Louise & David’s Humanist Wedding at Carlowrie Castle

It was high school lunchtime duties that brought Louise and David together; at the time, he was deputy head boy and she was a fairly quiet, shy prefect.

Their relationship officially started on the 13th of October 2009 after a trip to the Edinburgh Dungeons where David asked Louise, “what would you say if I asked you out?”

Louise replied, “yes.”

“Well,” said David. “That was me asking you out.”

Who says romance is dead?

When they left school, they grabbed life by the horns and relocated to Belgium, living above the stables and working on a sport horse yard. It was completely unsuitable, but it made them. They learned how to live with each other, how to budget (sometimes not very well) but they got by. They learned not to depend on anyone for anything and really learned how to live independently. They learned how to love each other even when, at some moments, they didn’t particularly like each other. 

When they came back to the UK, they spent five great years on a farm in Essex, where David progressed to farm manager while Louise completed her animal management course and it was there they were blessed with the birth of their first child, their baby boy, Leon.

David said that was when he learned two new meanings of love. The love he felt for this tiny baby who he’d never met but who had such an impact on him. The overwhelming feeling of pride, joy and gratefulness was something he hadn’t felt before.

The second meaning of love he learned at that time was the new kind of love he felt towards Louise.

Their next move was to Earlston in the Borders where Jessica – baby number 2 – was born and the family was complete. One boy, one girl, and of course their dog Mia. Louise said, “we couldn’t possibly have asked for anything more.”

It was on their tenth anniversary that a crowd of tourists cheered and clapped when David went down on one knee in the middle of the crowded Ponte dell’Accademia in Venice; they both say it was a really great moment and it made the 13th of October the must-have date when we finally got together this year.  

Louise was very calm in the lead up to the big day.

As she wrote, “I must admit I am quite an organised person. I thought by being organised, booking all our biggest suppliers early on, it would reduce the chances of becoming “bridezilla” and rushing around at the last minute – and it worked. 

I was so calm and I couldn’t get down that aisle quick enough!! It also left room for all my DIYs on the lead up to the big day, which wasn’t only lovely to do with David & my bridesmaids, but it filled me with joy, seeing my ideas and my hard work all come to life on the day. 

The most useful thing I took from your book WE DO! was the structure of our ceremony. I didn’t know where to start before reading it.

I’ll admit that when you first told us we would be writing our own ceremony, I wondered, “what the hell have we just signed up for?” And then came the homework which felt even more daunting! 

It’s easy to know when you love someone through feelings, but putting those feelings into words is hard. 

Your book made me realise I didn’t need to overthink it and the smallest and simplest of reasons were the most perfect ones.

Homework & date night was the most magical date we’ve had, just like you said it would be. Very emotional and would do it all over again.

It truly helped with writing up our final ceremony and it was then I got excited and decided to speak my promises myself – which is a big thing for me as I’m a naturally quiet and shy person. 

I am so proud of myself for doing that. 

And if that doesn’t show my love for David what does? Haha! 

I loved creating our own ceremony but I loved sharing it with our family and friends even more!

I would recommend everyone to do it. It’s much more personal & unique. 

You did a brilliant job of conducting our ceremony and telling our story. We had high hopes and you certainly didn’t disappoint. We had a lot of positive comments about you from our guests. It was a pleasure choosing you as our celebrant.

PS We hope you enjoy Marc’s photos as much as we do. They’re blooming beautiful and it was so lovely to relive our special day!!

They certainly are! I chose to use a lot of the B&W versions of these photos because I really like the intimate, documentary feel they bring.

Marc Millar is one of Scotland’s most in-demand photographers. As he says on his website, he loves to work with creative couples, and that describes Louise and David to a tee!

What struck me on the day, and as you can see from Marc’s photos, was the joy that just radiated from everyone there.

I’m told that Carlowrie Castle has a very short list of favourite suppliers. My suspicion is that The Pickled Piper’s name is at the top!

As I’m sure you can tell, , Louise & David, I LOVED being a part of your wedding!

Keep making memories to treasure, and I hope we meet again at someone else’s wedding one day so we can all remember what yours felt like!

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