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Highland Country Weddings, Scotland
If the two of you are looking for a unique and beautiful wedding destination, you just might look to Scotland. Lovetripper.com has interviewed Natasha Honan at Highland Country Weddings, a company with offices in Scotland and the US.
Recognizing that each wedding is a one-of-a-kind event, Highland Country Weddings does not offer standard wedding packages. Could you tell our readers about some of the personalized services you provide?
We offer a bespoke service, tailored to the needs, ideas and budget of our clients. Because every wedding is so different, not only in it's location (e.g. a castle in the North of Scotland or a beautiful luxury hotel in the heart of the old part of Edinburgh) but also because every couple has their unique idea and vision for their wedding day. We therefore offer a completely personalised service, from sourcing the most suitable and perfect venue for the bride and groom, to helping to choose their wedding favours and decorate their reception room.
Everything we do is planned together with the bride and groom, to co-ordinate with their ideas, colour schemes, timescale, budget and so much more.
The personalized service also extends into other areas - for example - help with completing the legal paperwork and liaising with government officials on their behalf. We are also the only wedding planner in Scotland to have a US office. This means that the bride and groom can make contact with us at any time, on their timescale and feel that their needs are being met right away.
We are also in contact with the bride and groom as soon as they arrive in Scotland and we quickly help to iron out any difficulties that may arise e.g. delayed luggage. We offer to have the bridal gown sent over to us in Scotland ahead of time, so that we can have it steamed/pressed and then personally delivered to the bride when she arrives in Scotland. We liaise too with the kiltstores for hired kilts and take measurements and have these delivered to the groom and groomsmen.
We have a number of 'props' too that we lend out free of charge e.g. Large white umbrellas in case of rain, IPOD speakers, CD player, CDs, open tent for an outdoor wedding. Our service also extends to helping guests with their hotels and travel arrangements, often advising on nice places to stay in Scotland, places to visit, also without cost.
Can you describe a recent wedding you've planned or are currently planning?
There are two of us who plan weddings with HCW - Janis MacLean at the home office in Inverness, Scotland, and Natasha Honan at the US office who plans weddings from USA and Canada (all the while in close contact with Janis in Scotland). So, we will give you two examples of weddings we are currently working on!
Janis, at our home office in Inverness is arranging a wedding on the summit of Ben Nevis for next summer. Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the UK, and located by Fort William in the Highlands of Scotland - it's amazingly stunning! This will be for a party of five (climbers!) from Lancaster in England. Janis is working to obtain permission from the landowner to land a helicopter up on the mountain...and is also liaising with a helicopter firm to arrange the transport (subject to permissions, weather conditions and so on), as well as searching for a fit Minister willing to be flown up to the top of Ben Nevis (!). She will also help the bride and groom shortly with the legal paperwork. And will be presenting to them some options for a cool place to have a champagne drink and cocktail following the ceremony!
Natasha in the US, is finishing plans for a wedding at Airth Castle, near Stirling in three weeks time. This is for a party of 30 from Texas and was given to Natasha just four weeks ago. The bride had originally thought that she could make all the arrangements herself but as the wedding date approached with alarming speed, she realized that there was so still much to organize, including the legal paperwork!
Everything is now in order. The visas were rushed through and the legal paperwork arrived in Scotland on the very last day legally possible. We are now waiting to see if the bride will be allowed to have her friend perform the ceremony, a Minister himself from Texas, who very recently relocated to the UK. He needs to obtain permission from the central government authorities in Edinburgh. A quick phone call this morning to the Registrars office near Airth confirms that it is extremely likely that he will get this permission before the wedding but that we should have PLAN B in place, just in case.
The bride is thrilled. She is fed-exing her gown over to us in Scotland today. We have found a fantastic old Inn near the Castle where we have booked all 30 people to have a rehearsal dinner the night before. The coach transport is booked to pick everyone up at the Castle at 6pm and return at 10pm. The men will ride on for a couple more miles to the nearby town of Falkirk where there are a number of pubs and Inns that are open until the wee hours of the morning. Massages at the castle await them in the morning for a relaxing beginning to what will be a gorgeous day! The women have some pampering appointments too with hair, make-up and manicures.
By employing HCW, the bride is realizing that she has not only saved a lot of time (and anxiety!) BUT also a lot of money. We were able to find and negotiate the best deals - from transport, flowers, cake and even accommodation and food at the castle.
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