Colourful & Joyful Perthshire Barn Wedding

How divine it is to be sharing Chris and Jill’s Perthshire barn wedding held at The Byre At Inchyra in Scotland. Their day was so joyful, with a riot of colour, an outdoor ceremony and a magical barn reception.

I love everything about their day; from their special ceremony ritual to their beautiful outfits, the locally sourced florals and the delicious-sounding cake. There were so many smiles throughout their portraits all day long, even up to their first dance.

Thanks so very much to Nicola Stewart Photography for kindly sharing with us these sensational images of such a gorgeous celebration.

Perthshire Barn Wedding

The Proposal

The proposal came out of nowhere. On a last-minute holiday Chris proposed on the beach, and despite crying for a full solid 10mins Jill eventually managed to say yes. While we both knew it was on the cards it took both of us by surprise, but the moment was just so right.

The Vision

We wanted to have a wedding which our guests just loved. I think the phrase used most often in planning was “joyful”!

We wanted bright, colourful, seasonal flowers, delicious food, and to have the bubbles flowing. It meant so much to us to have all our friends and family together, so the goal was to have it be just the most fun, relaxed day we could manage.

Budget

In the end, we definitely went over what we intended to spend on the day. There were lots of little things we didn’t think to expect, and the venue itself was a real splurge. We got so lucky to get a summer date in 2023 it just seemed like fate and we had to reconsider the budget based on that. As well as this, some things were just more expensive than we realised!

The Ceremony & Music

Chris loves music and it was so important to us to incorporate this into the day. With the weather on our side we got married outside in the 20+ degree heat in the walled garden.

We had a string quartet playing modern pop/rock covers in the walled garden, which was such a beautiful setting. They were incredible and helped set a light, fun tone for the whole day.

Our amazing celebrant Anne ran through our short but sweet ceremony, and we sealed a box with notes to each other and a bottle of wine for us to open on our 10th anniversary.

The Venue

The Byre at Inchyra was one of the first venues we saw when we started looking to get married. We knew we wanted a barn wedding, but the beautiful walled garden just cinched it for us.

We went on a fairly gloomy day in March, so to see the whole garden a riot of colour in June was just magical. Having never planned anything like this before Caroline, one of the owners, put us completely at ease. She was our venue coordinator on the day, and I know that everything looked beautiful, and ran smoothly, in no small part due to their care and consideration.

Your Outfits

The Bride

With some amazing luck, the Harriet Wilde sale had a beautiful pair of blue velvet block heels in my size. My earrings were borrowed from my mum for the day, and were simple studs which Chris helped me choose, and my hairband was a much loved Anthropologie purchase I’ve worn to a number of weddings in the past, it was my something old.

My dress was something I never imagined I’d wear, but the moment I saw it I just knew it was for me. I completely fell in love, it was like nothing I’d ever seen, but was talked out of buying it by a friend who thought it was too much. As we got closer and closer to the day I just couldn’t get it out my mind and ended up contacting the UK Nicole Milano distributer to see if anyone had it in my size.

Again I was so lucky that Claire not only had one in my size, but that her amazing seamstress could do the final tweaks. I ended up travelling to Leeds the Sunday before the wedding to have a final check and pick up my dress and veil! It was hectic but it’s such a story and I felt amazing on the day.

The Groom

Chris wore a beautiful lightweight flecked navy tweed jacket and waistcoat bought from a tiny shop just outside Kings Cross Station. The kilt was an Ancient Baird tartan sewn by the bride during lockdown. Originally a gift, it became a longstanding joke among her friends that when the kilt was completed Chris would propose, but he beat her to it by a couple of months.

His sporran, kilt pin, and tie all came from Eight Yards and his shoes were a well broken-in pair which he had for a few years and had seen more than a few ceilidhs in their time!

Your Photographer

I originally found Nicola through a photo of a beautiful black cake she had popped on Instagram. Something about both the photo and the cake just jumped out at me, and next thing I knew we had a call with Nicola to confirm she was free on our wedding day, and a baker for our delicious cake, it was meant to be.

From the moment we put down the phone after our initial call we knew Nicola was the person we wanted to photograph our wedding. We felt so at ease and the whole process felt like something you’d organise with a friend. Both she and Jade, her second shooter, were amazing. The constant laughter and happiness that radiated from the pair of them meant the wedding morning was a joy, and they were somehow everywhere during the day. Our photos are a constant reminder of how amazing our day was.

Memorable Moments

We really focused on making sure all our guests had a great time, and the food was such a big part of that. It was absolutely amazing and we still talk about the chicken pie we served with real joy!

I (Jill) also campaigned relentlessly for ice cream cones for the guests for their walk down to the garden from the main venue. It was just a moment of silly fun that our guests wouldn’t expect, and the fact the weather was so nice so people could enjoy them in the sunshine was brilliant (I also managed to grab a quick ice cream just before I walked down the aisle because our wait staff were absolute legends and saved me one!).

During the exchanging of the rings, I forgot to take off my engagement ring and so in many of the photos, Chris is wearing this on his pinkie so it didn’t get lost!

We asked both our fathers to bring a hammer to the ceremony to seal our wine box at the end of the ceremony, but gave them no context, so Chris’ dad brought a mallet, and my dad brought a toffee hammer. It was such a lovely moment and it meant so much to involve our families in the day.

The Styling & Decor

With The Byre being such a stunning venue we knew that keeping it simple would be our best bet. We didn’t have a theme for the wedding, we just knew we wanted beautiful and colourful. When speaking to Amy our florist the goal was just a riot of colour with lots of locally sourced flowers. We had bud vases of blooms and colourful taper candles scattered down the tables, and beautiful branches and candelabras hanging from the barn rafters, which looked so magical and otherworldly.

Our cake was three tiers of lemon drizzle (the mum’s favourite), carrot (the groom’s favourite), and funfetti (the bride’s), with all the flowers from the day dotted across it. We wanted the icing to be crisp sharp and white to let all the colours pop.

Our signage was a gift from our incredibly talented, and quick, friend Alex, who designed and printed them in the week running up to the wedding. We gave him free reign to create anything he wanted on a bright, floral theme and he really made something so special.

Advice For Other Couples

Focus on what is going to make you happy, that’s what you’ll remember on the day. People will all have their opinions but make sure to prioritise what you love and you’ll have an amazing day.