All these years of featuring beautiful weddings and I think this is the closest I’ve ever been to the aesthetic of “If I planned it all over again…”
Scotland, in my humble opinion, is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. And Crear on the west coast is one of the most breathtaking venues I have ever seen.
It’s obvious that Kate and Mark are super stylish, the paper goods branding, the all white blooms, the attention to minimalist detail. Everything is so clean and simple and pure.
Kate’s feather headdress is the kind of accessory I would wear every day if I could and the booties?! I live in cute ankle boots. Why didn’t I just put a pair on for W-day rather than spending hours searching for the perfect shoe?
Kate is my ultimate bridal inspiration. This modern fairytale affair is the stuff of dreams.
There were heated discussions at RMW HQ over who would put this feature together. We all wanted it.
I won.
Kate The Bride: We got married in August at Crear on the wild west coast of Scotland. Mark and I are both Irish but we met while we were at university in Edinburgh, eight years ago. Having travelled the world over, we still maintain that Scotland is the most beautiful country in the world. I love its wild beauty and isolation.
Crear was the only venue we visited. We flew over to Glasgow on a rainy weekend in January and drove the three hours across the Rest and Be Thankful and the Kintyre peninsula to beautiful Crear. It was love at first sight! We had caught Crear on the darkest, dullest, wettest day and even then, we knew it was the one. The house was completely our style – relaxed, cosy, and most importantly, filled with light, even on the greyest of days.
The first thing I bought after we got engaged was my wedding shoes. I gave up wearing stilettos years ago as I just can’t walk in them. I live in booties so I decided that’s what I would wear on my wedding day! I was browsing the January sales with my bridesmaid and she found the most perfect little gold Maje booties with tassles – so me!
After trying on over 50 dresses, I started exploring the possibility of designing my dream dress. I drew out some sketches, found some inspiration online and arranged to meet with Sarah Foy, a bridal designer based in Dublin. Sarah was incredibly patient with me throughout the whole process and understood my vision perfectly – flowy, ethereal, lightweight, bright and delicate.
The dress was topped off by a feather headpiece by my favourite Australian designer, Spell Designs, and a Swarovski crystal and tulle cuff by Johanna Johnson, a wedding gift from Mark.
Mark wore a gorgeous tailored Hugo Boss navy suit with a knitted navy tie and silk white pocket square. He looked so handsome. For his wedding gift, I bought him cufflinks with the map grid reference of Crear hand stamped on them.
Early in the planning process, we decided that a simple, boho, ethereal and laid-back theme would most accurately reflect our style as a couple – and lots of white!
We wanted our wedding stationery to reflect the style of the day so we designed and made all the stationery ourselves. The process took weeks but we were thrilled with the results!
The studio at Crear has expansive views across the surrounding green fields to the sea and the stunning Paps of Jura. The view changes constantly throughout the day from atmospheric clouds and belts of rain to glorious sunshine reflected on the sea – so romantic! We didn’t want to take away from the view so we kept the decorations simple – white on white on white.
We didn’t want our flowers to look “arranged”. Our brief to Mel, the florist at Crear was “simplicity – daisies, white peonies and some greenery”. She did an amazing job bringing our vision to life.
For dinner, we chose to use three long trestle tables rather than round tables for a more intimate feel. Our chef, Alan Boslem, cooked up a delicious feast. The pièce de resistance was a sorbet inside a hand blown sugar apple which you had to crack open – incredible! He also provided a much needed pick me up curry in between the ceilidh and the disco which was served in cute white takeaway boxes. Mark is a huge carrot cake fan so we opted for a simple carrot cake with cream cheese icing.
We decided early in the process that there were three things we were willing to splash out on for our wedding – the holy trinity of a unique venue with great food, talented photographers and a brilliant band. We saved money by doing lots of DIY and we never regretted spending the extra on these three things.
From the very beginning we knew we had to have Penny and Cam McKinley Rodgers as our photographers. In fact, their availability was a factor in deciding the date of our wedding! We can’t thank them enough for driving all the way from Bambury to a remote corner of Scotland to capture our day. And capture it they certainly did – in addition to over 700 stunning stills, they produced a short film slideshow which included video and audio from the day. I’ve literally spent hours watching this over and over again! The results of their hard work brought so much joy to both of us and our families and friends. They were so much fun to have around on our wedding day – we absolutely loved having them there.
Photography by Mckinley-Rodgers Dress | Sarah Foy | Headdress Spell Designs | Boots Maje | Bridesmaids Sarah Foy | Blooms Mel at Crear | Music Archie McAllister | Venue Crear
This has to be one of my favourite posts so far! I love it when a bride brakes the norm, that head piece is fabulous! Beautiful bride x
OMG! This is so absolutely stunning. Could be my favourite wedding ever, just like Charlotte said, it is amazing! And I adore those two black and white portraits and especially the almost kissing photo. It nearly made me cry! Would it be weird to put other people’s wedding pics on my walls?
I can’t watch the video right now but am sooo looking forward to it once I am home!
The kissing photo got me too Anja!!
I think on your walls would be slightly weird…but on a Pinterest board however, it’s totally acceptable 😉
Fern x
Exactly what you said, definitely on the all-time-faves list! And a fabulous photographer to capture it all too! xo
Beautiful photography capturing just lovely wedding! The head dress is just amazing… x
Wow what a beautiful wedding. I love the bride wore ankle boots! The whole day looks stunning.
This is sublime.
I love the brides originality and style.
Set amidst the wilds of Scotland, this is a true gem. Fabulous.
Absolutely freakin’ gorgeous – I had to look three times! The pictures of Kate and Mark together too – immense! Love love love x
I love the style of this wedding. And crear is just breathtaking..
Breathtaking
What a beautiful, honest, wholesome wedding. It fits snugly hand in hand with Pen & Cam’s photography (and videography!) too. Whenever I see what they create, it makes me want to photograph weddings.
What an amazing location! I love everything about this wedding, it is so beautiful. I adore Kate’s feather headpiece, she looked stunning.
Stunning wedding! That headpiece is going straight on my Pinterest! Tx
Love this wedding even more the 2nd time round! Got such a weakness for a bride in a feather headdress (definitely don’t see enough of them!) Crear is a fantastic venue too, just breathtaking. Wonderful work from Pen & Cam! 🙂
Oh wow. This is just beautiful.
The brides style is out of this world.
The concept and style of the whole wedding is just simply perfect.
xx
I love how effective reception decor is. It’s all so incredibly gorgeous. Congratulations!!!
I think this venue is epic.
I also need that feather headdress in my life. NOW.
Love this wedding…
Love, love, love, love…
You get the picture…
Congrats to Kate & Mark x
Holy Cow!!!!!
There are no words for how much I am in love with this bride!!!
THAT headdress!!!! We all know how much I LOVE feathers! I think this is going to HAVE to be my next project!
Such an absolutely stunning wedding. With absolutely STUNNING photography!
HUGE congrats guys 🙂 xxx
ps. I know we are still only January but this has to be the wedding of the year!! 😉
She wanted a simple, boho, ethereal and laid back wedding and it looks like she pulled it off epically! This wedding is so different and unique and I love it for that! 🙂
Boy am I glad we’ve booked Pen & Cam! Stunning photography for a stunning bride and wedding! Simple perfection. Congratulations Kate & Mark x
AMAZING wedding. And I adore everything that Pen and Cam produce 🙂
Completely unsurprised by the immense love for this wedding, it is truly breathtakingly beautiful.
I spent a wee while putting it together and I STILL can’t stop looking at it.
Charlotte xxx
Oh boy… what a wedding!
This is such a beautiful wedding – absolutely love the feathers – just stunning! Well done to all involved – one to be very proud of!
Kerrie xxx
wow, wow, wow, wow, WOW!!!!! utterly gorgeous! Slightly gobsmacked and blown away by the utter gorgeousness of this wedding. Feather headdress 100% adore.
Cam and Pen, you guys are flippin’ amazing! x x
This headdress is stunning! So unique and such a relaxed, down to earth feel. A beautiful couple!
Wow….just wow!
Kate is definitely being added to our ‘Beaut Brides’ Pinterest board!
I saw this on the McKinley Rogers blog a while back and died a little inside at that feather headress. Beautiful wedding, beautiful photography, and beautifully put together, Charlotte xx
MAN! I already know that this big day is most definitely going to be in my top ten weddings of 2014 and we haven’t even made it all the way through January yet! Kate and Mark’s big day is exquisite – blindingly so and Kate’s beautiful headdress and bone structure is to die for. I’ve gone a little bit crazy for the back detail on Kate’s frock too – so elegant yet perfectly in tune with the raw beauty of Crear.
I also have to blame Kate for introducing me to Spell designs – I totally have my eye on one of their fringed jackets called ‘Cowboy Dreams’ that I need in my life!
Hi Lolly! I know, it’s amazing. The fringed jacket is en route to me for my 30th birthday as we speak. I end up paying a fortune on customs but it is worth it every time. xxx
Thank you all for the beautiful comments guys! I am blown away by your kind words. Penny and Cam captured our day perfectly. I can’t recommend them enough. Big feather and ankle boots love. xxx
So fantastic reading all these awesome comments – thanks for sharing Kate and Mark’s wonderful day RMW! And the biggest thank you to Kate and Mark for having such a truly stylish and loved up day – and allowing us to capture it!
There are no words…
I think this wedding bas got to be one of my favourites, I love everything About it.emma i have to agree with you, that head piece is amazing. I think the images and video are both fantastic, Congratulations guys
O
OH-MY-LORD…..
Kate…..
There are no words….
The most fantastic day with Kate and Mark, we couldn’t ask for a better couple who were just simply stunning in every way. The boho, ethereal theme chosen complimented the relaxed, natural style of Crear perfectly and we LOVED the feather headpiece xxx
This bought a tear to our eye! Love the simplicity of it all, and us Bridesmaids Boutique girls are partly Scottish so it won us over in a second. Kate’s is so stylish, exactly as her lovely groom described in in his speech! xx
Ok so this is the third wedding here which impresses me sooooo much. The venue, the dress, the flowers, scotland and these beautiful pictures, which made me think about trying to get McKinleyRodgers to shoot my wedding in germany, (sorry i hope that made sense, I’m a bit insecure in english):D Beautiful, absolutely. No Detail I would think about changing it. So stylish but still natural! PERFECT!
Congrats Kate and Mark!!
Es war sehr verständlich, brauchst dir um dein Englisch keine Sorgen machen
Supi, dann ist’s gut! Danke dir!
Absolutely beautiful wedding and Photography. Awesome captures of Bride& Groom moments.
An utterly stunning wedding in every respect… the bride, the groom, that headpiece, the dress, the venue, the styling and all topped off by wonderful photography too. Love!! xxx
A breath taking day. I naturally totally agree with opinions on Scotland. However I know people who have married at Crear and my videographers have even filmed a wedding their so I know exactly how stunning a landscape it is.
I love that this pair have their priorities in mind and have gone with it. I too will not regret my current lack of funds after I have ceilidh-ed the night away at my gorgeous venue and after I see my wedding photos and film. 🙂
p.s Kate: you’re hot!
The styling of the outfits and the style of the photographer, really capture a mood totally in keeping with Scotland – beautiful!
I need the quote for my wedding at the beginning it brought me and my fiancé to tears – having a Scottish/Texas wedding. Love everything about this.
Amazing pictures. We wish all the best