How This Bride Planned Her Own Micro-Wedding in the Scottish Highlands
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vogue’s goal in our coverage is to celebrate responsible wedding planning, showcase a love story, and shed light on the questions that engaged couples are asking themselves now.
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Elle Mie-Jin McPherson-Yoon was wearing a bright orange shift dress when she first met Angus Tweedie at a 60s-themed party hosted by their mutual friend Angèle Donà dalle Rose, the designer of the eveningwear label Angie Power London. It was the first night of a weekend-long affair in Venice, Italy, and Elle admits she was “hard to miss.” At the time, Angus and Elle both traveled often. They began to coordinate destinations so that they could see each other as much as possible. “This all sounds surreal, considering our lives gravitate around the home now,” Elle reflects.
After three years of dating long distance between London and Toronto, Angus fittingly proposed at the arrivals gate of Toronto Pearson International Airport. “He had meant to surprise me at home, but I had figured it out and convinced my mom to let me come with her to collect him from the airport,” Elle says. “We had not, however, expected him to call our bluff. He stepped off the plane in black tie and got down on one knee at the arrivals gate to the applause of onlookers. Well played!”
In January of 2020, they selected their wedding venue in the Scottish Highlands together, and then Elle returned to Toronto to prepare for what she thought was her imminent move to England. But because of the outbreak of COVID-19, Elle and Angus weren’t able to see each other again until August of 2020. Still, they ended up being able to keep their original wedding date and venues.
“For a long time, it felt like we were in limbo. Information on the virus and government guidelines was quickly evolving, which made it very difficult to formulate an appropriate plan,” Elle says. “A month before our wedding date, it was confirmed that we would be allowed a group of 20, and knowing that this meant our parents and Angus’s siblings would be able to attend was the biggest relief. We had very open and honest conversations with our vendors and our venue, which enabled us to pivot very quickly [if need be], so we decided to stay the course,” Elle says. “We didn’t feel that rescheduling would provide us with any additional certainty, and with our wedding predicating my move to the U.K., we were adamant about moving forward with this milestone and remaining positive about our future together.”
Deciding to go ahead with a micro-wedding on their original date, rather than postponing, was bittersweet, because while they were exceedingly grateful to have a pathway to marriage, this effectively meant they had to cancel invitations for three-quarters of their guests. “I am, to this day, overwhelmed by the understanding, support, and encouragement of our family and friends,” Elle says.
“I feel like my experience planning the wedding can be defined by two time periods: Before Covid and After Covid,” the bride adds. “I really enjoyed the planning process, BC! I would consider myself both creative and organized, so planning a wedding was definitely in my wheelhouse, and I felt comfortable tackling it myself, initially, armed with an excel spreadsheet and my mom as the ultimate sounding board.”
The wedding was always going to be intimate with personal touches—although, to be fair, when Elle and Angus first started planning, they thought 80 was intimate. “The aim of the game was to absolutely spoil those in attendance, like hosts from a bygone era,” Elle says. “I used to live in Manhattan, and my first references for the wedding stemmed from some of my favorite places in The City: Bemelmans Bar and The Waverly Inn, where Angus and I have dinner with our closest friends whenever we visit.”
