After a stunning Loch Lomond proposal and an impressive five years’ of planning, Sarah Black and Ritchie Goodall tied the knot at Ballogie House.
“Ritchie proposed in 2017 and we initially planned for a 2020 wedding. Little did we know we’d end up with an extra two years to plan out the finer details, thanks to the pandemic. It was useful in the end, though, as we wanted to be sure the ceremony and everything else properly reflected who we are, and the extra time allowed that to happen.
Our first priority was definitely the venue and Ballogie was everything we were looking for and more. The stunning house paired with the blank canvas marquee was exactly what we envisioned.
The vibe we were going for was simple, rustic and colourful. Our colour scheme was very deep pinks, purples and blues as we wanted it to be very summery, matching with our original date of July 2020. When we had to rearrange for September 2022, we thought about changing but decided against it and had a summery wedding in autumn! Adding gold accents to those colours really brought everything together.
I had no idea what dress I was looking for but was very open to trying on all the different suggestions and I’m glad I was, otherwise, I don’t think I’d have chosen the one I did. I knew as soon as I put it on for the first time that it was going to be my dress. The champagne colour was something I’d never really seen before and I thought it’d really go well with the golden, summery décor. A matching veil and shoes pulled the whole look together. Ritchie chose the Pride of Scotland tartan (the purple hues tied in with our theme perfectly) and my bridesmaids were in deep pink.
A couple of days before the wedding we stayed at Ballogie House, just the two of us. It was lovely to have an evening to ourselves in our chosen venue, just enjoying each other's company before everyone arrived. The wedding morning was relaxed – my bridesmaid made me a lovely high tea and we enjoyed a wee glass of bubbly to settle any nerves!
We had a registrar perform the ceremony and personalised it by reading out three things we love about each other. We also drank from the quaich and were handfasted, using Ritchie’s Ancient Pride of Scotland tartan and the tartan my dad wore on his wedding day, literally tying the two families together. After the ceremony our guests enjoyed an acoustic guitar performance and lawn games while we had our pictures taken. It was so nice to see everyone mingling outside – Ballogie is a perfect setting for that!
The meal was amazing. We strayed from Hudsons Catering’s set menus slightly and they were so accommodating – they did an incredible job of taking everything we love and putting it into a meal. The speeches were great – a bit of everything from laughter to bittersweet tears, and then it was on to the evening festivities! Our band was incredible, playing banger after banger. We were both so worried we’d have to drag people up onto the dance floor but there was no need.
The whole day was just fantastic; a huge party with our nearest and dearest. I think everyone had been waiting so long for our day that they all really took the time to enjoy themselves, and we did too. There wasn’t one thing we didn’t enjoy.
Our advice to couples planning a wedding would be to take your time. There’s no need to rush with anything. You’ll find the best vendors that are suited to your style if you look around so don’t put pressure on yourself to book everything all at once!
Sarah's Little White Book
Band: Slinky
Beauty: Revive Salon Aberdeen
Cake: O’Caykx
Flowers: Hays Flowers
Food/drink suppliers: Hudsons Catering
Groom outfit: McCalls Highlandwear
Guitarist: Steven Joseph
Hair: Courtney Forbes @Haircreatedbycourtney
Make-up: Paula Beattie MUA
Photographer: Dani Rose Photography
Piper: Pipes and Mòr
Rings: Jamieson & Carry
Transport (guests): Central Coaches
Venue: Ballogie House
Videographer: Paul Mavor Photography & Cinematic Wedding Films