An elegant Halloween micro-wedding at Colstoun House, Haddington

 

Andrew proposed to Charlotte during their amazing three-week trip to Japan and within a couple of hours the excited couple had drawn up their guestlist.

“Little did we know!” says Charlotte.

The to-be-weds had planned their day at the beautiful Colstoun House to perfection, even flying to Champagne to hand-select the fizz for their 120 guests.

But when the pandemic hit they were forced to strip their guestlist down to just seven.

Read on to see how they celebrated in style with gorgeous photos by Simons Studio.

 

Andrew and Charlotte first met at Galway Races when Andrew was over for a friend’s stag do.

“Andrew noticed I was struggling with my high heels and offered me his runners,” smiles Charlotte.

“I insisted he wear my heels in return. He wore them very easily!”

Sitting beside each other on the bus back to the city they hit it off and three weeks later Andrew flew over to Belfast for their first date.

After two years of dating Andrew proposed, (in a lake at Mount Fuji no less!), and they began planning their dream wedding at Colstoun House.

“Before the pandemic, we didn’t find it stressful at all,” says Charlotte.

“We were all organised and had everything booked by January 2020.

“We really enjoyed doing a few food tastings and looking around for bands.”

However, as the pandemic worsened Charlotte and Andrew had some tough decisions to make.

“We agreed what was important to us was to get married, even if it was just us and our celebrant,” says Charlotte.

“In mid-June we decided a big wedding was never going to happen, so we had to un-invite 95 of our guests.”

The total was now down to 25 but as the second wave hit they stripped the list again to just their parents and siblings.

But a lockdown in Ireland meant Charlotte’s sisters were unable to make it and the couple eventually tied the knot in front of their parents and one sibling each, along with their beloved dog Goose.

The big day was planned for October 31^st so as a nod to Halloween they decided to incorporate pumpkins and autumnal colours into their homemade decorations.

Andrew’s talented brother built their wedding arch from branches and flowers he found in the grounds of Colstoun House on the morning of the wedding. He also made their cake stand.

Candles were placed in bottles and jars and the couple picked up funky pumpkins anytime they were in Aldi or Lidl.

And keeping with the DIY theme they bought dried flowers and assembled bouquets themselves.

Andrew’s mum Dorothy made the beautiful lemon and elderflower cake and cupcakes which looked amazing in front of the coach house lights.

 

Charlotte was really open to different wedding dress styles but couldn’t find anything she felt herself in until she visited Unbridaled Boutique in Ayr.

“The dress ‘Kameron’ is a simple dress with a silk overlay on the skirt,” smiles the bride.

“I thought I would have gone for something less traditional so I surprised myself!”

She teamed it with a gorgeous pearl overtop and, bringing a piece of home, accessorised with a necklace with a map of Ireland.

And Andrew kept things personal too, choosing the Fraser tartan at MacGregor and MacDuff, in memory of his grandparents.

On the morning of the wedding the men finished dressing the venue while all the women had fun having their hair and make-up done in one of the cottages.

“The champagne was flowing and we all had a really good time,” remembers Charlotte. “My sisters zoomed in and had sent over presents with my mam to give to me, that was very special.”

 

Neither bride or groom felt nervous for their ceremony. They were just so happy to be getting married.

They said “I do” in an agnostic ceremony, presided over by Onie Tibbit.

“She captured exactly what we wanted from our ceremony, for it to be personal and light-hearted” says Charlotte.

“She also had secret elements to it where she approached us individually so there were surprises on the day for each other.”

As their guestlist had been so reduced they invited everyone to join the ceremony via Zoom.

“It worked so well,” smiles Charlotte. “We could see everyone cheering us on and felt all of the love and support from our friends and family all over the world.

“We took inspiration for our vows from a book I was reading, Lean In, then modified them to fit our feelings.

“We had joint vows and read a paragraph each. It was very emotional but we managed to keep it together.

“Our guests were not so composed and in floods of tears.”

Following their ceremony in the polytunnel they retired to the coach house for individual slates of canapés and champagne (in line with restrictions) and an amazing four-course meal.

The wedding party took to zoom again for the speeches as the bridesmaids and best men couldn’t be there in person.

Looking back, the couple feel so lucky to be married and have advice for other couples facing the same dilemma.

“Talk to each other and agree what is important to you as a couple and try your best to focus on that and not what you can’t do,” says the bride.

“For us the focus was always to get married, anything else was a bonus.

“2020 is a year to forget for many but for us it will always be the year we got married.”