Relaxed Outdoor Wedding - Polka Dot Wedding

Jo & Gavin

The relaxed feeling of Jo & Gavin’s outdoor wedding with a Scottish twist really took my fancy this week. Romance is definitely dining under the stars and dancing the night away in the cool outdoor air! Anthony Hoang Photography was on hand to capture their day in all its glory.

Jo tells the story of how they came to be. “We met in Edinburgh at a little pub called Whistle Binkies. I was one month into a year of traveling and Gav was on university break. We went on our first date the following week and then I ended up staying in the UK for 8 years!”

Jo and Gavin held their wedding at the one venue – Mango Hill Farm. Jo explains, “The whole wedding was at Mango Hill farm. One of the reasons we chose Mango Hill Farm was that everything could take place at one location, so we could have maximum time with our guests. We had the ceremony down at the creek and the reception outside up next to the main house, we then moved inside for dancing later on. We had a lot of guests from Scotland so it was great because our families and bridal party could stay in the accommodation on site for the whole weekend.”

Jo remarks, “Gav gave all his groomsmen a hip flask full of malt whisky before the ceremony. The liquid courage did an amazing job of keeping them all happy and relaxed!” The groom and groomsmen wore kilts and accessories from Highland House Kilt Hire.

Jo chose the Eileen Kirby Aristocrat gown in Ivory from Frockaholics .Her bridesmaids wore convertible blue dresses from Dessy .

Jo walked down the aisle to, “Bright Eyes – first day of my life. Gav’s brother played the guitar and sang the song. It was really special. ”

Margarita Priori-Smith officiated the ceremony.

Post ceremony, guests enjoyed a picnic feast, catered by Love My Food and Kunara Organic Cafe. Jo explains, “After the ceremony we had picnics, ping pong and badminton, this created such a relaxed atmosphere and we snuck off to get our photos done. I had always wanted a gourmet BBQ for my wedding dinner. My maid of honour’s partner is a cattle farmer so they raised a cow especially for our wedding. The steaks were delicious! ”

Of their photographer, Jo notes, “Anthony was amazing, it was like we had known him for years. He captured the whole day and we barely knew he was there, he was just like another guest. We often say how happy we are that we found Anthony and that we spent the money to have the full day captured, the day goes so fast so it’s really lovely to look back and remember all the little details. His documentary style suited us perfectly and we were thrilled with the photos.”

“Pretty much everything about our wedding was DIY. I loved this about it as it made it very personal. I’m a graphic designer so I designed all the stationery & paper goods. One of my favourite bits was the card table where we strung up Polaroids of Gav and I over the years. We also had the Polaroid camera there on the night and my sister took photos of each of the guests to put in the guest book next to their messages. We could decorate the venue however we liked, my family love a bit of craft so we so we had a few craft weekends where my sisters made the heart garlands. My mum did all the flowers and table settings and everyone collected jars for about a year before. We kept the rest fairly simple, just festoon lighting outside and fairy lights inside.”

“My sister made the wedding cake and my sister and my mum the whole dessert table. My sister also did my hair. It was really a joint effort from everyone with the prep, set up and pack up and we are so grateful to our families for all the help.”

Jo remembers, “Gav’s dad was MC for the night and also Scottish dance instructor. The dancing was brilliant and such a nice way to get everyone up and involved! Our one year old, Oban, was fully kilted up and looked just like dad in his matching outfit.”

Of their first dance, Jo tells, “We didn’t really have a first dance, this was something I cringed about through all the planning so in the end we decided we wouldn’t have one. On the night after cutting the cake we got straight into some Scottish dancing so that acted as our first dance.”