Wedding season is blooming and we love nothing more than seeing our real life couples tie the knot. When we saw the images from Steven and Annina’s magical day, we just knew we had to know more about how their wedding came to life.
Steven and Annina are one stylish couple and we wondered what it was about a kilt outfit that the groom was drawn to. Steven explained, “A kilt is something special and representative of Scotland. I was born and raised in Scotland but grew up in France from 11 onwards so wearing a kilt has a feeling of home for me. I also think that while a suit can of course look good, people wear suits at work for example whereas a kilt is properly linked to special occasions so it seemed an obvious choice for my wedding outfit. We were also more than happy for our foreign guests to embrace the tradition and it was amazing to see so many turn up in kilts for the day - people love a kilt!” We love to hear grooms embracing their roots and sharing the tradition of the kilt with friends and family from all over the world.
One of the most important decisions when putting together a kilt outfit is of course choosing the tartan and Steven shared with us how he made his choice. “I had a vision to put my own twist on the outfit from an early stage so I was looking for a tartan that could be versatile in that sense whilst also offering something special in itself. I saw the Lomond Mist when visiting the store in Glasgow and was instantly drawn to it - the grey tones were really smart, the brown aspects tied in nicely with the champagne colour of the bridesmaids and the flash of pink added a cool modern twist. The name was a bonus as Loch Lomond is a place Annina and I have fond memories of. All that together meant Lomond Mist was the one!” Our exclusive Mist tartans are inspired by some of Scotland’s most iconic locations and so we were delighted to hear that the couple felt such a connection to our Lomond Mist!
Here at the Kings of Kilts, we strive to make every appointment special, whether it’s in-store or online. Steven talked us through his experience at our Bath Street store. “The whole experience with MacGregor and MacDuff was ideal. I was able to get into the Glasgow store to have a fitting and Morgan was great in taking me through the various options and getting me sorted. My groomsmen are based across various countries abroad but that wasn’t a problem at all as they were able to sort their measurements virtually with assistance from Charlotte, the wedding coordinator at MacGregor and MacDuff. When it came to pick-up, the team were quick to sort out anything requiring touch-ups so I really couldn’t have asked for more.” If you’re planning a wedding, now is the time to book an appointment with our expert stylists.
Steven’s outfit was a masterclass in modern groomswear and one of the most original looks we have seen. We asked about the inspiration behind the outfit and accessories. “This was a vision I had from an early stage. I’m into fashion and wanted to put a bit of a twist on the traditional outfit so it reflected me personally. I saw the mid-layers in Louis Vuitton runway shows over the years, notably in Virgil Abloh’s time there, and I thought this would be a perfect way of combining French couture with Scottish tradition to reflect my own background. It took a long time to source the mid-layer and the first time I was able to try it on together with the kilt was actually on the wedding day itself! Thankfully the vision wasn’t just something that worked in my head but that felt perfect in real life when bringing together as well.” A culture clash in the best possible way!
One of the most important decisions when planning a wedding is choosing a venue and these newly-weds found the ideal spot. Steven said, “Annina and I were fairly set on having the wedding in Scotland from an early stage. We live in Berlin (Annina’s hometown) but we thought this was a perfect opportunity to embrace what my home country has to offer - so it had to be a Scottish castle! Once that was decided, we made a shortlist of venues close to Edinburgh and Glasgow airports because most of our guests would be traveling from abroad so we wanted to make sure it was convenient in that sense also. We arranged a trip to Scotland to visit the venues across a long weekend and fell in love with Dundas Castle which was actually the first venue we visited directly after landing at Edinburgh airport. The venue looks like a dream and also offers so many different possibilities that we knew we’d be able to bring our vision for a fun-filled couple of days to life there. It definitely didn’t disappoint!” If you’re tying the knot at a venue around Edinburgh, our capital city store is an excellent location to get measured and pick-up your outfits.
The couple managed to strike the perfect balance between new and old traditions. “Scotland has so many traditions and we wanted to build some of these in while making it personal to us and not going too cliché. We did handfasting during the ceremony using the same tartan from my kilt and a piece of Annina’s dress and we had a few ceilidh dances after the first dance. Otherwise, we more or less put together a two-day event that reflected us personally. We didn’t do a classic rehearsal dinner but rather a Team Bride vs. Team Groom sportsday the day before the wedding to give everyone an opportunity to meet before the actual wedding day and avoid some of the awkwardness that can occur when taking a seat at a table of people you’ve never seen before. We didn’t go for a wedding cake but did a champagne tower. We didn’t go down the piper route but I did see Clann an Drumma play at a Scotland football game and knew instantly I needed them at the wedding to provide some high energy with that Scottish style after the ceremony and set the tone for the rest of the day - party party party.”
A day filled with so many fantastic moments, it wasn’t easy for our couple to choose their favourite part. Steven had this to share, “Generally seeing everyone come together in one place at the same time was special as I have not had that before having moved around a bit and having those closest to me living in different places. For an individual standout moment though, it was Annina’s ceremony entrance and seeing her in her wedding dress which was just unreal.”
For Annina, it was also the ceremony and all the emotions felt during it - from seeing Steven down the aisle when entering through the doors at Dundas, to being surrounded by the people that matter most to them and the joy felt throughout the ceremony.
Finally, we asked Steven and Annina for their words of wisdom for future brides and grooms. Here’s what they had to say, “Relax and enjoy! Regardless of what has gone into the planning and what happens on the day itself, focus on just enjoying it all. As soon as the wedding days started, we switched off and focused on pure enjoyment. Sure there may have been some minor things which could have run smoother looking back with hindsight, but it didn’t really matter, we had the time of our lives with the people closest to us and we soaked up every moment of it.”
“We are quite laid back freestyle people with many plans and that rolled into our wedding plans as well. We didn’t want the wedding to run our life for a year or even more as we’d heard from many people. There are naturally some essentials which we had sorted in advance like the venue (which comes with a catering company attached), our outfits and our photographer but for the rest it was all put together in the last two months basically. We had check-ins with ourselves at various points to make sure we weren’t obsessing over needless details because at the end of the day once the venue is sorted and the guestlist is set, you’ll have a fun time regardless and anything that may or may not go wrong will just become a memory or future story to tell! This may have caused some panic at times with our suppliers, but I think they eventually came to appreciate our very laid back approach to what can often become a really stressful time.”
A huge congratulations to Steven and Annina. We loved hearing all about their exquisite day and wish them all the best for the future.
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