Fiona + Matthew.

Fiona and Matthew got married in one of Edinburgh's grandest wedding venues, Mansfield Traquair which is right in the heart of the city. I sent them some questions about their day and here are their answers:

Can you give us a rundown of your wedding day?

On the night before the wedding, we stayed separately with our families in hotels in Edinburgh. The following morning I was up with my bridesmaids at the crack of dawn for breakfast. Lesley from Pamper and Polish arrived to do all of our hair and makeup. I couldn’t find anything to do whilst my sisters were getting ready and kept pacing up and down the hotel room. We had a good laugh though and enjoyed the champagne that my dad had sent to the room. All of a sudden it was time for me to get ready and then time just seemed to disappear. My dad had managed to arrange for us to go up to the hotel terrace which overlooked Edinburgh castle to have some photographs taken. Shortly after my mum and sisters left for the wedding and my dad and I were left waiting to leave. I was clock watching because I’d promised Matthew that for once in my life I’d be on time! We had arranged for a white wedding taxi to take us to the venue which was a nod to my dad as he’s a taxi driver in Glasgow…think he’d have preferred a Bentley though! The journey was a bit of a blur, apart from my dad giving the driver some taxi chat!

When we arrived at Mansfield Traquair I had my first bout of nerves. I was met by Jessie our humanist celebrant and all I can remember saying to her was tell Matthew I was here on time! The two best men Stuart and John arrived to escort my mum into the ceremony and then my sisters were lined up to go in. Surprisingly they got a bit emotional which almost set me off. Then the music started and they were off! I came down the aisle to Desiree’ Kissing You on the piano which is a stunning piece of music. I’d kept it a surprise from Matthew until the day. It was such an amazing feeling walking in – Mansfield Traquair looked even more beautiful than I remembered.

As I was walking towards Matthew I was just waiting for him to turn around and he kept me waiting…and waiting! We had a lovely ceremony with Jessie which included handfasting and a reading by Matthew’s sister Justeen. It seemed to be over in a flash and then we were married! Afterwards, we had a few minutes on our own with a glass of champagne before we came through the side door where all our guests were waiting to cover us in confetti. This was one of my favourite moments, getting to greet all our guests afterwards. We left afterwards to have our photographs taken with Derek Christie. We had decided before we wanted to go up to Carlton Hill and we’re just delighted with the shots. The sun came out and we climbed up the hill alongside tourists shouting well wishes to us like we were celebs. We returned to the venue and everyone was milling around enjoying drinks and canapés.

The room had been turned around and watching our guests faces as the room was unveiled was amazing. The room was stunning and better than we’d imagined. Then it was time for our grand entrance as husband and wife. Speeches were up first and were lovely. Even the best men had delivered a funny but complimentary speech to Matthew. Then it was time for the food. The meal was so good, but I could barely eat in my dress. We loved the care and precision delivered by the waiting staff…every person was served at the same time! Matthew even got in trouble for not being seated for dessert ha! We wandered around the tables between courses and everyone seemed to be enjoying the food and having a good time. After dinner, it was cake cutting time. We had a beautiful display from Big Bear Bakery which far exceeded our expectations. Our only regret is not finding time to eat any of it! Then it was straight onto the dance floor for our first dance. This was the part of the day which I had been dreading but once I was there I just enjoyed the moment with Matthew. We had our band Kickback play John Mayer’s Who You Love. After a few dances, we arranged to go back out for a few more photographs. We went to the bridges and walked amongst everyone on the street, even stopping for a kiss in the middle of the road – which made for one of our favourite photographs.

We arrived back at the venue to get some more dancing under our belt. Matthew had arranged for the band to play Miami and The Fresh Prince of Belair as he’s a big Will Smith fan. We had some ceilidh dancing too, but it seemed like we only had a few minutes before it was time for the last dance, Loch Lomond. This was such a fun, crazy moment but in the end, we were so sad it was all over. We ended the night hugging all our guests before finally leaving for the hotel.

What do you remember most about your wedding day?

For me, it was the sight as the doors first opened and I walked down the aisle with my dad with the music playing in the background. Then waiting for Matthew to turn around. I won’t forget how nice everyone was to us as we walked around Edinburgh in our wedding outfits either. And even how much I enjoyed our first dance after worrying about it. Matthew’s favourite bit was also standing at the top of the aisle, listening to the music before he turned around. Then walking back into the meal to see all of our family and friends. And finally the cake!

Why did you choose your wedding venue?

Mansfield Traquair is the only venue we went to view. We were completely blown away and couldn’t imagine anything else comparing. We loved the space and the murals and the chapel where the ceremony is held is just beautiful. From the outset, the staff couldn’t have been more helpful and really took any stress out of wedding planning. We didn’t want our parents and families to see the venue before the day because we wanted them to experience it all at the wedding – and we think it was worth it for their reaction!

What made you decide to have your wedding filmed?

I’ve always loved watching wedding films, crying even for people I don’t know. I’ve always wanted one although Matthew took a bit more convincing. Friends have always told me how glad they are they did it, or that they regret not having one. I think having ours was the best decision, even more so choosing Robert. He was so lovely on the day, but for the most part, he did his magic from the background and lots of our guests hadn’t even noticed he was there. We love the wedding film and will enjoy watching it for years to come.