Before we hear about Alison and Iain’s cosy and cold honeymoon, let’s hear more about them as a couple. They started out as school friends, and their relationship blossomed into a sweet engagement which was years in the making. Now they’re newly married, we asked them to tell us all about their wedding planning, what they danced to, what they cried to, and where they set off to on their honeymoon – hint, there wasn’t a beach in sight.
How did you meet?
Iain and I first met when we were at school, we were friends for years before we eventually got together! We’ve now been together for nearly 7 years.
How did you get engaged?
We got engaged on a walk in the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh. Iain had prepared a huge picnic and then once we’d finished eating, he said he had one more thing he wanted to give me. That was when he brought out the box containing my engagement ring. At that very moment a man appeared with his dog and sat on the picnic bench right next to us, leaving us sitting there in silence with me in a little bit of shock. I hadn’t even seen the ring yet but we waited until he left so that Iain could actually ask me!
What kind of wedding did you plan?
Our main priority was really just having all of our close friends and family there on the day. We wanted to hold it in Edinburgh since this is where we have spent most of our time as a couple, and since we are both avid readers we used books as our centerpieces and favours.
What was your first dance?
We wanted something upbeat – so we went for This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) by Natalie Cole.
What was your favourite part of the day?
The wedding ceremony itself. I was very emotional and happy and some of our friends did an excellent job of making me cry doing readings during the ceremony. Although the glass of bubbly that followed and socialising with all of our guests was also a highlight!
Why did you choose Patchwork for your honeymoon fund?
We already live together so we thought it would be ideal if our guests who wanted to buy us something could contribute towards our honeymoon. Using Patchwork made it a lot more personal and gave our guests the opportunity to give us money towards specific experiences, and it’s been great to tell our guests the amazing experiences we’ve had thanks to them.
Where did you go on your honeymoon?
For our honeymoon instead of the usual sunny/beach holiday, we wanted to go somewhere totally different. We picked Iceland since it has so many different experiences for tourists, including relaxing activities like the Blue Lagoon and whale watching, and more exciting activities such as horse riding, snowmobiling and snorkelling (when the temperatures were -10 degrees Celsius!)
What was the best bit about using Patchwork?
Being able to tell our guests stories of everything we were able to do thanks to their generous gifts! We felt very lucky and completely spoiled by our generous guests. We would never have been able to have half of the experiences we did in Iceland without their generosity. And they loved being able to contribute to our honeymoon in a much more personal way than just giving us money in a card.
Would you recommend your trip to other honeymooners?
Yes. Iceland is a beautiful country – the people are so friendly, the food was incredible and there’s gorgeous scenery to explore and amazing activities to try.
Thank you Alison & Iain and a huge congratulations from Team Patchwork.
If this has inspired you to follow in their footsteps, just customise our Readymade Iceland Patchwork here. Or, create your own from scratch.