A Bonnie Scottish Castle Wedding

I mean, I don’t blame Alanna and Euann for falling in love with Cluny Castle at first sight… just look at this venue! Situated in tranquil Aberdeenshire countryside and hidden from view by over two hundred acres of beautiful landscaped parkland, this really is the most majestic, secluded and enchanting venue.

Keep reading for all the rustic-elegance including chic Bridesmaids, a traditional Piper, yummy donuts, lots of Champagne and one very loved pup.

Alanna says…

As soon as we saw Cluny Castle we knew it was the venue for us.

We worked closely with Cosmo, the owner of the castle and his amazing staff including Fiona and Louise who helped us book and organise our wedding. Unfortunately, in March 2020, Covid-19 struck so our June 2020 wedding was postponed. The venue were amazing and took away the stress of having to re-organise.

After two postponements, we finally got married at the stunning Cluny Castle in Aberdeenshire on 19th June 2021. Even with the Covid-19 restrictions, it was the most perfect day. Our close friends and family stayed with us in the Castle for our Wedding weekend, it was a weekend of luxury.

Our wedding ceremony took place within the Chapel at Cluny Castle and was carried out by our family minister. The Champagne reception took place within the Castle itself – in the beautiful Drawing Room and Library. We had our evening reception in the beautiful Tenant’s Hall of the Castle.

My first experience of wedding dress shopping was perfect – the staff at Eleganza Sposa were outstanding. I had no idea what type of dress I was looking for but as soon as I tried on my Essence of Australia (D2716) off the shoulder dress, I knew it was the one. They matched my dress with a beautiful cathedral length veil and earrings to complete my look. My makeup was done by Claire at Spotlight Makeup with an additional artist, Emma Fairley. The bridal party’s hair was done by my friend and hairdresser Shona McDaid. Our beautiful bespoke wedding rings were designed and hand crafted by Blair and Sheridan Glasgow.

We had the most amazing suppliers for our wedding day. Our Wedding Coordinator, Louise was invaluable in bringing together our day. Our Caterer’s, Kate’s Bespoke Catering, not only served the most delicious canapés, three course meal and evening buffet but also ran the Champagne reception and evening bar seamlessly. They ensured all of our guests had a fabulous time throughout the full day – we could not have asked for more.

We decided on a rustic summer theme for our day and our florist Kim Dalglish put together the most beautiful florals I have ever seen. We had Aflie at Rustic Aberdeen supply rustic tables for our reception, a rustic bar, and rustic barrels for our courtyard marquee. Our breathtaking marquee lined with chandeliers was supplied by Esslemont Marquees. We had a donut board with delicious donuts which were supplied from The Kilted Donut in Edinburgh. Our beautiful cake was supplied from 3D Cakes. Kit and Rosie of Trodden Black Chilli Jam designed and prepared chilli jam favour jars for our guests. Chilli jam flavours included pineapple and scotch bonnet and smoky tomato – our guests loved these.

Our day was perfectly and beautifully captured by our very kind and talented photographer Chris Henderson. Words cannot describe just how happy we are with our wedding photographs. He had a second shooter, Jonathan Addie also present to help capture all of our important moments.

We booked our piper Shivvy through Thistle Piping, Aberdeen. She was outstanding. Shivvy piped all of our guests into the Chapel prior to the ceremony. Our little Cocker Spaniel puppy Maple came to enjoy our day with us. We booked Brodie from Bishops Brood Animal Services to be her wedding chauffeur for the day. She was picked up on the morning of the wedding to go for a very lovely walk and head back to Bishop Croft for her puppy groom. She was then brought to the venue after our ceremony, chaperoned by Brodie, for some pictures (making a nice bed for herself in my wedding dress – thankfully with clean paws) and cuddles from the guests. She was then dropped back off to Kath of Home Comforts Pet Sitting Service for her weekend stay. She was one spoiled puppy that weekend!

Due to Covid-19, Euann’s brother, his best man, was unable to travel from the USA to celebrate our day with us. As well as this, his close family in Canada were also unable to travel. Knowing this, we arranged for Aberdeen Audio Visual to come in at the last minute to film our ceremony and reception. Not only that, they arranged for a projector screen to be put up for our wonderful wedding surprise – Euann’s brother had pre -recorded a best man speech and all of the Canadian family had sent a small video message. These were all played during our reception and it made our wedding even more perfect. This was definitely a highlight of our wedding.

Covid-19 restrictions meant we couldn’t have a full band but our original band Brother Man were so accommodating and supportive. They organised to come and play a stripped back acoustic style set – and oh my goodness they were outstanding. Euann and I got our first dance to ‘Everywhere’ by Fleetwood Mac. They made the most perfect atmosphere for our Evening Reception and are one of the most talented bands we have heard.

We had a day we will never forget. Although we could not celebrate with everyone we wanted to and we had to adhere to Government guidance, we couldn’t have asked for a more special wedding day at Cluny Castle.