A magical Christmas Eve wedding at The Bonham Hotel, Edinburgh

 

 Donna and Mark always planned to have short engagement, booking in their original Hogmanay wedding to fit with when her family would be over from America.

But when coronavirus restrictions were changed at short notice they decided to “lift and shift” their big day at The Bonham Hotel forward to Christmas Eve.

With the help of wedding co-ordinator Oskar Gilchrist-Grodnicki, an amazing team of suppliers and the support of their families they pulled off a magical wedding.

Read on for all the details, with gorgeous pictures by Geebz Photography.

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Donna and Mark first met at work and had been together about five years when he proposed with his gran’s ring while they were in the Highlands with their daughters in February 2020.

Knowing that Donna’s family were flying over from America for Hogmanay, they started making plans and booked their wedding for 1^st January 2021.

That, of course, was before the onset of the pandemic.

Their original venue cancelled the booking as they didn’t plan to reopen and the couple were left without a wedding venue.

They quickly contacted “The Wedding Guru” – co-ordinator Oskar Gilchrist-Grodnicki to help sort through all the confusion.

“We decided we wanted to keep our date but we didn’t really know how to navigate planning a wedding with the added complexity of a pandemic,” remembers Donna.

“He knew exactly who was still scheduling weddings and who was willing to handle a pandemic-sized wedding.

“We were able to choose and book a new venue within a few days – that’s something that would have taken us weeks on our own.”

Armed with all the options, they hit upon The Bonham for their new venue, falling in love with its ambiance.

“The design and finishing touches throughout every room create a really impressive atmosphere,” says the bride.

Then, with the wedding booked in for 1^st January they were hit by another set-back when new government regulations announced on 19^th December meant everything would close after Christmas.

“We had to ‘lift and shift’ the wedding forward to Christmas Eve,” says Donna.

Luckily Donna’s parents had flown in a couple of weeks before Christmas in order to complete a full quarantine and her mum was very hands-on in the run-up.

Being a December wedding Donna and Mark wanted to embrace a winter vibe so included lots of pinecones, candles and lanterns in their décor.

They even took down their Christmas tree a couple of days early so they could use the fir tree branches.

Then this bride took wedding DIY to a whole new level, making not only her own wedding outfit, but her four daughters’ bridesmaid dresses.

Read all about that labour of love here.

The bridesmaids Julia, Macy, Zara and Mya wore dark teal velvet dresses to fit the wintery theme and Donna made all of their bouquets too.

Nine-year-old Macy helped her mum make the ring pillow from the same material she used for her dress and Mark, (who by the way took his wife’s surname) custom designed the invitations and repainted all the lanterns.

While Donna had plenty of help from her mum and Macy, she was still working away on the finishing touches of her wedding outfit and making her veil the night before the wedding.

“I was supposed to have that week and the following week to finish everything but with the government announcement on 19^th December I had to compress all the work into a couple of days,” she says.

Mark wasn’t as stressed and took the time to photograph his wife-to-be cutting the fabric for her veil.

They both slept well though and on the morning of the wedding it was full steam ahead!

Bringing the wedding forward meant Donna was lucky to get her 9am hair appointment at Regis Spa in Jenners and was there as the store opened.

“A wonderful woman called Noah did my hair and created a very calming atmosphere,” she smiles.

“Around midday, I went over to The Bonham with my mom, Mark’s mom and our daughters so we could get ready in their bridal suite.”

The couple’s eldest daughter and maid of honour Mya helped her mum do her make-up before she walked down the aisle to Can’t Help Falling in Love, performed by Kina Grannis.

Donna admits to feeling emotional as she walked towards Mark.

“We have been through so much over the past several years to get to this point,” she says.

“And with all the chaos of the pandemic, there were moments where we weren’t sure if it was going to happen or if it would have to wait a few more years.”

Walking into the ceremony was one of Donna’s highlights from their big day.

“Mark hadn’t seen the full gown and veil all on,” she remembers.

“Our daughters all walked in just ahead of me, and then when I stepped into the doorway in that moment and looked at him, everything was perfect.

“He watched me, smiling through the tears streaming down his face.

“His mom captured this all on video and I cry tears of joy every time I watch it.”

Donna is Roman Catholic and Mark isn’t religious so they opted for a humanist ceremony that really embraced both of them and their family.

They chose traditional vows and both got a bit emotional.

Embracing the restrictions imposed upon them by covid which meant they only had 16 at the wedding, they decided to expand the formal dinner party they had planned after the ceremony.

“The Bonham served a lovely multi-course meal and the DJ did great with announcements and dinner party fames, so it still felt like a proper wedding,” says Donna.

“We had an incredible evening.”

For their favours Donna and Mark gave Auchentoshan whisky distilled using American oak to celebrate her American and his Scottish heritage.

Donna, Mark and their daughters definitely loved planning the wedding and the girls has so much fun helping out – “It was a full family effort!”

But they would definitely advise other couples to hire a wedding planner.

“Hire an experienced wedding planner who knows the city or town where you want to get married,” Donna says.

“Their experience and network will reduce the work and optimise what you can do with your budget.

“Before we met Oskar, I was stressed about lots of different things.

“After Oskar stepped in, everything calmed down and the only remaining stress was related to constantly changing government restrictions around the pandemic.

“It also means the bride and groom actually get to enjoy the planning!”