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Black and white photo of bride Lisa and her groom Josh on their wedding day at Rowton Castle, Scotland. Lisa is a young white woman with dark brown hair tied back and wears a long ivory gown with long veil. Josh is a young white man with short dark hair and beard and wears a traditional Scottish kilt and tuxedo jacket. They hold each other in a close embrace as they dance with foreheads touching.
Patchwork CouplesWedding Planning

A Welsh and Scottish castle wedding

by Rosie Hurwitz
written by Rosie Hurwitz

Josh, originally from Scotland and Lisa from South Wales, met whilst they were both studying in London in 2011. Lisa was performing in a Shakespeare play, The Comedy of Errors and Josh was in the band. They got together in Feb 2012 and have been together ever since. After postponing their wedding twice due to the pandemic they finally married last year in a traditional Scottish wedding at Rowton Castle, Shropshire. They welcomed guests with a sign that said “let’s make it worth the wait!”. They invited their friends and family to contribute towards a once-in-a-lifetime honeymoon to Japan.

Sign at entrance to Lisa and Josh's Scottish wedding day. Writing on a white board reads: "Finally.. Welcome to the wedding of Lisa & Josh." The date 10th April 2020 is crossed out, then the date 30th April 2021 is crossed out and the third date 22nd October 2021 is underneath with the words "let's make it worth the wait!"

How did you get engaged?

Lisa: Josh knows I am difficult to surprise because I organise everything so he made up a plan that he was at work and some plasterboard had fallen on him. I rushed down to help, to find a pathway of rose petals and candles leading to Josh standing in a full tux and playing Jazz music! So romantic. 

Bride Lisa and her groom Josh on their wedding day at Rowton Castle, Scotland. Lisa is a young white woman with dark brown hair tied back and wears a long ivory gown with long veil. Josh is a young white man with short dark hair and beard and wears a traditional Scottish kilt and tuxedo jacket. They face each other. Lisa is drinking from a glass of champagnes whilst holding her wedding bouquet of yellow and red flowers. Josh has his hand towards Lisa as if to say, "can I have a sip?" They stand outside with a stone building and some of their wedding guests behind them.
A four tiered white iced wedding cake with blue tartan ribbon and blue roses decorating it. It stands on a table with a white 3D Mr & Mrs sign and flowers. Behind is the band's set ready for the wedding reception.

Wow that’s a great engagement story! And what kind of wedding did you plan?

We went for quite a traditional wedding with a Scottish theme. Because I am Welsh, I wanted to add a little bit of Celtic tradition into the wedding, so we incorporated a handfasting ritual too. (Handfasting is an ancient Celtic wedding ritual in which the hands of the bride and groom are tied together to symbolise the binding of two lives. Traditionally, cords or ribbons are used.)

Bride Lisa and her groom Josh on their wedding day at Rowton Castle, Scotland. Lisa is a young white woman with dark brown hair tied back and wears a long ivory gown with long veil. Josh is a young white man with short dark hair and beard and wears a traditional Scottish kilt and tuxedo jacket. Josh holds Lisa by the waist as she leans back and her veil catches the wind. They stand outside under an open sided stone pavilion with pillars.
Bride Lisa and her groom Josh on their wedding day at Rowton Castle, Scotland. Lisa is a young white woman with dark brown hair tied back and wears a long ivory gown with long veil. She holds a bouquet of bright yellow and red flowers. Josh is a young white man with short dark hair and beard and wears a traditional Scottish kilt and tuxedo jacket. Josh stands just behind Lisa and holds around her arms. Their wedding venue, Rowton Castle is behind them.

Did you have a first dance?

Yes we had our first dance to Speechless by Dan and Shay.

Bride Lisa and her groom Josh on their wedding day at Rowton Castle, Scotland. Lisa is a young white woman with dark brown hair tied back and wears a long ivory gown with long veil. Josh is a young white man with short dark hair and beard and wears a traditional Scottish kilt and tuxedo jacket. They walk side by side and hold hands. Their guests have made a 'tunnel' by holding sparklers in the air as they walk past. It is evening and the lights are on in the castle behind them.
Bride Lisa and her groom Josh on their wedding day at Rowton Castle, Scotland. Lisa is a young white woman with dark brown hair tied back and wears a long ivory gown with long veil. Josh is a young white man with short dark hair and beard and wears a traditional Scottish kilt and tuxedo jacket. They stand side by side outside at dusk, with the castle behind them. They have their arms loosely around each others backs.

What was your favourite part of the day?

I loved all aspects as every part was so different. But I would say having all my friends and family together after so long being apart during lockdown and seeing everyone so happy. Josh also learnt my favourite song and performed it with the band, which was also amazing! I was surprised by all the Scottish guests who picked Josh and myself up onto their shoulders near the end of the night and danced with us to Loch Lomond, which was epic! Basically loved the entire day with surprises around every corner!

Bride Lisa and her groom Josh on their wedding day at Rowton Castle, Scotland. Lisa is a young white woman with dark brown hair tied back and wears a long ivory gown with long veil. Josh is a young white man with short dark hair and beard and wears a traditional Scottish kilt and tuxedo jacket. They stand side by side and each hold a sparkler up in the air. It is evening and it's dark behind them. They are standing outside in the castle grounds.

Why did you choose Patchwork for your wedding registry?

I found Patchwork at the Wedding Show in Olympia. I loved the idea of my friends and family purchasing a specific activity instead of just giving money. Giving guests a choice on how much they wish to give, and them being able to purchase something specific felt more rewarding for our guests. Our guests all loved it – I often get asked what platform did I use.

What did you invite your guests to contribute towards and why?

We ask our guests to contribute towards our honeymoon to Japan. A once in a lifetime opportunity! I love the culture and tea, Josh loves the anime and tech and we both love the food! It is such a long way to go, it was going to be expensive so every penny helps.

Bride Lisa and her groom Josh on their wedding day at Rowton Castle, Scotland. Lisa is a young white woman with dark brown hair tied back and wears a long ivory gown. Josh is a young white man with short dark hair and beard and wears a traditional Scottish kilt and tuxedo jacket. They are playing table football. Both look focused and enjoying themselves.

Have you been on honeymoon yet?

Unfortunately due to covid we have been unable to go yet because Japan has been closed to tourists, but we have everything booked for May 2023! I really cannot wait to tell each guest about the individual experience they purchased. We will even be able to take pictures of us enjoying that certain activity and send it to them. Showing the guests their money has really helped on our honeymoon.

Bride Lisa and her groom Josh on their wedding day at Rowton Castle, Scotland. Lisa is a young white woman with dark brown hair tied back and wears a long ivory gown with long veil. Josh is a young white man with short dark hair and beard and wears a traditional Scottish kilt and tuxedo jacket. They stand side by side outside, holding hands and facing away from camera. The castle lies in front of them under a broody heavy grey sky. They stand on a vibrant green lawn.

What’s your no.1 wedding planning tip?

Plan early! If you can plan ahead and get everything sorted the week before the wedding, you can really relax and enjoy the build up! I know not everything goes to plan, I ended up making my own cake, but because I planned ahead I had plenty of time to bake as well as relax with my bridesmaids!

Thank you so much Lisa and Josh for taking the time to share your beautiful wedding day with us! We wish you every happiness and a fabulous honeymoon in Japan when you go.

If you’d like to create your own Japanese honeymoon fund or ask guests to contribute cash towards absolutely anything else you can dream of, check out our other wedding gift ideas or create your own from scratch.

Here are some of the suppliers that made Lisa and Josh’s day extra amazing:

Location –Rowton Castle

Photos – Blue Passion

Video – Rolling Pictures

Flowers – Fluertations

Band – Funk the Revolution

p.s. You can listen to Lisa and Josh’s first dance song on our Spotify playlist, made up of lots of our Patchwork Couples’ first dances.

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Table set for wedding reception at Guardswell, Perthshire, Scotland
Wedding Planning

Patchwork’s Favourite Venues: Guardswell Farm

by Ismay Ozga
written by Ismay Ozga

We’re a big fan of wedding venues that can feel like home for the weekend, and Guardswell Farm have that spirit in buckets. They’re also the complete full package. As well as being a gorgeous wedding venue, their stunning scenery and cosy hut accommodation is perfect for honeymoons, minimoons, occasions, and special weekends away. Plus, they’re all about the community spirit, something you know we love to champion here at Patchwork. But we’ll leave the lovely Anna to explain that below!

Tell us a bit about Guardswell Farm and what makes it so special.

Guardswell Farm is perched on a hillside, overlooking the beautiful Carse of Gowrie and River Tay…big panoramic views, a lovely and remote feeling, but really not too far from anywhere. We are a 150 acre grassland and mixed woodland farm. It’s home to happily grazing Hebridean sheep and two characterful donkeys – Hugo and Ollie. There’s also other wildlife that we hope to have enticed over the last decade of improving the ecosystems. It’s all of these surrounding elements that make Guardswell Farm “the venue” more than just a space to host a wedding.

Guardswell weddings give back a little…they mean that we can run workshops on the farm, as well as welcoming school children to ornithological mornings and apple pressing. They allow us to welcome guests into our little offgrid huts throughout the year. It’s a chance for a real digital switch off, and an opportunity to slow down and notice the wild flowers and bird song.

guardswell farm looking out onto the hills
By Jake Seal Photography

If you could choose just five words to describe the venue to couples, what would you say?

Relaxed, welcoming, natural, contemporary-agricultural (thats not really a word), fun

What’s your favourite feature and why?

I adore the Bull Pen, a little space tucked away in the Steading with a corner glass window. When we first bought the farm, The Bull Pen was full to above the knees with ancient hay and deep “farm litter” but it was so charming!

The old door, that would now lead to our covered “Lean To” at the front, had a chalk note scrawled into it describing the farrowing of a pig overnight.

Now the walls are clad using the old timber that used to hold the Cattle Court roof up. A tiny safe hides in the corner for my grandfather’s whisky. There are massive squidgy sofas covered in waxed cotton and draped with wild sheepskins. And a couple of chairs face south and there’s an old milk churn as a rest for your tea. I could spend hours in there reading, or looking at the view.

  • barn wedding space at guardswell farm
  • table set up for wedding at guardswell farm

Which weddings stand out for you – any weird or wonderful ones?

To be quite honest (and without sounding too twee), we only host a handful a year all of our weddings stand out! We really do get the opportunity to get to know the couple – even become friends in some cases. We adore the really hands-on, everyone involved, DIY floristry weddings – the ones where every member of the family is there the day before and every task is covered by them – be it making the buttonholes, or even just keeping the tea topped up and tummies full. In terms of memorable… we’ve definitely been given a lot of animal related responsibility – that doesn’t always go well, or to plan, but we love having dogs involved in weddings – so totally worth the drama!

Have you ever had to be a hero and save the day?

Wow this is a hard one. There is always a bit of an emergency “kit” in the office, including nail varnish, safety pins, batteries, needle and thread… I guess there are lots of tiny things that we help with but nothing major – touch wood! – has happened, and certainly not something that we haven’t been able to deal with yet. We are a hardy bunch from farming families, so I think we’re pretty resourceful – and we also have the magical Jade, who has come from working in zoos for 10 years, so we like to think that if she can deal with rhinos and elephants, she can deal with anything at a wedding.

By Claire Fleck Photography

Do you have a favourite season or a particular theme or time of year that you think works best at Guardswell Farm?

As much as I adore the bright greens of spring…I think Autumn is just the best. The cosy evenings that are starting to draw in, dark wild foliage and roaring fires (but not too cold outside). Pretty dreamy!

And finally, give us the lowdown – quick facts and stats

  • Family business, with some new adopted family now with us
  • 3 Huts and 3 Houses, sleeping 30 in total on the farm
  • 27 weddings of beautiful souls every year
  • Opened in June 2017
  • 150 acres of rolling grass fields and beautiful woodlands
  • At least 2 courses or our own events a month- including our new Evening Markets
  • Guardswell Grows – our sister company, run by my sister, growing gorgeous ecologically minded vegetables
  • The best collection of farm/work dogs you’ll ever meet: 2 chocolate labradors Raisin and Porridge, 1 chocolate Cocker Mole, 2 black labradors Gillie and Ramsay (Porridge’s babies).

See! Didn’t we tell you that Guardswell Farm is just the dream location for everything?! If you’re looking to create a Patchwork for your DIY wedding, head to our wedding gift list templates – or why not try our Highland Fling honeymoon template?

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Patchwork Couples

A Scottish Wedding and Honeymoon in Cinque Terre.

by Ismay Ozga
written by Ismay Ozga

Outdoor loving Patchwork couple Mhairi and Steven tell us about their Scottish wedding, and their Patchwork honeymoon to Cinque Terre in Italy, funded by family and friends.

Tell us about you both as a couple, how did you first meet?

We have known each other since working together ten years ago but we only began dating after a chance meeting at a pub in Glasgow. After waving across the room we ended up chatting via messenger before having our first date. We moved in together and got our gorgeous dog Puddles and a year before getting married we bought our first home. A love of the outdoors, hill walking and visiting Arran have featured strongly ever since!

How did you get engaged?

We got engaged on an organised night walk at the top of Goatfell which is the highest peak on Arran. We’d climbed the mountain together before but my parents had bought us tickets to go up with Arran mountain rescue. The walk started at midnight and we got to the top in time to watch the sunrise. Just as we got to the top (above the clouds!) Steven took me away from the group. He led me to the place where we had our lunch the first time we climbed Goatfell, then got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! I burst into tears and eventually managed to say ‘yes’! We then enjoyed watching the sunrise together before heading back down the hill and breaking the news to our families! 🙂

Ah, true romance! Did you know what kind of wedding you wanted?

From the start of our wedding planning we knew we wanted to get married on Arran. Lochranza Castle was our favourite spot because of the beautiful scenery. We planned to have the ceremony outside at Lochranza Castle and then hire out the local village hall for the reception. A fancy glamorous wedding isn’t something either of us are interested in.

What we really wanted was an outdoor, down to earth Scottish wedding where everyone could be relaxed and just have an enjoyable day. Luckily the weather on the day was amazing despite everyone worrying about the storm which happened the two days before the wedding! We had tractors and trailers to take us from the castle to the village hall. Then everyone enjoyed some Arran whisky tasting, a BBQ dinner and a cake made of Arran cheese for dessert! Our Scottish wedding was exactly the way we wanted it, everyone enjoyed themselves and danced the night away with the local DJ we had hired.

What was your first dance?

Our first dance was a song called ‘Darling Be Home Soon’ which was a cover by The Moons. This was the first song that Steven sent me when we started dating. We have both loved the song ever since and it means a lot to us.

What was your favourite part of your Scottish wedding day?

The day was so amazing that it is difficult to choose just one part as our favourite. Other than the ceremony itself – the most important part of the whole event – my favourite part was going a walk with Steven. As the sun was setting just after dinner, we enjoyed spending a little bit of time together in amongst all the goings on of the day. It gave us time to enjoy the views of the castle and talk about the day before going back in to enjoy dancing with all our friends and family.

Why did you choose Patchwork for your wedding registry?

We chose to use Patchwork for our wedding list as we had moved into our house a year previously and didn’t need traditional household items. It was the perfect way to ensure our guests could choose how we spent the money they gifted us for our honeymoon.

Patchwork honeymoon fund Amalfi Coast

What did you ask guests to contribute towards?

We wanted to fund our honeymoon to Cinque Terre in Italy for 5 nights and knew that eating out would be expensive. We also had a couple of activities which we wanted to do that would cost more than we would usually spend when on holiday.

Using Patchwork meant that we set off on our travels knowing that we could book those extras like a cooking class and a boat trip. We were thrilled that our wonderful family and friends had funded us enough money to do these activities. It was so exciting to know we could treat ourselves to a delicious dinner in a different local restaurant each night. It was amazing knowing that our family and friends had been so generous to help us with an amazing honeymoon!

What was the best bit about using Patchwork?

The best part about using Patchwork was that our family and friends could choose what they wanted to fund. Whether that was our flights, our accommodation, dinner, drinks, a cooking class or a boat trip. It meant we weren’t just asking for money, but showing them how we would spend it.

What did your friends and family think?

Our friends and family thought Patchwork was great and enjoyed looking through our honeymoon activities and choosing what to fund.

Would you recommend your trip to Cinque Terre to other honeymooners?

We would definitely recommend our honeymoon to other couples if they enjoy walking and being outdoors. It was amazing being able to walk from one village to the next and enjoy some amazing scenery. We were able to relax on the beach through the day and meet the locals at night when more of the tourists had left the villages. Our honeymoon was perfect for us and allowed us to spend quality time together while also being outdoors.

Thank you so much Mhairi and Steven for sharing your patchwork story and honeymoon adventure with us.

If this has inspired you to make your own patchwork, find out how here – you can customise one of our readymade patchworks or create one from scratch.

Check out all the lovely local Arran suppliers who made their day amazing:

Venue: Lochranza Castle

Photographer: Arran in Focus

Videographer: Positive Pictures

BBQ: Arran Hog Roast Company

Cheese cake: Arran Cheese Shop

Ice cream: Arran Dairies ice cream.

Whiskey tasting: Arran Distillery

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