Rustic Scottish Seaside Summer Wedding
Well if these pics from Craig & Eva Sanders don't make you ache to travel to the Scottish seaside pronto, I'm not sure what would. From the bright morning light as our lovely Bride got ready to the romance of the sunset over the hills, we're whisked away to this magical space. Worldly Nomads filmed it all and with their beautiful footage, I'm in a wedding wonderland. See it all in our VAULT right here!
From the Bride... When we were trying to choose a wedding venue we sat down and listed the things that were non negotiable; there had to be good food; there had to be room for dancing and a band; and it had to be by the sea. 'By the sea' quickly became 'on the beach' and we scouted out places which allowed 'beach weddings'. It was New Year's Eve when I contacted Crear and by the 2nd week in January we were heading out in the snow through the Scottish highlands to visit. And we fell in love. Everything about the place was perfect; laid back and comfortable, yet still luxurious, it was a home away from home. What sealed the deal was walking into the main function room which is entirely walled with glass from floor to ceiling on one side and looks over to the island of Jura: it was breathtaking. It perfectly combined the rustic with the comfortable; the Scottish west coast with the Scottish highlands; and elegance with originality.
Neil and I grew up in the same town and went to the same school. We've been together since we were 16 years old and this December it will have been 10 years since our first date. We got engaged about a year after we moved in together one November evening in 2013 at an event called the Enchanted Castle where a local Castle and its surrounding forest was illuminated; it was all very pretty and magical. We were married around 20 months later on 25th July 2015.
Other than our non-negotiable criteria that we had agreed on in the beginning there was no particular theme which we were necessarily going for. The biggest influence was the natural setting around Crear. We really wanted the space to be appreciated as it was so complemented by keeping things very relaxed and romantic. My beautiful Naomi Neoh Clementine dress really helped set the tone for everything else. It was a beautiful silk chiffon in blush that I knew would billow beautifully in the sea breeze. I absolutely adored it! The bridesmaids dresses reminded me of the colour of the water (or a stormy Scottish sky) and I really wanted the flowers to look like they'd been picked from a nearby field, which they did; I loved them! I had many ideas for the decoration which our two marvellous mums helped to make a reality. In the days before the wedding, we had a stamping production line! One of our favourite features was the bespoke wooden signs with quotes from Winnie the Pooh which Neil's parents very kindly made for us.
Neither Neil nor I have maintained religious practices consistently in our lives and so we felt that it would be insincere to have a religious ceremony. Instead we opted for a humanist ceremony; Scotland is one of the places where a humanitarian ceremony is recognized as legal and we felt our values and principles matched well with those of the humanist society. It was a very personal ceremony which we wrote ourselves and peppered with traditional Scottish customs. We had a Celtic hand fasting and, with our parents, shared a wee nip from a beautiful Quaich.
It is very hard to choose one specific favourite moment, we both tried to enjoy and absorb every single part of the day. The ceremony was perfectly imperfect and we giggled the whole way through which suited us down to a tee. After the ceremony, Craig, Eva and Barry, our (incredible) photographers and videographer, took us along the beach to an old ruin for some shots and actually, it was a perfect time for us to relax for a moment and take everything in together.
Unless we could add more hours to the day there is nothing I would change. There is never enough time to catch up with all of your guests but we tried to speak to everyone at least once.
Our advice would be do what makes you both happy. Don't worry about what is expected or what is traditional: if it's not for you, try something new! Also, don't fret if things don't go exactly to plan, there were several things on the day that were unexpected and impromptu; we just went with it and laughed the whole way through and I think that comes across brilliantly in Craig and Eva's fantastic photography!
We have absolutely no regrets about any aspect of our day. There were some who queried the distance of the venue but once they were there they completely understood why we had chosen Crear; it is just out of this world and our wedding was the stuff of dreams!
Neil and I grew up in the same town and went to the same school. We've been together since we were 16 years old and this December it will have been 10 years since our first date. We got engaged about a year after we moved in together one November evening in 2013 at an event called the Enchanted Castle where a local Castle and its surrounding forest was illuminated; it was all very pretty and magical. We were married around 20 months later on 25th July 2015.
Other than our non-negotiable criteria that we had agreed on in the beginning there was no particular theme which we were necessarily going for. The biggest influence was the natural setting around Crear. We really wanted the space to be appreciated as it was so complemented by keeping things very relaxed and romantic. My beautiful Naomi Neoh Clementine dress really helped set the tone for everything else. It was a beautiful silk chiffon in blush that I knew would billow beautifully in the sea breeze. I absolutely adored it! The bridesmaids dresses reminded me of the colour of the water (or a stormy Scottish sky) and I really wanted the flowers to look like they'd been picked from a nearby field, which they did; I loved them! I had many ideas for the decoration which our two marvellous mums helped to make a reality. In the days before the wedding, we had a stamping production line! One of our favourite features was the bespoke wooden signs with quotes from Winnie the Pooh which Neil's parents very kindly made for us.
Neither Neil nor I have maintained religious practices consistently in our lives and so we felt that it would be insincere to have a religious ceremony. Instead we opted for a humanist ceremony; Scotland is one of the places where a humanitarian ceremony is recognized as legal and we felt our values and principles matched well with those of the humanist society. It was a very personal ceremony which we wrote ourselves and peppered with traditional Scottish customs. We had a Celtic hand fasting and, with our parents, shared a wee nip from a beautiful Quaich.
It is very hard to choose one specific favourite moment, we both tried to enjoy and absorb every single part of the day. The ceremony was perfectly imperfect and we giggled the whole way through which suited us down to a tee. After the ceremony, Craig, Eva and Barry, our (incredible) photographers and videographer, took us along the beach to an old ruin for some shots and actually, it was a perfect time for us to relax for a moment and take everything in together.
Unless we could add more hours to the day there is nothing I would change. There is never enough time to catch up with all of your guests but we tried to speak to everyone at least once.
Our advice would be do what makes you both happy. Don't worry about what is expected or what is traditional: if it's not for you, try something new! Also, don't fret if things don't go exactly to plan, there were several things on the day that were unexpected and impromptu; we just went with it and laughed the whole way through and I think that comes across brilliantly in Craig and Eva's fantastic photography!
We have absolutely no regrets about any aspect of our day. There were some who queried the distance of the venue but once they were there they completely understood why we had chosen Crear; it is just out of this world and our wedding was the stuff of dreams!
