Ioana & Neil's Sun Soaked Culzean Castle Wedding
“Sarah, you’re the super star, these are outstanding! Hope you had as much fun as we did, everyone loved you and we had such a laugh. You’re so talented, it actually hurts how awesome the shots are.”
– Ioana & Neil
Welcome to The One With The Wedding…
Yep, that’s a blatant Friends reference up there and you’ll see why in a bit. I’m pretty sure there was an actual Friends episode with that title but, I’ll tell you now, even though Ioana and Neil’s day was less dramatic than any sitcom wedding (they got each other’s names right for a start…) it was a bajillion times more epic. They got married in an actual Scottish castle! Their dog was there! The Coastguard tooted them during their ceremony!
Outdoor summer wedding at Culzean Castle
Ioana is from Romania so their day was a fab mix of Scottish and Romanian. They’d chosen the incredible Culzean Castle for their wedding day and I absolutely fell in love with it. The castle is gorgeous, the grounds are stunning and the best bit is that, regardless of the size of the wedding, you get the whole castle to yourself for the day. It’s ace!
If, like me, you grew up watching Friends then you’ll understand my delight when I got to shout “Pivot! PIVOT!” at a Ioana’s family trying to get a couch down a lot of zig zaggy stairs. I was in my element! Way back when Neil, Ioana and I first had a chat they’d mentioned that the fountain in front of Culzean Castle looked like the Friends fountain and they were kind of thinking about sticking a couch in front of it. “Do it! DO. IT!” was my immediate response, and they did! Joy! Which is why some members of the wedding guests spent the wedding morning wrestling a big old leather sofa down some stairs and out to a fountain. I love it!!
Speaking of Friends, I got to hang out with all my mates that day too – woohoo! My friend Jennifer Mathieson Hair & Makeup was on makeup, my pal Mel at Briar Rose Design sorted the incredible flowers and my mate Lee at Nine18 Wedding Films was the videographer. All my friends! It was great. Come to think of it, we should’ve all had a selfie on that couch. Missed opportunity!
Ioana had the cutest first look with her Dad, look at his face! Then it was time to go get married. They said their vows overlooking the sea and even got a nice wedding honk from the Coastguard who were sailing by! Shout out to Culzean Castle for being dog friendly too. As they got married outside they were able to have Lexie with them for the whole ceremony, she walked up the aisle with Neil’s wee nephew. Cute!
Amazing Culzean Castle Wedding Party
The rest of their wedding day was a blur of awesome-ness. Drinks outside in the sunshine, a mega confetti moment, lots of smiley, happy people. What a dream!
The three of us went for a wander around the beautiful gardens then broke out the umbrellas for a Friends moment. Funny thing, the Friends umbrellas are red, yellow and blue. Which are also the colours of the Romanian flag. It was meant to be!!
After some proper lovely speeches – Ioana’s dad made the entire room choke up – we went back outside for some golden hour photos. We raced up to a field above the castle to capture the sun setting and it was glorious! Then it was down to the stables for a mega party. There was a lot of Romanian liquor doing the rounds, that stuff is lethal! Everyone was getting pretty sozzled and the dancing was a whole lot of fun, there were some pretty epic moves on show!
What a day, every moment was just ace. Could I BE a happier wedding photographer?! (Hint: no)
Sarah x
Creative Team
Venue: Culzean Castle
Hair: Rhona Lopez
Makeup: Jennifer Mathieson Hair & Makeup
Videographer: Nine18 Wedding Films
Ceremony Musician: Caledonian Cowboy
Band: The Reel Stramash
Florist: Briar Rose Design
Stationary: Grace & Bramble
Jewellery: Tom Wylie Jewellery & Thomas Sabo & Beaverbrooks
Bride Outfit: Suzanne Neville & Christian Louboutin
Groom Outfit : Kilts 4 U & Charles Tyrwhitt
Second Shooter: Rannoch Photography
Are you having a Culzean Castle Wedding? Get in touch to book a consultation and find out how we, as an alternative wedding photographer, can capture your wedding day amazingness!
