The day was set to be traditional but with contemporary touches, as the first same-sex couple to be married at St Columba’s Church of Scotland in London.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
Ruaraidh and Carlos both live and work in London. Ruaraidh is from Scotland and works for a luxury PR Agency, Alpha-Kilo, and Carlos is from Essex and works as an accountant in the City. Ruaraidh and Carlos both love the outdoors and get to the Isle of Skye (where R grew up) as much as possible; they both come from large families and have close chosen families, so time with them is always a priority.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
Ruaraidh and Carlos met on 22nd June 2016 at a busy bar in Soho. Carlos was half an hour late which led Ruaraidh to be half a bottle of wine down before his arrival, suffice to say this was not the fairytale meeting Ruaraidh had hoped for with his lifelong dream of being a Disney Prince or Princess (he was never fussy).
Carlos (luckily) did not listen to his colleagues’ advice to block Ruaraidh across all forms of contact and instead, after a grovelling phone call, which turned into a general chat of things to do and dates to come, agreed to a second date. Carlos, having just moved to London from Essex, was keen to explore, and the next month saw them walking around much of London and often ending up on Westminster Bridge to take in the city and remind themselves they were living life in London, just as Ruaraidh had done when he first moved to the big smoke.
After a stint in New York, new jobs, new flats and new flatmates, Ruaraidh and Carlos moved in together with friends and have become experts on much of West London as well as a stint in Clapham – allowing Carlos to get to Gatwick and Ruaraidh to outlive his Joey & Chandler fantasy with best mate Stu.
On the 22nd of June 2022, during a recreation of an initial date (not the first), Ruaraidh got down on one knee on Westminster Bridge to ask Carlos to do the rest of his life with him. Carlos thankfully said yes, much to the bemusement of passersby, who assumed he had rejected the proposal, pulling Ruaraidh up from one knee so quickly that a no was the only likely response.
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
Ruaraidh – There was never a specific moment; time passed by, and our lives became more and more intertwined until I realised I couldn’t do the rest of my life without him, and I would be mad to think otherwise. I also know for a fact that no one else would put up with me!
Carlos – When he got down on one knee on Westminster Bridge, I never considered the rest of my life with him, but his asking that all-important question made me question my life without him, and that wasn’t for me!
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
On the 22nd June 2022 during a recreation of an initial date (not the first), Ruaraidh got down on one knee on Westminster Bridge (as above this was a special place for them both when starting to date), to ask Carlos to do the rest of his life with him. Carlos thankfully said yes, much to the bemusement of passersby, who assumed he had rejected the proposal, pulling Ruaraidh up from one knee so quickly that a no was the only likely response.
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding.
The wedding and the day were meant to emulate Ruaraidh and Carlos, and what was important to them were friends, family, and love. The day was set to be traditional, but with contemporary touches; as the first same-sex couple to be married at St Columba’s Church of Scotland in London, we wanted to embrace and enjoy what to some couples may seem the general or boring bits.
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
In the lead-up to the day, we were really nervous about our walk from the church to the Caledonian. It was a lovely walk and really easy, but we were really stressed about the weather turning against us. Instead, the weather was perfect, and we had passers-by waving, cheering us on and taking us and our guest’s photos!
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
Kilts and suits were all mentioned, and a special item for Ruaraidh was his sporran by McRostie, with craftsmanship with exacting standards for over a century. Ruaraidh found McRostie through the amazing Bard in Edinburgh, which champions modern Scottish craft and design. Little more info on them both below.
“Established in 1887, the McRostie name has stood for quality without compromise in the leather goods industry for over a century. We began as saddlers’ ironmongers, growing to become a wholesale saddlery and expanding our portfolio of leather goods after making our name in carriage driving and heavy horse harness.”
Bard is a shop and gallery for Scottish craft and design, based in Leith, Edinburgh, founded by husbands Hugo Macdonald and James Stevens. We tell stories about ideas, people and objects that forge Scottish cultural identity, past, present and future. Our mission is twofold: we believe that living with craft can ground and elevate our daily experience at home and in society; we also believe that Scottish craft and design are ripe for a global audience. If it’s true that we are what we make, then we want to show the world that we are made of more than tartan shortbread tins.
CEREMONY LOCATION St Columba’s Church of Scotland RECEPTION LOCATION The Caledonian Club, @thecaledonianclub PHOTOGRAPHER Paul Santos, @paulsantosweddings FLORIST Larrie Lang – Feather Moss Flowers, @feathermossflowers CELEBRANT St Columba’s Minister, Angus Macleod together with Ruaraidh’s father, Norman Drummond – Extra Ordinary Chaplain to The King ENTERTAINMENT Pipers – Jamie McCarthy & Drew Drummond; The Sassenachs, @thesassenachs DJ Phillip Howard-Johnston, @phj.wav CATERING The Caledonian Club, @thecaledonianclub CAKE Made by Ruaraidh’s mum STYLING, STATIONERY & SIGNAGE Karolina Playfair, @karolina.t.playfair RINGS Ruaraidh – Georg Jensen, @georgjensen; Carlos – Queensmith, @queensmith_official RUARAIDH’S OUTFIT Kilt and Drummond Tartan – Gordon Nicolson Kiltmakers, @gordonnicolsonkiltmakers RUARAIDH’S ACCESSORIES Sporran – Bard, @bard.scotland; Tie – Hermes, @hermes RUARAIDH’S FRAGRANCE Homme Allure Sport – Chanel, @chanelofficial CARLOS’ OUTFIT Custom Made 3 Piece Suit, with double breasted waistcoat – Suit Supply, @suitsupply CARLOS’ ACCESSORIES Tank Watch – Cartier, @cartier; Tie – Hermes, @hermes; Cufflinks – Grandfather’s CARLOS’ FRAGRANCE Legend – Montblanc, @montblanc
