Jane and David were married in May at the beautiful GGs Yard, Gatehouse of Fleet in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The venue sits on coast with the most stunning views of the sea, making for some epic portraits of the bride and groom. Whilst Jane grew up in Scotland, the groom David is originally from South Africa, so the theme of the wedding became of fusion of their combined heritage, with beautiful thistles and protea flowers and so many thoughtful touches to make the day personal and special.
Jane wore one of our most popular Jesus Peiro dresses ever, the comfortable, versatile and breathtakingly beautiful Jesus Peiro 8004. With a lace panelled bodice, wide waistband and full structured skirt (with pockets!) 8004 is a stylish, creative take on a lace wedding dress - just the perfect choice for Jane's May wedding day!
Read on to find out more about Jane and David's wonderful Scottish coastal wedding day, along with a gallery of gorgeous images by Duncan Ireland.
Jesus Peiro 8004 wedding dress
I always knew I would go for a fuller skirt dress as I have hips and tight fitting dresses had never suited me which helped with trying on styles. I initially had my heart set on another designer but once I tried on that the particular dress after looking at it online for months I just didn't feel it was me and it wouldn't have been comfortable to wear all day long.
I had visited Miss Bush before I was engaged, when my best friend was on the hunt for her dress and I remembered another lady having her appointment and as we left she was trying on the Jesus Peiro 8004. It stuck with me as it looked very unusual on the lady, I remember thinking oh dear I hope she doesn't pick that dress - it looked so odd. However I couldn't get the Jesus Peiro style dresses out of my head and started looking at them frequently online. I loved the fuller skirts and the pockets. So after the first shop and ruling out the other dress I knew I had to go back to Miss Bush.
I tried on quite a few styles before finally putting the 8004 on. I have always had an issue with my arms and as much as I planned to go to the gym and work on my bingo wings (which I still did), having a sleeveless dress could have been a risk to how I felt on the day. The sample of the 8004 was on the small size and it really took some imagining of how it could look fitting me properly. I loved it though! However our venue was a converted barn and with the full satin skirt I just couldn't see the dress going with the venue. I had tried another style on with the textured cotton fabric and when we held up the skirt to the top of 8004 at Emma's suggestion - I knew that was to be my dress. The textured cotton added something completely different to the 8004 and while it was still the elegant dress it was always meant to be, it had a more 'casual' nature to it.
I obsessed for months over what it would finally look like and worried whether I had made the right decision, however when my dress finally arrived for fitting I knew I had and this was meant to be my dress. The detail on the top. with the textured cotton bottom and the sleeves on the 8004 were perfect, I felt confident and comfortable all day.
It was such an easy dress to wear and move around in. I clambered over rocks for photos and danced the night away. So many people still comment about how it was one of the most beautiful and unique dresses they had ever seen!
Dress Shopping
For my initial appointment at Miss Bush my mum and my maid of honour attended. My maid of honour had previously been to Miss Bush for her wedding dress shopping so we had both been before but my mum was blown away by the Chapel.
My mum has always been brutally honest and I knew she would be when trying on dresses. I could tell by her face when something was a no or a maybe. When I put on the 8004 both of them agreed the sleeves and the style were for me. None of us had that tearful moment you see on tv all the time but I knew from their reactions they loved the dress.
I have always loved wedding dresses, so when my turn came I was so excited to get to try on as many as possible. I thought I would go to numerous boutiques searching for The One, however Miss Bush was only the second place I visited and after that there was no need to go anywhere else. The Chapel is beautiful and all the ladies who helped through my appointments were fantastic. My initial appointment was with Corinne and she was great helping me pick out dresses to suit me and making me feel comfortable, Emma also joined in and if it wasn't for Emma I don't think I would have combined the textured cotton skirt with the 8004 top. The dress needed quite a bit of alterations as my hard work in the gym was paying off and Jo couldn't have done a better job at altering the dress and particularly the sleeves! I can't thank them enough for the service and the dress I wore on my special day.
Styling
As the dress was quite a statement dress I wanted to keep the accessories more on the simple side.
Being 5ft 9in I knew heels wouldn't be for me so I picked out my something blue with some light blue sparkly Jimmy Choo flats. They were so comfortable to wear on the day and into the night. I also knew I could wear them again after the wedding to dress up a pair of jeans.
I treated myself to some vintage diamond drop earrings from Grays Antiques in London which I love and were such a special touch on the day.
I wanted to keep my hair quite simple on the day and as I generally wear it down a tight up-do wouldn't have been me. To compliment the wavy curls I had in mind I had a custom order for a hair slide from Tania Maras Bridal (based in Australia). They adapted one of their signature slides to my specifications and I loved how it looked and went with the dress on the day. Unfortunately the wind got the better of my hair by the end of the day and I certainly was sporting the beach wind swept look by the end of the night.
In respect to my make-up, during my trial I said I wanted to look like me but the best version of me. I didn't want overly excessive and heavy make up that when I look back at photos I think wow I looked different on our wedding day. I think my make-up artist achieved this and I was so happy with the look.
My best friend and maid of honour unfortunately couldn't make the day due to illness which was upsetting but she leant me her beautiful Suzanne Neville veil for the day. It felt extra special to wear as I had something of hers with me on the day. I felt it complimented the Jesus Peiro 8004 perfectly and luckily it didn't get ruined on the beach!
A Scottish coastal wedding with a South African twist
I had grown up spending my summers on the South West Coast of Scotland and as a couple we had been up a number of times to stay with my Dad who now lives there. It held so many memories for me and now for us. When we got engaged I knew I wanted to get married up there. My husband to be was from South Africa and we had to weigh up a wedding there on a wine farm, where we could pretty much guarantee the sun vs the risk of a Scottish wedding.
GGs was a new venue and had only recently opened when we got engaged. When we put our deposit down a few months later we still hadn't seen it in person and they hadn't held their first wedding yet but I knew it was worth the risk and it paid off. The venue and attention to detail was truly amazing,
The 'theme' of our wedding really was a combination of Scotland and South Africa. The theme became Proteas and Thistles and we tried to bring the two together in all our wedding stationery and the flowers. Our table names were all different Gin names (I love Gin!) and we used the bottles to display the flowers on the table. My Dad's partner did our flowers and all the bouquets and she really captured what we were trying to achieve. The table settings were stunning and my bouquet was certainly one of a kind, if not on the slightly large side!
The week leading up to the wedding the weather was abysmal and it didn't stop raining. My dreams of a sunny day looked like they were out of reach. The regrets of not picking South Africa crept in. However the morning of the wedding - the clouds broke and the sun shone. It was quite windy though which has made for some fun photos of ties and hats being held down! We were so lucky in the end, everyone was able to enjoy drinks and canapes on the terrace looking out on the Solway coast. In some photos you really could be mistaken it was somewhere hot and tropical not Scotland!
The day flew by and I didn't want it to end. The food was incredible and the dance floor was full all night with the amazing band - Los Perros from Glasgow. The dress was so much fun to dance in and I had worried it wouldn't be comfortable to dance in all night but it really was.
Everyone was blown away by the dress and the venue and we couldn't have asked for a better wedding day.
The Best Bits
It is so hard to pick a favourite part of the day as there were so many other than the actual getting married to my husband... if I had to pick two - the first was when Auntie Dot (my husbands Auntie from South Africa) stepped in to play the piano for our hymn as the pianist hadn't arrived on time saving the ceremony!
The second would be the moment the fireworks went off. This was something I had arranged as a surprise and only a small handful of people knew it was going to happen. I had to encourage people outside (off the dance floor) with the idea of the sparkler arch and then as this finished they set the fireworks off, it truly was a magical moment.
Jane's Advice
If I had to give any advice to a bride to be, it would be open minded. What you think you have in your head as 'your dress' might not be it. Be willing to try different styles on and take the advice of the ladies in the shop. They have seen thousands of brides and they really are there to help and guide you.
I'd also say don't stress about the small things, what you think is necessary and essential for your big day might go unnoticed by your guests. Also if things don't quite go to plan on the day, with the running order (or pianists turning up on time) only you knew how it should have gone to plan so be flexible and adaptive and don't let it ruin the day.
Enjoy every moment of your day as it will fly by and you will want to do it all again!
Suppliers
Photographer: Duncan Ireland
Bridesmaid Dresses: MoteeMaid
Venue and Catering: GGs Yard
Hair and Make Up: AMM team
Florist: family friend
Cake: Rosewood Cakes
Hair accessories: Tania Maras
Earrings: Grays Antiques
Shoes: Jimmy Choo