Tag: real wedding

Shannon & Liam’s Elsick House Wedding

Bringing together Scottish and Irish traditions, Shannon and Liam’s wedding was all about connecting their two families from across the Celtic nations. Vows in Irish and Scottish food by Hudsons Catering, along with lots of personal touches, made their day truly special. Here’s what our Elsick bride Shannon had to say following the big day, with images by Suzie Smith Photography.

How did you first hear about Elsick House?

I first knew about Elsick when I saw photographs of a friend’s wedding here five years previously, although we had never actually visited the house until our first viewing. In fact, the only venue we viewed was Elsick House! Our criteria was simple – we wanted an exclusive use venue for the whole weekend and somewhere that could sleep our closest family as we would be hosting an Irish shindig the day after the wedding too.

What were your first impressions?

We were blown away when we came to view Elsick House! The house is immaculate and we really love how unique each bedroom is. There wasn’t really any question after that, simply ‘how do we proceed to book our wedding here?

What made your day unique?

We had a true mix of Scotland meets Ireland. My proudest moment on the wedding day was delivering half of my personal wedding vows in Liam’s native tongue of Irish! We were so fortunate to have Liam’s father and Shannon’s brother speaking during the ceremony which was a huge highlight for us both.

Hudson’s Catering produced some exceptional traditional Scottish dishes and for many of our Irish guests this was the first time tasting haggis. It was important to me that we would have a bagpiper at the wedding, which is not tradition in Ireland. For our groomsmen, the morning of the wedding was the first time they had put on a kilt so it was a real novelty. It’s safe to say that the Scots and Irish are some of the friendliest and that really showed with how well our two sides partied together!

The day itself had snow, rain, sun and wind so we had to be adaptable! I definitely blame my 20 minute delay on the snow!

Details of the day

We used a lot of gold, pearl, cream, mirrors and crystal to create a beautiful space and a lot of hard work went into it. We used areas and landmarks from the island Liam grew up on as our table names with a picture of our dogs in each place displayed on the tables. This was very personal to us as the girls are a huge part of our lives and the images were designed by our dear friend Holly.

I found my dress in Lillia Bridal, which was the first shop I went to. The men were dressed in the Isle of Skye tartan and all of the kilts were from Neil Selbie, where Liam is a regular customer.

Would you recommend Elsick House?

In a heartbeat! And we wish we could return to celebrate every anniversary! My advice to future couples of Elsick is to simply trust the team! They are experts in knowing exactly what they are doing, what works, and that the day will run to time!

SHANNON AND LIAM’S SUPPLIERS

Hudsons Catering

Suzie Smith Photographer

Videography: AD Media

Humanist: Caron Harper Independent Humanist Ceremonies

Florist: Isla Duncan

Dress: Lilia Bridal with alterations by Martine Blair

Kilts: Neil Selbie

Cake: Cake Affair

Kilted Sax: Rich Gordon Music Company

Band: Juke Box Hero

Hair and makeup: Vanity Studio

Dog Chaperone: Horse & Country

Photo Booth: Rose Creative Studio & Events

Ring design: Lava Jewellery Design

Download our wedding brochure here or view a virtual tour of the house and grounds. To arrange a visit to Elsick House or for more information about wedding and events please contact us at house@elsick.co.uk

Keely & Ross’ Dream Wedding at Elsick House

If you’ve ever wondered what a dream wedding in Aberdeenshire looks like, just take a look at Keely and Ross’ stunning day. Keely had earmarked Elsick House as her ideal wedding venue before Ross had even popped the question! So in 2020, when Ross perfectly proposed on a beautiful black beach in Iceland, Keely starting wedding planning straight away. She had already fallen in love with Elsick House through Instagram, so viewing the house and grounds in person only confirmed their choice.

  • Nicola Stewart Photography

Keely: “I remember visiting Elsick for the first time and although photographs capture the beauty of the house and grounds, seeing it for ourselves was something else. It completely exceeded our expectations. The grounds at Elsick are just beautiful with so many photo opportunities! The rose arch and bridge over the pond are special unique features and the house itself is so charming.”

Ross: “Having exclusive use of the venue really appealed and the beautiful setting just sealed the deal for us. When we arrived, Alison was extremely helpful and friendly. She was so supportive with our enquiries throughout all of the planning process and gave us some great advice.”

Keely: “Our day itself was all so amazing and went swimmingly. My uncle sang me down the aisle so that was a really special moment. We loved that the staff at Elsick and Hudsons took all our ideas on board so we could make our day really personal. We decorated the marquee with just flowers as we felt that complimented our style and Elsick’s – the natural vibe with flowers and greenery looked perfect next to Elsick’s beautiful gardens.”

Ross: “The gardens are fantastic and even at night we gathered all our guests outside for some sparkler photos under the rose pergola. We then went inside the marquee to continue the party. Our band played our first dance which was “Times Like These” by Foo Fighters. We wanted a song that fitted our music taste but still had a nice meaning behind it. We started the song slow and acoustic and ended it with the normal rocky tempo to get the dance floor going!”

Keely: “We chose to stay an extra night at Elsick which helped us make the most of our weekend. We had a chilled family get together the day after the wedding which we all really enjoyed.”

Ross: “We couldn’t have had a better experience planning our wedding or on our actual wedding day/weekend.”

Keely: “We would 100% recommend Elsick House – It really was a dream.”

  • Nicola Stewart Photography

Keely and Ross’ Supplier Shoutouts

Venue: Elsick House with Hudsons Catering

Photographer: Nicola Stewart Photography

Videographer: NL Visuals

Florist: Isla Duncan Florist

Humanist: Eddie Kennedy

Bridal Gown: Rosa Clara from Ivory Grace

Ross’ attire: Hebridean Glisk kilt from Gibbs of Inverurie

Band: 3 Card Trick (Coast Entertainments)

MUA: Melissa MUA

Hair: Zoe Gordon

Download our wedding brochure here or view a virtual tour of the house and grounds. To arrange a visit to Elsick House or for more information about wedding and events please contact us at house@elsick.co.uk

Lasting first impressions ~ Hayley & Barry’s Love Story

Some things are just meant to be! A chance profile photo popping up on Facebook led to Barry and Hayley’s first date and an unexpected detour resulted in the discovery of Elsick House, which later became their wedding venue!

The lovely Hayley and Barry were married at Elsick last October and we asked Hayley to share their love story with us. Photography by Rubislaw Studio.

When and where did you and Barry meet?

We first started talking to each other back in 2016 but unfortunately we lost touch as I spent the summer in Australia and Barry spent time offshore with limited internet access. Months later, Barry recognised me when my profile popped up on his Facebook as a suggested friend through a mutual acquaintance. He took the chance to send me a message and we met each other for our first official date. 3 hours later and after several cups of tea and coffee, we parted ways after laughing and chatting as if we had known each other for years already.

Tell us about the proposal.

We went on holiday to visit my parents in Spain during the Easter holidays in 2019. With the plan to go and watch the sunrise at a beautiful local beach, Barry woke me up at 7.15am. We knew that if we wanted to be there for sunrise, we should have been at the beach already. When I realised the time, I simply decided it would make more sense to go the following day as we would miss sunrise – I was completely unaware of what he had planned! Barry managed to convince me that we should still go.

Sitting on the beach watching the beautiful sky as it changed colour, Barry checked various settings on his camera before returning to where I was sitting and declared that “It is about time we make things official.” Confused, I asked Barry to repeat what he had said. At that, Barry got down on one knee.

Completely taken aback and filled with emotion, I threw my arms around Barry and started to bubble whilst repeatedly asking him if he was being serious. Of course, there was only ever going to be one answer when my best friend asked me to marry him and spend the rest of my life with him.

How did you first hear about Elsick House?

A wee while prior to our engagement, we came across Elsick House by chance one Saturday afternoon. We were on our way to the beach with our golden retriever, Baker, when we got a phone call from a family member who needed help. We turned around and set off to help. Following the country roads, we came across a bus. Barry exclaimed “Why would a bus like that be on these roads?” I’m unsure why but I replied with “I bet there is a wedding happening close by.” We continued driving and turned the corner to see the sign for Elsick House. As we drove past, we were blown away by the beautiful driveway and commented on the fact it must be a beautiful venue if that’s what the driveway looks like.

What were your first impressions?

We were blown away by the driveway and thought it looked very grand. We then proceeded to look at Elsick House website and discovered that it was indeed a stunning venue. After we got engaged we couldn’t wait to see it in person so I contacted the house before we even left Spain. We were amazed with how beautiful the gardens were in Spring 2019. The house itself was extraordinary. Barry is very into his photography and was in his element thinking about the different photo opportunities.

What made you decide Elsick House was going to be the venue for your special day?

It was the perfect venue for us from start to finish. The beautiful gardens, the stunning house, the marquee set up. The attention to detail was phenomenal. The Elsick team and their amazing service from our first enquiry to going to view the venue in person. We just knew that we would feel special on our big day.

We also loved the fact that it was an exclusive use venue and it very much felt (and absolutely is true) the staff care. It doesn’t feel as if you are just another number in a business. We loved how personal it felt from our first email enquiry right through until after our wedding day.

What was your favourite part of your wedding day?

I don’t think either of us can pick just one part/story from our wedding day. It was a truly magical day that we wouldn’t have changed for the world. I guess we loved how intimate and relaxed our day was. We had an absolute ball celebrating our marriage with just our closest friends and family and we felt we were able to be fully present and enjoy the day due to how relaxed it was. Elsick House and Hudsons clearly make a fantastic team as everything seemed to run so smoothly. Both Elsick and Hudsons went above and beyond in every way possible and we are incredibly grateful for all their effort.  

What made your day unique?

After the heartache of postponing our wedding on several occasions (due to Coronavirus and the restrictions) we decided that we would proceed with our third date no matter what. Luckily the restrictions had eased enough at that time to allow the bridal party to not have to wear masks and to be able to have a ceilidh.

Due to it being a small wedding, we managed to have a table layout where we were all essentially at one big rectangular table together. This felt incredibly special and unique as we were all able to see each other and to enjoy the atmosphere together.

Would you recommend Elsick House and why?

We would wholeheartedly recommend Elsick House. It is a stunning wedding venue where you know you are going to receive outstanding service from start to finish and your wedding day is going to be made as special as possible. A truly magical place.

Hayley and Barry’s Suppliers: Venue: Elsick House with Hudsons Catering ~ Photographer: Rubislaw Studio ~ Videographer: Flat 4D Media ~ Florist: Artemisia Floral ~ Humanist Celebrant: Denise Morton ~ Bridal gown: Pronovias ~ Groom’s attire: Barry wore his own family tartan called Pienaar tartan. ~ Band: The Reel Stramash Ceilidh Band

Download our wedding brochure here or view a virtual tour of the house and grounds.

To arrange a visit to Elsick House or for more information about wedding and events please contact us at house@elsick.co.uk