By Daniela Degrassi
Fiona and Lee we were due to marry in June 2020, but due to the pandemic they couldn’t. They postponed the wedding to June 2021 instead; changing their wedding venue and the number of guests so that they could allow enough room for everyone and go through much less stress!
The venue change of heart is quite a moving story. Fiona remembers: “My grandpa had sadly passed away the weekend we were originally meant to get married. He lived just 2 doors up from my parents (my childhood home). After his passing and the postponement of our wedding, it was my dad who suggested we marry at Grandpas house. So we did! On 5th June 2021 the sun shone, we got married in my grandparents garden with only our parents, siblings and the family dogs. A family friend married us, this made it even more special.”
Fiona continues to share memories and details from the wedding:
“I am vegan and my husband Lee is vegetarian. We knew we wanted to make the food vegan… I was definitely anxious about this as I wasn’t sure how others would feel. But since our guest list was quite short and all within our families, they were very understanding about us keeping things vegan friendly.”
“My friend Myra catered our wedding. She hadn’t ever done a fully vegan menu before but you’d not know! She came up with some of the yummiest food we’ve ever tasted! Myra made 4 or 5 different canapés as well as the main meal of lasagne, chips, various salads and potatoes, and for dessert we had sticky toffee pudding and ice cream. It was yum! All our guests enjoyed the food and complimented Myra! Most said you couldn’t even tell it was vegan!”
“The drink for our wedding was bought through Sue at Vegan Tipples, an Edinburgh based company. I have met Sue a few times over the years and she personally delivered the drinks, she’s fab!”
“Our cake was meant to be made by a friend but about the week before the wedding it ended up being that she was unable to make it. So instead, we bought from the supermarket! Asda from Walmart made a cute cartoon avocado cake (chocolate flavour), so we bought 2 of them and I made a wee kilt out of fondant for one to look like a groom and I made a bouquet of flowers and tiara so the other looked like a bride. Not our first choice but we went with it and it worked!”
“My hair was done by Shelley Purves from Poppy Rue Hair in Galashiels. My make up was done by Becky from Bexleigh Beauty in Melrose. I have known Becky for years and she knows I am vegan, she made sure the make up was OK for me, she was amazing!”
“All our decor, hire items and flowers were from “Get Knotted” in Earlston. Katie from Get Knotted was amazing! She had visited my grandpas house before the wedding and had so many great ideas of how to make it look special for our day. She foraged in the garden we got married in for flowers and greenery to use in the bouquets and buttonholes.”
“Our amazing photographer is Natalie Martin who is based in Innerleithen. The moment we met with Natalie we loved her! She did very well to help 11 people (and 2 dogs!) feel very comfortable and at ease with her taking our picture. Half the time we barely noticed she was there! We are absolutely delighted with the photographs and can’t thank her enough!”
“Our name settings for the table doubled as our favours. They were guests names written on seed paper…I love them! Made by LauraLikes.”
“So after the heartache, disappointment and stress of the pandemic postponing our wedding date, we ended up having our dream wedding surrounded by our close family in my grandparents garden/house on a beautiful sunny day in Scotland! It was pretty perfect….and vegan friendly!”
Thank you Fiona for sharing your special day with The Kind Bride readers! Wishing you and Lee all the best!
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An incurable enthusiast and independent spirit since she could remember (her childhood heroines were Pippi Longstockings and Katharine Hepburn) Daniela Degrassi found her creative outlet as a lifestyle photographer, working mainly in Northern California. Currently splitting her time between SF Bay Area and her native Italy to continue to be her autistic sister’s primary caregiver. Vegan since 2014, she found a perfect way to carry her message of compassion while celebrating her love for the wedding industry launching The Kind Bride in February 2018.
