There are many things we love about this glorious country we call home – the culture, the landscapes, the history and its undeniable magic being just a few of them. And such a rich and vibrant history means that we also have a load of gorgeous traditional Scotland wedding venues on our doorstep!
These venues are more often that not historic, and very frequently breathtaking, but they do have a very specific style. If you’ve found a space with a traditional background that you want to juxtapose with modern styling that’s harmonious rather than horrific, then we, as your fave Scottish wedding stylists, have got some tips for you.
We put all of these ways into practice at a recent shoot we did at one of our favourite traditional Scotland wedding venues, the beautiful Drumtochty Castle. Nestled in a glen in Aberdeenshire, it’s a beautiful 19th century building that can hold weddings for up to 120 guests, but can also cater for much more intimate affairs too. With this in mind, it’s the best of both worlds: and the perfect space for displaying how traditional and modern can blend together beautifully!
Here are 5 ways we bring modern style to more traditional Scotland wedding venues, that you can do too:
Work with a muted colour palette
Traditional Scotland wedding venues often have a few colours already at work in their opulent colour palette, so minimising the introduction of any new vibrant shades is a good way of ensuring a blend of styles. Usually the colours are rich but muted – think forest greens, plummy reds and burnt golds, basically the first colours you think of when you think of velvet – which give you a really great base to work from. When you introduce modern elements in these same tones, it gives the room a sense of stylish cohesion, finding the point at which tradition and modern style perfectly meet.
Don’t be afraid to go bold with your blooms
And speaking of velvets – don’t feel like you have to shy away from big, modern floral displays. Don’t forget, these grand traditional Scotland wedding venues were made for ostentatious flower arrangements – Dutch Masters where you at?! – so they won’t overwhelm the space, but enhance it. In fact, they can not only enhance it, but transform it: for example, with the shoot at Drumtochty, we took the decadence of the venue, and introduced a modern, bohemian romance with trailing florals and intense foliage that brought the outside in and took the inside out.
Play with texture
Something we’ll keep shouting about til we’re old and grey is texture. Don’t underestimate the effect introducing interesting texture can have the style; it adds depth and intrigue, drawing people in. A great space to play with these is on the table – for example, why not jazz up your unassuming linens with a beautiful fabric in a delicious colour? It’ll stand out on the table and look almost as delicious as the food it’ll later mop up (well, we did say almost.)
Give me a sign
A great way of adding some modern spice to a more traditional Scotland wedding venue is by adding some signage in clean, contemporary fonts and design. Traditional interiors can typically involve a lot of prints and pattern and rich and dark colours, and a great way of accentuating these is by keeping your signage simple and sleek. We took our own advice with the shoot at Drumtochty Castle and made the table plan a long canvas banner, with a clean, blocky font, to make sure it highlighted rather than competed with the surroundings.
Modern bridal style
Two things that can be hard to picture together until the day itself are your wedding outfit and the venue – because, generally, they won’t be together until the day! Quite commonly brides and couples think that if they’re marrying in a more traditional venue, then they have to go for a fittingly traditional outfit, but we (respectfully) disagree. A modern bridal outfit, that matches your true personality, actually looks amazingly sharp and stylish in contrast with a more traditional venue, and helps to bring it all smack bang into the present day. (Of course, this isn’t to say that you can’t wear a more traditional outfit, if that’s what you’ve got your heart set on – you do you, boo.)
We hope that helps – let us know if you use any of these tips to modernise your day at one of our traditional Scotland wedding venues, or if you want to chat to us about working together for your wedding day! Click HERE
To see more of the Drumtochty shoot and to read some of the lovely words of the legends who we worked on it with, you can see the full write up on Love My Dress now! Click HERE
Suppliers
Photography – Emma Lawson Photography
Venue – Drumtochty Castle
Fashion/Dresses – Stephanie Allin (1st dress) + Emmy Mae Bridal (other 2 dresses) via Ivory Grace Bridal
Styling/Florals – GLOAM
Beauty – Jaye Mac & Angel Bisset – Linton & Mac
Cake – Love Laura Lane
Videography – Cinemate
FilmsCelebrant – Claire The Humanist
Piper – The Coull Piper
