You know those days when everything just comes together perfectly? That’s what Dan and Lauren had at the award-winning Carlowrie Castle.

Well almost. Lauren was supposed to arrive in her dream Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III but it broke down on the way, so they rescued her in a Bentley!

Come off it, Malcolm – she wasn’t that late!

Mind you, Lauren knows how to make an entrance…

While Lauren and her dad Malcolm were getting ready, the other entrances were equally well choreographed. Best Man Jamie led the Mother of the Bride, Jan, to her seat while Groom Daniel escorted his mother Mandy to hers, to the sound of a sequence of hits by the Spice girls, Robbie Williams, Take That, Celine Dion and Coldplay, ably rearranged by the Arta String Quartet.

Lauren’s bridesmaid Shannon came in on the arm of Lauren’s Man of Honour – her brother, Dale. 

I love that shot of Dan, don’t you?

And the intensity is matched by this one of Lauren. I hadn’t worked with ‘A Boy Called Ben’ before, but his pictures tell a story, don’t they? That moment when the eyes meet, and there’s nobody else in the room but the two of you…

Lauren and Dan met on a dating app called Bumble – that’s the one where the girl has to message first, which is very Lauren… 

This detail on the dress is also ‘very Lauren’. I’m in two minds about showing this story to my Mrs M in case she starts getting ideas… beautiful work by Rebecca Anne.

Their first date was in a bar at Canary Wharf, where the language barrier between Glasgow and Essex caused a lots of laughs, and was the start of hundreds of terrible impressions!

Before I got properly into telling their story, we took a moment for a Candle Ceremony, to remember all the people Dan and Lauren love who couldn’t be with us on the day, and they invited their parents, Malcolm and Jan, and Mandy and Adrian, to light them.

Man of Honour Dale read a poem that I’ve heard many, many times at weddings, ‘On Your Wedding Day’, but I’ve never heard it read better. The boy’s got talent!

And then, before they exchanged their vows, Dan and Lauren involved their parents once more, by asking them to give some advice on marriage – which was great fun!

They also asked Dan’s godparents, Sharon and Roger – there’s nothing quite like putting people on the spot at a big moment is there?

Then it was time for Lauren and Dan to speak their vows to one another which they did directly, from cards, before exchanging rings and making the all-important Legal Declaration.

As always, I made a point of not spoiling the shot!

Before they left to start the party, I asked the guests to join me in speaking a blessing. It’s a great way to end the ceremony because it gives everyone a chance to express their feelings towards you.

Lauren just wrote me just the loveliest review on Your Scottish Wedding

Look no further! You’ve found the perfect celebrant!

My husband and I absolutely loved having Tim as our celebrant. From the first meeting, he was kind, funny and reassuring – he understood exactly what we wanted for our ceremony.

He helped us create the perfect ceremony for us, sharing lots of examples from other couples and the most fun homework we’ve ever been given!

The whole process was super easy but it also made us reflect on the reasons why we were getting married, which was really nice amidst the stressful moments of planning a wedding.

The ceremony we created with Tim turned out to be so personal to us and our guests actually enjoyed it! So many of our friends and family commented that it was the best ceremony they had ever been part of, and they particularly loved our personalised vows and hearing the story of how we met. 

Tim also gave us lots of helpful info and guidance, such as how to get our marriage certificate in preparation for the wedding and what to do afterwards. This seems like a small thing, but it made a big difference!

We could go on and on but honestly we can’t recommend Tim highly enough! PS. You can find him on Instagram at @humanisttim.

What can I say, Lauren, apart from I can’t thank you enough – and I’m bowled over by your comments! As you know, you get out of life what you put into it – and that is even more true when it comes to your wedding ceremony. Sharing your words, your thoughts and your love with your family and friends is what it’s all about, and you did that brilliantly! I have to say thanks again to Boy Called Ben – I particularly loved these black and white shots which have a real vintage Hollywood feel to them. This is one wedding album that’s going to get a lot of thumb marks in the decades to come…