How would you describe your Eleganza Experience?
Visiting Eleganza Sposa was one of my favourite experiences because when I first stepped in the place was stunning with floral trees and had a beautiful floral sense that I can still remember. The ladies were all incredibly welcoming and made me feel so important whilst advising the dresses that would suit me. I loved trying on all the accessories and options that would suit my dress. I fell in love with the diamonte veil and long lace train that I didn't want to take off.
Let’s go back to the start - what was your engagement like?
The proposal was so unexpected, filled with wonderful special moments as Edward had planned for us to travel around Sri Lanka experiencing the culture and making special memories. It was one very hot day, Edward had arranged a day to climb the Sri-Lankan mountain, I was so scared to climb to reach the top, I screamed I can't do that, I'm not even your wife yet... little did I know a week later we were at the beach with candlelit dinner with our favourite song playing by Louis Armstrong and Edward had got one knee and asked me to spend the rest of our lives together.
We then began our wedding plans and knew we wanted to get married in Scotland on 02.02.2020 Our Scottish adventure began and we spent two amazing years planning and visiting Scotland every chance we had to visit our lovely wedding suppliers and take in all the Scottish views and culture along the way.
Tell us all about your Martina Liana wedding gown.
I was so excited to finally try on a wedding dress at Eleganza Sposa, I had my Mumma and Mother in law with me for their advice. I wanted to try on the style of dress I thought I would love with lace long sleeves, however, I tried on the 7th dress that I would never have thought suited me but as soon as it was on me it was magical. The golden undertones and beaded lace floral intricate work were stunning. It accentuated every part of me and I couldn't believe it was hand made in Italy. The name of the dress was called Mia which means mine in Italian and it was perfect for my Italian Scottish wedding.
Did you follow a specific theme or colour palette for your wedding decor?
I have dreamt of a candlelit, golden, winter wedding ever since I could remember. I wanted it to feel like a magical twinkle light evening amongst golden, cream, and rich green tones. The floating candles with a golden damask backdrop were stunning and romantic. My golden and ivory wedding dress complemented my husband's rich navy kilt. Our families also complimented our outfits with golden and navy tones with gold stitching and gold and navy embroidery. My bridesmaids wore dove blue satin and velvet tulle floating dresses looked beautiful. We wanted our wedding to express our Italian and Scottish heritage by having personalised golden monogram limoncello bottles and Italian named tables which were all describing words that we love about it each other. Our flowers were Italian ranunculus flowers with Scottish white heather and thistles which complemented each other. Mine and my grandad's favourite song, I am here, by Andrea Boccelli playing whilst we walked down the aisle. For our first dance, we chose my husband's favourite song, Have I told you lately, by Rod Stewart. Edward would always sing this to me and twirl me around in our home so it was just magical to dance to in front of all our loved ones.
Tell us more about your wedding day!
Our day was especially special to us as we chose a date that meant a lot to us, 02.02.2020 and we were married by 2 o'clock. We were overjoyed by all our loved ones taking a mini weekend break to Scotland to celebrate our wedding. We enjoyed every single moment from getting glammed with my family in the morning, sharing lots of laughter, tears of joy over some bubbles. We loved sharing all the little touches of the day from our guests trying haggis bonbons and arancini canapes with all the Scottish and Italian details that we spent time making special for everyone. The highlight for us was surprising our guests with our favourite band 'The chaps' who came all the way from London to sing the night away and play all our favourite songs. My favourite part was when they sang an Italian song and our grandparents were up dancing the night away with us.
What was the most memorable moment?
Every second of the day I was in awe, I couldn't wait to walk down the aisle with my grandad to see my future husband whilst witnessing everyone's love for us.
Photographer: Andrew Rae | Florist: Save The Date Collective | Venue: Balbirnie House | Makeup: Laura Gray Hair Beauty Bridal | Shoes: Sophia Webster | Cake: A Bonnie Wee Cake | Caterer: Balbirnie House | Music: The Chaps | Videographer: Littlebox Wedding Films | Stationery: Danielle Bleuse