Real Wedding – Aileen & Dave Hession – 7th August 2025
Aileen and Dave travelled all the way from Oxfordshire to share their special day with us, and what a lovely summer day we had! The couple dreamed of a stunning view over the coast, and they got exactly that. The sun was shining with a clear blue sky view and it couldn’t have been more perfect.
Aileen and Dave have kindly shared their experience of the day, read below for more!
How did you two meet?
We met on hinge – an internet dating success story!
Where did you get engaged?
We got engaged on holiday in Turkey, Marmaris at sunset by the bay.
Finding your venue and planning the wedding
What was it that first attracted you to Kinkell? Was there something that stood out when you knew it would be the perfect place for your special day?
We live in Oxfordshire, so we couldn’t view many venues before choosing. My (Aileen’s) parents live in Fife and so were able to visit venues for us. We had seen Kinkell online and were immediately impressed by the photos we were seeing of the venue, especially the ceremony room with the lights from the ceiling and the views out the front of the venue of the coast. We knew we wanted to see it, my parents then went to visit Kinkell for us and gave it a huge thumbs up. They shared how big the space was, how child friendly it would be, and how lovely the staff were. It was the space, the beautiful setup and versatility that sold it to us and we knew we wanted to get married at Kinkell.
Tell us a little bit about planning your wedding. Where did you start?
Dave did most, if not all, of the planning! He is a very organised character, while Aileen is more a dreamer. Dave made a list of venues to look at and we knew roughly what time of year we were hoping to have the wedding in. After we got the venue and date booked, we started looking at suppliers and getting these booked in.
How did you decide on a colour theme or style?
We went for green with pinks and pops of colour for our theme. We were just drawn to these colours, it fits us as people and was very easy to make work.
Where did you find your suppliers?
We found the list on Kinkell very helpful for suppliers, especially as we were travelling further for our wedding. We also took onboard recommendations from other suppliers if they were unable to accommodate our wedding date!
Is there anything you wish someone had told you about before about planning a barn wedding?
No, we didn’t have any questions, we just knew we wanted to be somewhere that felt like us and the Byre did that.
Was there anything that was really important to you both to have?
We really wanted to have a venue where we could easily recreate our engagement picture and we wanted to have a venue where we could do the whole day and not need to move from ceremony to reception. We wanted the day to feel relaxed and fun – we didn’t want anything too formal.
The Big Day!
Tell us about your wedding day, what are your highlights and favourite memories?
The wedding honestly did go so quickly, we want to go back and do it all again, it was so much fun! One amazing highlight was honestly how smoothly the whole day went, there wasn’t a blip anywhere in the day and we are so thankful for that. We loved having all our friends and family together. We loved the ceremony and the music by Rusty Piano Bar, the speeches were so great and the cake was amazing. We honestly just loved every moment.
Have you any advice for other couples that are planning their wedding?
Support each other in it, know what your strengths are and work together as a team. It makes the whole day so special knowing you both were so invested in making it the day you wanted to have together.
How is married life treating you?
Married life is great, we are having a lovely time. It’s been busy moving house and training for a half marathon but we are loving it.
Supplier Shoutouts
Photographer: Northen Aye Photography
Day Music: Rusty Piano Bar
Caterers: Regis Banqueting
Florist: Beewild Blooms
Hair: Eva Michnova Makeup and Hair
Makeup: Helen McNeill Bridal Makeup
Cake: Julies scrumptious cake design
Evening Entertainment: Platinum Discos
