Stephanie and George’s unique celestial-themed w-day took in the city’s top sights and included sweet tributes to Lucy, the couple’s Border Collie
Stephanie Gold and George Broadbent
15th July 2023
Venue | Edinburgh City Chambers, Red Bus Bistro and various venues around the capital
Photography | Danielle Stewart Photography
“George and I met on Tinder in August 2020 and had our first date during the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ era of the pandemic. We got engaged in January 2023 at Torryvald folly near Dunkeld, but by that point, we’d already booked a date for a wedding ceremony at the iconic Edinburgh City Chambers.
We hoped to persuade our guests to join us in the capital for George’s 30th birthday and spring a surprise wedding on them! In the end though, we fell in so love with our wedding plans that we didn’t want to keep them quiet.
We had five different venues in total. We had our ceremony at the City Chambers; post-ceremony drinks at the Copper Still; gin, prosecco and afternoon tea as we toured Edinburgh landmarks on board the Red Bus Bistro; espresso martinis and a brilliant magic show by Cameron Young at The Angel’s Share; and onto a tasting menu, speeches and dancing at incredible steak restaurant Kyloe.
We didn’t want our guests to have to walk too far, so I spent three days in Edinburgh researching venues near the City Chambers on foot that could accommodate our 17 guests before viewing and booking them.
George and I spent the morning of the wedding getting ready together at the BrewDog Doghouse Hotel, before walking up the Royal Mile to get tattoos before our ceremony. We got inked with matching single roses in homage to the plastic rose stem that George had in his teeth when he proposed!
We had a quick drink for Dutch courage at the Copper Still, then George went to meet our families and I did a first look with my dad. We had a laugh when a big group of American tourists congratulated him and I on our ‘wedding’!
The ceremony was one of the best parts of the day. Our registrar was a wonderful lady called Myra Leckie who kept us right – especially when a few days before the wedding, we were prompted to personalise our plans. George and I decided to do our own vows and have readings from my sisters Francesca and Felicity.
George surprised everyone with his emotions. He wrote the most romantic, sweet vows – completely blindsiding me – and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Our registrar said it was one of the most emotional weddings she had ever been to.
I wasn’t nervous about the ceremony. In fact, the thing that got to me the most was the weather forecast for thunder and lightning. A lot of our wedding photos were planned for outside on the city streets, but in the end, it only rained twice.
Our photographer Danielle Stewart took it all in her stride. I first spotted Danielle’s work on social media and loved the intimacy she managed to create in her photos. Her portfolio really suited the vibe we wanted for our day: relaxed and stunning. Edinburgh was busy, but somehow, she managed to make it look like we had the city to ourselves – it was unbelievable, and we couldn’t be happier with the results.
I found my star-covered wedding dress by Flora and Lane on Etsy. They are based in the States, and I had to buy before I tried it on. It was a gamble, but I loved it so much, I thought it was a risk worth taking. I had to have it altered to fit on arrival. My dress’s celestial theme then inspired the rest of our ‘moon and stars’ wedding look, put into action beautifully at Kyloe with the help of venue stylist All Dressed Up.
We added loads of other personal touches too. George baked his famous chocolate orange blondies as our wedding favours, and seeing as Lucy our Border Collie couldn’t be part of the day, we served a Lucy-themed cocktail at the Copper Still, our first stop post-ceremony. We even had cookies baked and decorated to look like her!
Our meal at Kyloe was sensational. We all sat at one table with George and I at the top. It felt like a big family meal which was exactly what we wanted.
The speeches there were a real highlight too. My dad is brilliant at public speaking and wrote a beautiful, funny speech, although he was also heckled the whole time by our eight-month-old goddaughter which made it even better. George’s brothers’ speech was full of sweet memories and gentle teasing. We couldn’t have asked for more.
Kyloe had moved armchairs out of the dining area to give us an impromptu dancefloor. Our families really brought the party even though we didn’t have evening entertainment – just a Spotify playlist, lots of booze and a great atmosphere!”
Top tip: “I found having a documented to-do list of everything you could possibly need for a wedding very helpful. I then sorted it into order of importance and worked through it periodically to prioritise our choices. For example, a photographer was more of a priority than a bouquet for us. It wasn’t always easy weighing things up though,” recalls Stephanie.
Ceremony venue Edinburgh City Chambers
Registrar Myra Leckie
Drinks venues Copper Still, The Angel’s Share drinks, afternoon tea and city tour Red Bus Bistro
Wedding meal Kyloe
Bride’s dress Flora and Lane on Etsy
Bride’s hair accessory Rachel Chaprunne
Bride’s jewellery Astrid and Miyu
Groomswear MacGregor and MacDuff
Cake Cakes for Soul by Lea
Stationery Etsy
Venue décor and styling The Little Dressing Co.
Favours Edinburgh Gin miniatures and homemade blondies
Magician Cameron Young Magician
Engagement rings Mr Harold and Son
Wedding rings Bejouled
Wedding tattoos Tribal Body Art
Accommodation BrewDog Doghouse Hotel
First dance ‘Life with You’ by The Proclaimers
