The Signet Library

Julie & Steven's Beautiful Autumn Wedding

Julie and Steven got married on a beautiful autumn morning. Their wedding day was sophisticated and classic, packed with personal, elegant touches, laughter and love – their day was full of originality and flair!

Here’s the story of how they met and how they came to celebrate their day with us …

Where did you meet?

We met in Hector's Bar in Stockbridge  

How was the big question popped?

Over dinner on the beach in the Dominican Republic.

How did you end up choosing to get married at Signet Library and why?

The Signet Library seemed the perfect choice for us due to the combination of the beautiful building and the fantastic catering team. The building lends itself almost perfectly to an all-day wedding with the two very spacious rooms which are equally beautiful. I found a lot of venues had one showstopper room and then a "break out" room which was much less impressive. It's also situated within a great location which meant there were travel/accommodation options to suit all of our guests from luxury hotels to affordable Airbnb's.

How did you prepare for your wedding and the whole planning process?

I am fortunate to have worked in the wedding/events industry for a number of years so I feel I had a reasonable idea of what we were letting ourselves in for! I feel the key to being organised whilst wedding planning is to have a master spreadsheet of everything you need and tick off as you go. Inevitably, there will be a lot of running around in the week leading up to the wedding but this should ensure there is nothing major being missed. The Event Designers at The Signet Library are also a huge help and I used them as much as I could to gain venue-specific knowledge or ideas.

What did you find was the most helpful thing about having an Event Planner onsite?

Having an event planner on site is an enormous help. I found it provided me with peace of mind that everything would run on time as there was someone dedicated to look after this. It meant I didn’t look at the time once during the day and could fully relax and enjoy the moment.

Did you have a theme? What was it and why did you choose it?

We didn’t have a theme – it’s just not really for me. I wanted the day to be classic, elegant and timeless – which is what I hope we achieved! I want to look back on our pictures in years-to-come and still love everything we chose. This meant we kept colours to a minimum and used a soft palette of white, blush pink and gold. We kept our flowers traditional with white/ivory stems paired with green and grey foliage. We then topped everything off with lots and lots of candles scattered around the Library.

How did you personalise your wedding day? Where did you get your inspiration?

I got some inspiration from online blogs but it mainly came from viewing images from previous weddings at the Library and also our florist’s social media accounts. This gave me a good idea of what I liked.

How did you feel walking down the aisle/standing at the altar?

It’s a surreal feeling. I was really nervous walking down the aisle – It felt like it took a really long time but my Dad jokes that he had to hold me back from running down (whoops!). I was glad to get to the end of the aisle and start the ceremony. That’s when my nerves disappeared and I began to really enjoy the moment.

What are some of the compliments you’ve received about your wedding day?

We’ve had many compliments about the wedding day – mainly about the venue and the food. I don’t think many people who attended the wedding had heard of the Signet Library before so many were blown away by the rooms inside. The food was delicious and a lot of people also commented about how slick the service was. We also set up a whisky and gin station for our guests in the evening so this also went down a treat.

Tell us about a favourite or memorable moment during your wedding?

I loved the speeches. The Library provides a lectern in front of the top table (optional) but I loved this as it meant I got to look directly at my Dad, Husband and Best Men whilst they were making their speeches, rather than sitting beside them. It felt really special.

Describe how you found the process of selecting your wedding menu?

This was one of my favourite parts of wedding planning. The catering was provided by Heritage Portfolio. We had a lovely afternoon at our menu tasting where we brought both sets of parents. We tasted several dishes as well as canapes and wine (all of which were superb). It was a really lovely experience and I would recommend it to everyone. It was important to us that everyone had a choice of what they ate, so we upgraded our package to include this.

How would you describe the service and quality of the food on your wedding day?

The service was fantastic. The catering team had remembered what each guest had chosen from the spreadsheet and seating plan I had provided in advance. This meant service was efficient and enjoyable for our guests. The food served was of a very high quality and exactly like we had during our tasting.

What words of wisdom do you have for couples planning their wedding?

It can seem overwhelming at the beginning but it will all come together in the end… Especially with such a wonderful team at The Signet Library. I would use their experience as much as you can – ask their advice on anything new you would like to try. The likelihood is it’s been trialled before and they’ll be able to advise if it worked or not.

Supplier Details - We’re always looking for people who do great work with weddings! We’d like you to provide us with the details of your wedding suppliers, especially ones you loved working with or felt did an especially good job, please feel free to write comments as you see fit.

Planet Flowers - I don't think a comment is necessary as you already know how wonderful they are :)

3D Cakes – they made a lovely cake

Catching the Moments - Lukas is absolutely wonderful and captured moments we completely missed on the day. Steven described him as a 'wedding ninja' ha!

Mademoiselle Macaron -  made our favours for our lovely guests, they were delicious!

Heritage Portfolio - they were our caterers, their service was very efficient and enjoyable for our guests. The food served was of a very high quality and exactly like we had during our tasting.

The Jets - We loved our band!

Glasgow Piano Man - possibly one of our loveliest suppliers to deal with. He was wonderful on the lead up to the wedding and was fantastic on the day.

Robert Anthony Humanist Celebrant - again, what a lovely man to deal with. He made the most overwhelming part of the day so easy and relaxed - exactly how we wanted it.

One Fare Day Vintage Taxi - Lovely to deal with and very competitive pricing.

Always dreamt of a winter wedding in Edinburgh? Contact our wedding planners by calling 0131 225 0651 or emailing signet@heritageportfolio.co.uk and start planning your big day.

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