Real Wedding – Kathryn & Jo Wilman- 5th July 2023

We hosted this fabulous couples wedding back in July and what a day it was! They had the most emotional first look just before they went down the aisle and then the rest of the night consisted of pizza and partying!

They have kindly wrote a little bit about their day to share with you all!

Firstly a little bit about you..

How did you two meet?

Work – Schuh. Jo got hired as a temp where I (Kathryn) worked as a supervisor. Literally from day one of Jo coming into the workplace, I was intrigued by her and honestly sort of never left her alone after that! Fast forward nearly 11 years and we finally got married!

Where did you get engaged?

On holiday in San Francisco, on the Golden Gate Bridge after walking over it and back! Jo surprised Kathryn.

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 knew we wanted a barn rustic style wedding where we could inject our personality into the wedding a little, so when we were searching, Kinkell was one option that came up. We viewed somewhere else but the surroundings put us off. Then we got a viewing at Kinkell and as soon as we came off the road and drove up the path we knew we had found the place. Then we met Sophie who showed us around and Jo and I just couldn’t stop smiling because every single thing about the place was perfect, including the view.

Tell us a little bit about planning your wedding. Where did you start?

We booked Kinkell in summer 2021 for the wedding to be in 2023. We started with the “large” things like catering and props as that felt most important to us. We were lucky to have Jo’s aunt as our florist so that helped SO much. We were quite late booking our band – Franco – but they were amazing and a great last minute addition.

How did you decide on a colour theme or style?

Jo and I aren’t the most girly of girls so we went down the rustic, nature route as we thought it suited the venue so well. We both love plants and gardening so thought going with sages, greens and white with a tiny splash of pink would suit us perfectly.

Where did you find your suppliers?

LOTS of hunting online, and two wedding fayres which is where we met our cake supplier – Katies Cakes, and our photographers in person which was just the best. We then looked at the most used suppliers of Kinkell’s on their social media and that helped so much because you get to see the props for example being used in real weddings.

Is there anything you wish someone had told you about before about planning a barn wedding?

It can obviously be a little stressful dealing with numerous suppliers but then at the same time Kinkell were always there to support us with questions and advice so I just wish I didn’t try to do too much by myself, and actually take more advice from the girls at the venue! It’s hard being a control freak!

Was there anything that was really important to you both to have?

We just wanted to our day to go with no hiccups as we had been to previous weddings over the years where things may not have gone to plan. We wanted to both be able to enjoy our day to the fullest and not feel like we were running around trying to sort things out, and it’s safe to say we had the best day of our lives!

The Big Day!

Tell us about your wedding day, what are your highlights and favourite memories?

Wow, so many highlights. We had decided to do a first look outside the venue which is a little less traditional, and the staff at Kinkell along with our photographers just planned that perfectly for us.

Having the people that you love and care for all in one beautiful venue saying how amazing the place looks is just the best feeling. It feels like everything was worth it.

The days after the wedding, Kinkell sent us some “behind the scenes” videos that they had taken of us during the day, and I cannot explain how special that was for us.

Have you any advice for other couples that are planning their wedding?

Take the staff at the venue’s advice! They are experts! Don’t stress over the colour of your napkins, or whether the candles should all the same colour.

Nobody cares – everybody that has turned up for your wedding is there to celebrate you and your partner. I can’t believe the amount of sleepless nights I had because of the most minuscule things, and looking back, it’s so silly.

How is married life treating you?

We had the best day of our lives, then we continued to be on cloud 9 for the next 2 weeks. Then we decided why don’t we keep this wave going… so we have applied to go to the other side of the world and try adventure there! We have date nights and still look over pictures constantly.

Supplier Shout Outs

Fonab Farm for the amazing pizzas and canapes –
EVERYONE loved the food and Alec is such a friendly lovely man who catered to everyone’s needs.
The Wedding String Quartet – the music selection they give is amazing and the quartet itself is just beautiful – the perfect drinks reception entertainment.
Our photographers Ezra Studios, a beautiful married couple who you can tell are so invested in the couple they are working with. They made us feel so beautiful but also they are just the most awesome people.
Katie’s Cakes – she made the most stunning cake for us when we gave her the most simple of instructions. It was perfect for us. And the taste was amazing also!
Kinkell Staff!!! Every single one of you made our day the most that we could have ever asked for!

Bar- Event Bar St Andrews

Lighting- i-Light

Decor- Fifty Six Events & Little Dressing Co

Humanist/Registrar– Lucy Black

Band – Franco