Christmas Eve City Wedding Story - Donna and Mark - REAL WEDDING
It’s been quite a start to 2021 for everyone so far, hasn’t it?
In order to liven up the mood, I would like to share with you the very inspirational story of Donna and Mark over the next few days! I have had so much fun planning their most special day. There were plenty of giggles and even tears too, but what a day it was in the end! What was meant to be my very first wedding of 2021, turned out to be my very last wedding of 2020!
Would you like to learn their story? Follow their journey in the next few paragraphs.
THE BEGINNING
Donna emailed me an enquiry on Thursday 20th August after receiving a message from her former venue that they wouldn’t be reopening in time for her and Mark’s wedding. Donna was distraught but beknown to her, Mark did his research and suggested contacting wedding planners to help them bring their vision to life again as they weren’t sure where to begin- again!
Upon Donna’s enquiry and without any commitment, I got busy organising provisional quotes and availability in order to give Donna confidence that her dream wedding day can happen 100%!
We were on the phone that same evening to discuss the options available.
Would you have considered a wedding planner to help you if you found yourself under those same circumstances?
THE VENUE
It didn’t take long to get the venue organised – by the weekend, I had Donna and Mark visiting 5 fantastic venues in the city with me. I knew the city centre was their number one preference and we had such a great response and reception from them all – Hilton Carlton, Doubletree by Hilton Edinburgh City Centre, The Old Dr Bell’s Baths, Kimpton Edinburgh Charlotte Square and finally The Bonham.
We matched and booked the perfect package within one week from the initial enquiry – With the weight lifted off their shoulders, the fun of wedding planning truly began for Donna and Mark.
Would you like to find out what venue they selected in the end? Follow their story below.
THE SUPPLIERS
Very quickly after selecting The Bonham, the perfect wedding venue for our couple, we focused on sourcing the best team of wedding suppliers to complement their special day.
The next few posts will reveal to you who supported Mark and Donna along their wedding planning journey with me.
How do you choose your suppliers? Let me know in the comments below:
A - Word of Mouth Recommendation
B - Directories
C - Google searches
Geebz Photography
We had a range of photographers to consider but when Donna and Mark told me that it is important that their wedding day photography isn’t long, dull and all staged and that their daughters are very important for them to be featured too – I immediately knew who I needed to speak to!
No matter the age of the group, I know Geebz can make photography fun and all guests naturally relaxed and they all had a brilliant time having their photographs taken and the effects are amazing!
What is most important in your opinion when choosing your wedding photographer? Let me know in the comments below.
Mo Ackroyd
Donna and Mark also told me that they were looking for ceremony recommendations – they initially considered civil ceremony, but when they heard how personalised humanist ceremonies could be, they asked me to check availability with my connections. I know that personalised ceremony was important to them from the first moment we spoke. We were in luck! My recommendation Mo Ackroyd was available on their date!
I was very lucky to be responsible for the ceremony music and 19 guests joining on Zoom from around the world. Everyone agreed what a moving and heartfelt ceremony it was!
I hear about the statistics around the ceremonies, but I wonder how many of you – my followers are choosing each type of wedding ceremony – let me know your choice in the comments below:
A. Civil
B. Humanist
C. Religious
DJ Edinburgh
Music and evening entertainment were one of the wedding elements that we weren’t too sure about from the beginning, but thankfully Jim at DJ Edinburgh was on hand to help us with suggestions and recommendations.
In the end, Donna and Mark performed their first dance, assisted with Toastmaster announcements and post-dinner games including Kahoot!
What evening plans would you make for your micro-wedding? If you’re looking for recommendations, message me in the chatbox now!
BagPiper Online
As always Pipe Major David McRobert didn’t disappoint!
It was Donna and Mark’s personal request to ensure a Piper was available on their special day and David arrived an hour prior to the ceremony to greet all guests on arrival in his full highland dress.
He was then available to play the couple to the Top Table and raised a well-wishing toast to our couple with a dram of whisky (which was actually just an apple juice – he was driving after, you know 😊)
One thing that always impresses me with BagPiper Online is how David and his team can come up with tunes on the day and we weren’t disappointed this time either. David played himself out of the room to Jingle Bells.
Do you enjoy bagpipes at weddings? Give us ❤️ if you do in the comments below.
EightYards
My next recommendation was the kilts for the male part of the wedding party! Mark’s Mum said that the service from Eight Yards was impeccable when dressing the boys!
As mentioned before – Eight Yards also now supply tartan face masks matching their range of kilts, which is what Mark chose for his special day too.
All the gents looked absolutely outstanding in their smart outfits, don’t you think? Live chatbox message me if you’re looking for some advice on the matter of outfits today.
George Gilchrist-Grodnicki
My husband George got introduced to Donna and Mark during one of our consultations as we were looking for some winter wedding inspiration. George, having worked with flowers in his career, managed to pull off the perfect design for Donna and Mark’s wedding. Further to this consultation, we also met at the hotel to discuss the final touches and arrangements.
It was very important for Donna and Mark to ensure their wedding was matching the season perfectly with not flowers, but rather plenty of pine branches, pinecones and mistletoe to set the perfect winter backdrop to their nuptials.
George played an essential role in building the arrangements on the morning of the wedding and setting up the space in accordance with Donna and Mark’s brief.
Don’t you think he’s got a good eye for these things? Chatbox message me today if you’d like to speak to George about your upcoming wedding décor if you’re looking for inspiration consultation.
The Dress/es
Now, this will be a very inspirational part of Donna and Mark’s story!
From day 1, Donna wanted to make her own wedding day dress and four dresses for her daughters, and she did it!
Initially, it was meant to be a 1920’s inspired dress by Vera Wang, however, along the process it became apparent to Donna that she wanted something a lot more flowing and open!
Her daughter’s dresses were finished in early December when Donna was working on the final elements of her dress, but by that point her dress changed to cigarette-style trousers with a stunning wrap-around train – when she arrived at the entrance to the ceremony, I truly appreciated her vision – it was breathtaking!
Give Donna ❤️ in the comment boxes below!
THE 1ST CHANGE
Not long into the wedding planning the Scottish five tier Covid guidelines system was introduced and Edinburgh was immediately placed in the 2nd most restrictive tier, meaning we had to consider our options for evening entertainment and relook at the numbers again.
I was very proud of Donna and Mark for having persevered through yet another change to their wedding plan after having to find a brand-new venue all over again already!
We discussed the options and came to the conclusion that no matter what – their wedding was going to be epic! Donna and Mark managed to work out their final numbers and worked with their girls on games to keep their wedding fun, exciting and entertaining all round and they managed this!
Are you looking for inspiration for a micro-wedding? Chatbox message me today for some fabulous ideas!
THE BIG CHANGE
On 19th December a big blow arrived when the First Minister of Scotland announced the full lockdown starting at 00:01 on Boxing Day – we didn’t think we’d get any further restrictions before the New Year and here we are back to the drawing board as Donna and Mark’s wedding was planned all along for 1st January 2021!
Initially the wedding was meant to have 40+ guests joining from around the world to celebrate. Starting with the torch Procession on 30th, followed by the Hogmanay street party and a late wedding ceremony on 1st January- commencing at 4pm.
Without much notice or even anyone to speak to as the lockdown announcement was made on Saturday evening, I was quick to contact all suppliers and had options to present to Donna and Mark.
Knowing that Donna and Mark worked so hard on this wedding plan, Donna made her and her daughter dresses, and her parents arriving from USA over two weeks early to quarantine for their wedding (after four flights cancelations – I might add), I couldn’t imagine them not having the perfect wedding day, when we were so close!
A few private messages later with all my amazing suppliers and The Bonham, and we had a plan – we could move their entire wedding in its finalised format to Christmas Eve and they loved the idea!
How amazing is that with only four days’ notice? Give us ❤️ if you’ve loved this story so far!
THE PERFECT DAY