Oh, what a treat it is to be sharing WWW readers Margaux and Dennis’ New Library wedding at The Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh. Their day was stunning! With just 12 guests they had a super intimate and romantic winter wedding in the library.
From the elegant homemade vintage-style wedding dress (which Margaux stitched herself!) to the gorgeous winter flowers and vintage wedding cake, you will love everything. There were romantic candelabras, stylish accessories and the sweetest homemade touches. Just wait until you see the fun confetti moment and the sunlit portraits too.
Boda Photography, I can’t thank you enough for sharing your amazing images with us today. I hope you enjoy viewing them, as much as I have done so.
New Library Wedding
The Proposal
D: After seven years together the time had finally come to propose! I booked a weekend away for us, staying at a very rural cottage in Wales. The plan was to hike to the top of the nearby hills for a proposal at the summit. Despite setting a very early alarm, we had an even earlier start due to some passing sheep setting off the car alarm sometime between 4am and 5am… Not wanting to waste the morning I insisted we head out to the hills.
The weather was beautiful for September, with clear skies, light winds and a crispness to the air. We walked up the hill during the sunrise, watching the light flood across the valley and fields below. After 4 hours of hiking we made it to the top, at which time I forgot all the preplanned speeches and to Margaux’s surprise came straight out with “Do you want to get married” accompanied by the ring. Given the wedding, the answer was obviously a “yes”!
For the ring itself, I explored all the usual big brand options but settled on a beautiful ring made from an original Edwardian design by a small company based in Hatten Gardens in the Diamond Exchange building. Buying the ring was a great process, made more special by visiting them just off the main diamond trading floor. Whilst the company is relatively unknown they clearly had a long history and knowledge of diamonds. After viewing every ring they had(!) I settled on the design I had initially come in for, with a unique vintage design and a beautiful diamond for it.
The Vision
D: The most important thing for us was to have a day with our closest family (there were 12 of us total on the day) in a beautiful venue where we could plan a wedding to focus on the things that were most important to us.
M: I had always wanted a fantasy/literary wedding that wasn’t too obviously themed. So we chose specific elements of our day as a nod to our favourite books and movies. From Beauty & the Beast candelabras, an afternoon tea fit for the Mad Hatter, walking down the aisle to ‘Concerning Hobbits’, Japanese Furoshiki clothes for our favours in honour of studio Ghibli movies etc.
Budget
M & D: We were fortunate to be able to set our own budget but we were conscious to only spend money on the things that really mattered to us. In the end, we spent around £15k which included absolutely every element related to the wedding and our ‘familymoon’ the following week: from wedding rings, outfits, accommodation for family for the week of the wedding and a week for us all in a castle afterwards, travel for family coming from abroad, catering, the dinner, flowers even to the pet sitter back at home.
Instead of wedding gifts our families also kindly contributed towards specific parts of the wedding.
The Venue
M & D: The idea of getting married in a library was such a perfect fit for us, we love reading and the aesthetic of old buildings. We also wanted to find a venue which was of an appropriate size for our smaller wedding and the New Library at the RCPE had everything we wanted. We also had our canape reception in the Cullen Suite whilst the New Library was being set up for our reception.
To finish of the day, after leaving the venue around 18:30 we went for a dinner at a nearby steak restaurant where we had hired a private dining room and a sharing menu for us all.
The Ceremony & Music
D: We decided against live music, instead opting to play a playlist over the speakers in the venue. This allowed us to maintain the intimate setting of the venue and play a range of music. We curated a list of music which we both enjoy and has special meaning for us, from classical music to film soundtracks. The aim was to create a playlist which would play gently in the background whilst adding to the atmosphere of the venue.
M: We chose to have our ceremony at 12pm so that we could make the most of the afternoon and evening to celebrate. We involved our families as much as possible (from readings, handing rings/vows etc.) and we included a traditional handfasting as part of our ceremony which was such a beautiful moment.
Your Outfits
M: I had quite a clear vision for my dress and after a few mockups settled on the final design: a flowing ivory silk skirt and fitted bodice with buttons running down the back, bell sleeves with fitted cuffs and a vintage waist. The biggest surprise to me was that in the end, I chose not to include any lace.
As I was sewing the dress myself I could add a few unique touches like the green pearl buttons on the cuffs to tie into our colour scheme and the green shoes I was wearing.
I also wore a silver tiara made from original Edwardian die casts, as a nod to the design of my engagement ring and my love for the Victorian and Edwardian eras.
D: Despite initial plans for a kilt I chose a green woollen tweed suit as that was what felt most natural for me. The hardest part of my outfit to finalise was the tie, which after many unsuccessful attempts to find one resulted in buying a beautiful silken ivory fabric with an antique map print from Liberty which Margaux then sewed into a wonderful tie.
Your Photographer & Filmmaker
M: Sarah was incredible on the day, I had mentioned previously that I hated having my photo taken but she made me and my family feel so at ease during our ‘getting ready’ shots. She was also great at making sure we had enough time to take all the shots we wanted without making us feel rushed at all.
D: I am a keen photographer, having previously done this as a part-time job at university and so nominated myself to be in charge of the videography for the filming of the ceremony as well as taking photos through the rest of the evening after Sarah had left.
The Styling & Decor
M & D: Our colour scheme was warm wintery/autumnal shades of greens, reds, cream, burnt orange, peach and chestnut. We wanted a whimsical and slightly moody fairytale look.
With such an ornate venue we didn’t feel the need to add much decoration, instead choosing to add personal touches which our guests could have as keepsakes. We made our own napkins in a beautiful burnt orange with an embroidered leaf border (as a special touch, we made the napkins slightly smaller than usual to be 17 inches squared, a play on the date 17-2).
Handwritten tea cards on our afternoon tea menus (written in a sparkling green ink called ‘Twinkling Tea Party’ as an extra nod to Alice in Wonderland) which were stamped with an initialled wax seal. Our wedding favours were boxes of the tea (“Wedding Imperial” from Mariage Frere) which we had chosen for our menu, all wrapped in Japanese furoshiki cloth.
The cake was done by Liggy’s cake company and is actually one of their birthday cakes with all the colours removed to give a white wedding cake. We loved the vintage look of it and the size was just perfect for 12 guests to have some cake and leftovers the next day.
The Honeymoon
Not held yet! Although we are planning a road trip around Europe for the autumn.
Memorable Moments
D: For me the most memorable moment would be at the top of the aisle and seeing Margaux for the first time in her dress (which we had still managed to keep a secret on the way up!)
M: Waiting for my entrance queue, walking into the beautiful room for the first time with our families waiting and then seeing Dennis at the end of the aisle was definitely a moment I will always cherish. The handfasting was also a very emotional moment for us both and we’re so glad that we chose to include it.
Advice For Other Couples
M: Don’t be afraid to think outside the box, just because something is usually done at a wedding doesn’t mean you have to include it in yours and equally not every element of your day has to be labelled ‘weddingy’ (I don’t think anyone would have noticed our cake wasn’t actually a ‘wedding cake’.)
D: Be as realistic as you can in your to-do list. It will probably take a lot more time and effort than you think to plan the day, as each and every step progresses new details unfold and get added to the ‘to-do’ list. Margaux had set up a Notion board with a tracking page and checklist where we could keep track of everything that was pending and all budget-related items.
We leveraged this to keep on track of what was left to be done and ensure everything went smoothly on the day. I also rang round all the suppliers the day before to confirm final plans and got to the venue early to arrange the final details and plans ahead of the wedding.
Just so very romantic!
Margaux and Dennis, thank you both ever so much for sharing your New Library wedding at The Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh with us.
Further Reading
Wedding Overnight Bag List
Groom Gift Ideas
36 Village Hall Wedding Ideas
The post Whimsical Literary Inspired Vintage & Elegant Library Wedding first appeared on Whimsical Wonderland Weddings.
