If we said “luxury wedding style” to you – what would you envisage? To Sharon and Alex, it meant enchanted romance. Soft opulence. Ethereal beauty with a contemporary, cool edge. And it was with such a great sense of honour that we brought this vision to life for their Dunglass Estate wedding in October. Not only are they a couple after our own hearts, but also a couple with huge hearts, so working with them was genuinely pure joy!
The venue
Our hearts jump for joy when we talk about a Dunglass Estate wedding anyway thanks to the magic that oozes from every pore there. (A lesser-known Scottish guy a few hundred years ago – you might have heard of him, Robert Burns? – said “It is the most romantic sweet place I ever saw”, and we’re inclined to agree with him.) The half-ruined 15th century Gothic Church on the grounds is always an incredible ceremony setting but, as you can see, Sharon and Alex’s design dreams took it to the next level.
Luxurious wedding style – the vibe
In fact, it was the enchanting environment of the Gothic church that sold them on a Dunglass Estate wedding, so Sharon and Alex came to us picturing a heady and romantic aesthetic. It was to be dramatic, and luxurious, pulling out all the stops; yet deliciously modern, too. As a starting point, we worked together in refining the colour palette to white, nude and blush tones, which evoked the much-loved warmth of traditional seasonal shades, but with a contemporary, chic edge.
Warmth was top on our list of priorities for this Dunglass Estate wedding in every sense – as the couple and most of the wedding party were used to temperatures in Florida. Safe to say Scottish weather conditions in a half-ruined chapel aren’t, ahem, quite on the same level, so Ange, lead stylist, set to work. “We used layers in the decor to add texture and a cosy feel to the spaces.” she explains. “We built pockets of detail all around the venue, from the pillars framing the church to the opulent cascading table ends at the reception.”
The styling, floristry and stationery for S&A’s luxurious wedding
To be honest, we’re not sure we’ve ever heard Kate (co-founder/head florist) squeal as hard as she did when we finalised the floristry with Sharon and Alex. For their small, intimate wedding, they wanted to go all out. “Detail and a feeling of abundance was important,” she explains (now that she’s just about finished hyperventilating about how much she enjoyed it)…
“We were tasked with creating floral focal points in locations around the venue. For example, we used dreamy florals set against the traditional walls of the Dunglass Estate wedding chapel, with the light tones contrasting beautifully against the dark stone wall.
The knock-out florals were also key in keeping their intimate wedding feeling, well, intimate. Sharon and Alex had around 30 guests, and were concerned that the venue could feel empty (A Dunglass Estate wedding can cater for up to 200 guests.) All of our styling choices were thus designed specifically to draw the space in and make it feel like it was the perfect size for the perfect couple.
Plea
“In the pavilion, the reception space, we created lush, dreamy floral tablescapes to achieve this.” Kate explains. And now, back to Ange: “Rattan screens were used to back the top table and seal off party space, making the meal area feel cosier and closer. Individual sheepskins were added to guests’ chairs to add texture and reflect the time of year. We also used fabric panels in the beams in the stable room to bring texture and lower the eye level of the display.” (She is clever, isn’t she, that Ange?)
The scent
And of course, a sense of intimacy isn’t provided by sight alone. Jessica created a signature scent for Sharon and Alex to match their big day, which we then used to create hand-poured candles for gifts for the guests. We also placed this scent in diffusers to fill the chapel space for the ceremony.
More on the luxurious wedding style
But – back to the reception, and everything that we had in store there! ““The Talking Heads’ ‘This Must Be The Place’ held loads of special significance for Sharon and Alex, so we sourced the neon sign with the lyrics to be displayed with their sweetheart table.” Ange continues. “This table also had extra decor details with layers of candles and fabric drapes – textures were really important to them too, from the cake finish to the flowers.”
“In fact, this signage detail flowed throughout, in blush pink and black with gold foil detailing – and complete with bespoke printed cocktail napkins! One of our favourite signs was for the whiskey trolley by the fire pit area, where we also added cosy feels by adding more blankets and sheepskin layers.”
“The food and drink presentation was also important, so we added bar shelving displays to Platter & Pop’s amazing grazing table as extra layers, complete with risers and decor props. We added more props for the party space, too, where the brilliant Anti Wedding Wedding DJs were to play later. We added disco ball clusters and plinths, and the neon sign became the DJ backdrop.”
We must say thanks, again, to Sharon and Alex for entrusting us with this vision – it was truly a dream, and we’re so grateful to have been part of something so special.
All that’s left to say, then is: if you’re planning a Dunglass Estate wedding yourself, or you’re looking for heady, romantic wedding styling for your day, then welcome – this must be the place…
CLICK HERE to learn more about our styling, floristry and stationery services.
Suppliers
Venue – Dunglass Estate
Photographer – Lena Sabala
Styling, floristry, stationery, scent scaping – Gloam
Caterer and linens – Platter & Pop
Wedding planner – Louise @ Timeless White
Cake – Liggys Cake Co
Tables and chairs – Dunglass Estate
Beauty – AMM Hair and Makeup Team
