From the Netherlands to Dunblane – Carolien & Addy’s joy and happiness is caught perfectly by Carolyn Henry Photography
By Douglas Gilgallon, Fuze Celebrant
In the summer of 2018, on a balmy evening in the beautiful city of Zwolle, situated in the Netherlands, a couple called Carolien and Addy were contemplating a big decision relating to their future wedding. This big decision was not in regards to what ring to buy, or where to go to buy the right dress, or what kind of suit to wear, or even whether we will get married in a church or a registry office. No, the decision facing them both that night was do we get married in Las Vegas…or do we get married in a castle in Scotland! I am thrilled that their decision fell upon the latter. And so plans were afoot for this romantic of ideas to be placed in motion.
After a quick Google search Carolien and Addy soon discovered a website called Tartan Wedding ran and owned by a lovely lady called Lisa. Not only would Lisa help them realise their dream, but she would help in finding the perfect location and also help them with all the necessary paperwork they would require in order to make their dream a Scottish reality.
Cauldhame Estate, Dunblane was arranged by the fantastic Lisa at Tartan Weddings
Several months later in the early winter of 2020, Carolien and Addy came over to Scotland to meet with Lisa in Cauldhame Estate in Dunblane, at the location she had helped them pick.
Also that day they got to meet their photographer, the amazingly talented Carolyn Henry. However things didn’t go quite to plan on that first encounter as the snow that year was so bad in Dunblane that Carolyn’s car got stuck in the snow, but all’s well that ends well and they managed to get her out, and also get this great picture at the same time complete with Addy sporting a Scotland hat!
Their original wedding was set for the 25th 0f April (2020), but as we all know the world changed and just about everything ground to a halt including weddings.
So three attempts and one change of Celebrant later, mostly due to either date changes, or covid restrictions either here or in the Netherlands, the date was finally set and that’s kind of where I come in because I had the blessing of being the celebrant who would write and also conduct Carolien & Addy’s wedding.
I had numerous and memorable Zoom calls with them both as I got to know them and their story. They first met in 2006 and became a fully fledged couple the following year. Eventually moving in together it seemed that life was perfect as it was, travelling to new parts of the world, going to great restaurants with friends, and grreat music gigs too. It seemed that marriage would not really make that much of a difference to their bliss.
Then, Addy’s mother became very unwell and her prognosis was not good. In her final days she spoke to Carolien and Addy about getting married. She told Addy that Carolien was the perfect girl for him and she made Addy promise as her last wish that he marry Carolien.
True to his word on the day of Addy’s mum’s funeral he told Carolien all about the conversation and the promise he had made to his mother, and so Addy asked Carolien to marry him and he was delighted when she said yes. In fact they went straight out that day and bought Carolien’s engagement ring.
So fast forward to the 26th of March 2022, and all the disappointments and reschedules were now firmly behind them as Carolien & Addy, Caroliens sister and husband and their daughter, Caroliens Dad, and a good few of their friends from the Netherlands had all descended on Scotland on what turned out to be a very unusually warm and sunny day for the month of March. In fact, the weather was so nice that a last minute decision moved the wedding from indoors, outside into the garden of Cauldhame House.
Addy was sporting a very traditional kilt outfit, (the beautiful Modern Scotland Forever Tartan),and Carolien wore a beautiful pastel coloured trouser suit. During their ceremony they lit a candle of remembrance to honour both their mothers. They had a handfasting ceremony and also drank from a quaich.
Hand Fasting is an ancient Celtic marriage ritual – read more HERE
Drinking from the Quaich is a symbol love, peace and unity between two people
The tipple of choice was a particularly rare whiskey which was a Glen Elgin 200. Addy had sourced ahead of his trip by contacting Alex McCulloch of Royal Mile Whiskies based in Edinburgh. Alex had some of this whisky stock and had agreed to keep a bottle aside for him for their special occasion.
I had been asked by Carolien & Addy if I would play a song for them during the ceremony on my guitar and I was happy to oblige. I don’t normally play or sing at weddings as part of my Celebrant role, I only ever really play just for my own amusement or the odd party. But I believe that If you are able to do something to help someone then you should. So when Carolien & Addy asked me to contribute something to their special day, I knew the answer I would give them was always going to be yes.
The wedding of Carolien & Addy is still at the time of writing this blog my first outdoor wedding as well as being my first International wedding. In the weeks and months since that special day, I have kept in touch with Carolien & Addy and recently they received their photos through and were kind enough to share some of their photographs that were beautifully captured by the wonderfully talented Carolyn Henry Photography.
One of the best things about Carolien & Addy’s wedding was the joy and the amazement they were able to share with their friends, as they told me that a Celebrant wedding is not something that happens very often if at all in the Netherlands, and as a result they are so happy that they gave their friends not only a wonderful trip to Scotland complete with brilliant weather, but also a wedding like none they had ever experienced in their lives, wrapped up in a day full of magic and wonder that they will all cherish for the rest of their lives.
The who’s who of Carolien & Addy’s Wedding:
Celebrant – Douglas Gilgallon, Fuze Ceremonies
Photographer – Carolyn Henry Photography
Wedding Planner – Tartan Weddings, Lisa Bauer
Venue – Cauldhame Estate Dunblane
Add our smiles to yours
No two couples are the same so no two ceremonies should be the same. At Fuze we work alongside our couples to make their ceremony script is unique, personal and bespoke. It’s your day your way with us, so let us add our smiles to yours. To check Douglas and all of our amazing celebrant’s live availability for your special date click here!
Douglas Gilgallon,
Celebrant at Fuze Ceremonies
