CAIRNS FARM ESTATE - FARM WEDDING VENUES SCOTLAND

Next up in my new Venue Showcase series is Cairns Farm Estate. A beautiful, barn venue in Kirknewton, just outside Edinburgh.

Set amidst dramatic moorlands, the venue absolutely stunning. If you’re after those wild, Heathcliffe vibes then this is the venue for you! It really does feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere, even though you’re actually just west of Edinburgh, and not too far from Glasgow. It’s a super handy venue if you (and your friends and family) are based anywhere in the central belt.

Speaking of your guests, there’s space on site for up to 24 of your loved ones to stay. The 19th century Farmhouse is the ideal space to get ready on the wedding morning, while the ultra romantic Keep is the perfect secluded spot for you both to retreat to on your wedding night.

Wedding ceremonies at CaiRns Farm Estate

Over the past decade farm wedding venues in Scotland have become super popular, popping up all over the country. There’s a real variation in style from converted historical farm buildings right through to contemporary barns, constructed specifically as venues. The main barn at Cairns Farm Estate is a fab mixture of both - a modern wedding venue built around a country barn. It has so much natural light which I adore (some barn venues can be pretty dark) and I absolutely love doing flowers here. You can really see how much thought has been put into it and I adore the contemporary, slightly Scandi styling.

The venue is tucked away at the foot of the Pentland Hills. The barn sits on the hillside, meaning there are incredible views out over the Harperrig Reservoir. It’s divided in two - the big main space where the reception and dancing is held and a smaller ceremony room. This feels so airy and spacious, with a high vaulted ceiling and huge windows looking out onto that beautiful, wild windswept vista.

The beauty of Cairns Farm is that the space is beautifully designed and contemporary but the warm tones of the timber means it never feels cold or austere. There’s a fair bit of artificial foliage up on the walls so the ceremony room doesn’t feel empty or daunting to fill.

I am a big fan of their old, church style pews, they’re fab to decorate. You can tie flowers to the top of the pews, leading the eye down the aisle. I’ve also made arrangements of jars, bottles or vases just on the floor next to the pews. I normally advise caution doing this, there can be a risk of them being knocked over if the aisle is on the narrower side or there are chairs rather than nice, sturdy pews. Luckily at Cairns Farm the aisle is nice and wide so there’s minimal danger. Phew! These small vases are a great way of bringing colour to the space too, the carpet is a neutral cream and the wood is quite pale meaning you can pretty much do anything with your colour scheme. Always a win! The vases of flowers can then easily be moved onto tables after the ceremony.

At the head of the aisle you’ll find a custom made, fan shaped table. It’s either in the centre, or off to one side depending on how the room has been set up. I like to add a little cluster of bud vases and greenery here. Or, for couples looking for something a little bigger, I’ve made arrangements in a half moon vase which can really set the scene and bring some colour into the room.

Huge steel girders are suspended high above the space. They’re not something you’d especially notice, but are super sturdy and great for hanging arrangements off. One of my favourites is an eye-catching and spectacular cloud of flowers and foliage that hangs right above the couple as they say their vows. It looks amazing without detracting from the incredible view over the loch.

Another option is a birch bar with asymmetrical placements of flowers and foliage. An arch looks great at the head of the aisle too, or a broken arch (two columns). I love to create a focal point right where the couple are standing.

Top tip from me - if you know where you’re going to stand during your ceremony - eg over to the left - then it’s nice to have something to visually balance that on the right hand side. You’re going to have a lot of photos within this space as you say your vows so have a think about how you want your flowers to look. There are so many options from pedestal stands to larger arrangements that can then be moved through to the reception. One of my favourite things I’ve done here is a tower of jauntily placed wooden crates with tumbling flowers and greenery coming out of them in a meadow style. It looks amazing!

Check out the photos within this blog (and my wedding gallery) for loads of ideas and inspiration.

Party time! Wedding receptions and decor at CaiRns Farm

Cairns Farm Estate is so flexible meaning you have so many options for your flowers and greenery. And, as your ceremony and reception are in the building, it makes reusing your floral designs so easy.

This reception room is amazing. I love the beautifully polished concrete floor and the abundance of timber. It’s got a real high end finish and is a joy to fill with flowers. The addition of fairy lights in the winter makes it feel so cosy and warm too.

A hanging piece works brilliantly in this space, especially in the area between the tables and bar. This is a part of the room that is highly trafficked and is just made for a spectacular suspended arrangement.

When it comes to other flowers and decor, think about signage - “welcome to our wedding”, the order of events, table plan and so on. At Cairns Farm Estate these signs are normally placed on easels or wooden pallets and I can add wee touches like sprigs of flowers and foliage or little garlands, just to soften things up and bring in wedding colours.

This main space is really big so you can easily reuse a broken arch or pedestal arrangements from the ceremony room. They look great either side of the top table or around where the cake table is. You can even create another little installation with the wooden crates and tumbling flowers and foliage. There is so much scope here, you can really go wild.

Beautiful, floral table decor in a barn style venue

The most popular wedding meal set up is long, custom made wooden trestle tables, set banquet style with a top table in front of the picture window. I imagine you can have more traditional round tables if you choose to but the big chunky wooden ones supplied by Cairns Farm look incredible. They’re usually left without linens, but with a hessian or fabric runner down the centre..

On the tables I often do runners of loose greenery down the centre. These look fab against those wooden tables and the smell is wonderful, especially when guests enter the room. A lot of couples like to dot jam jars, bud vases or bottles all the way down the table. This is a great way to carry wedding colours through the space but without blocking views. It’s good to use any vases from the ceremony room but there are a lot of tables so you’ll probably need more! I’d suggest two to three per trestle table. These don’t have to be expensive at all. Jam jars or bottles are fine and it’s a great way to involve family in the whole wedding planning process. They can collect jars, old beer or gin bottles or vases for you then decorate them etc. This kind of personalisation makes the wedding unique to you. I had one couple who were both scientists. They used beakers and conical vases for the tables. Basically anything they would use in the lab! It was a fab little nod to what makes them tick in their everyday lives, but “wedding’ified” with flowers!

Weddings at CaiRns Farm Estate

Cairns Farm Estate is just great and is a venue I’m always so happy to work at. It’s dry hire but already has some fairly neutral furnishings. These soften the space, meaning that you can focus your flower spend on really making the space your own, bringing in your colours, your personality and including your own personalised touches. Don’t be afraid to put your stamp on it!

I’ve worked on weddings there at all different times of year, from Feb to Dec. Cairns Farm is one those venues that just works at any time of year and with pretty much all colour schemes. I’ve done everything from really colourful (think Mexican fiesta style!) right through to all white.

In summary - my top tips for STUNNING wedding flowers AT CAIRNS FARM ESTATE

This venue is so versatile, and you really can do almost anything here.

It’s so easy to move arrangements between the two barn spaces, this is a great way to reuse your flowers throughout the day and is really sustainable too.
Bud vases (or bottles or jars) are a really easy, simple way to have little pops of colour all around your venue.
Most colours look amazing against the warm timber of the barn, so don’t worry too much about whether your chosen colours will ‘work’. It’s more than likely they will!
There are so many ways to personalise your venue with flowers and vases. See my wedding galleries for some great ideas.

Cairns Farm Estate is such a versatile farm wedding venue and there is just so much you can do in the various spaces. Hopefully these ideas and photographs will spark some creativity!

Head to our Flower Ideas page if you’re in the mood for more inspiration or get in touch if you’d like to talk about plans for your wedding flowers.