Their story…
After meeting on Instagram in January 2019 when Iyan was living in Scotland and Gavin in the US (quickly bonding over The Legend of Zelda and haircare) the pair stayed in touch. Iyan later moved to Portland, Oregon, during his PhD studies where he met up with Gavin and just a year later, there were two romantic proposals: Iyan proposing in the forest in Oregon, Gavin repropose on Christmas Day in Iyan’s family’s living room,.
After two proposals, how did you choose your one wedding location?
The biggest consideration was our loved ones – in other words, how could we get Iyan’s Scottish entourage and Gavin’s US side together in one location?
A must for us was to marry surrounded by nature; a reminder of the vast Highland landscapes where Iyan grew up and the temperate rainforests of Washington state where Gavin is from. We chose Old Milton in the Cairngorms National Park because Iyan’s family are based nearby and it was a great base for our US guests to begin exploring Scotland.
Did you plan everything yourselves?
We did and we were really lucky- our friends and family did so much to help us bring everything together on the day, which was an amazing bonding experience. Our arch, for example, was made by Iyan’s brother Kylle and our wedding knot came from strips of tweed fabric from Iyan’s parents’ shop, The Sutherland Sporting Tweed Company.
We will admit that we underestimated the work involved in doing everything by ourselves.We worked well as a team and wanted to keep things simple but we still ended up investing a lot of time and energy into creating a love-filled environment for everyone.
Tell us about your big day…
It started the night before when we went for dinner with all of our favourite people to McInnes House Hotel in Kingussie. After enjoying everyone’s company, we definitely needed a good night’s sleep to feel ready!
We had our couple photoshoot pre-ceremony after getting ready with our friends. Having time together as a couple to help build into the ceremony really helped ease any nerves.
We drove to the beautiful Uath Lochans with Eve & Art and had a really lovely time.
Our small and intimate outdoor ceremony began with one of our favourite video game music tracks and some “really magical feeling rain” that started right beforehand and stopped immediately afterwards.
The whole week of our wedding we had perfect sunshine but, just for our ceremony, the sky got moody and it started to rain. It created an incredible atmosphere as we stood in the moss-carpeted forest around Old Milton. We were huddled under umbrellas, holding hands and walking down the aisle together. It felt so surreal and incredibly heartwarming to see all our loved ones there with us.
We decoded to share our vows in private right before the ceremony so our celebrant (and dear friend) Molli Carriveau focused on an acknowledgement to the surrounding nature and a handfasting ceremony.
Once the cermeony was over, we headed back to the house which we’d styled to create lots of different spaces for our guests to enjoy. We had a front room with crackling fireplaces and chillout music, a living room with lots of board games and video games, and a hall where everyone could dance and socialise. We also had lawn games and a firepit outside. It was wonderful seeing everyone milling around and enjoying themselves.
Meanwhile, catering company Hendersons provided a delicious and nutritious vegan feast, reflecting our passion for animals and the environment in everyday life.
Ultimately, we found that we and our guests had the most incredible time just by us being ourselves and planning a wedding that was quintessentially us – filled with love, nature, good food, and lots of silliness.
It’s incredible to be married and our ceremony was a little bubble of pure magic. It felt like another world where we were completely encapsulated in love and the most incredible nature.It was the perfect way to bind our lives together, to reflect and plan for all the ways we will live in love together.”
Photo & Video | Eve & Art Stories
Venue | Uath Lochans and Old Milton
Catering | Hendersons
Celebrant | Molli Carriveau (friend)
Donuts | Considerit
Flowers | The Artisan Dried Flower Co
Jewellery | Caroline Brook Jewellery
Accessories | Macabre Gadgets
Attire | ORTTU
Hanndfast ties | Sutherland Sporting Tweed Company
You can read more about Iyan and Gavin’s wedding and see additional photos on the original blog, first featured on Your Scottish Wedding
