Inside: A Stylish Scottish Wedding

Elle McPherson-Yoon, 32, is Assistant Registrar at The Royal Academy of Music. She has devoted her career to the arts and spends her spare time supporting philanthropic endeavors in the arts and culture sector. Elle is Young Patrons Co-Chair of charity Art History Link-Up and a Young Patron of the Victoria & Albert Museum. Angus Tweedie, 38, is SVP Strategy and Logistics of an American logistics company.

The couple met in 2017, in Venice, Italy, at a party hosted by mutual friend Angèle Donà dalle Rose, designer of the eveningwear label Angie Power London (@angiepower.london). The weekend long event was 60’s themed and they met on day one. They both travelled often, at the time, and began to coordinate destinations so that they could see each other as often as possible.

The best part of our day was….

Angus and I recessing as husband and wife to ABBA’s I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do!

We choose to get married at…

The ceremony was held at Crathie Kirk, a Gothic Revival church in Ballater, Braemar and we hosted our reception nearby at The Fife Arms, which houses an art collection assembled by co-founders of the acclaimed global gallery, Hauser & Wirth, Iwan and Manuela Wirth. It was an easy choice for us, as it combined our shared Scottish ancestry with my studies in Art History.

I knew I found ‘The One’ when…

After having seen a photo of the 2017 Viktor & Rolf Diagonal Cut Tulle Gown online, I tracked down a sample in my size and had it shipped to me directly, sight unseen. I felt it was a modern take on the 90’s wedding dresses I grew up admiring (The Parent Trap!?) and I knew it was the one.

I had anticipated wanting to change into a party dress in the evening and, when our wedding became a micro-wedding, it made even more sense to change into a dress which would reflect the smaller scale and venue of our reception. Emilia Wickstead’s Cruz Mini Dress was the perfect fit. I loved the irreverence and joy of the oversized bow, and the black and white palette which reminded me of Truman Capote’s infamous ball.

The most enjoyable moments of planning were…

Working with The Fife Arms’ Events Coordinator, Louise Morrison, Restaurant Manager, Jasmine Bowles, and our photographer Lucy Birkhead. They became our greatest allies.

The hardest part of planning was…

We had roughly a month to scale our wedding down to 20 and modify our plans in the wake of new Covid-19 government guidelines and restrictions. The Fife Arm’s team worked tirelessly to ensure the appropriate safety measures would be in place, while adhering to the most up to date government guidelines and maintaining the spirit of the event and their high standard of hospitality. We scaled everything down, secured private use of a partially outdoor space within the hotel, and our families mobilized to quarantine before the event, including my parents who flew down two weeks early to do so.

With the encouragement and support of our friends and family who could no longer attend, I began to focus on personal touches for this micro-wedding. Given there was a government ban on music and a dance floor as we knew it would not be safe, we opted to fill the evening instead with events aligned with our interests: We enjoyed a tasting menu by Head Chef Marcus Sherry, which showcased local Scottish ingredients and honored my Korean and Canadian heritages. Marcus thoughtfully designed menus for the whole weekend, highlights of which include a traditional Korean broth, Loin of Highland Venison, and Maple Syrup Panna Cotta. Being interested in wine, Angus also worked with the hotel sommelier to spoil us with beautiful wine pairings. For our tablescape, I was delighted to feature our talented friend Victoria FitzRoy’s illustrations on our menus, printed by Mount Street Printers, and irreverent details like chocolate cigarettes. In lieu of dancing, we cut into a Victoria Sponge wedding cake by @chefsarahbrion and capped the evening off with a whisky tasting hosted by The Macallan and a cracking fireworks display.