Catherine and Colin – Married!

He had her Dad’s blessing, he had the ring, now it was just a matter of finding exactly the right time and place to ask Catherine to be his wife.  Cue Christmas time in Edinburg, Scotland.  Add one Castle and a giant fully lit Christmas tree and you have the perfect situation for a romantic proposal.  There on one knee Colin declared his love, presented the ring and asked Catherine to marry him.  She said yes.

On Saturday Catherine and Colin were married at the beautiful Wither Hills Winery here in Blenheim (which, incidentally the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge lunched at only a couple of days before).  Lucky Wither Hills, to be hosting TWO gorgeous Catherines in only 48 hours!

Stunning flowers by Flowertime, I love the inclusion of the wee thistle.  Hints of Scotland were all through the ceremony and celebration, it was fantastic to see it in the flowers as well.

Catherine got ready at her Grandmother’s house, and I quickly spotted this gorgeous chair.  Apparently it was Catherine’s favourite chair when visiting her Grandma, she called it the ‘Queen’ chair.  I loved the chair, I also loved the shoes (like, REALLY loved the shoes) so I figured they’d go together perfectly!

Meet little Eilidh, (pronounced ‘Ai lee’).  Another piece of Scotland, and OH MY GOODNESS what a cute little thing she is!

Catherine’s Dad had taken the ladies here, there and everywhere in order to find the perfect wedding dress.  However, he himself had not seen the chosen dress until this very moment.  The room was full of emotion and the pride that Catherine’s parents felt in their daughter was evident to all.  These are the moments that fuel my love for weddings.

Catherine, you are beautiful inside and out!

Meanwhile, Colin’s Mum helps him with the final touches of his traditional Scottish outfit.

While I knew there were more than a few styles of tartan, I had no idea just how varied they actually were!  A quick Google search on tartan presented me with a never ending display of patterns, no wonder each family can have their own tartan!

Arriving at Wither Hills Winery.

Inside the Barrel Room was the perfect location for Colin and Catherine’s ceremony, as the bad weather that Metservice has been promising for all this time actually decided to arrive!

As if being warm and dry wasn’t enough, the Barrel Room also looks like THIS!

After shooting weddings for more than 6 years I thought I had come across just about every wedding reading possible.  From Corinthians to The Owl And The Pussy Cat and everything in between.  But Colin and Catherine presented me with ‘The Love Monkey’.  I think it was originally either a cartoon, or a book, it talks about a monkey called ‘Love Monkey’, who carried with him his perfect heart and set out across the world to find another Monkey to share it with….

“Standing before him, as radiant and as beautiful as the sunshine, was his Dream Monkey.

At first he cold not speak.  But then, from somewhere deep inside himself, he found a voice.

“I have travelled the world over to find you, and to give you my heart,” he said.

“But now that I am finally with you, I see how foolish I have been.

You are so beautiful, so perfect.  And my heart that was once smooth, so bright and so new is now not something that I could even bring myself to show you,” and he turned to go.

“Let me see it,? said Dream Monkey.  She took his heart and held it up to the light.

“Nothing to me is more beautiful.  Every fissure tells a story. Every blemish makes you more real.  All my life I have been waiting for a heart like this; a heart that speaks the truth.”

“Come here,” she said. “I have something for you too.”

In her hand was a tiny golden heart.  It was as worn and as scratched as Love Monkey?s own

?and it was the most precious thing that he had ever seen.

Love Monkey put his arms around her and they held each other for a long, long time.

“I shall treasure this heart for as long as I live,” said Dream Monkey, running her fingers over its ridged and dimpled surface.

Then they looked into each other?s eyes and, feeling the joy of truth in their souls for the first time, they began to laugh.”

 

And then they were married!

And the guests, from the youngest to the oldest, all brought them the same genuine smiles and happiness that seemed to match their own.

Charlotte brought yet another dimension of cuteness to the day!

While the guests enjoyed each other’s company, we took Colin and Catherine to Brayshaw Park.

Catherine, who is ever ready with a smile and a laugh, couldn’t help but photobomb Colin’s shot.  I couldn’t help but leave it in…

Catherine and Colin actually met while at University in Scotland, they were both studying maps.  Clearly there is more to mapping than I had ever thought.  In fact, Catherine has done so much studying that she is now a Doctor!  Not the kind of Doctor who can help you in a medical emergency (unless it involves maps, perhaps) but a Doctor in the field of mapping.  I think it might be kind of like Google Maps, but for the council, but don’t quote me on that.  All I know is that they are both incredibly smart, and should never get lost in a city.

There are those amazing shoes again…

And here I am, once again touting my love for Autumn.  And you really can’t blame me when you see colour like this, can you?

Sarah and Jordan came half way around the world to be bridesmaid and best man.  Fabulous friends.

And then it was time to start the reception.  Perfect opportunity to bring out the bagpipes!

Look at how she looks at her new husband!  Not an ill word, or old story was spoken about Colin in any of the speeches, and Catherine told me later that was because he’s genuinely such a nice guy, there was no dirt to pull up on him!

Catherine insisted that children were going to be welcomed into their wedding day, from getting ready to the dance floor, there was cuteness all around us!

Excuse me while I just pick up my melted heart off the floor.  These two were adorable!

Colin and Catherine, my new BFFs, you are both super people and we wish you guys all the happiness in the world!  Thanks for choosing us to capture your day and have a great trip back over to Scotland!