After having to postpone their wedding due to Covid-19, our stunning Berta Bride Jayde married Steven in an intimate ceremony with their closet families and friends there to share the magical moment when they said ‘I do’. Jayde tells us all about their love story, planning a wedding during lockdown and finding her dream wedding dress.
How We Met
Steven and I met on our first day at the University of Strathclyde in 2010, and while I'd like to say it was love at first sight, our story started out as just friends before our friendship blossoming into romance in December 2011 and we've pretty much been inseparable since.We've shared every huge moment in our lives together, from getting our degrees, to carrying out our PhDs in the same group and finally to getting our first 'real' jobs in the same company.
We've grown up a lot since that first meeting at 18 years old, and gone through a lot together, but its only made us stronger and we can't wait to see what this next chapter as husband and wife has in store.
The Proposal
Steven asked me to marry him on the 16th of June 2017 while on our dream trip travelling across Italy. He got down on one knee in the Boboli Gardens overlooking Florence and while I had had my suspicions about a proposal, when it actually happened, I was speechless.
Wedding Style
We wanted to keep the wedding quite simply styled, not too many flowers or decorations, just neutral flowers and mixed metals throughout. We did, however, put quite a lot of personal touches throughout the wedding day.
The Wedding Ceremony
We were married at Brig O’Doon House Hotel. At the ceremony, we had an 'In Memory' table with photos of my grandparents, all of whom I'd lost within a few years and it meant a lot to have them there with me during such a special time.
The Wedding Reception
Our wedding reception took place at Loch Green House Hotel. We themed our wedding tables with our favourite fantasy worlds (Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones and Harry Potter), so we decorated each table with a framed quote from each and various props ( a wand of course for HP). Our favourite quote from Lotr 'I'd rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone' sat at our top table. We wanted to have a wedding that was fully ours with everything we loved, and so we also decided to have a wedding cake of cheese, which was amazing. We loved how everything turned out for our day and it was so unique to us.
The Wedding Dress
I first saw 'the' dress at a wedding fair and completely fell in love. It was here I found out about the Berta Trunk Show taking place at Opus Atelier and immediately booked in. I had always dreamed of having a Berta dress for my wedding but I couldn't have imagined finding a dress so perfect for me. It had everything I wanted, it was unlike anything I'd ever seen anyone wear, it was figure hugging in all the right ways, with just the right amount of sparkle. The 3D flowers all over were my favourite part.
Being an Opus Bride
I had the most amazing experience working with everyone at Opus Atelier, but I have to mention Lauren and of course Sharon in particular. They made me feel like the most important bride in the whole world whenever I stepped foot inside the store. They made me feel so calm, and I trusted them to find me the perfect look for my wedding day.
I felt special every time and I felt like they genuinely took the time to get to know me, which meant we had such fun during every appointment. They also managed to take an already perfect dress and make it even more amazing - they both have such amazing vision! I can't thank them enough for making my time so incredible, they really set the bar for what a bridal shopping experience should be. During such a stressful time for everyone, they went out of their way to make sure I had my dream dress and honestly couldn't have done enough for me. I just wish I could do it all again!
Memorable Wedding Day Moment
The most memorable moment was when I saw Steven's face for the first time as I walked down the aisle. I had gotten really nervous all of a sudden before the ceremony, but seeing his face calmed me down immediately, and I just couldn't wait to marry him. Overall, our ceremony was my favourite part, we had a humanist service which was so special and told 'our story', it was so beautiful.
Getting Married During Lockdown
We were all set to have the big June wedding, but then Covid-19 happened, and we had to postpone and reduce our numbers to only 20. At first, I thought it was a disaster and that we would never have the wedding we'd dreamed of with such few people. However, getting married with only our closest friends and family turned out to be perfect, We got to spend intimate time with everyone and it felt so special. Now, if I was to be given the choice to go back and have the huge wedding, I wouldn't take it. Our small wedding reminded us that the two of us being married was the most important thing and we got the wedding we dreamed of.
Suppliers
Venue - Brig O' Doon and Loch Green House Hotels.
Photographer - David Grant Simpson Photography
Wedding Dress - Opus Atelier
Bridesmaid Dresses - Opus Couture
Kilts - MacGregor & MacDuff
Florist - Paper White Floral Design
Hair - Brownlie & Brownlie
Make Up - Taylor Lawson MUA
Cake - I. J. Mellis
Videographer - Nine18 Wedding Films