Their story…
After first locking eyes on the dancefloor, Ula planned a magical proposal to Kelly in her native country of Poland during the new year fireworks – then Kelly proposed to Ula shortly after that, organising a pretend surprise birthday party for her.
Ula is the DIY person and I (Kelly) got into wedding planning, watching lots of videos for inspiration because I didn’t want to miss any ideas. We wanted our day to truly embody who we are so it was a beach vibe with a boho theme; Neutral and natural; relaxing and free… just like us!
We made ourr own welcome signs, table names, table plan and favours, whilst a friend helped with the bigger wooden pieces like the rustic ‘Mrs and Mrs’ sign. Meanwhile, our florist Carpe Diem took care of the finishing touches, like table décor and the absolutely gorgeous flowers, which we used in our garden afterwards.
Tell us about your big day…
We had hoped for an outdoor ceremony so were disappointed when we realised rain was on its way – but all was well. We can’t control the weather after all. I tried to do some mindfulness, which didn’t work for where my energy was so opted for a 20-minute cardio workout. Don’t ask me why but it helped calm my nerves!
I (Kelly) walked down the aisle first and was so happy to see Ula coming towards me, especially because Edwina Hayes was singing for us.
We saw Edwina at an acoustic club years before and instantly fell in love with her song Feels Like Home. I still remember Ula holding my hand while we watched her live and I told Edwina that night I may just contact her to sing at our ceremony if we were ever to get married. That dream came true and it was more emotional than we ever thought; a really special moment for both of us.
We were married by celebrant Dorothy Nowak, who is part-Polish and conducted the ceremony in a way that both Kelly and Ula’s families could understand but we also made a book with translations to make sure the Polish entourage could fully follow everything.
Dorothy really understood how relaxed we wanted our day to be and during the ceremony. She got a bit emotional when she told the part of the story where Kelly proposed back. Our (professional, fun and loving) photographer, Rebecca, said she’d never seen a celebrant do that before and it made us even more sure we’d made the right choice.
After the ceremony, we snuck off with Rebecca and videographer Calum for a beautiful, romantic photoshoot. The sun came out and we ran to the beach to dip our toes in the water. It felt like we were in a dream.
When we returned it was time to eat and we’d worked with the venue to create a special menu. We wanted to reflect both our cultures (Kelly being Filipino and Scottish, and Ula being Polish) so our wedding coordinator suggested a fusion afternoon tea, which included Filipino chicken soup, Polish savoury pastries and some shots of cold Polish vodk. We couldn’t have had our speeches without shots!
We sourced our beautiful cake from the best coffee shop in our hometown. We love Marzena’s cakes and we loved our wedding cake too, but we weren’t the only ones – our wedding coordinator mentioned some of the children had stuck their fingers in and had a lick! Sounded like an excellent idea so we stuck our fingers in too and took a photograph! On the day you just let go of things like that and our wedding was fun, light, silly and joyful.
The rest of the evening consisted of live music, dancing, silly wigs, blow-up guitars, more Polish vodka shots and lots of food. We had external caterers set up stalls with sushi, satay platters, and Japanese-style gourmet food, and we’d bought lots of Polish cooked meats from a local butcher. They hung on a wooden station decorated with ivy and sunflowers and guests could help themselves; they cut slices of meat, added a gherkin and got a wee shot of vodka. A very Polish vibe! To top it off, we decorated a sweetie cart with our favourite snacks to satisfy our loved ones’ sweet tooths.
We finished the night with a handful of us drinking vodka and singing outside the venue. It was such a laugh. It felt like a new year sort of party with everyone really relaxed and up for having fun.
This wedding was originally featured on Your Scottish Wedding
Venue | The KIngswood Hotel
Photographer | Rebecca Carpenter Photography
Videographer | Calum Keelan Videography
Celebrant | Dorothy Nowak, Humanist Society Scotland
Singer |Â Edwina Hayes
Florist | Carpe Diem Floral Design
Hair | Susan Gourlay
MUA | Â Nadia Doriano Hair & Make Up & Jodie Maguire Make-Up Artist
Band & DJ |Â The Columbos Soul Band
Cake |Â Merchants House Cafe
Evening buffet | Kokushe
