Inspirational day at Aviemore Wedding Fair

Sunday's Aviemore Wedding Fair was an inspiration to so many who spent the afternoon meeting the experts.

Those planning their own big events – or simply window-shopping for the love of it – were guided through the various aspects of the Big Day by those who were inspired themselves in the work they did.

Macdonald Aviemore Resort's Peregrine Suite was elegantly bedecked for the occasion, ringed by the best wedding specialists and suppliers from across the Highlands and beyond, each inspired in their own way.

"Doing this was so good for me," explained Claire Smith, who runs Lily Rose Cakes. "After I lost my lovely father, Malcolm, in 2016 I decided to focus on the art of making beautifully designed cakes.

"I had been a graphic designer and wanted to use my skills in a new way. Developing the skill helped me grieve and now I adore presenting uniquely decorated cakes – all statement pieces."

The Elgin-based specialist created Lily Rose – combining her daughters' names, Ellie Rose and Alexis Lily – to help couples stand out from the ordinary. Specialising in fondant work, with carved and large statement cakes as amazing to taste and to look at, she has proved highly popular with Goth weddings: "The darker side, I love it! You'd be surprised how much Goth interest there is in the Highlands."

Another exhibitor who had found liberating expression in their work was Steve MacLennan from Tomatin. The distillery worker had also developed a fascinating sideline as something of a wedding decoration himself, developing Highlanders 4 Hire Ltd.

"We provide genuine, traditionally-outfitted Highland guards of honour," he explained, "complete with raised crossed swords and our own crafted sgian dubhs and sgian brews."

He works with wood obtained by the distillery's redundant casks, to fashion superb Highland dress knives – and bottle openers.

"The bottle openers are the biggest sellers!"

His wife Mary, also kitted out attractively in traditional costume, confirmed as much.

When it came to being dressed for the occasion, the highlight of the day was the afternoon's fashion show, featuring stunning bridal gowns and beautiful occasionwear for mothers of the bride and groom.

From Elgin, Christine Fraser's Xanadu Ladies Fashion showcased an exquisite collection of gorgeous bridal gowns and bridesmaids dresses, while Marian Grant's La-Di-Da Fashion of Inverness highlighted the versatile range of stunning outfits for mothers of the bride and guests.

La-Di-Da's Cal, Emma, Sharon and Michaela regaled their rapt audience with an array of dresses in cream and taupe, cobalt, hot pink, cream and black lace. Michaela's teal long peplum outfit was especially admired by those at the catwalk.

Xanadu's Jenny, Jane, Amber and another Jane presented a hugely diverse range for all tastes, sizes and ages, presenting the latest from Danielle Couture, Phoenix Gowns and Tiffanys Serenade designs.

Xanadu Ladies Fashions and Bridal Boutique also stock a huge range of mother of the bride/groom, wedding guest and special occasion outfits.

They also offer a hat hire service with a selection of over 300 to choose from.

The work of beauty therapist and make-up artist Julie Clark was beautifully in evidence. Down from the Perrins Centre in Alness for the show, Julie's Blush Beauty attracted many visitors wanting to know more about the small, award-winning salon which she established in the noughties and which now specialises in bridal parties.

Dream Events by Sarah set the scene for the afternoon with a magnificent leafy bower – silk style – and a sample of elegant reception/ballroom furnishings, with staff on hand to advise on just how to lay out the best backdrop to a perfect day. The company specialises in event styling, magic mirror and photobooth hire, candy cart and other good things which found favour with the guests as they filtered through the well-appointed Peregrine Suite.

Also dreams into reality from chair décor to centre pieces in bespoke packages were the ladies from Kirsteen's Kollection. Rachel Paterson and Katie Murray were on hand to reassure those planning their big day: "We work with our couples to ensure your wedding décor is exactly as you would wish for your big day...perfect!"

The afternoon's fashion show was smoothly presented by Highland Castle Entertainments. Robert Donaldson and Chris Boxall also had plenty for the youngsters to enjoy, with their magic mirror camera – budding young performance artists were able to 'draw' pictures on the glass with their fingers before having their portraits taken alongside their work.

"It's a very popular feature," said Robert, the DJ and commentator with a handy sideline in photography.

There were a range of photographers on hand through the afternoon, offering advice and a broad range of state-of-the-art services, such as the latest aerial studies by drone.

"It's something we're still developing," said videographer Cameron Carroll, of Highland Wedding Fims.

"We have the facility just to set the scene for our couples and there seems to be a call for that now, although I should say that most of our work is firmly rooted on the ground. The drone is OK up to a point, but the noise wouldn't go down too well close up. We just have it available for use when it's appropriate."

The company offers a range of services, he explained, from the silver with one videographer and five to 10 minute vid, through to gold – with a two-cam set up and a record of up to an hour – right up to the diamond set with two videographers capturing every moment including a separate full speeches video and internet transfer of vids.

Andy Allan Photography, based at Inverness, was among the stands offering the full wedding service – even to the point of hanging out of hotel room windows (by permission, of course!)

"The rest of the time I have my feet firmly planted on the ground and spend most of it capturing beautiful and memorable images of weddings and elopements in the Scottish Highlands and beyond."

His extensive gallery is available on Google and we found that it captures some stunning landscape backdrops, Andy clearly with an eye for the biggest picture when it comes to traditional Highland weddings.

Morag Martin is another leader with the lens. Based in Keith, her Ceamara Photography has a well-earned reputation for family and wedding studies and portraits, and was no less than Scottish Wedding Photographer of the Year in 2020.

Its title is also a great talking point for visitors to wedding fairs.

"I'm always asked what Ceamara is Gaelic for," she said, with a huge grin. "Guess what? It's camera..."

A fun corner of the fair was that of another photographer, former RAF driver James Bain with his Pixels Inflatable Photobooth.

"People love to show off to the camera," Bainsy told us, "especially at the hen or stag night. It's a very sturdy wee booth, even if it is an inflatable one, where they can pose with the inflatable mics and other props as they perform their favourite song – we're hoping to establish our own X-Factor tours soon."

Since leaving the forces the Elgin man has been establishing the travelling booth and having a lot of fun, hiring to a wide range of clients across the country.

"It does down especially well at weddings," he added, offering instant pictures for ageless memories.

Also establishing themselves spreading joy in the north is The Cocktail Den. Based in Elgin, Ashlyn Johnson and Nathan Davies's mobile bar provides a unique experience for any party from a hen night to a corporate event.

"It's been a great start," said Ashlyn. "Since we set up last year we have served 50 parties who wanted to enjoy their own unique cocktails. It's amazing how people love to watch the creation of each drink. It can be hard work – 80 at once can be pretty hectic – but it always goes down well.

"We work closely with local distilleries and breweries to source the very best products, our highly trained team of mixologists are ready to go, providing an unforgettable experience. We provide a fully stocked bar with local spirits and beers and offer an extensive wine list."

They currently have two bars, a rustic wooden top bar in their mobile cocktail trailer, and a prosecco bike.

"For each event we design the bar to fit in and complement any venue. As well as providing a drinks reception we also offer menu design services, and cocktail master classes."

Talking of great masters, Sunday's fair came complete with one of the country's most popular wedding pipers. Spud the Piper is still going strong after battling the pandemic lockdown with a bold and brilliant solo internet series which spread his reputation across the globe. In all weathers, he played as long as the ice allowed in some of the country's most beautiful and isolated spots.

"It did me the world of good!" confirmed Calum (Fraser) of Aviemore, who has since claimed both the 'Vows' and 'The Scottish Wedding Awards' crowns for his entertaining performances in films, TV, documentaries and, most notably, weddings.

He proved the perfect guardsman at the Peregrine Suite entrance, although it has to be said he didn't actually play...

Another welcoming hand in the fair was that of Dougie Burns, there to let everyone know that one of Strathspey's most endearing, and enduring, buildings were available for the perfect Highland wedding.

Abernethy Old Kirk in Nethy Bridge, as he told the visitors, offers the perfect setting for a truly traditional ceremony, with no backdrop better for the wedding albums.

He explained: "The Abernethy Old Kirk Association was formed 14 years ago, when the Church of Scotland Trustees no longer required the building for their purposes. A group of local people got together to save the historic building for the future use of the Nethy Bridge and wider communities.

"As a result, the building can still be used for weddings and for funerals which can be either Christian or Humanist."

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