Real Wedding – Lucy & Max McIntosh – 25th July 2024

Lucy and Max’s wedding in July was nothing short of magical, with the perfect combination of sunny weather and unforgettable moments. There were so many highlights to their day, one of them being an amazing champagne tower! They have shared so much about their day in the blog, you don’t want to skip it!

Firstly a little bit about you.. 

How did you two meet? 

We met initially at school back around 2010, but we met again by chance in 2018 and started dating then. We’ve been pretty much inseparable ever since!

Where did you get engaged? 

We had an overnight stay in London on our way to the Caribbean and Max proposed at Shangri-La, The Shard London. The excitement was unreal and it was the perfect start to our holiday. 

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?

On our holiday after we got engaged, we started thinking about what kind of wedding we’d like, where we would like it, how many guests we would have etc. I had started to see barn style weddings and always like the relaxed and rustic vibe. I also loved the idea of starting with a blank canvas and ensuring the day was perfectly ‘us’. I started searching barn venues in Scotland and we found a few. We booked to visit a few when we were home from our holiday. We were halfway through our venue visits when we came to Kinkell. We were greeted so warmly by Sophie, the beautiful views and the twinkling lights. After our walk round, Sophie left us to wander ourselves and Max instantly said he loved it and he’d be happy to cancel all the other venue viewings we had booked. I was happy that Max was happy, and I had also completely fallen for the venue. St. Andrews is also a very nostalgic and special place for myself, so this was a big bonus. We reserved our date that evening. 

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

After the venue was booked, I wanted to ensure I had the big things secured. We also wanted to get the best chance of having out first pick, so we got straight to it. By the end of 2022, we had booked photography, videography, hair and make up, our humanist John, florals, music, and I had my dress!

We took a little longer finding the right caterer for us, and we booked Platter in Pop mid 2023. 

We kept in touch with our suppliers over the 2 years and checked in with our ideas/ plans etc. We feel so grateful to have had such creative, responsive, and reliable suppliers. 

I had a good idea of my vision, after seeing the venue and saving tons of inspiration on Pinterest. Working with our suppliers, Kinkell and our families to bring it all to life was a dream. I truly found joy in every stage. 

How did you decide on a colour theme or style?

We opted for soft sage/ eucalyptus tones across the venue styling, florals and bridesmaid dresses. I find myself generally swaying towards neutrals and tend to shy away from loud and bright colours. I love seasonal shades when I see other people use them, but it just didn’t feel me and I didn’t want to take a risk, so opted for a safe, soft and rustic option of light green shades mixed with white and cream tones. I loved the final outcome on the day, with special thanks to Cath at Blue Poppy for really encapsulating my ideas and dreams. I know absolutely nothing about flowers, so I put my full trust in Cath, and she absolutely delivered. She was amazing. Max’s family have a great eye for flowers too, and my fabulous mother-in-law put together some gorgeous rustic arrangements which she tied to the chairs on the aisle. I loved this extra touch. 

Where did you find your suppliers?

Most of our suppliers were word of mouth, recommendations from friends and family, and from Kinkell too. We also had a few friends in there too- my make up artist, our pianist, our piper, and our incredible bespoke rings. I love to hear honest reviews from people we know and trust. Again, we are so grateful to every vendor, our vision would have been nothing without them. 

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

Trust the process. The difficult thing for me was that the ideas were mine and I hadn’t fully seen them in real life before. There is no ‘package’ to see pictures of and know exactly how it will all look on the day. I had to trust in myself and our suppliers that the visions and plans would pull together, and they did- beyond my wildest dreams. 

I believe you get out what you put in to a ‘DIY’ or blank canvas style wedding. I did spend hours and hours planning, searching and saving inspiration, taking notes, sending emails, filling in excel sheets, and hand pouring candles for our favours. I can honestly say it never felt like a chore. I loved the whole process, I loved taking ownership of the project and most of all, I loved showing up the day before and hour by hour seeing it all fall into place. 

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

Each other. The whole day is a team effort. It can become overwhelming, nerve-wracking, expensive!! It was important for us to listen to each other and support one another’s decisions. I was the creative director and Max was the financial officer. 

It was also important to us that on the day we had time to be just the two of us. We had a big guest list, so the day was super busy soaking up excitement and love from our guests. We felt so much happiness and gratitude, but we wanted to ensure the day didn’t run away from us without the chance to soak it all in and have a few catch ups just the 2 of us. I am so so glad we made time for this. 

The Big Day!

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

Wow where to begin!!! I had a super dreamy morning at the Fairmont. I had 6 bridesmaids plus myself and my mamma, so there was a lot of graft from Emily & Claire. But the morning was super chilled and went smoothly. We had lots of smiles, laughter, dancing, and a few wee tears. Spending that morning with my girls is a core memory for sure. 

Walking down the aisle with my Dad is a moment I’ve thought about for as long as I can remember, and I feel so grateful and fortunate to have shared that with him. 

I knew I was going to feel nervous until the moment I saw Max. As soon as I got to Max and our ceremony started, all my nerves disappeared, and I just couldn’t have been happier. The adrenaline was ripping through me, I was literally ‘buzzing’. Having our favourite people there to share these moments with us was like nothing I could ever explain. The happiness was unmatched. 

During the drinks reception the two of us went to get some photos and videos and our amazing family friend kindly brought our fur baby, Callie, to us. We are so grateful to have these amazing images that we can keep forever. 

Once everyone was sat for dinner, our bridal party entered to Bella Ciao and we were introduced as Mr & Mrs to Young Hearts Run Free. It was so much fun and the ideal way to hype our guests up before the speeches. 

After dinner we did a champagne tower in lieu of a cake, and that was the start of our evening reception. Our first dance was Take My Hand by Skerryvore and my Dad-Daughter dance was Hold My Girl by George Ezra. Highway played these for us which was perfect. They were fabulous and the dance floor was busy all night. 

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

Take your time to really nail down what you want your day to look like. It’s your day, so make it what you want it to be, with the people you want to be with. 

Stay on top of the budget, that could get stressful later if you lose track of it all.

Excel is your best friend!! Staying organised with timelines and suppliers will save last minute meltdowns. 

Enjoy the process, and the only thing that really matters in the end is marrying your person 😊

How is married life treating you? 

The bubble is gorgeous, I’ve never felt happier and I’m very excited to see what the future holds for us. We feel so relieved and grateful that our day turned out as perfectly as it did, and we will reminisce about it all forever. 

Supplier shout outs: 

Venue- Kinkell Byre

Bar – Event Bars St Andrews

Photos- Derek Christie (@derekchristie)

Videography- A Cinematic Life (@acinematiclife)

Lighting- iLight (@stephenleslielighting)

Catering & Table Styling- Platter & Pop (@platter_and_pop)

Dress & Veil- Opus Couture (@opus_couture)

Highland Wear- McCalls (@mccalls_highlandwear)

Bridesmaid Dresses- Azazie (@azazieofficial)

Hair– Claire Adamson (@claireadamsonhair)

Make Up- Emily Snow (@facebyemilysnow)

Humanist- John Leo Scott (@silvercelebrant)

Flowers- Blue Poppy (@bluepoppyflorist)

Pianist- Romy McCahill (@pianstgram)

Piper- Ally McCallum (@amccallumpiping)

Band- Highway (@highwaybandscotland)

Rings- Blair & Sheridan (@blairandsheridan)

Stationary- Forever Paper Co (@foreverpaperco)