work finalising arrangements during their one-month engagement.
When it came to planning the big day, the couple knew exactly where they would say 'I do'. Small yet stunning, The Bothyin Glasgow’s West End is a place Kate and Grieg have always loved, and its welcoming cosy size meant they were surrounded by the people that mattered most to them.
'They were laid back which suited us perfectly. It just felt like we were planning a lovely family meal with no stress of a wedding. We did go and see another venue to just make sure and that was slightly larger but it began to grow arms and legs and we knew it wasn’t for us.'
To capture all the magic moments of the day, Kate hired her videographer university friends Cue the Mustard and photographers Lena Sabala and Patrick.
Kate chose a minimalist style wedding dress with a full skirt from David’s Bridal in Braehead, and teamed it with 'amazing blue shoes from Ted Baker', a locket with her nan's picture in, and make-up by Lisa Campbell. Greig the groom wore a suit and shoes from COS.
Cascading from the crown of her sophisticated black bob, styled by Katy Craig at Sassoon Salon in Glasgow, Kate also wore our single tier cut edge wedding veil Niacae.
'a lovely company who were so helpful. The veil came boxed beautifully too with a handwritten note.'
The beautiful bride also carried a bouquet of white roses and baby's breath by Lavender Blue florists in Glasgow.
Kate and Greig lured their guests to the venue with the promise of an 'engagement party' on stationery from Zazzle online. And, after secretly harbouring oversea's relatives at their home for four days, they made their big reveal.
'I can’t believe we pulled it off. The night before we took his dad out for his 60th to Jools Holland and it was mental to think we were getting married the next day. But it was so worth it to see their reactions as they walked in. Everyone was so emotional and the double whammy of his brother being there just made the day perfect.'
The wedding ceremony was conducted by minister Jim Teasdale from Eastwood parish church where Greig was christened, his mum and dad married, his grampa christened, and his great-grandparents married bringing added significance to their exchange of vows. The couple gave each other rings from John McKay jewellers in Paisley, who also gave them a thoughtful bag filled with gifts, Prosecco, and a traditional ‘sixpence inside your shoe’ for luck.
Following the ceremony, the twenty-three guests gathered together around a long table to celebrate, with a special place reserved with a tie and Pollok football hat for Greig's grampa who had recently passed away. The table was decorated with Ikea candles, a vine from the florist, and old glass bottles and jars, that Kate and Greig sourced themselves in the West End, filled them with flowers to add to The Bothy's already beautiful decorations.
At the table each guest found a bag from Hobbycraft filled with Hendricks gin and tonic, personalised Love Heart sweets, personalised chocolates from My M&Ms with our picture and the wedding date, and a vintage postcard with a personal meaning to each individual guest, from the town they were from or a special holiday they'd had, as a thank you from the newlyweds.
Great food and good company formed the ultimate theme of the wedding, with family and friends enjoying a tasty three-course set menu, although the bride and groom were so nervous they found they couldn't eat their meals. They did get to sample the beautifully decorated wedding cake from Rosewood Cakes which 'tasted amazing and everyone loved it'.
Offering advice to other brides, Kate said:
'We didn’t spend a lot on our day, we didn’t want to spend thousands on one wedding day. We wanted it to be about us, our marriage and our family and friends. Nothing against big weddings it just wasn’t for us. So just enjoy it, we took in every detail and every minute and the fact it was so intimate meant we got to spend time with everyone and each other. We’ve been to so many big weddings where you barely see the bride and groom together they’re that worried about everyone else having a good time. Be selfish! The day is about you two. The surprise element was to eliminate stress from us and them and everyone loved it.'
The couple said goodbye to their guests at 9:30pm and hopped into a chaffeur driven car, from Fly 'n' Feathers Concierge, loaded with their suitcases, to be transported to Gatwick airport so they could start their honeymoon in style.
We've so enjoyed looking at the photographs from your very unique wedding day Kate and Greig, and we hope you had a great time on your honeymoon.
