Real Weddings: Gemma & Ross Mckenzie

Where it All Began

Gemma and Ross have known each other since school but their love story didn’t begin until after they had left. The pair began socialising together at various parties and events and the beginning of their relationship started off with watching X-Factor together on Sunday nights. 7 wonderful years later in September 2017 Ross proposed to Gemma on a trip to Dubai and their wedding at Lochside was booked very shortly after in the November. The wedding was booked for 2020 which would have marked 10 years together for the couple and should have given them what they thought would be 3 stress-free years of planning…

The Road to Forever…

However, Gemma and Ross had planned their original wedding date right in the middle of what would turn out to be a global pandemic – who could’ve planned for that?! The couple were left frustrated as they awaited the go ahead for their dream day. In the midst of that, Lochside was also undergoing some renovations to the newly launched Lochview Function Suite. This alongside covid meant that the couples original date had to be repeatedly pushed back and although it was challenging, the couple can’t praise the team at Lochside enough for their incredible effort and support during this time. A huge shoutout goes to the entire wedding team, particularly our wonderful Lynsey & Alannah. Gemma tells us that they could not have been more caring and helpful. The team checked in as often as possible and would always keep them in the loop, regularly inviting the couple back down to see how the renovations were going and even sending virtual updates during covid. While this wasn’t quite how the couple thought their wedding planning would go, it worked out for the best. Between Gemma & Ross’s first visit to the venue in 2017 and their wedding day in 2021, Lochside was a completely transformed venue. The newlyweds say they were already happy with the venue back in 2017 but the renovations completely blew them away and exceeded all their original expectations. Looking back now Gemma & Ross feel extremely lucky and like everything happened for a reason – it worked out exactly as it was supposed to in the end, and everyone had the perfect day!

Brining The Vision to Life

Gemma tells us how in general she is a super organised person and she enjoyed having plenty of time to plan every little detail of the day. Gemma had complete control over her décor, flowers, and favours with lots of time going into amazing DIY projects for the day. This super creative bride did pretty much everything at home and the final outcome was exquisite! The theme was very classy, timeless, and simplistic, with nothing too over the top. Gemma absolutely loved completing the DIY projects, she is a very creative person so enjoyed seeing her ideas come to life. This process was also a nice way to get family and friends involved in the buzz beforehand. The wedding party stayed in one of our Luxury on-site Lodges the evening before and this was a really exciting time for everyone getting things organised (her nephews even loved helping with some finishing touches). Another reason why Gemma tells us she is so glad she went down the more DIY décor route is because it meant she was able to keep so many things from the day as memories, and other members of the wedding party could also take away a piece of the day – how wonderful? If you were thinking about doing some DIY for your own wedding this is your sign to give it a go!

“What was your favourite part of the day?” 

For many of the wedding guests, it was their first big day out since lockdown! The wedding took place as soon as restrictions eased, and it was absolutely amazing for everyone to get together, especially given the uncertainty of the previous few years.

Another amazing part of the day for Gemma was finally seeing her vision come to life. After putting so much work into the finer details it was so special to see it all work out exactly as she had imagined, if not better!

Advice from The Newlyweds

“Enjoy the run up as much as you can, ask the staff for advice whenever you need it – the staff at Lochside are fantastic with this”

“If you know there’s something you want, just ask for it. Whether that’s with the venue, your photographer, or any other suppliers. They will actually appreciate you being upfront, you only get to do this once so make sure there’s nothing you regret not asking for”

“Have a good think about exactly what you want in terms of your photos and videos, if you have an idea in your mind and can relay this to your suppliers, you’re much less likely to be disappointed”

The Next Chapter

Gemma and Ross are enjoying every minute of married life together and are looking forward to re-visiting Lochside this year on their one-year anniversary…as a family of 3! Gemma and Ross are delighted to announce that baby Mackenzie is due in August this year, what a magical start to this new chapter as ‘The Mackenzie’s’. We can’t wait to see you both and baby Mackenzie soon!

From all of us here at RAD – Congratulations! & Thank you to this lovely couple for choosing us to be a part of their magical day & for sharing their story with us!