A bright and colourful wedding with a stunning beach photoshoot on North Uist

Singer and Gaelic tutor Katie first met musician Pablo through mutual friends on Facebook and they had been together for three years before he proposed at the top of Dumyat Hill in Stirling.

And when it came to planning their wedding, there was only one place Katie wanted.

“We chose Clachan Church for the ceremony as that is the church my family attends when we are in Uist every summer,” she says.

“We have lots of relatives in Uist and I have always seen it as my second home so it just felt right.”

With the ceremony venue set the couple opted for nearby Carinish Village Hall for their reception, another spot that holds a special place in Katie’s heart.

Read on to see how they pulled off their beautiful island wedding, captured by the talented Wild Soul Photography.

Katie and Pablo knew just where they wanted to marry but admit they didn’t have a particular colour scheme or theme in mind.

“We knew we just wanted something bright and colourful and ended up having a lot of greenery which was lovely,” smiles Katie.

They kept things personal, handwriting the name cards for the tables while Katie’s sister did the beautiful handwriting on the table plan.

The couple put their trust in the experts with TwistStationery providing the table signs and VictoriaStewardSigns creating the table plan board.

“It was great to be provided with clips and string to attach our own table plans to as we were uncertain if the tables might change close to the time due to the pandemic,” says Katie.

The hall was transformed into “something out of a fairytale” by Shona Steele with draping white material, fairy lights and different coloured lanterns.

“It was better than we could have ever imagined,” smiles Katie.

Then another supplier the couple put their absolute trust in was their florist Celia from Flowers For All Occasions.

“She was wonderful to work with, especially as I did not have a very clear idea of which flowers I wanted,” says the bride.

“I told her I would like lots of colour and greenery and when she arrived with all the flowers in the morning I was overjoyed at how perfect they were.

“The church was beautifully decorated with the flowers too and there were lovely fishbowl centrepieces with flowers in them for the tables in the hall.”

She may not have had a set idea for her flowers but when it came to her dress Katie was very clear.

She knew she was after a strapless satin dress with buttons down the back and actually found The One in the very first shop she tried, Brides in the City.

All it needed was the buttons added all the way down and the addition of a stone encrusted belt.

A crystal edged veil, pearl bracelet, earrings and necklace and some ivory satin flats – perfect for walking between the church and hall – completed the look.

Katie and Pablo found planning fun, but it didn’t always run smoothly as the size of their wedding depended on guests being able to travel to the island in the midst of pandemic restrictions and sadly they had to cut their guest list.

Organising a wedding from afar was also difficult.

“The closer we got to the day, the more nervous we got about any restrictions and the threat of Covid-19,” explains Katie.

“The fact that we would not be on the island until two days before the wedding made us feel even more anxious as we felt very far away to organise last-minute details.

“Any bad weather could also easily affect our ability to get on to the island, so we had all these worries in the weeks prior.”

In the end though everything went smoothly and the day before they were busy helping to set up the hall for their reception and laying out favours of North Uist Distillery gins.

The morning of the wedding was a busy buzz of excitement for Katie, drinking champagne with her four bridesmaids – her sisters and cousins – and letting their hair stylists work their magic.

They also had a relaxed breakfast with their minister Rev Kay Gilchrist who had travelled from Katie’s own church Jackson Church, Airdrie to marry them.

“Rev Kay is a great family friend of ours and it was so lovely to have her not only perform the ceremony, but just be a part of the whole wedding week.

“I have known her since I was born, and she is a big part of my own family’s lives, so it was fitting and felt very personal to have her with us. She even surprised us and wore a kilt!”

Rev Kay performed a beautiful ceremony, with the couple repeating the vows after her.

“I felt very nervous and emotional saying them as I was looking into Pablo’s eyes and he was tearing up, so I felt myself about to start crying.

“I was also worried I would say the wrong thing.”

They both managed to get through their vows though and then Rev Kay organised a sand ceremony, asking them to pour two different colours of sand into a transparent heart, mixing them to symbolise their marriage.

“The ceremony was so fitting and personal, and I wouldn’t have changed a thing about it,” smiles Katie.

“We were so grateful to Kay for adding this special touch and we now have the container hanging on our wall in the living room.”

As an extra personal touch Katie’s sister sang La Vie En Rose as they signed the register. Talk about a talented family!

“Walking outside together in our favourite place in the world and realising that we were husband and wife was a big highlight,” says the bride.

“Being able to see so many of our favourite people and some of the most important people to us all in the one place was a beautiful thing too.”

Following the ceremony, Katie and Pablo walked with their guests – apart from those that took the coach – to the hall where caterers served canapés and the best man and ushers kept everyone topped up with prosecco and orange juice.

MacLeans caterers who own the Stepping Stone restaurant in Benbecula provided a mouthwatering three-course meal with hearty portions that all the guests were raving about.

“There were lots of highlights of the speeches and it was very emotional hearing all of them,” remembers Katie.

“It was so nice to hear my dad talk about wonderful times with my family growing up, adding a little bit of Gaelic and Spanish into the speech and also of course throwing some jokes in (which he does at every opportunity).

“It was lovely to hear him speak so fondly of Pablo too.”

The groom’s speech was extremely emotional as he reflected on the couple’s years together and how important their families are to them both.

“We are both very lucky to come from such loving families and we are always both aware of that and very grateful for it” says Katie.

Then in honour of Pablo’s Spanish side of the family who had not been able to travel because of Covid restrictions, his parents said a few words and included the Spanish wedding tradition of raising a glass and shouting “Viva los novios!” meaning “Long live the bride and groom!”

“Then at random points throughout the night one of our guests would stand up and shout this and everyone would raise their glass,” laughs Katie. “It was great fun!”

After dinner the couple’s usher Ewan sang their first dance song beautifully – Runrig’s Every River and then their other usher Ali played the bagpipes while Katie, Pablo, her sister Laura and their best man Kieran performed the traditional wedding reel which is always performed at a Uist wedding.

Then everyone else took to the floor, dancing to the ceilidh band consisting of their three musician friends.

“The atmosphere at the reception was wonderful,” says Katie.

“Everyone was just so happy to have been reunited after not being able to see one another for so long and it was just an amazing end to the perfect celebration of our marriage.”

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