A classy al fresco wedding at Carlowrie Castle, Edinburgh

As a trained project manager Adam is used to taking on big planning jobs so when it came to his beautiful wedding to Tim he was fairly unflappable.

“The planning wasn’t actually that bad,” he says. “I created a trusty excel spreadsheet which was key to making things easy.”

And it definitely helped that he’d already spied their gorgeous venue Carlowrie Castle a long time ago and knew it was the one.

Read how they pulled off their fun-filled July wedding below, with images by Carolyn Henry Photography.

Adam and Tim first met through a mutual friend in Manchester airport just as Adam was going travelling to Australia.

They obviously made an impression on each other because after five years together Tim proposed while they were on holiday in the Caribbean.

“We were on Maho beach where the planes land crazy close to the waterfront,” remembers Adam.

When they got home Adam knew exactly the venue they needed to view.

“Our first priority was the venue and I’d seen Carlowrie Castle online a long time before so knew straight away where I wanted to book,” he says.

“The setting is stunning and it’s very close to home.”

This couple was so lucky that they didn’t have to change their July 2021 because of Covid.

They had actually avoided having a 2020 wedding so as not to clash with their friends’ wedding.

“We ended up actually going first!” says Adam.

“We had to reduce our guest numbers and went pretty small with only 35 daytime and 50 evening guests.

“This actually ended up being amazing!”

The men opted for white flowers with a focus on a really natural look and Tim’s mum is actually a trained florist so she was able to take charge of them.

“It meant so much to us,” smiles Adam.

The talented groom also got crafty, making the seating plan arrangements, welcome boards, table decorations and invitations.

“It was actually super fun doing all of these and not just giving it to others to do for me,” says Adam.

“It was really rewarding on the day to see all my hard work fitting in the venue really well.”

Both these grooms are English so they say it didn’t feel right getting married in kilts but they wanted to give a nod to their ties to Scotland through their outfits so opted for beautiful tweed suits.

Shopping though was an absolute nightmare as they were trying to buy from stores that had been massively affected by Covid.

“There are already limitations to places to go for men’s clothing for these types of occasion so this was just made so much worse,” Adam says.

“In the end we ended up buying our clothes online from an independent company trading in Newcastle, Master Debonair.

“We couldn’t even try the clothes on for size as we were locked down. We were beyond lucky they fitted so well.”

The night before the wedding they had a barbecue in their garden with a small collection of family members and their new puppy and Adam admits to only sleeping about four hours – “I woke up stupidly early with nerves.”

The morning of the big day was “a bit chaotic” as their families had all travelled from England and stayed with them so it was action stations getting things sorted.

“We were more concerned that the cake would hold and the flowers would make it to the venue in a good condition,” remembers Adam.

The grooms travelled in style though in Tim’s recently restored Alfa Romeo GTV.

Then Adam remembers feeling really excited and “almost euphoric” walking down the aisle to the amazing Ginny & the Tonic playing A Thousand Years by Christina Perri.

“All the nerves seemed to just drain away and were replaced with overwhelming joy,” he says.

The couple opted to marry outside in a humanist ceremony as they believe it is more inclusive and they both instantly knew their celebrant Mags Kearns-Griffin was for them.

The men wrote their own vows and Adam told Mags to go super slow so he didn’t fluff them up.

“Walking down the aisle just after we had said our vows was such an emotional moment,” he smiles.

Following their ceremony they hosted a champagne reception before treating their guests to a beautiful three-course meal.

Planning their menu was definitely one of the most fun aspects of their wedding planning.

Adam and Tim loved that both sets of their parents gave a speech. “They were both really warming and welcoming into a broader family,” smiles Adam.

Getting married in July they were so lucky with their wedding and were able to hold their entire evening reception outside, keeping things safe and giving them more freedom for music and entertainment.

“The atmosphere was super chilled and relaxed,” says Adam. “We were really keen to ensure we provided a safe and enjoyable time for all our guests.

“This was the first time we had all come together in over 18 months so it was just so nice connecting with everyone again.

“The weather was amazing and warm too, not a cloud in the sky.”

Now that it’s all over, the men have some advice for other to-be-wed

“Make a spreadsheet,” says Adam. “It makes the planning process so much easier.

“Plus, follow your gut instinct on what you want.

“We really just did what we wanted to do and didn’t give in to any social pressures to do our day in any particular way.

“If we didn’t want any standard items of a wedding, we just simply didn’t do them.”