SQUAD GOALS Paul wore tartan trews (trousers) instead of the traditional Scottish kilt and paired them with a sage green wool jacket and waistcoat. “He opted for the Isle of Skye tartan, which we loved the colours of,” Leanne explains. “We have lovely memories of times together in Skye, so this felt appropriate since Paul’s surname is not associated with a traditional clan tartan,” she says. Paul’s best men, his brother Gary and his best friend David, also wore tartan trews in a different tartan to Paul’s, which happened to tie in with Leanne’s dad’s kilt and Paul’s dad’s trews. “With it being a micro-wedding with only our parents and bridal party, we didn’t have a styled approach or a colour scheme, and instead just wanted a relaxed vibe with everyone feeling comfortable in their outfits,” Leanne says. “My bridal squad consisted of my four best friends, Alison, Charlotte, Tanita and Martin. With it being a mix of female and male, I didn’t follow the bridesmaid route and instead called them my Friends of Honour,” she says. “I asked them to each wear an outfit of their choice – they’re all wonderfully stylish and I wanted them to wear whatever they’d feel great in on the day, rather than worrying about matching styles or colour. All that mattered to me was that they were there by my side.” FAVOURITE BLOOMS Leanne’s bouquet was brimming with her favourite blooms; bright dahlias, thistles (reflecting Scotland), yellow billy balls and lots of greenery. “The colours matched perfectly with Paul’s tartan. I absolutely adored my bouquet and managed to save the eucalyptus and billy balls to dry out at home, which now sits in a vase in my living room,” she says. Small vases matching Leanne’s bouquet were created for the centrepieces. “As we had a destination wedding, we didn’t want too many flowers that’d go to waste. The venue staff and our guitarist took these home at the end of the day,” Leanne says. “For our favours, guests were treated to love heart jelly sweets from the sweet shop beside our old flat in Aberdeen, which is dedicated to supporting special needs people in the workplace,” says Leanne. The duo opted for a simple yet elegant chocolate and vanilla Cutter & Squidge cake that was decorated with petals and their place names were made by Leanne’s Friends of Honour using plantable seed paper. “The Phene provided our catering. Our canapes were mini burgers with aubergine and halloumi skewers served in the beer garden in the afternoon, and guests had a choice of menu options for our three-course meal in the Oakley Room. It was all delicious,” she says. FOND MEMORIES “During our meal in the private room at the Phene, we had a guitarist, Stephanie Oliver, play an acoustic set. She was such a hit with our guests and had quite a few overwhelmed with emotion as she played some gorgeous songs!” recalls Leanne. “Before the dessert plates were even cleared away, everyone was on their feet dancing around the dinner table and singing our hearts out to songs by Stephanie. She assures me we were the best crowd she’d ever played to – which says a lot about how loud we were for a crowd of only 14! We loved her so much our guests managed to persuade her to stay and join the party afterwards,” she says. Looking back, Leanne and Paul have some wonderful memories from their day. “Our entire wedding weekend was memorable from start to finish, but the most special moment was standing in the Pimlico Room at the Old Marylebone Town Hall listening to our registrar recite the words I’d written for our ceremony script and looking around the room at all of those closest to us there. Everyone was in tears, but I was so happy I couldn’t keep the smile off my face,” says Leanne. “We both felt incredibly relaxed and beaming with happiness. Our celebration was an authentic reflection of us as a couple and the small nature of it made it feel so intimate and filled with emotion,” she says. “We were doing the things we love to do – wander around the streets of London, eat great food, and drink with friends and family in the pub. The fact that we could do all of this after our ceremony was exactly why we chose the style of wedding we did, and it meant we genuinely loved everything about our day.” 35 REAL WEDDINGS
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