alternative weddings

A Hoscote House tipi wedding with a green theme was a summer highlight for Get Knotted! This was our first tipi wedding, and the atmosphere was very special and individual. Tonia and Ben, our lovely couple from Newcastle, had a clear idea of what they wanted, and the whole day was very laid back and relaxed – as you might expect from a couple who have been together for 15 years!

The tipis are absolutely magical, and made a wonderful alternative to a wedding marquee. Tonia and Ben had two Sami-style ‘kata’ tipis joined together, making a spectacular silhouette against the backdrop of Hoscote House. Inside was friendly and welcoming, with soaring tipi poles, wooden tables and pretty natural flowers from Wiggly Wigglers carrying through the rustic theme, and a fantastic fire pit which was lit after dinner and threw beautiful flickering shadows on the canvas. The tipis were provided by Highland Tipis, who are bringing a wow factor to weddings all over Scotland with their unusual ‘hat’ tipis.

Tonia and Ben chose to get married under the sweeping copper beech in the Hoscote gardens.  ‘We’d been looking for beautiful wild scenery, a long way from anywhere,’ says Ben, who is a craftsman and cabinetmaker based in Newcastle. ‘Enough modern comforts for older guests, but relaxed enough to throw a great big party for all our friends, where they could all feel at home.’ Solicitor Tonia came across the website after looking for a special wedding venue in the Scottish Borders. Lovely scenery was also a factor when Ben decided to pop the question: ‘4,200m above sea level in the Peruvian Andes, looking down a stunning valley, with a diamond I’d brought out to South America – not perhaps totally spontaneous, but very memorable!’

In keeping with the natural, artisanal theme of the day, Ben also made the cake stand and the cake table, and Borders-based Sizzling Piggy provided a succulent hog roast from their quirky rotisserie trailer with its pigtail-shaped chimney and on-board computer! The Settledown Café in Newcastle manned the barbecue and provided delicious salads, desserts and accompaniments, while the bar was provided by Wilson from the Lauderdale Hotel in Lauder. Excellent music came from The Fabulous Shire Boys – superb multi-instrumentalists who can play everything from ceilidh to funk and have supported top rock and pop artists including Texas, Hue and Cry and Fish.

Tonia and Ben spent their honeymoon travelling around Italy by train, taking in Florence, Pisa, Venice and the northern Tuscany mountains, where, as Ben describes, ‘we kicked back under the clear blue sky for a week in a little stone hut, scrumping fresh figs from the trees. Dumped the hire car and took the train to Venice for a few more days of ‘Bling’ before a slow train back to Paris, England.’ Their ‘little Yorkshire dumpling’ is due to arrive in November, which they say will be a breeze compared to organising a wedding!

All the best for the future to a lovely couple from Get Knotted!

Suppliers:
Wedding tipi: www.highlandtipis.co.uk
Flowers: www.wigglywigglers.co.uk
Hog Roast: www.sizzlingpiggy.co.uk
Catering: www.thesettledown.com
Bar: www.lauderdalehotel.co.uk
Music: The Fabulous Shire Boys, available through www.ceilidhconnections.com

Lindsey Hunter of Get Knotted is a wedding planner for Scotland and the north of England. She’s the in-house wedding planner for four lovely Scottish wedding venues: Mellerstain House, Aikwood Tower, Hoscote Estate, and the Buccleuch Arms Hotel. For more wedding inspiration, visit our gallery.

Wedding accommodation in the Scottish Borders doesn’t come more romantic than a lovely Romany roulotte! Whether you’re getting married in the Scottish Borders area, or just looking for a really different holiday, Roulotte Retreat’s lovely caravans make a perfect base, and are ideal for wedding guests staying at our Get Knotted wedding venues – including the nearby Buccleuch Arms. They also make a magical space for a honeymoon first night!

I was new to roulottes, which turns out to be the French word for Romany-style caravans. Avril Berry and Alan Fraser fell in love with these artisan-built handcarved wooden palaces on wheels and just knew they would be perfect in their meadow retreat three miles from Melrose, below the Eildon Hills. ‘We wanted magic with elegance, luxury with simplicity, all mod cons with a genuine sense of timelessless’, Avril says. There are currently 5 roulottes with evocative names  like Devanna, Karlotta, Gitana, Maharani and Rosa Bella, as well as nearby Horseshoe Cottage, which also welcomes children.

The roulottes were brought across from France, and are set around a small wildlife loch. Each one has its own exquisitely designed interior and quirky, individual character, with sumptuous colours and textures, chic crockery and comfy facilities. You can also order special treats such as gourmet hampers, champagne and chocolates, or activities such as mountain-biking, horse-riding or Yoga for your wedding party.

With professional backgrounds in Yoga and Psychotherapy, Avril and Alan are committed to an environmentally friendly approach, and have planted lots of native trees, shrubs, hedging and wildflower meadow to encourage local wildlife. The site has solar lighting, recycling facilities, eco-friendly paints wherever possible, and the roulottes are heated using green energy logs made from compressed rapeseed. The roulottes are made by specialist artisans in France and transported by a Borders haulage company on the return journey from the continent. And you won’t find any glossy brochures – all the information you need is on their website.

Roulotte Retreat won a Tourism Innovation Award at last year’s Scottish Tourism Conference in Edinburgh – great to see a company that prioritises ethical and environmental values do so well! See below for more pix, or visit their site here.

Lindsey Hunter of Get Knotted is a wedding planner for Scotland and the north of England. She’s the in-house wedding planner for four lovely Scottish wedding venues: Mellerstain House, Aikwood Tower, Hoscote Estate, and the Buccleuch Arms Hotel. For more wedding inspiration, visit our gallery.