Real Weddings in Scotland: Siobhan and Matthew's classic and elegant day

A romantic proposal in Vegas led to a beautiful hotel wedding for this Scottish couple. Our WED2B Real Weddings in Scotland feature reveals more:

Chance meeting

Siobhan and Matthew met purely by chance at a mutual friends house in 2010, "I wasn't meant to go to my friends' house but my original plans changed," Siobhan says, "so we think our meeting was meant to be." After clicking that first night, Matthew took Siobhan for a cinema date followed by a Frankie & Benny's dinner, "it was a lovely night."

Siobhan was one lucky lady in 2014 when Matthew gifted her tickets to Las Vegas for Christmas. They flew to Vegas in March and visited the Stratosphere which is where Matthew got down on one knee and proposed. "He had the most amazing Tiffany ring, my dream ring, and I said yes!"

A perfect venue for Weddings in Scotland

After visiting the Lochside House Hotel and Spa in Ayrshire for a friends wedding in 2015, the couple knew it was the perfect place for them to wed. After coming home from Vegas, they visited the venue again and booked it for their big day. "The views and grounds of the hotel are out of this world. It sits right in the middle of the beautiful Loch," Siobhan says.

The elegant dress

Siobhan wore the Anna Sorrano dress Amore. She had always pictured herself getting married in a big lace princess dress, but after trying a few on, she didn't like them when they were on, "I'm only 5"2 so the big skirts didn't suit me". After coming out the changing rooms without finding the one, she scoured the rails again and came across Amore. "My mum thought it was too plain, but I thought 'you can jazz up a plain dress!'"

Siobhan tried on Amore with the Langley veil, and when the curtain was pulled back she and her mum began to cry. "I knew it was the one! I thought it was so elegant and comfortable."

"The staff and service the Glasgow bridal store gave me was 1st class," Siobhan says, "They were so helpful, they didn’t rush me at all! Also, the dressing rooms are so spacious and have lovely big mirrors!"

An emotional ceremony

The couple held their ceremony in Matthew's families church, St Aloysius', "it meant a lot to my husband to have our ceremony here". Siobhan's mum gave her away which was a very emotional and special moment for them both.

A shared love for the TV show Nashville inspired the "The Wedding Song", the music Siobhan walked down the aisle to. On their way out as a married couple, they left to "500 Miles" which is their "favourite Scottish song".

Princess and the Puncture

With the ceremony over, everyone made their way to the beautiful Lochside House Hotel. Siobhan and the wedding party travelled in style in beautiful white and silver Imperial cars. Unfortunately, on the way there, Siobhan's car had a puncture! Luckily, there were some friendly locals in the area who helped the driver change the tyre. "I just sat in the car drinking prosecco!" Siobhan says.

Once at the reception venue, the couple got lots of pictures of themselves and the wedding party before having a drinks reception with canapes.

During dinner, Siobhan's mum set the couple up with a little surprise. "After our main course, a singing waiter came out! He was brilliant! The atmosphere was electric and everyone was on their feet". Evening food consisted of a big buffet of bacon, potato scones and rolls... plus lots of wedding cake!

Afterparty

The party in the evening went on until the early hours. A beautiful fireworks display filled the night sky, which everyone really loved. Back in the venue, there was a band playing until 11pm, and then their favourite childhood DJ, DJ Vance, came out. "We kept this a surprise from everyone, it went down a treat!" Siobhan says.

Classic and elegant

The couple didn't have a big, obvious theme, but they did want everything to come across as classic and elegant. A white cloth covered the chairs, and tables were covered with touches of lilac and pearls. For their centrepieces, they carried over their elegant theme with large silver vases filled with lilac roses, gypsophila and hydrangeas.

The main feature of the room was the wedding cake. It was a simple white 4 tier cake wrapped in a diamante belt which matched the bridesmaids'. What really drew the eye to it, however, was that it was placed on a large diamante chandelier swing!

Siobhan's top tips

"My advice to all brides and grooms would make sure you get some time together every now and again. 2 years planning and its over in the blink of an eye!"

Photography credit: Tandem Photo