How did you find out about Sophia Grace Couture?

We were both new to the area and weren’t quite sure where to start – fortunately our hairdresser recommended Sophia Grace as a number of her clients had found their dresses there.

How would you describe your experience at Sophia Grace Couture?

I think the fact both of us only visited Sophia Grace to find our perfect dresses says it all! We wanted to keep our dresses a surprise for each other on our wedding day so we visited a couple of weeks apart. The Sophia Grace team were wonderful with us both. We felt very welcome and relaxed, and also very grateful for the guidance and support we received. We were super impressed with the alterations made to our gowns and always felt in very capable hands. All of the team went to great lengths to help us keep details of our dresses from each other – which we really appreciated! We also found our bridesmaid’s dress there and hair accessories. We were impressed with the breadth of range on offer and quality.

Tell us about your dresses and why you choose your particular gowns

Sarah chose the very first dress that she tried on! She wanted a Princess-Eugenie style dress and found one straight away which matched what she’d imagined. She tried a few other dresses to make sure it was definitely “the one”, but had felt very early that it was the perfect dress.

Emma’s experience was quite different. She tried some very different styles and wasn’t quite sure which suited best. Thankfully the Sophia Grace team were on hand to share some suggestions and selected a couple of dresses to try. With their help the perfect dress was found, which happened to be from the same designer that Sarah had chosen, although very different in style. (The team had thoughtfully taken Sarah’s dress off the rails so that Emma couldn’t choose the same one).

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

As we married on 28th Dec our wedding had a distinct festive feel. We opted for ivory dresses to bring some warmth alongside gold, rich reds, greens and purples.

What made you decide upon your chosen venue?

We knew that we wanted a romantic winter wedding so had picked our date before the venue. We knew that we needed somewhere which would be easy for people to reach in unpredictable Scottish weather! and then somewhere we knew would look at its best at Christmas time. We’d seen lots of photos of The George at Christmas and were delighted once we’d visited the Kings Hall and saw how majestic it was, … and then tried their amazing food which sealed the deal.

Tell us about your wedding

Our wedding was very romantic, felt really festive and was a great celebration with family and friends. It felt extra-special as so few of us had been able to see each other for a couple of years because of the pandemic. Everyone was in a party mood! As two-bride weddings can break convention a little we decided to go a bit further and walk up the aisle to be married together. It felt very special to be entering the room with all of our family and friends waiting to see us. We got to lean on each other and enjoy that lovely moment together. We chose a candle-lit early afternoon ceremony which meant we have some lovely photos in the winter sun and sunset. Teetering across George St in Louboutins with the local buses stopping to cheer us on will stay in our memories for a long time! The twilight photo was worth it. We rounded off our evening with Teannaich ceilidh band which our guests loved – a simple thing like having live music felt a real treat after lockdown and made everyone go for it on the dance floor!

What was your most memorable moment?

Our own “first look” moment immediately before the ceremony was our favourite part of the day because it was a moment just for us (and our lovely photographers!). We are so grateful to the Sophia Grace team for helping us create this. Everyone in the shop went out of their way to keep details of each other’s gowns a secret from the other. We really appreciate it because it was such a beautiful moment when we saw each other’s dresses for the first time..

Did Covid-19 Impact your wedding? If so please tell us more

We did have to postpone our wedding once, for one year – we chose the same date in the following year and were lucky to get to go ahead second time around. We know that not all couples have been so lucky and have had to postpone a few times, including some of our family. Sadly it meant that not all of our family could be with us due to international travel restrictions … but it means that we get to have a big party again to celebrate and we’re definitely wearing our dresses again!

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

Trust the team. They really know their dresses well and are very supportive. They recommended some alterations to Emma’s dress to make her feel more comfortable wearing it all day and they were expertly done.