How did you find out about Sophia Grace Couture?

Three friends of mine had got their dresses from Sophia Grace Couture within the last five years.

How would you describe your experience at Sophia Grace Couture?

Magical!! From start to finish I felt like a princess. The boutique itself is very luxurious and you feel like you’re having a VIP experience not just for you but for whom you take with you too – my mum and sister had the best time with complimentary drinks whilst I tried on the dresses.

Sophia Grace Couture has everything you could possible need for your wedding day, the layout of the boutique really showcases all bridal pieces from gowns to veils to designer shoes to jewellery and to bridesmaid dresses too! Everywhere you look there’s something else to see!

I also got my bridesmaid dresses with Sophia Grace, I was tight for time for ordering the dresses I wanted and the staff kept In touch with me throughout and even catered to couriering one of the bridesmaid dresses to London for me! Completely hassle and stress free!

Tell us about your dress and why you choose your particular gown

I knew I was looking for an off the shoulder dress with delicate lace, I also knew I wanted a big train for some drama! I had seen on the website that Sophia Grace stocked Enzoani dresses and a couple of other designers that I liked from searching online.

Ines was so helpful and listened to all the comments I was making when I was trying on a dress. She just knew what I liked and didn’t like from each dress, she could just tell by my body language how I felt about each dress and knew what features to pull out for the next one.

The dress I chose wasn’t one I picked off the rail myself but it was Ines! She chose Laura by Enzoani, which is a strapless dress. I initially said I knew I didn’t want strapless as it made me feel too exposed but Ines knew this and said to give the dress a chance and she brought over some straps from another dress that I tried on. She pinned them to the dress and I knew it was the one! Ines had nailed it – off the shoulder straps, fitted, lace, long lace train the works!

It was exactly what I was looking for my wedding day, my dream dress perfect for our elegant breath-taking venue.

What was your inspiration for your wedding? Did you follow a specific theme or colour palette?

Our venue was Carberry Tower, which is a mansion house at the bottom of a long drive within large beautiful grounds. We used that as our inspiration for the green bridesmaid dresses to match the grounds and I chose my dress with lace and a large train to have a mix of traditional elegance with a hint of drama to match with this extravagant venue.

Did Covid-19 Impact your wedding?

On the lead up to the wedding when I was trying on dresses and when I was shopping for bridesmaid dresses I had to wear a mask which I struggled with when trying on my own dress. The staff at Sophia Grace were brilliant and allowed me to take it off when they were at a safe enough distance.

I was hoping to go to some wedding fairs but due to Covid these were cancelled so I had to rely on the supplier list from the venue and recommendations for most of the wedding suppliers and general processes for the wedding planning.

But on the day the restrictions were practically lifted for our wedding, we didn’t need to wear masks or socially distance. Our wedding was as normal as it could’ve been pre Covid!!

What made you decide upon your chosen venue?

We knew we wanted a venue that had beautiful grounds with a building that had an old but refurbished interior. We were drawn to venues such as Dundas Castle, Carlowrie Castle and Barony Castle that had those features but it was Carberry Tower that took our breath away. The drive up to the manor house was breath taking and we thought instantly of how we could capture our arrivals via drones! We also loved that the day was split up between three areas so there was always a new space to see and explore ensuring the whole day was exciting for everyone!

Tell us about your wedding

Our wedding day started at my childhood home getting ready with my bridesmaids and mum, Chris got ready at our house with his groomsman. From there I went to Carberry with my bridal party in a vintage car and Chris arrived in a blue Aston Martin with my dad driving the groomsman entourage.

Finishing getting ready at Carberry was beautiful and luxurious in their music room, it was just so calming and made me feel so special.

The ceremony chapel was a short walk from the main tower and was beautiful. There was a piper and pianist leading into the chapel which was so moving and exactly what we had envisioned for that special moment. We had a humanist ceremony, which was so perfect for us, our love story retold in front of our family and friends truly magical!

We then had stunning pictures taken within the grounds of Carberry during our drinks reception and we were fortunate enough to have glorious weather meaning we could enjoy the beautiful grounds and gardens with our guests.

Our wedding meal was in the Pavilion that had been decorated beautifully with tall flower arrangements and green satin chair bows giving us that elegant and sophisticated look we were going for. The meal was exquisite and was perfect for our wedding breakfast!

Our evening reception was held in the tower itself with a live band that played an acoustic version of “you are the best thing” by Ray La Montagne, romantic and perfect. After this was had some sparklers by the fire pit which was so beautiful and surreal, truly amazing!

Then we danced the night away with our fantastic band and had an absolute blast! All of our family and bridal party stayed the night and stayed up in the drawing room singing together beside the piano till 5am!! It was the perfect way to end the best day and evening. It truly was the best day we could’ve ever dreamed of with all of our ideas and visions coming to life and more!

What was the most memorable moment?

Ah it’s so hard to choose just one but up there is definitely the sparklers, it really was a beautiful and magical moment seeing all of our nearest and dearest enjoying that moment and it created some stunning pictures too for us to always remember!

Do you have any advice for future brides visiting Sophia Grace Couture?

You absolutely must go!! It’s the wedding dress experience you will have always pictured in your head. There are so many stunning choices and everyone makes you feel so calm, valued and special.

You won’t need to go anywhere else to find your dream dress, veil, shoes, accessories and bridesmaid dresses!