The sun shone brightly at this relaxed lesbian summer wedding at the Byre at Inchyra with outdoor ceremony in a walled garden – but the two brides admit they were maybe a little too relaxed at times when they were planning it all!
This beautiful LGBTQ+ barn wedding in Scotland at large luxury Perthshire venue The Byre at Inchyra has lots of ideas if you’re planning a summer wedding, including a female-led wedding procession down a romantic natural outdoor aisle, outdoor wedding ceremony in a walled garden venue that had a hand fasting and quaich ritual at its heart, Alexandra Grecco wedding dress, blue Whistles trouser suits and Six Stories dresses for the 10 bridesmaids, scrumptious sharing platter wedding meal courtesy of caterer Lazy Sunday, and Glasgow function band The Soul Establishment filling the dancefloor during the reception.
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Bryony Maxwell and Georgia Bloom
1st June 2024
Venue | The Byre at Inchyra, Perthshire
Photography | Wonderful and Strange
Luxury Perthshire barn wedding venue The Byre at Inchyra is already famed for its natural ‘aisle’ of apple trees in its walled garden, so couples marrying there in an outdoor wedding ceremony are already guaranteed to make an entrance.
Walk down the aisle ideas
However, brides Bryony and Georgia made their walk down the aisle even more memorable by surrounding themselves with the ladies who mean the most to them in a female-led wedding procession, a great idea for a non-traditional entrance.
“We walked down the aisle separately with our mums, our five bridesmaids each leading the way ahead of us – mine wearing blue Whistles trouser suits, Georgia’s in blue Six Stories dresses – while Georgia’s cousin Hamish played a piece of piano music he’d written especially called ‘This is What We Are’. It felt like a strong ‘girl power’ moment,” recalls Bryony.
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Ideas for a non-legal wedding ceremony and script
The London-based couple had their legal ceremony in Lambeth Town Hall the week before the wedding, so asked Bryony’s cousin Joss to act as a non-legal celebrant and create a bespoke wedding ceremony script for them. “We wanted the ceremony to be heartfelt and fun,” says Bryony.
“Joss had interviewed us both before the wedding and put together the funniest script, including the first text messages we had sent to each other which had everyone crying with laughter. We also had some beautiful readings done by family and friends and incorporated the popular hand fasting and drinking from the quaich wedding rituals. I think we achieved the perfect balance of emotion and hilarity.”
The pair first met at Edinburgh University, but didn’t get to know each other properly until they both moved to London after graduation. “I happened to move in two roads away from Georgia, so we started spending time together – and the rest is history! We got engaged in our flat after about year and a half of being together.”
Perthshire wedding venue for large guest list
The couple knew they were going to have a large guest list (180) so finding a venue that could accommodate a lot of people was the first thing on their minds.
“We chose The Byre at Inchyra because we loved the Walled Garden and could instantly envision our ceremony being outside in the sunshine (which by some miracle it was).
“The historic stone byre itself had the perfect layout for a big dance floor and long tables which were also two of our top priorities. The whole team there were phenomenal too.”
After the engagement, Bryony’s dad was quick off the mark sorting out a key wedding item: bottles of fizz. “Within weeks of our engagement, my dad had stocked his garage full of champagne. Very sadly, he passed away in December 2023, so while he wasn’t there in person to join in while everyone drank it, he was at the forefront of our minds as we raised our glasses,” recalls Bryony.
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Relaxed summer wedding inspiration
A “relaxed, summery” wedding was the couple’s aim – but they admit they were perhaps a bit too relaxed at points over the 18 months run-up to the wedding. “That did come back to bite us a little,” laughs Bryony. “For instance, he week ahead of the wedding, we hadn’t bought any beer or the cocktail ingredients we needed – and none of the shops in Edinburgh had enough!
“We spent the day before the wedding driving frantically around every retail park within a 30-mile radius trying to scrape together enough beer to get 180 people through a 25-degree day!”
Stylish bridal fashion LGBTQ+
Shopping for their wedding dresses was thankfully, a much less stressful experience, even though Bryony admits it was “more or less my worst nightmare!”
The two brides shopped separately with some of their bridesmaids and mums. Bryony tells us more: “I’m completely useless at decision making and don’t love being looked at in general, but I found a dress at the first shop I went to with my sisters and my mum (Gillian Million in Teddington).”
“Unlike Bryony I absolutely love shopping,” adds Georgia. “When she proposed I was inundated with wedding dress adverts on Instagram, so I started looking at dresses straight away. I knew I wanted a timeless wedding dress and found the perfect one from Alexandra Grecco.”
Long table wedding set-up
A convivial atmosphere ensued as the big day wore on and everyone mingled. “We always knew we wanted long tables with sharing mains so that dinner would feel relaxed – and it worked a treat,” laughs Georgia. “We loved hearing about all the new friendships that resulted from our table planning. There were even a couple of snogs!”
The sharing platter wedding meal was cooked to perfection by Scottish wedding caterer Lazy Sunday. “The star of the show was the slow-cooked Middle Eastern blade of beef which everyone absolutely raved about,” says Bryony.
This couple also married at The Byre at Inchyra and put food at the centre of their day
Wedding and function band Scotland
Glasgow wedding band The Soul Establishment opened the evening entertainment with a rendition of ‘Raspberry Beret’ by Prince – the couple’s first dance song.
“Since the dawn of time, Georgia has jumped on top of whatever table she’s nearest to dance any time this song comes on, so it felt right that we kicked off our reception with it,” smiles Bryony.
“The 11-piece Glasgow-based function band was incredible – everyone was dancing all night long! Our friend Lucy got up on stage and sang with them as a surprise which was unbelievable. Then at the end of the night, our friends raised us up on their shoulders as Taylor Swift’s ‘Love Story’ played. We’ll never forget it.”
Wedding suppliers
Venue The Byre at Inchyra, Perthshire
Photography Wonderful and Strange
Bryony’s wedding dress Gillian Million
Georgia’s wedding dress Alexandra Grecco
Bryony’s bridesmaids Whistles
Georgia’s bridesmaids Six Stories
Hair and makeup Chloe GH Bridal
Non-legal celebrant Joss Criswell (Bryony’s cousin)
Rings Baroque Jewellery
Catering Lazy Sunday
Cake Perdie Nelson
Flowers and decor Gloam
Stationery Just Lissy Designs
Ceremony music Hamish Bloom (Georgia’s cousin)
Reception band The Soul Establishment
