Fun New Years Eve DIY Barn Wedding

New Years Eve feels like an age ago doesn’t it? Well we are headed back to the 31^st December 2019 today for WWW readers Catriona and Megan’s Comrie Croft wedding in beautiful Perthshire, Scotland. Their day was truly a DIY affair held in the beautiful barns, with all of their loved ones coming together to help craft their perfect weekend of celebrations. Firstly they had music, fire pits and a food truck for their pre wedding party before holding a special humanist ceremony the following day. Celebrations continued into the evening with a live band and Orcadian Strip the Willow as their first dance, it looked such fun.

I really love Catriona and Megan’s bridal style (they both looked so stunning in their chosen dresses), the greenery bouquets and the doughnut table for dessert. There are so many lovely rustic touches I think you will love and do look out for the cutest ring bearer ever! A massive thank you to Neil Thomas Douglas for sharing with us these super beautiful images, those sunset shots are just glorious.

Fun, happy, relaxed, chilled, barn, DIY, weekend event.

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The Proposal

Catriona proposed to Megan during an 8-day trek in the Torres Del Paine National Park in Chile. On the second day, Catriona suggested a detour to a nearby deserted glacier lake with views over the National Park. Catriona popped the question and Megan said yes. It was lovely having the rest of the time, with no phone connection, to get excited with each other about the wedding and marriage whilst hiking through an unbelievable Patagonian wilderness.

The Vision

We wanted to create a relaxed and laid-back atmosphere where all our friends and family could enjoy a whole ‘weekend’ together and bring in the New Year. Neither of us really like being the centre of attention so we wanted a low-key but fun wedding.

The Planning Process

After being engaged a couple of years, we eventually decided to plan the wedding and decided on New Year’s Eve. We thought we may have been limited with the options for suppliers because it was New Year’s but luckily, we got all of our top picks. We wanted to get suppliers local to the venue who had experience working at Comrie Croft to guide us- which they all did. Comrie Croft has a list of recommended suppliers on their website which is also really useful. Once securing all the main things (venue, caterer, music, photographer etc..) we didn’t have much to do until a couple of months before the wedding where we had to plan the smaller details, decorations and timings etc. (which was much more time-consuming than originally anticipated!).

The Venue

We heard from a couple of friends about this Eco Hostel that provides a laidback venue for a DIY barn wedding in Perthshire. An easy decision as we felt it really reflected us. After visiting it, the setting, the set up with the big barn and cosier Cowshed, as well as the courtyard with the fire pits was everything we were looking for in a venue. Despite being a DIY venue, the staff at Comrie Croft were so helpful with any questions we had about ideas and logistics. A Facebook group set up of past and future wedding couples was really helpful to ask other couples about specifics we weren’t sure about.

We planned a 2-3 day wedding with friends and family arriving the evening before for a mingle. We put on some music, lit fire pits and organised a food truck, Stag Bites the Hog, to cook us up amazing street food which went down so well; a perfect way to get everyone introduced. Having our friends stay at Comrie Croft was important for us as the wedding and New Year’s celebrations weren’t confined to one day. It also allowed enough time for us to spend time with our loved ones.

The Food & Drink

We wanted an informal and social dining experience that would get everyone talking and Lazy Sundays provided just that; our guests could not stop talking about the food. We had a grazing table for ‘canapes’ and starters during the drinks reception and a sharing style main of beef, salmon and warming winter salads. They were so helpful with planning the day, suggesting timings and decorating all the tables just as we wanted. Their vision and attention to detail is incredible and the running of the day was perfect, so calm we didn’t have to be worried about anything else except enjoying ourselves on the day.

Desserts were doughnuts from our local Doughnut shop in Edinburgh, Considerit. They were presented beautifully by Lazy Sundays on their Doughnut Cart, who also supplied custard and sides for them.

A shout out to our friend Silas Dich who brewed 3 different and incredible beers especially for our wedding, aptly named ‘I-P-Gay’, ‘Hazy Hopmany’ and ‘Pale Harbour’. Safe to say many guests enjoyed them and The Grange Bootleg Microbrewery was drunk dry by the early evening.

Your Outfits & Accessories

Catriona’s dress was a bargain that was bought online. It was a bit different being a two-piece, but I liked the material and the boho style. Terri Lindsay, a friend’s mum, very kindly offered to alter it so that it fitted better which made such a difference.

Megan’s dress was custom made by Gemma Sargent in Edinburgh, as she had an exact style in mind that she knew she was comfortable in and couldn’t find it anywhere. She didn’t want a big fancy dress and Gemma captured exactly the vision that Megan had for her dress and she was so happy with it.

We made each other’s wedding rings at a day-long workshop with Donna Barry, in Edinburgh. Donna was lovely and so patient- she somehow got us to create beautiful and unique rings from a small rod of gold.

Beauty

Catriona’s hair and make-up were done by her sister Maria. Megan’s hair and make-up were done by her friend Kat. Prior to the wedding we went along with our respective “make-up artists” to Bobbi Brown to get some ‘good’ make-up for the day.

Bridesmaids

Because the bridesmaids were living in various places as well as having different styles, we thought it best to ask them to source their own dresses that they individually felt comfortable and relaxed in. We only asked that they were navy-ish.

On the day, they all looked amazing and it came together perfectly.

The Readings & Music

We had Fiona Scougall conduct a beautiful and personal humanist ceremony. Fiona was so kind and kept us on the straight and narrow with what we were to prepare and the legalities of marriage.

A reading was done by our friends Kirsty and Sue during the ceremony, who wrote their own version of ‘The Gambler’ by Kenny Rogers, which perfectly described us.

Megan’s dad, Keith, and his friends serenaded the audience during the ceremony with an acoustic rendition of Caledonia, which was a total crowd-pleaser and a special moment in the day.

Our piano man was Andy Lucas who we heard at a friend’s wedding and absolutely loved. He was the first person we booked (before the venue!). He creates a relaxed and fun atmosphere for people to mingle and quite a few sing-alongs happened!

Our evening band were The Big Papa’s who made it such a fun night. They called out the bells and had everyone dancing. We have had so many comments from our friends about how great they were. Again, because we don’t like being the centre of attention, we wanted the Orcadian Strip the Willow to be our first dance, so we could celebrate with all of our family and friends (and not be the only ones on the dancefloor!).

The Flowers

Some were supplied by Tomnah’a (who works at Comrie Croft) however they were unable to do the flowers on our date, but helpfully left a few bundles of foliage for us to decorate ourselves as well as hiring out a wedding arch for us. The rest of the flowers and foliage was foraged from our garden (ivy, holly, pine) and from our local dog walking places! The brides’ bouquets were some foraged greenery along with a bunch of flowers from M&S put together by Catriona. The day before the wedding lots of our friends got stuck in and helped create the bridesmaid’s bouquets, flowers for the table, and decorating the entire barn and wedding arch.

The Cake

3D Cakes in Edinburgh made us a lovely 3-tiered semi-naked cake which tasted delicious and fitted in well with our theme. They delivered to the venue which made the logistics of planning so much easier!

Your Photographer

We found Neil Thomas Douglas on Instagram not knowing how in demand he was. We were so lucky he was available and we couldn’t have asked for anyone more perfect for us. He knew exactly what we wanted and the rest we left up to him. He was super-friendly and efficient at getting all the photos we asked for. We love his style and are so happy with every photo from the day. It was made even better that there was such a spectacular and unexpected sunset for us in December.

The Details & Décor

We rented some Hay Bale Covers from Brolly Bucket to ensure we had enough blankets for the hay bales as well as for keeping our guests warm outside. They dropped off and picked up which made it so easy and the covers enhanced the look of the Cowshed.

The Honeymoon

Straight after the wedding we headed West to the Airship 002 in Drimnin, for a few nights to relax and do nothing. An incredible, cosy cabin which was perfect for us and our dog Nico. Would highly recommend. Unfortunately our ‘real’ honeymoon around Columbia has been postponed due to the coronavirus.

Memorable Moments

I don’t think anyone has forgotten about our ring bearer, our dog Nico, arriving at the aisle to deliver the rings having lost them. After a mad dash by some, they were found in the courtyard outside, classic us!

The entire ‘weekend’ was perfect for us and we loved that our friends dug in to help the venue look amazing. In particular our readings, the Caledonia serenade, the speeches and the beer brewed by Silas were so special to us and we had so much fun all day and night.

Advice For Other Couples

Securing suppliers that are local to the venue or who have done other weddings there made it a lot less stressful. We were completely guided by them and I would recommend just to go with it – they have a lot more experience than you with what works.

Book suppliers far in advance if you can, so you have time to relax before organising the smaller details closer to the time. And don’t underestimate how much there is to do in the few weeks before – if it is a DIY venue!

Credit Where Credit Is Due

Oh so special.

Catriona and Megan thank you so very much for sharing your really wonderful wedding weekend with us xo Lou