The Cowshed Crail is one of my favourite local venues. I'm just down the road in Stirling and absolutely love working there. It is beautifully finished, has great light and has an unusual combination of barn and marquee features.

Eleanor and Tom were lucky enough to have a day of sunshine for their July wedding. The Cowshed, and the surrounding areas, are idyllic. So quiet and beautiful with lush fields and striking blue skies as far as the eye can see.

Wedding flowers at The Cowshed Crail

The Cowshed Crail has a few different ‘wedding spaces’ which is always handy. Couples can move their guests between them without having to reset a room or put on any transport. Once you’re there, you’re there!

Owned by the Logan family for well over 70 years - the original dairy has now closed down - The Cowshed was refurbished and reopened as a wedding venue in 2016.

It’s a blank canvas which meant Tom and Eleanor had so many options when it came to flowers. They chose pastels - whites, sage greens, pale baby blues, lilacs and pale, pale pinks. Those really romantic and dreamy colours that work so well in the light and airy spaces of The Cowshed Crail.

Their ceremony took place in The Workshop, and they said their vows in front of a circular arch (our most popular arch) which can be moved really easily if couples want to repurpose it after the ceremony. The venue moved this to be a backdrop for cutting the cake later on in the day. I decorated a section of the arch in flowers and foliage, those romantic pastel tones stood out so well against the whitewashed walls and rough hessian sack backdrop.

Summer barn wedding in Crail

I love The Steading Marquee, it’s a great space that feels like a marquee but is a permanent room. The best of both worlds!

Again, anything goes in a marquee. The space is literally a blank canvas so we wanted to try and break up the white material, add some colour and a bit of interest.

We had three big floating clouds of foliage hanging all along the central ridge bar. This made such an impact when guests first walked into the marquee. I like using these in marquees as they stay up there all day and evening. Once the tables are moved away for dancing the clouds are still there to be enjoyed and it created a woodland feeling like bringing the outdoors inside.

Hanging pieces are always a great option in marquees and the wild, loose trails of greenery within these added a bit of drama to the room. On the tables below we kept things nice and simple with lots and lots of jamjars dotted along the middle of the trestles. This is such a popular option and so cost effective, not to mention sustainable. I’ve known couples to give away jamjars of flowers to guests as they depart the wedding. Sourcing jamjars is so easy too, you can hire from me or get your family and friends to help out by collecting them before the day. Jamjars of flowers fit so well with that country barn setting too.

I always dot jamjars around the venue too - on window ledges, barrels, anywhere I can find a spot! I’d encourage people to have a few extra jamjars to hand just for that purpose. It adds a lovely extra touch of colour around the spaces. If you’re on a budget you can easily repurpose any jars of flowers you’ve had running down the aisle. Once the ceremony is done get your wedding party, or willing guests, to help out by putting them around the venue. Reuse wherever possible I say!

Muted wedding party florals and thistle buttonholes

Eleanor and Tom were both getting ready in nearby cottages, easily walkable from The Cowshed. There are a number of holiday cottages close to The Cowshed Crail which are so handy for guests or the wedding couple and their wedding party.

Eleanor and her party had lovely loose summery bouquets. I filled them with pretty cornflowers, roses, jasmine, peonies and cow parsley. As well as hydrangeas and scabious - which doesn’t sound the nicest but is a very pretty flower and loved by butterflies! To add texture to the bouquets I mixed lots of lovely bloomy, blousy flowers with more frothy flowers. I finished with some dried lavender, great for that beautiful scent.

I added a hand dyed silk ribbon to Eleanor’s bouquet. The mint green of it looked fab against the white of her dress and just added that extra something to her bouquet. A ribbon is such a nice touch, and super easy to add to a bouquet.

Her super cute flower girl had a wee flower crown, matching the colours of the rest of the wedding party. She also had a wee basket of petals to throw. I love these baskets, they’re a very sweet way to include younger members of the family and gives them a job to do. Any distraction like that is great as walking down an aisle in front of a room full of people can be a little daunting.

Tom, along with his groomsmen, wore dark blue tweed jackets so we designed buttonholes with nice muted colours to sit nicely against the darker material. I used similar colours to the bouquet flowers with lavender, rosemary and eucalyptus. Plus thistle of course, a reliable ingredient for Scottish weddings that really holds up well out of water. They gave off a great scent and tied in well with the bridesmaid and bridal bouquets.

If you like the sound of The Cowshed Crail you can find out more about it on my blog in our venue spotlight series or have a look at a gorgeous white and green wedding we flowered up at the Cowshed.

For more summer wedding inspiration then head on over to my summer wedding gallery.

Thank you to Marc Millar Photography for sharing these beautiful images.