Black and Gold Wedding at Dalhousie Castle Scotland

A real stylish extravaganza today, as we take a look at the beautiful black and gold wedding of Jason and Katie set at Dalhousie Castle, Scotland. From Seattle, Washington, they chose this beautiful setting to create their dream wedding day. Her we catch up with Katie who tells us all about their love story from first kiss to first dance and all the bits in between, including how they created their dream black and gold wedding…

Black and Gold Wedding at Dalhousie Castle Scotland

“Jason and I live in West Seattle, which is a neighbourhood in Seattle, Washington. While it does rain quite a bit we love the weather. Jason is an assistant general manager of a restaurant. Katie is a wedding planner. When we’re not working we love to cook. And travel, hence the destination wedding.”

How did you and Jason meet?

“Jason and I met in a bar. It was close to each of our respective apartments. I was sitting at the bar watching a movie on the tv. The subtitles were on. And I was laughing at how corny and terrible the movie was. And talking about it out loud. Jason heard me. He’d been doing the same thing. We sat and talked all night. He asked to walk me home. When he did he asked me for my phone number. And here we are seven years later!”

Black and Gold Wedding at Dalhousie Castle Scotland

The Proposal

“Jason placed my engagement ring under our Christmas tree. He waited for me to see it. And when I did I started crying!”

Planning the wedding

“Planning a wedding has its own challenges. And planning a wedding in a different country brought a whole other level of difficulty. I did a lot of research on local vendors who could execute my vision. Which was unusual for a wedding. Black and gold. Moody, dark tones and rich textures. I relied on Dalhousie Castle’s list of recommended vendors and branched out where I felt it was needed.”

“I put a lot of thought into the details that would make our guests feel welcome and special. For the welcome dinner the night before the wedding we hired a local band to play while we ate. I put together fun facts about Jason and I on cocktail napkins. I put together a small booklet of old wedding traditions-“Just because we’re getting married in a 13^th century castle doesn’t mean we’re following 13^th century wedding traditions.”

“Our wedding ceremony program, “So you’re about to sit through a wedding.” Their place cards were laser cut out of wood. The menu cards were printed. These items let our personality shine through too! I also put a lot of thought and work into our guests wedding welcome bags which included many local treats: blankets from The Edinburgh Woollen Mill, tab from Ludicrously Good Fudge, soap from Scottish Fine Soaps. Many things were shipped to Dalhousie. The biggest difficulty was the paperwork for our marriage visas!”

Influences/Themes

“The Castle made my vision for how I wanted to the wedding to look and feel very easy. I wanted to keep our personalities throughout the process as well. Black is my favorite color. I wanted the moodiness of black and the elegance of gold. I brought that through with the flowers: my bouquet, Jason’s buttonhole, the pieces on the table and in the chapel. Also with the brass and the gold candle holders with black candles on the wedding breakfast table. The menu cards matched our wedding invitations: black paper with gold leaf. I stamped our initials using the custom was seal onto black ribbon that went around the menu card. The place cards were black with custom calligraphy. The favors were a piece of candy made here in Seattle nestled in a gold box. We did black chargers with a sprig of local foliage. The welcome dinner was also quite spectacular!”

The Location

“We knew we wanted a spectacular venue to get married. No heat. So it’s funny Scotland was having some of the warmest weather in awhile while we were there. It did start raining when we said our vows. That made the day that much more special. We don’t like the heat so a tropical location was right out. So we though why not Scotland! Once I started doing the research on getting married I found no shortages of castles. But once I found Dalhousie Castle that was it. I instantly fell in love with the property.”

The Dress

“Justin Alexander dress with a Justin Alexander lace top that was separate from the dress. My veil is from Blanca Veils via Etsy. Shoes by Christian Louboutin. Earrings by BHLDN Anthropologie. Hair piece by Twigs & Honey.”

The Suit

“Jason wore a navy three piece suit in which he wore as best man for one of his brother’s weddings. Shirt and tie by Michael Kors. Shoes by To Boot New York.”

The Details

“We didn’t do a whole lot of decorating because the venue is just stunning. We didn’t want anything to compete with the beauty of Dalhousie. Inside the chapel we did two tall silver candelabras with black candles, a greenery arrangement that eluded the dark and moody floral tone with wild greenery as well as a floral piece that sat on the table where we signed our marriage license. These pieces were used in the wedding breakfast as well.”

The Best Part of the Day

“The most important thing for us was our guests. They travelled from all over the United States to celebrate us in Scotland. We wanted them to enjoy themselves. Eat well. Drink well. Walking into the wedding breakfast, played in by the piper, and seeing everyone’s smiling face really made the day perfect.”

Words of Wisdom

“Hire a wedding planner or a day of coordinator. You’ve spent months putting together what is likely the biggest party of your life. Your loved ones likely travelled to be with you and to celebrate. Give the details of the day over to a professional so you can relax and enjoy your day! You don’t want to stress over anything.”