“I actually found the receipt for the engagement ring in Iain’s pocket so I knew the proposal was coming! He proposed in Nairn in February, on the beach. It was lovely but obviously wasn’t a big surprise!

We planned to get married on 23 May 2020 but eight weeks before, lockdown meant it was cancelled. We rescheduled for 23 October… And it went ahead!

Everything was so up in the air beforehand as lockdown rules kept changing, but luckily all of our vendors were happy to reschedule to our new date.

On the day we just forgot everything we’d gone through. It was all worth it and our wedding was wonderful. On the original date it had been freezing cold, miserable and raining but thankfully the October date was scorching. We even had our drinks reception outside... Not bad for autumn!

My dress was even more magical than I remembered and the venue was amazing. Given the circumstances Banchory Lodge really excelled themselves. They waited on us hand and foot, and really wanted to make our day perfect despite the ever-changing restrictions.

We decided to do a reveal before the ceremony so we could see each other without our masks on. Then as I walked into the hotel I spotted people on the balcony- and they were clapping for me! I burst into tears- after such a hard year it felt like people were congratulating us on going through with it. It was really special.

In the end we had 18 guests (close family, bridal party and some family friends) plus the registrar and photographer. I was delighted to have the intimacy of a small wedding and believed in my heart that everyone who couldn’t be there were with us in spirit.

Our beautiful wedding cake was covered in flowers made of sugar which I now have in boxes around my house. It’s perfect to have as a keepsake from our special day.

We bought confetti cannons from Marie Curie, who’d looked after my grandad in his final days. They were a nice touch and knowing it went towards supporting a good cause was really special.

Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to get photographs during the ceremony without our masks, but in a way it’s more authentic: The masks will remind us of how things were when we got married. (A family friend actually made our masks. She sourced a matching tartan to Iain’s kilt for his and used leftover material from bridesmaid dress alterations to make theirs).

Masks aside, it actually felt like – for just one day – the pandemic didn’t exist!”

Zoe’s Little White Book

Venue - Banchory lodge

Dress/bridesmaid dresses - Blush bridal

Kilts - Haddo kilt hire

Cake - Laura lane

Arch - Illumin8

Flowers - Isla Duncan florist

Fairy light canopy / chairs - PRime events

Photographer – Jonathan Stephen / airborne weddings

Hair - Kayleigh at artisan

Glitter hair and makeup – Natalie Lauren studio

Centre pieces - myself