Skateboarding + skeletons – A Scottish wedding with Gothic vibes

Sink your teeth into this frightfully goo-d Hallowedding spooktacular, with boo-tiful squad ghouls to die for. Okay, we’ll stop now, promise! Inspired by their love of autumn, the outdoors and skateboarding, Zara and Sam tied the knot in a handfasting ceremony followed by a big Pre-Covid times party.

If you’re holding out for a large gathering or planning a two part celebration, then prepare to be inspired.

How did you two meet?

We were both invited to go snowboarding at Braehead by our mutual friend Craig. As soon as I saw Sam I was totally smitten. I even planned a night out in Glasgow to coincide with a night out he was on, and lucky for me that night we shared our first kiss.

What inspired your wedding plans?

Our love of the outdoors and sports heavily influenced our plans, with our guestbook being a longboard and the groom receiving a skateboard as a wedding gift from the bride. We wanted to get married in autumn as it’s our favourite time of year. As a wiccan, Zara wanted to include handfasting in our ceremony.

As well as our gorgeous flowers, we also hired beautiful black candelabras from Kirstie’s Flowers for the aisle and later the table centrepieces. One of my favourite little touches they made was to add some black to the wedding bouquet by using sunflower heads without the petals. They also wrapped succulents in the bouquet so I have been able to re-pot them and keep a part of my bouquet forever.

Tell us about your venue…

After a few disappointing venue visits, we were ready to give up. Zara’s mum suggested we try Brig O’ Doon after a friend recommended it. When we arrived we immediately fell in love. It’s the most gorgeous building, amazing scenery and a bit of a Gothic vibe which suited us perfectly. One of the reasons it was such a winner with our guests was the incredible food and service – the staff were so friendly and we felt so looked after every step of the way.

We love your outfits! Tell us more…

Sam chose the gorgeous Islay Mist tartan for his wedding outfit. He felt the tartan tied in well with the bridesmaids’ dresses and fitted in with the darker colour scheme of the wedding.

I tried on just about every style of dress in the shop and, luckily, the last dress I tried on before our appointment finished ended up being the one. I originally wanted a boho style dress but they didn’t suit my shape and I was heartbroken. When I began trying on Maggie Sottero gowns my heart was quickly mended. The design was so intricate, with the most stunning long train and much more “bridal” than I expected to wear.

Sam wore his grandad’s kilt pin and sgian dubh and I wore my grandma Louise’s tiara, which my mum also wore on her wedding day. Unfortunately, my Auntie Martha couldn’t make the wedding despite trying to break out of the hospital for it. So it was special for me to wear a necklace gifted by her, that was given to Martha as a teenager by her parents. My shoes were from TKMaxx and were less than £20.

The groomsmen wore the same tartan as Sam, with lighter jackets all from MacGregor & MacDuff and the bridesmaid dresses were from David’s Bridal.

Your photos & film are amazing!

We loved that our photographer, Kevin Key could create moody atmospheric images but also capture the bright vibrant moments and really show off our wedding day with natural candid shots. He captured the fun of the day and how much we adore each other.

One piece of advice we were given from the start was – book a videographer. There are so many parts of the day you miss and even more moments you’ll want to relive. There’s something so effortlessly cool about Kelly and Craig of Eleven Six Films. Their filming style is one of a kind and they were a pleasure to have on the day. Watching back our wedding film, they really did our day justice.

What was your first dance song?

Work Song by Hozier. The first time Sam played the song for me, I remember thinking it was just so us. It sounds like this beautiful melancholic love story.

The Band Velvet Noir really made the day. They are so talented and were so much fun to have. The dancefloor was not empty once, even a year later guests are still raving about how great the band, Velvet Noir were. They really made it such a great party for us.

Were there any challenges along the way?

Unfortunately on the way to our first dance Sam accidentally stood on my dress and it pulled out the train from its bustle. My mum did a quick fix and I went back to dancing just to have it pulled out again. I admitted defeat and borrowed my sister-in-law’s long black lace dress she wore the previous night and received comments the rest of the night about how that was the dress people expected me to get married in!

Did you manage to stick to your budget?

We had a flexible budget, we were in the fortunate position to have our parents help us pay for our wedding. But yes I’m sure we went over the budget, haha.

Any advice?


Future brides – make a speech! I was set on making a speech as I feel like brides can sometimes fall into the old fashioned “be seen not heard” category and feel like it was more personal having both of us speak.

Sam – Take your time (within reason), from getting prepared all the way through to the ceremony. It can be very overwhelming. Remember why you’re there and have confidence not just in yourself but with your friends and wedding party too.

Honeymoon or minimoon?

Zara was beginning a new job the Monday after the wedding so we had a minimoon in Glasgow which she spent suffering from the cold. We have big honeymoon plans for Bali or Canada once we can safely travel (thanks ‘Rona).

What’s the one truly unforgettable thing about your wedding day?

Zara – Getting our photos taken on the bridge in the rain and Sam fulfilling my wish of scooping me in his arms for a very Gomez and Morticia-esque kiss, knowing I’d be too embarrassed to ask the photographer to capture it.

Sam – As cliche as it sounds, seeing my wife-to-be coming through the archway doors and her tiara complimenting her dress, sparkling like the sea reflecting the sun, and seeing her smile.

Check out Zara & Sam’s amazing wedding trailer by Eleven Six Films below…

 

Love the way Zara and Sam made the day so them! Anyone else going for Gothic or Wiccan vibes? x