Claire & Paul - Real Life Weddings

RLWREAL LIFEWEDDINGClaire Cameron & Paul ShieldsSaturday 4 October 2008Ceremony& ReceptionPhotographyMount Stuart, Isle of ButeJohn Hendry Photographywww.jhphoto.co.ukT: 0141 339 9371Robert Burns was the inspirationwhen Paul proposed to hisAyrshire lass Claire. But for thegroom things moved closer tohome with their wedding on theIsle of ButeAn autumnal walk through the woodlands of Perthshireprovided the perfect opportunity for Paul, 37, to askClaire’s Dad for her hand in marriage. This was justlast year, when the tree pods were “dropping like confetti”.According to Claire, 34, the wedding was an occasion that somefamily and friends thought they’d never see;Claire& PaulWhat made you choose your venue?We’d been to Mount Stuart a number of times for walks and picnicsbecause Paul’s family are from the Isle of Bute. It’s absolutely stunningand such an amazing place. It had so many happy memories for allof us and every time we go there now we’ll think about our wedding.A lot of people hadn’t been to Bute before, so it was a nice trip forour guests too.How did you choose your dress?I saw the dress in the window of Diane Honeyman in Ayr about sixweeks before we went in. I thought it was lovely but didn’t want totry anything until we had the venue booked. So after we did that Iwent in with my Dad to try it on, as my Mum was working. He said Iwouldn’t find anything better, so I went back that afternoon and gotit. It was meant to be.What did you do the night before the wedding?We went to Bute on the Friday morning. It was an absolutely gorgeousday and I knew just about everyone in the ferry queue because theywere all going to our wedding! We went down to the house for arehearsal in the afternoon, then went to the lodges where we were allstaying and had a big party. My Dad and his friend, who are both chefs,organised a buffet. I sent Paul home to his Mum’s about 10.30pm.How were you feeling on the morning of the wedding?It was a bit stressful at the end – my Dad was pacing up and downthe wooden floors as he was just so nervous. The service was at 2pmand my Mum was still in her bathrobe at about 1.30pm because she’dspent so much time trying to get me ready!What about walking down the aisle?It was great. I absolutely loved it and then I saw Paul’s face – he turnedround when I was about halfway down the aisle – and he looked likehe was going to burst into tears. That’s one of the most memorableparts of the day for me because I think he was blown away. I couldfeel myself welling up as well.What do you remember most about the ceremony?It was quite emotional and we were both trying to hold it together.One thing that was quite special to both of us was having Paul’sMum do a reading from Corinthians, which was lovely. Then we weremarried! We walked out to Handel’s ‘The March Of The OccasionalOverture’, which is a real triumphant piece of music.Where did you get your wedding bands?We went to Ian Mundie [& Son Fine Jewellery] in Glasgow. The servicewas excellent; they were happy for me to try on various rings and Ieventually decided on a platinum band to go with my engagementring. Paul had decided to wear a family ring and they cleaned andre-sized that for us too.How did you enjoy getting your photos taken?Donald [of John Hendry Photography] took our pictures in variousparts of the house and we went outside as well – the sun came out atabout 4pm. I did enjoy it and when you see the results of his work, youcan see that he’s done an amazing job. We had quite a tight timescaleso I think he felt a bit under pressure, but you couldn’t tell.“I got a phone call sayingthat the ferries wereoff. I went into a bit of apanic thinking about thephotographer, the band,the caterers…”“We always thought we’d get married but there wasn’t aburning desire to rush into it. I think it was our 14th yeartogether when we got married.”The couple met at Glasgow University, where Paul was workingtowards a Masters degree and the bride-to-be was in hersecond year of a science course. Paul was one of the seniorresidents living at her student halls.The proposal took place in Central Park, New York. “It was justbefore Christmas and it was all really romantic. We were walkingalong the really famous Literary Walk and he stopped rightbeside the statue of Robert Burns and got down on one knee.”And the Bard was to be a key feature at the island weddingless than a year later.“I always said that I didn’t want a big fancy day but then weended up getting married at Mount Stuart!”The location was one that was dear to both of their heartsand also meant that Paul’s Mum, an island resident, could getinvolved with the plans. But Claire also had her (other) righthandman – her Dad – who helped with everything from dressshopping to catering!schemes & themes“Mount Stuart is such a stunning place and youcould go to town and decorate it any way youwanted. But they already had lovely lightingand we were happy to stick with that. They alsohad gorgeous floral displays set up for us – amixture of white and red roses with lilies – andwe simply added our own candelabras to thetable settings.“We went for ivory stationery, which I boughtonline from Special Day Direct, who were excellent. I just sat in front of the TV onenight and tied ribbons round them.“112 RLW SUMMER 2009www.reallifeweddings.co.ukwww.reallifeweddings.co.uk RLW SUMMER 2009 113

RLWCLAIRE & PAUL’S SUPPLIERSWhat was your first dance?The band played ‘Fields Of Gold’, the Eva Cassidy version. The Sting version ofthe song was quite memorable for us around the time we met. The lead singer ofCallanish [booked through Freak Music Scotland] made a great job of it but overallthe band was great. They played a real variety of songs and the dance floor wasbusy all night.Who gave the best speech?My Dad spoke before dinner, which was very entertaining, and everybody else wentafterwards. Paul’s Mum gave a little speech, which was lovely and quite moving. AndPaul recited the Burns poem ‘My Love Is Like A Red Red Rose’ in his speech. I wasquite tearful by that point. Even after all these years, he can still surprise me like that.The best man Declan went last and he had a really hard act to follow because Paul’sspeech was amazing – afterwards I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house.Any disasters or mishaps?Mid-morning I got a phone call from one of my friends saying that the ferries wereoff. Of course I went into a bit of a panic thinking about the photographer, the band,the caterers… It could have been horrendous but actually that was fine. They onlymissed a few boats and the caterers had got the first ferry over in the morning.Wedding Photography0141 339 9371www.jhphoto.co.uk94 Turnberry Road, Hyndland, Glasgow G11 5AR114 RLW SUMMER 2009www.reallifeweddings.co.ukwww.reallifeweddings.co.uk RLW SUMMER 2009 115

RLWbride to bride“Take some time to look around and take itall in because you’ll get pulled in a milliondirections. You’ll find that all day long peoplewill want to talk to you and dance with youand take photos of you, so you can get a bit lost in it.People say that there’s no way you can put a weddingtogether in a short timeframe, but if you put your mind toit, know what you want and get people involved who areprofessional, then it’s very possible. Everyone’s differentand some people get a buzz from planning over a longerperiod of time, but I think I would have gone demented ifit had taken any longer.”CLAIRE & PAUL’S SUPPLIERSREAL LIFEweddingWhat were the best bits?It was a magical day. It’s difficult to single out any part of it because there were justso many. I will always remember my friends’ faces when I was walking down theaisle, and even things like walking in to the reception, when we got piped down themarble stairwell. Paul’s Mum said it was like ‘Gone With The Wind’!Your biggest challenge?There wasn’t anything that was really difficult. Obviously we had to think aboutfinding accommodation for the band and for the catering staff and that sort of thing.But the venue was so good, as were our catering and events company, that I felt invery good hands. The most stressful thing for me was finding the right band. To startwith I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted. And because it was June and the weddingwas in October a lot of bands were booked. But that came good in the end too.Top wedding presents?Anne, one of Paul’s relatives from New York, followed the photographer aroundand took some amazing pictures. As part of our wedding present she gave us allthe pictures that she’d taken of the day and leading up to the day – it was great,really nice and gave us the whole story of our wedding from the ferry terminal tothe day itself. I wasn’t that bothered about getting a video of the day but our usherJohn set up a wee camera and I’m so glad he did because he’s produced a reallygreat DVD with snippets from our family and what they thought of the day – it wasjust fabulous.Pick up any bargains?We had a friend of the family doing our flowers and she did a fantastic job. Shesourced everything from the flower market, so that would have worked out a bitcheaper than if we had gone through a florist. She made the cake as well, whichwas great.Best thing about being married?It is lovely being married. I didn’t think it would matter to me but it definitely does,it’s a lovely feeling. I can’t put my finger on it but it just feels different. I’m so gladthat I had a wedding day now. I thought we would just go off on our own and getmarried after all these years, but I’m very glad that we didn’t.Anything else you would like to tell us?Our caterer was Wilde Thyme and the food was outstanding – it was like eating in afine dining restaurant. My Dad and I went to do the tasting in July because my Mumand Paul were both working and they had set up a full dinner… we thought we’djust be sampling a few things. It was great!Want to know more about Claire & Paul’s wedding?To find out more about any of the suppliers involved in this weddingplease contact us on editorial@reallifeweddings.co.ukhow we honeymooned“We sat outside on the Sunday morning after the wedding inT-shirts, drinking Champagne – the weather was tropical. I evenput my dress on the next day (with my UGG boots) to get somepictures in the sunshine. After that we left and headed up north fora few days to a lovely place, Monachyle Mhor Hotel, just outsideBalquhidder in Stirlingshire.We also went to Naples in Florida fortwo weeks – a friend of my unclehas an apartment there. It wasquite nice because we had a weekoff after the wedding, went backto work for two weeks, then wenton honeymoon for a fortnight. Soby the time we got back it wasalmost Christmas again.”Claire & Paul116 RLW SUMMER 2009www.reallifeweddings.co.ukwww.reallifeweddings.co.uk RLW SUMMER 2009 117