Luigi and Emily tied the knot back in April in a church service followed by a beautiful tipi reception in Emily’s parents back garden in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.

They wanted their wedding to be a rustic, homemade, country affair which was fun and relaxed. They combined their Italian and Scottish heritage using music and readings to reflect them both. They homemade the wonderful rustic signs, stationery and the lovely flower arrangements.

Emily looked stunning in a classic gown with romantic updo, while Luigi donned a dapper suit he brought in Italy with a thistle buttonhole.

Thanks so much to the brilliant On Love and Photography for sharing their images with us today.

 

 

The Proposal… In April 2012, in the kitchen of our little flat in Edinburgh while we were cooking together.

The Vision for the Day… Rustic, handmade, country wedding, relaxed and fun with good friends and family.

The Planning Process… We organised the big things first about a year or so before, the church, reception Tipi and most importantly the accommodation for 50 of Luigi’s family coming across from Italy and then the smaller things nearer the time. The design of everything was the fun bit for me.

The Venue… Emily’s family home in Dumfries and Galloway. The plan was to have canapés outdoors and then dinner and dancing in a Tipi we pitched in the garden. In the end it got a bit chilly so everyone squished into the house for prosecco and then the Tipi afterwards. I would definitely recommend a tipi! They are amazing, they look small from the outside but very spacious within. Perfect for a rustic style wedding and cosy even if the weather outside is horrible. The best part is the open log fire in the middle. Check them out http://www.highlandtipis.co.uk/welcome/home.html

The Dress + Accessories… The dress I ended up buying was the very first I tried on. It was from Lamesley Bridal in Edinburgh, a beautiful shop on Broughton Street. It’s run by Carly who is absolutely lovely and so helpful, I never felt rushed or pushed into deciding. The whole process was very relaxing. I tried several other dresses elsewhere but Lamesley was definitely the best.

Groom’s attire… Luigi bought a suit from his town Syracuse in Sicily from a tailor his family have been using for years.

The Readings + Music… One of my friends piped for us, we had a violinist in the church who played Borodin Nocturne from String Quartet No. 2 in D Major and O Mio Babbino Caro by Puccini. My mum read “I carry your heart with me (I carry it in my heart)” by E. E. Cummings and Luigi’s best friend read “Ora che sei venuta” by Camillo Sbarbaro. At the reception my uncle played a couple of songs for us on ukulele and then we had a ceilidh played by The Other Band.

Beautiful Bridesmaids… My sister, and my two oldest friends.

The Flowers… Mum spent ages planting the garden last year so we’d have flowers for the tables. In the end due to the really late spring this year nothing came out in time. Luckily there were lots of daffodils, which was unusual for the time of year, so we used a mixture of those with heather, some tulips and grape hyacinths on the tables. My bouquet was of roses, heather and greenery and we had blue thistles with heather for button holes.

The Cake… My bridesmaid Laila made our cake for us, a three tiered chocolate cake decorated with chocolate and raspberry truffles. Delicious!

Your Photographer… Best photography duo ever – Sophia and Giulia from On Love and Photography, we couldn’t believe our luck to have found both Italian and English speaking photographers with exactly the style we were looking for.

The Details + Decor… We designed and created everything ourselves, save the dates, invites, place names, order of service, table plan, menus, sign posts, flower arrangements… It was absolutely exhausting but definitely worth it! The theme was ivory and brown paper with brown string and lavender.

The Honeymoon… We had a mini honeymoon for two nights in Perthshire at a place called the Steading http://www.steadingaberfeldy.co.uk/. On the Sunday after the wedding we were so tired and it was nice not to have to travel too far. When we arrived at the B&B there was champagne and homemade tablet waiting for us. We sat outside at night next to the brazier and opened our cards. Great walks and yummy pub dinners at the Ewe at Fortinghall. We’re planning a bigger trip later in the year to South East Asia and Australia.

Memorable Moments… Being piped into the tipi for dinner and everyone cheering, at one point we had the Italian National Anthem versus Flower of Scotland. The tipi was great fun.

Advice for Other Couples… Remember to stop and breathe and take in everything that’s going on. It goes by so quickly the next day it feels a bit like a dream.

Credit Where Credit is Due…

Tipis http://www.highlandtipis.co.uk/welcome/home.html

Dress http://www.lamesleybridal.co.uk/

Photographers http://www.onloveandphotography.com/

Amazing cakes we had as dessert http://mimisbakehouse.com/

Invite letterpress printing http://www.typoretum.co.uk/

So beautiful, what a heartwarming day. Thanks so much to Luigi and Emily for sharing their wedding with us today XOXO Lou