{"id":23272,"date":"2017-06-26T10:31:39","date_gmt":"2017-06-26T10:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theweddingsecret.co.uk\/magazine\/?p=23272"},"modified":"2018-11-22T22:55:27","modified_gmt":"2018-11-22T22:55:27","slug":"winter-highland-wedding-ardanaiseig","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theweddingsecret.co.uk\/magazine\/winter-highland-wedding-ardanaiseig\/","title":{"rendered":"Real Wedding Scotland – Samantha and James’ Highland Wedding"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sam and James’ winter Highland\u00a0wedding\u00a0at St. Conan’s Kirk & Ardanaiseig Hotel in Loch Awe, Scotland\u00a0With Photos by Bound by Light\u00a0and Video by\u00a0Wedding Balloon Films<\/h3>\n

Hey readers! Samantha here \u2013 one of the TWS staff writers \u2013 and today\u2019s real wedding post is especially special because it features\u2026 (drumroll please) my wedding! All of the\u00a0stunning photos of our Highland wedding are\u00a0by Stuart McIntyre of Bound by Light<\/a>. And don’t forget to check out our highlights reel at the bottom by Andrew Day of\u00a0Wedding Balloon Films<\/a>!<\/p>\n

\"sj-1395\"<\/p>\n

My husband, James, and I got married out in the absolute backend of nowhere in the Scottish highlands. Although neither of us is in the least bit Scottish, Scotland is a special place to us. James went to the University of Glasgow, and he took me up there for the first time for a weekend getaway shortly after we got together.<\/p>\n

\"sj-1513\"<\/p>\n

It was on that same weekend that, as we were driving haphazardly around the Highlands, we stumbled across St. Conan\u2019s Kirk in Lochawe. I was getting motion sickness and I thought I was about to chunder, so I made James pull over into the nearest convenient place. He just so happened to park in the drive of St. Conan\u2019s.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s like something out of a fairy tale, isn\u2019t it? (And FYI: I wasn\u2019t actually sick there.)<\/p>\n

\"fotofusion-1\"<\/p>\n

I knew then that St. Conan\u2019s was my dream wedding ceremony venue. It\u2019s a late-19th<\/sup> century mock Gothic church that looks like a film set. When we discovered the Ardanaiseig hotel a few months later, (through Groupon, of all things) my mind was made up.\u00a0This New York City girl officially had her heart set on a Highland wedding.<\/p>\n

\"fotofusion-2\"<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Big Day<\/h4>\n

On 17 December, 2016, that dream came true for us. We were joined by 50 of our nearest and dearest from both sides of the pond. There wasn\u2019t a single touch that we didn\u2019t put thought into.<\/p>\n

My day started at 6 AM when two of my friends from my yoga teacher training joined me for an hour\u2019s yoga practice. I was then absolutely pampered by my beauty squad in the form of close friends Andrew (hair) and Anamelia (makeup).<\/p>\n

\"sj-1072\"<\/p>\n

The ceremony at St. Conan\u2019s included readings from Wuthering Heights<\/em> and the Torah (my family\u2019s Jewish) and I walked down the aisle to a beautiful instrumental version of Queen\u2019s Love of My Life<\/em>.<\/p>\n

One of the stand-out aspects\u00a0of our day for me was our cake, made by my best friend and Maid of Honour, Victoria. Vicky and I started baking together during uni, so having her make our cake was so special. Not only was it gorgeous, but it was so delicious that James and I ate all the leftovers the next day while watching Netflix.<\/p>\n

\"sj-1635\"<\/p>\n

After I cleaned up my face from all the cake James had lovingly smeared over it, we kicked off the dancing. Our first dance song was\u00a0Tiny Dancer<\/em> by Elton John, which I chose mostly because of my obsession with the film ‘Almost Famous’. My dad and I then danced to The Kinks\u2019 Waterloo Sunset<\/em>, after which our ceilidh started.<\/p>\n

A note to brides considering having a ceilidh: make sure your dress’ train can be bustled easily! Mine got ruthlessly trampled on by a bunch of our guests who’d evidently had too much fun with the open bar.<\/p>\n

\"sj-1821\"<\/p>\n

I wouldn\u2019t have had it any other way.<\/p>\n

Take a peek at more of our photos below:<\/h3>\n

\"sj-1008\"
\n\"fotofusion-3\"
\n\"sj-1010\"
\n\"sj-1441\"
\n\"sj-1058\"
\n\"sj-1074\"
\n\"sj-1094\"
\n\"sj-1097\"
\n\"sj-1105\"
\n\"sj-1111\"
\n\"sj-1160\"
\n\"sj-1221\"
\n\"sj-1316\"
\n\"sj-1363\"
\n\"fotofusion-4\"
\n\"sj-1482\"
\n\"sj-1496\"
\n\"sj-1584\"
\n\"fotofusion-6\"
\n\"sj-1629\"
\n\"sj-1637\"
\n\"sj-1623\"
\n\"fotofusion-5\"
\n\"sj-1695\"
\n\"sj-1704\"
\n\"fotofusion-7\"
\n\"sj-1740\"
\n\"sj-1749\"
\n\"sj-1782\"
\n\"sj-1774\"
\n\"sj-1791\"
\n\"fotofusion-8\"<\/p>\n

And let’s not forget our gorgeous highlights reel by Andrew of Wedding Balloon Films:<\/h4>\n

Makes me cry every time…<\/p>\n