Our real wedding couple Katie and Simon exchanged their vows on the grand staircase of Scottish private mansion Errol Park, followed by a dreamy rustic style reception. The self-proclaimed foodie couple treated their guests to a mouthwatering Scottish inspired menu which included evening nibbles of haggis, neeps and tattis, an espresso martini tuk-tuk and a carrot and parsnip wedding cake! Captured by Roma Elizabeth Photography, check out Katie and Simon's phenomenal special day below!

Before diving into the details of their spectacular special day, let's get to know the happy couple a bit more! "We met on the doorstep, moving into halls at university in 2009. We were good friends and flat mates and eventually got together." 

Fast forward to their festive proposal story: "The proposal was on Christmas Day which I was so surprised by as I didn’t think Simon would do something so traditional, plus there was a stunt present under the tree! We intended on going for a post breakfast walk to Shaw’s Bridge in Belfast as we were back visiting family, so I invited everyone, much to Simon’s annoyance. I obviously didn’t understand why. My mum and brother’s fiancé came along and we went up ahead, we crossed over the bridge and Simon got down on one knee and produced the most beautiful ring. I had tears in my eyes and then my mum turned up and said, “What’s happening here then?” before I could even say yes! It was very funny and even though we’d been together 14 years, I was very surprised in the moment."

How adorable are Katie's flower girls in their sweet dried floral headpieces?

Our glowing bride wore a phenomenal embroidered gown by Essence of Australia paired with Eleganza Sposa floral motif wings, sparkling hair accessories and a gold bracelet borrowed from her mum. 

After sharing a sweet first look with her father, Katie made her way to the couple's spectacular ceremony space on the grand staircase of Errol Park: "Being married on a staircase with everyone standing round the bottom felt more relaxed and a bit special all at the same time."

The couple's ceremony featured a hand-fasting ritual alongside a particularly sweet addition of their guests giving them newlywed advice: "Our Humanist celebrant suggested that some married guests could give advice. So one of my bridesmaids and oldest friends gave us hers and Simon’s aunt Jennifer gave advice for a long marriage. It was really touching."

Katie had this sage advice for brides on their wedding journey: "Don't worry if you don’t get a good night’s sleep, apparently most brides don’t! I was awake at 2:30am and couldn’t get back to sleep. Had a bit of a headache but breakfast and a few bellinis in the morning helped this. Try your best to get everything on the tables if setting up yourself the night before. I left the seating plan and table numbers until the morning as they were in a different car and was a little stressed organising this. However, I think I would’ve wanted to check the reception layout anyway since I’d spent so long planning it, so not a big deal. It passes in a flash – we all say it because it’s true. Enjoy!"

Describing their wedding look as "relaxed bohemian with a bit of grandeur thrown in", Katie was drawn towards "pampas grass, washed out wood and natural tones but also brass and gold accents to elevate the overall look, so this really inspired the flowers and reception decor."

With delicious food high on their list of priorities, the menu of the evening featured an Italian and Scottish feast on big sharing platters: "Wild Rover came up with arancini canapes as well as Scottish smoked salmon on charcoal crispbreads. We had beef with salsa verde and seasonal sides - of course spuds, because you can take the girl out of Belfast etc... - mozzarella and courgette salad, tiramisu and crumble for dessert and haggis, neeps and tatties in the evening. Wild Rover also ask you to select a guest from each table to collect the food, so an apron was left on an unsuspecting guests chair and it was funny seeing this explained and brought a little theatre to the meal."

Katie and Simon had this advice for couples planning their own wedding day: "When researching and looking at Instagram, take screenshots of anything that draws your eye and think about why it has. I did this with the rented trestle table marketing then realised I liked the whole set up so bought and cut up fabric to act as table runners and added dried palm leaves to the flowers to replicate this. Check your photographer takes photos around sunset or dinner. Ours, Roma Elizabeth,  did this and the lighting was just beautiful and was a lovely way to spend 20 minutes together, just the two of you in all the chaos of the day!"

The couple's epic fig adorned wedding cake had a mouthwatering three tiers of carrot and parsnip, chocolate and Biscoff.

How pretty are these place names with gold foil accents made by the bride herself? Simple and elegant.

Taking place in Errol Park's rustic stables reception space, the couple carried on celebrating with a cocktail tuk-tuk with espresso martinis and a first dance to You’ve Got The Love by Candi Stanton sang by The Cartel: "I loved the Florence and Machine cover and this was played a lot on nights out in Glasgow!" Music played a special role in the couple's day, with their playlist featuring their favourite songs such as Van Morrison and Paolo Nutini "a bit of home and a bit of Glasgow thrown in!" 

"I was set on a rustic barn vibe, however, Errol Park was the first of three venues we looked at and were blown away. The original stable block had all the elements of a rustic barn vibe, beams and such, but with a cobbled floor and lots of space for dinner and dancing. It was also a bit of a blank canvas and you could style it any way you liked. The beautiful, grand house was definitely what Simon was after, and we were able to have both at Errol Park and stay the whole weekend. It was really special to stay over, especially as I love old buildings and had a pre-wedding get together with the bridal party and close friends."

After their busy wedding festivities, the couple took a well-deserved honeymoon to the Amalfi Coast: "We had one night in Naples then hired a Fiat 500 and drove to Sorrento and Positano, we felt like we were in a Bond film! We went on a boat trip to Capri and drove to Rome for a few more days there. October was a little chillier than expected, but it was beautiful and quieter than peak season in Amalfi. A cookery course day with Chef Andrea in Rome was a great end to the trip!"

A very special thank you to Katie, Simon and Roma Elizabeth Photography for sharing their charming celebration with One Fab Day. There are also plenty more gorgeous photos from their special day to check out in the gallery below!

Dreaming of getting married abroad? Check out the rest of our beautiful destination real weddings here!